Plugin Creator

What is a Plugin?

A plugin is a distributable package format that bundles skills, hooks, MCP servers, and other components into an installable unit for sharing across projects or teams.

When to Use Plugin vs Standalone?

Quick Start

Using the Initialization Script

# Create new plugin in current directory
python skills/plugin-creator/scripts/init_plugin.py my-awesome-plugin

# Specify output path
python skills/plugin-creator/scripts/init_plugin.py my-plugin --output ~/plugins

Manual Creation

1. Create plugin directory structure:

   my-plugin/
   ├── .claude-plugin/
   │   └── plugin.json      # Plugin manifest (required)
   ├── commands/            # User-invocable skills
   ├── skills/              # Agent skills
   ├── hooks/               # Hook configurations
   └── README.md
   

2. Create plugin.json manifest:

   {
     "name": "my-plugin",
     "description": "Plugin description",
     "version": "1.0.0",
     "author": "Your Name"
   }
   

Testing Plugins

Use the --plugin-dir flag to load and test your plugin:

# Test local plugin
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin

# Test multiple plugins
claude --plugin-dir ./plugin-a --plugin-dir ./plugin-b

Component Types Overview

Plugins can contain the following components:

Reference Documentation

For detailed information:

• Plugin Directory Structure - Manifest schema, directory layout, common errors
• Component Types Guide - Detailed usage for each component type

FAQ

Q: Why isn't my skill being loaded?

Check the following:

1. plugin.json is inside .claude-plugin/ directory
2. Skills are in plugin root's skills/ or commands/, not inside .claude-plugin/
3. Manifest JSON format is valid

Q: How to debug plugin loading issues?

# Use verbose mode to see loading process
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin -v