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?

Use Case	Recommended Approach
Single project only	Place directly in `.claude/` directory
Share across multiple projects	Create a Plugin
Distribute to other users	Create a Plugin
Internal project automation	Place directly in `.claude/` directory

Quick Start

Using the Initialization Script

bash

# 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

•

Create plugin directory structure:

code

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

•

Create plugin.json manifest:

json

{
  "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:

bash

# 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:

Component Type	Directory	Purpose
Commands	`commands/`	User-invocable slash commands
Skills	`skills/`	Agent auto-used skills
Hooks	`hooks/`	Event-triggered automation scripts
MCP Servers	In manifest	Extend Claude's tool capabilities
LSP Servers	In manifest	Code intelligence features

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:

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

Q: How to debug plugin loading issues?

bash

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