Create plugins - Claude Code Docs

Plugins let you extend Claude Code with custom functionality that can be shared across projects and teams. This guide covers creating your own plugins with slash commands, agents, Skills, hooks, and MCP servers. Looking to install existing plugins? See Discover and install plugins. For complete technical specifications, see Plugins reference.

When to use plugins vs standalone configuration

Claude Code supports two ways to add custom slash commands, agents, and hooks:

Approach	Slash command names	Best for
Standalone (`.claude/` directory)	`/hello`	Personal workflows, project-specific customizations, quick experiments
Plugins (directories with `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`)	`/plugin-name:hello`	Sharing with teammates, distributing to community, versioned releases, reusable across projects

Use standalone configuration when:

You’re customizing Claude Code for a single project
The configuration is personal and doesn’t need to be shared
You’re experimenting with slash commands or hooks before packaging them
You want short slash command names like /hello or /review

Use plugins when:

You want to share functionality with your team or community
You need the same slash commands/agents across multiple projects
You want version control and easy updates for your extensions
You’re distributing through a marketplace
You’re okay with namespaced slash commands like /my-plugin:hello (namespacing prevents conflicts between plugins)

Start with standalone configuration in .claude/ for quick iteration, then convert to a plugin when you’re ready to share.

Quickstart

This quickstart walks you through creating a plugin with a custom slash command. You’ll create a manifest (the configuration file that defines your plugin), add a slash command, and test it locally using the --plugin-dir flag.

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed and authenticated
Claude Code version 1.0.33 or later (run claude --version to check)

If you don’t see the /plugin command, update Claude Code to the latest version. See Troubleshooting for upgrade instructions.

Create your first plugin

Create the plugin directory

Every plugin lives in its own directory containing a manifest and your custom commands, agents, or hooks. Create one now:

mkdir my-first-plugin

Create the plugin manifest

The manifest file at .claude-plugin/plugin.json defines your plugin’s identity: its name, description, and version. Claude Code uses this metadata to display your plugin in the plugin manager.Create the .claude-plugin directory inside your plugin folder:

mkdir my-first-plugin/.claude-plugin

Then create my-first-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json with this content:

my-first-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

{
"name": "my-first-plugin",
"description": "A greeting plugin to learn the basics",
"version": "1.0.0",
"author": {
"name": "Your Name"
}
}

Field	Purpose
`name`	Unique identifier and slash command namespace. Slash commands are prefixed with this (e.g., `/my-first-plugin:hello`).
`description`	Shown in the plugin manager when browsing or installing plugins.
`version`	Track releases using semantic versioning.
`author`	Optional. Helpful for attribution.

For additional fields like homepage, repository, and license, see the full manifest schema.

Add a slash command

Slash commands are Markdown files in the commands/ directory. The filename becomes the slash command name, prefixed with the plugin’s namespace (hello.md in a plugin named my-first-plugin creates /my-first-plugin:hello). The Markdown content tells Claude how to respond when someone runs the slash command.Create a commands directory in your plugin folder:

mkdir my-first-plugin/commands

Then create my-first-plugin/commands/hello.md with this content:

my-first-plugin/commands/hello.md

---
description: Greet the user with a friendly message
---

# Hello Command

Greet the user warmly and ask how you can help them today.

Test your plugin

Run Claude Code with the --plugin-dir flag to load your plugin:

claude --plugin-dir ./my-first-plugin

Once Claude Code starts, try your new command:

/my-first-plugin:hello

You’ll see Claude respond with a greeting. Run /help to see your command listed under the plugin namespace.

Why namespacing? Plugin slash commands are always namespaced (like /greet:hello) to prevent conflicts when multiple plugins have commands with the same name.To change the namespace prefix, update the name field in plugin.json.

Add slash command arguments

Make your slash command dynamic by accepting user input. The $ARGUMENTS placeholder captures any text the user provides after the slash command.Update your hello.md file:

my-first-plugin/commands/hello.md

---
description: Greet the user with a personalized message
---

# Hello Command

Greet the user named "$ARGUMENTS" warmly and ask how you can help them today. Make the greeting personal and encouraging.

Restart Claude Code to pick up the changes, then try the command with your name:

/my-first-plugin:hello Alex

Claude will greet you by name. For more argument options like $1, $2 for individual parameters, see Slash commands.

You’ve successfully created and tested a plugin with these key components:

Plugin manifest (.claude-plugin/plugin.json): describes your plugin’s metadata
Commands directory (commands/): contains your custom slash commands
Command arguments ($ARGUMENTS): captures user input for dynamic behavior

The --plugin-dir flag is useful for development and testing. When you’re ready to share your plugin with others, see Create and distribute a plugin marketplace.

Plugin structure overview

You’ve created a plugin with a slash command, but plugins can include much more: custom agents, Skills, hooks, MCP servers, and LSP servers.

Common mistake: Don’t put commands/, agents/, skills/, or hooks/ inside the .claude-plugin/ directory. Only plugin.json goes inside .claude-plugin/. All other directories must be at the plugin root level.

Directory	Location	Purpose
`.claude-plugin/`	Plugin root	Contains only `plugin.json` manifest (required)
`commands/`	Plugin root	Slash commands as Markdown files
`agents/`	Plugin root	Custom agent definitions
`skills/`	Plugin root	Agent Skills with `SKILL.md` files
`hooks/`	Plugin root	Event handlers in `hooks.json`
`.mcp.json`	Plugin root	MCP server configurations
`.lsp.json`	Plugin root	LSP server configurations for code intelligence

Next steps: Ready to add more features? Jump to Develop more complex plugins to add agents, hooks, MCP servers, and LSP servers. For complete technical specifications of all plugin components, see Plugins reference.

Develop more complex plugins

Once you’re comfortable with basic plugins, you can create more sophisticated extensions.

Add Skills to your plugin

Plugins can include Agent Skills to extend Claude’s capabilities. Skills are model-invoked: Claude automatically uses them based on the task context. Add a skills/ directory at your plugin root with Skill folders containing SKILL.md files:

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json
└── skills/
    └── code-review/
        └── SKILL.md

Each SKILL.md needs frontmatter with name and description fields, followed by instructions:

---
name: code-review
description: Reviews code for best practices and potential issues. Use when reviewing code, checking PRs, or analyzing code quality.
---

When reviewing code, check for:
1. Code organization and structure
2. Error handling
3. Security concerns
4. Test coverage

After installing the plugin, restart Claude Code to load the Skills. For complete Skill authoring guidance including progressive disclosure and tool restrictions, see Agent Skills.

Add LSP servers to your plugin

For common languages like TypeScript, Python, and Rust, install the pre-built LSP plugins from the official marketplace. Create custom LSP plugins only when you need support for languages not already covered.

LSP (Language Server Protocol) plugins give Claude real-time code intelligence. If you need to support a language that doesn’t have an official LSP plugin, you can create your own by adding an .lsp.json file to your plugin:

.lsp.json

{
  "go": {
    "command": "gopls",
    "args": ["serve"],
    "extensionToLanguage": {
      ".go": "go"
    }
  }
}

Users installing your plugin must have the language server binary installed on their machine. For complete LSP configuration options, see LSP servers.

Organize complex plugins

For plugins with many components, organize your directory structure by functionality. For complete directory layouts and organization patterns, see Plugin directory structure.

Test your plugins locally

Use the --plugin-dir flag to test plugins during development. This loads your plugin directly without requiring installation.

claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin

As you make changes to your plugin, restart Claude Code to pick up the updates. Test your plugin components:

Try your commands with /command-name
Check that agents appear in /agents
Verify hooks work as expected

You can load multiple plugins at once by specifying the flag multiple times:

claude --plugin-dir ./plugin-one --plugin-dir ./plugin-two

Debug plugin issues

If your plugin isn’t working as expected:

Check the structure: Ensure your directories are at the plugin root, not inside .claude-plugin/
Test components individually: Check each command, agent, and hook separately
Use validation and debugging tools: See Debugging and development tools for CLI commands and troubleshooting techniques

When your plugin is ready to share:

Add documentation: Include a README.md with installation and usage instructions
Version your plugin: Use semantic versioning in your plugin.json
Create or use a marketplace: Distribute through plugin marketplaces for installation
Test with others: Have team members test the plugin before wider distribution

Once your plugin is in a marketplace, others can install it using the instructions in Discover and install plugins.

For complete technical specifications, debugging techniques, and distribution strategies, see Plugins reference.

Convert existing configurations to plugins

If you already have custom commands, Skills, or hooks in your .claude/ directory, you can convert them into a plugin for easier sharing and distribution.

Migration steps

Create the plugin structure

Create a new plugin directory:

mkdir -p my-plugin/.claude-plugin

Create the manifest file at my-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json:

my-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "description": "Migrated from standalone configuration",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

Copy your existing files

Copy your existing configurations to the plugin directory:

# Copy commands
cp -r .claude/commands my-plugin/

# Copy agents (if any)
cp -r .claude/agents my-plugin/

# Copy skills (if any)
cp -r .claude/skills my-plugin/

Migrate hooks

If you have hooks in your settings, create a hooks directory:

mkdir my-plugin/hooks

Create my-plugin/hooks/hooks.json with your hooks configuration. Copy the hooks object from your .claude/settings.json or settings.local.json—the format is the same:

my-plugin/hooks/hooks.json

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write|Edit",
        "hooks": [{ "type": "command", "command": "npm run lint:fix $FILE" }]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Test your migrated plugin

Load your plugin to verify everything works:

claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin

Test each component: run your commands, check agents appear in /agents, and verify hooks trigger correctly.

What changes when migrating

Standalone (`.claude/`)	Plugin
Only available in one project	Can be shared via marketplaces
Files in `.claude/commands/`	Files in `plugin-name/commands/`
Hooks in `settings.json`	Hooks in `hooks/hooks.json`
Must manually copy to share	Install with `/plugin install`

After migrating, you can remove the original files from .claude/ to avoid duplicates. The plugin version will take precedence when loaded.

Next steps

Now that you understand Claude Code’s plugin system, here are suggested paths for different goals:

For plugin users

Discover and install plugins: browse marketplaces and install plugins
Configure team marketplaces: set up repository-level plugins for your team

For plugin developers

Create and distribute a marketplace: package and share your plugins
Plugins reference: complete technical specifications
Dive deeper into specific plugin components:
- Slash commands: command development details
- Subagents: agent configuration and capabilities
- Agent Skills: extend Claude’s capabilities
- Hooks: event handling and automation
- MCP: external tool integration

Build with Claude Code

​When to use plugins vs standalone configuration

​Quickstart

​Prerequisites

​Create your first plugin

​Plugin structure overview

​Develop more complex plugins

​Add Skills to your plugin

​Add LSP servers to your plugin

​Organize complex plugins

​Test your plugins locally

​Debug plugin issues

​Share your plugins

​Convert existing configurations to plugins

​Migration steps

​What changes when migrating

​Next steps

​For plugin users

​For plugin developers

When to use plugins vs standalone configuration

Quickstart

Prerequisites

Create your first plugin

Plugin structure overview

Develop more complex plugins

Add Skills to your plugin

Add LSP servers to your plugin

Organize complex plugins

Test your plugins locally

Debug plugin issues

Share your plugins

Convert existing configurations to plugins

Migration steps

What changes when migrating

Next steps

For plugin users

For plugin developers