Installing and Using Plugins

Plugins extend Claude Code with additional capabilities like code review, feature development workflows, and specialized tools.

What Are Plugins?

Plugins are bundles that can include:

Custom skills and commands
MCP server integrations
Specialized prompts
Workflow automation

Finding Plugins

Official Plugins

# List official plugins
claude plugins list --official

Community Plugins

# Search all plugins
claude plugins search <keyword>

Installing Plugins

From Official Registry

# Install an official plugin
claude plugins add code-review@claude-plugins-official

From GitHub

# Install from a GitHub repository
claude plugins add username/plugin-name

From Local Path

# Install a local plugin
claude plugins add ./my-plugin

Managing Plugins

List Installed Plugins

claude plugins list

Update Plugins

# Update all plugins
claude plugins update

# Update specific plugin
claude plugins update code-review@claude-plugins-official

Remove Plugins

claude plugins remove code-review@claude-plugins-official

Popular Plugins

Code Review

claude plugins add code-review@claude-plugins-official

Provides:

Automated PR reviews
Security vulnerability scanning
Code quality analysis

Feature Development

claude plugins add feature-dev@claude-plugins-official

Provides:

Guided feature planning
Architecture analysis
Implementation workflows

Frontend Design

claude plugins add frontend-design@claude-code-plugins

Provides:

UI component generation
Design system integration
Responsive layouts

Configuration

Enable/Disable Plugins

// ~/.claude/settings.json
{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "code-review@claude-plugins-official": true,
    "feature-dev@claude-plugins-official": false
  }
}

Plugin-Specific Settings

{
  "plugins": {
    "code-review@claude-plugins-official": {
      "severity": "strict",
      "ignorePatterns": ["*.test.ts"]
    }
  }
}

Using Plugin Features

Skills from Plugins

Plugins may add new slash commands:

/review-pr 123        # From code-review plugin
/feature-dev          # From feature-dev plugin
/frontend-design      # From frontend-design plugin

Automatic Capabilities

Some plugins enhance Claude's abilities automatically without explicit invocation.

Creating Your Own Plugin

Plugin Structure

my-plugin/
├── plugin.json       # Manifest file
├── skills/           # Custom skills
├── commands/         # Slash commands
└── README.md         # Documentation

Plugin Manifest

// plugin.json
{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "My custom plugin",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "skills": ["skills/"],
  "commands": ["commands/"]
}

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

# Check plugin status
claude plugins status code-review@claude-plugins-official

# Reinstall
claude plugins remove code-review@claude-plugins-official
claude plugins add code-review@claude-plugins-official

Conflicts Between Plugins

If plugins conflict, disable one:

{
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "conflicting-plugin": false
  }
}

Best Practices

Start minimal: Only install plugins you need
Keep updated: Regularly update for bug fixes
Check compatibility: Verify plugin works with your Claude Code version
Review permissions: Understand what each plugin can access

Installing and Using Plugins

Installing and Using Plugins

What Are Plugins?

Finding Plugins

Official Plugins

Community Plugins

Installing Plugins

From Official Registry

From GitHub

From Local Path

Managing Plugins

List Installed Plugins

Update Plugins

Remove Plugins

Popular Plugins

Code Review

Feature Development

Frontend Design

Configuration

Enable/Disable Plugins

Plugin-Specific Settings

Using Plugin Features

Skills from Plugins

Automatic Capabilities

Creating Your Own Plugin

Plugin Structure

Plugin Manifest

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

Conflicts Between Plugins

Best Practices

Try these

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