plugin-dev

name	plugin-dev
description	Validate Claude Code plugin projects. Use only for .claude-plugin manifests, plugin marketplaces, or claude plugin validation.
metadata	{"last_updated":"2026-05-14","verified_against":"current local skill refresh"}
compatibility	Requires Claude Code or compatible local tooling for the named workflows.

Plugin Development

Develop and distribute Claude Code plugins and marketplaces.

Quick Commands

# Validate marketplace/plugin
claude plugin validate .

# Test local install
/plugin marketplace add ./path/to/marketplace
/plugin install my-plugin@marketplace-name

# Check installed plugins
/plugin list

Marketplace Schema

Required fields in .claude-plugin/marketplace.json:

{
  "name": "marketplace-name",
  "owner": { "name": "Your Name" },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "plugin-name",
      "source": "./plugins/plugin-name",
      "description": "What it does"
    }
  ]
}

Plugin Schema

Required field in .claude-plugin/plugin.json (only name is required):

{
  "name": "plugin-name",
  "description": "What it does",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

The name is also the skill namespace — skills become /plugin-name:skill-name.

Development

# Test plugin locally without installing
claude --plugin-dir ./my-plugin

# Reload after changes (inside Claude Code)
/reload-plugins

Common Errors

Error	Fix
owner: expected object	Add "owner": { "name": "..." }
plugins.0: expected object	Change string array to object array
source: Invalid input	Use ./path/to/plugin format
Components inside .claude-plugin/	Move commands/, skills/, etc. to plugin root

References

• marketplace-schema.md - Full marketplace fields
• plugin-schema.md - Full plugin fields
• validation-guide.md - Debugging validation errors
• distribution.md - Publishing, versioning, and release channels