marketplace-creator

name

marketplace-creator

description

Create, publish, and register plugin marketplaces for GitHub Copilot in VS Code and the GitHub Copilot CLI. A marketplace is a Git repo (or local directory) with a marketplace.json manifest that lists installable plugins. Use when authoring marketplace.json, choosing where to place it, registering a marketplace via chat.plugins.marketplaces or copilot plugin marketplace add, or recommending marketplaces to a project with extraKnownMarketplaces and enabledPlugins. Keywords: marketplace.json, plugin marketplace, chat.plugins.marketplaces, copilot plugin marketplace add, extraKnownMarketplaces, enabledPlugins.

Marketplace Creator

A marketplace is a Git repo (or local directory) with a marketplace.json manifest that lists installable plugins. VS Code and the Copilot CLI read that manifest and offer its plugins for install. This skill covers authoring, registering, and installing from a marketplace.

To author the plugins a marketplace lists (plugin.json, skills, agents, hooks, MCP servers), use the plugin-creator skill first.

Official docs:

• VS Code: Agent plugins in VS Code (Preview) § Configure plugin marketplaces
• Copilot CLI: Creating a plugin marketplace for GitHub Copilot CLI

For the full schema, source forms, install layouts, and troubleshooting, load references/marketplace-reference.md.

Last verified: 2026-07-07. Agent plugins are a Preview feature, so there is no stable version to pin. See references/sources.md for the full source list. Re-verify if behavior differs.

Create a marketplace

1. Author the plugins

Each plugin needs its own plugin.json in a bounded subdirectory (e.g., plugins/<name>/). Use the plugin-creator skill to scaffold them.

2. Add marketplace.json

Place it at one of these paths (pick one). .claude-plugin/marketplace.json is the recommended default: it works in VS Code, the Copilot CLI, and Claude Code.

Path	Notes
.claude-plugin/marketplace.json	Recommended default.
.github/plugin/marketplace.json	Recommended by the Copilot CLI docs.
marketplace.json (repo root)	Recognized.
.plugin/marketplace.json	OpenPlugin-format layout.

{
  "name": "my-marketplace",
  "owner": { "name": "Your Organization", "email": "[e-mail]" },
  "metadata": { "description": "Curated plugins for our team", "version": "1.0.0" },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "frontend-design",
      "description": "Create a professional-looking GUI ...",
      "version": "2.1.0",
      "source": "./plugins/frontend-design"
    },
    {
      "name": "security-checks",
      "description": "Check for potential security vulnerabilities ...",
      "version": "1.3.0",
      "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "your-org/security-plugins", "path": "checks", "ref": "v1.3.0" }
    }
  ]
}

Required top-level fields: name (kebab-case, max 64 chars), owner, and plugins. Each plugin entry needs name and source. See references/marketplace-reference.md § marketplace.json for every field.

3. Point source at each plugin

source resolves relative to the marketplace repo root. It is one of:

• String — local subdirectory: "source": "./plugins/frontend-design". Point at a bounded subdirectory. Never use "source": "./"; it installs the whole repo instead of one plugin.
• Object — plugin in another repo: "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "owner/repo", "path": "subdir", "ref": "branch-tag-or-sha" }. Only repo is required; path selects a subdirectory; ref (or sha) pins a version.

See references/marketplace-reference.md § Source forms.

4. Validate

If your repo ships a validator, run it (this repo does):

python3 scripts/validate-marketplace.py

Register a marketplace

VS Code — add the repo to chat.plugins.marketplaces in settings.json:

"chat.plugins.marketplaces": [
  "owner/repo",
  "https://github.com/o/r.git",
  "[e-mail]:owner/repo.git",
  "file:///path/to/local-marketplace"
]

Copilot CLI:

copilot plugin marketplace add OWNER/REPO      # GitHub repo
copilot plugin marketplace add /path/to/local  # local directory
copilot plugin marketplace list

copilot-plugins and awesome-copilot are registered out of the box.

Install from a marketplace

• VS Code: Extensions view → search @agentPlugins → Install. The first install from a new marketplace shows a trust prompt.
• Copilot CLI: copilot plugin install PLUGIN-NAME@MARKETPLACE-NAME.

Recommend a marketplace to a project

Add extraKnownMarketplaces and enabledPlugins to .claude/settings.json or .github/copilot/settings.json to surface a marketplace and pre-enable plugins for everyone. VS Code shows these under @agentPlugins @recommended.

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "company-tools": {
      "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "your-org/plugin-marketplace" }
    }
  },
  "enabledPlugins": { "code-formatter@company-tools": true }
}

More

• Full schema, install layouts, and troubleshooting: references/marketplace-reference.md
• Public example marketplaces: github/copilot-plugins, github/awesome-copilot
• Sources and verification date: references/sources.md