marketplace-publishing

name	marketplace-publishing
description	Workflow for publishing skills and agents to the dotnet-skills Claude Code marketplace. Covers adding new content, updating plugin.json, validation, and release tagging. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"aaronontheweb"}

Marketplace Publishing Workflow

This skill documents how to publish skills and agents to the dotnet-skills Claude Code marketplace.

Repository Structure

dotnet-skills/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   ├── marketplace.json      # Marketplace catalog
│   └── plugin.json           # Plugin metadata + skill/agent registry
├── .github/workflows/
│   └── release.yml           # Release automation
├── skills/
│   ├── akka/                 # Akka.NET skills
│   │   ├── best-practices/SKILL.md
│   │   ├── testing-patterns/SKILL.md
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── aspire/               # .NET Aspire skills
│   ├── csharp/               # C# language skills
│   ├── testing/              # Testing framework skills
│   └── meta/                 # Meta skills
├── agents/
│   └── *.md                  # Agent definitions
└── scripts/
    └── validate-marketplace.sh

Adding a New Skill

Step 1: Choose a Category

Skills are organized by domain:

Category	Purpose
akka/	Akka.NET actor patterns, testing, clustering
aspire/	.NET Aspire orchestration, testing, configuration
csharp/	C# language features, coding standards
testing/	Testing frameworks (xUnit, Playwright, Testcontainers)
meta/	Meta skills about this marketplace

Create a new category folder if none fits.

Step 2: Create the Skill Folder

Create a folder with SKILL.md inside:

skills/<category>/<skill-name>/SKILL.md

Example: skills/akka/cluster-sharding/SKILL.md

Step 3: Write the SKILL.md

---
name: my-new-skill
description: Brief description of what this skill does and when to use it.
---

# My New Skill

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- [List specific scenarios]

---

## Content

[Comprehensive guide with examples, patterns, and anti-patterns]

Requirements:

• name must be lowercase with hyphens (e.g., cluster-sharding)
• description should be 1-2 sentences explaining when Claude should use this skill
• Content should be 10-40KB covering the topic comprehensively
• Include concrete code examples with modern C# patterns

Step 4: Register in plugin.json

Add the skill path to .claude-plugin/plugin.json in the skills array:

{
  "skills": [
    "./skills/akka/best-practices",
    "./skills/akka/cluster-sharding"  // Add new skill here
  ]
}

Step 5: Validate

Run the validation script:

./scripts/validate-marketplace.sh

Step 6: Commit Together

git add skills/akka/cluster-sharding/ .claude-plugin/plugin.json
git commit -m "Add cluster-sharding skill for Akka.NET Cluster Sharding patterns"

---

Adding a New Agent

Step 1: Create the Agent File

Create a markdown file in /agents/:

---
name: my-agent-name
description: Expert in [domain]. Specializes in [specific areas]. Use for [scenarios].
model: sonnet
color: blue
---

You are a [domain] specialist with deep expertise in [areas].

**Reference Materials:**
- [Official docs and resources]

**Core Expertise Areas:**
[List expertise areas]

**Diagnostic Approach:**
[How the agent analyzes problems]

Requirements:

• name must be lowercase with hyphens
• model must be one of: haiku, sonnet, opus
• color is optional (used for UI display)

Step 2: Register in plugin.json

Add to the agents array:

{
  "agents": [
    "./agents/akka-net-specialist",
    "./agents/my-agent-name"  // Add new agent here
  ]
}

Step 3: Commit Together

git add agents/my-agent-name.md .claude-plugin/plugin.json
git commit -m "Add my-agent-name agent for [domain] expertise"

---

Publishing a Release

Versioning

Update the version in .claude-plugin/plugin.json:

{
  "version": "1.1.0"
}

Use semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH):

• MAJOR: Breaking changes (renamed/removed skills)
• MINOR: New skills or agents added
• PATCH: Fixes or improvements to existing content

Release Process

1. Update version in plugin.json

2. Validate

   ./scripts/validate-marketplace.sh
   

3. Commit version bump

   git add .claude-plugin/plugin.json
   git commit -m "Bump version to 1.1.0"
   

4. Create and push tag

   git tag v1.1.0
   git push origin master --tags
   

5. GitHub Actions will automatically:

   • Validate the marketplace structure
   • Create a GitHub release with auto-generated notes

---

User Installation

Users install the complete plugin (all skills and agents):

# Add the marketplace (one-time)
/plugin marketplace add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills

# Install the plugin (gets everything)
/plugin install dotnet-skills

# Update to latest version
/plugin marketplace update

---

Validation Checklist

Before committing:

• SKILL.md has valid YAML frontmatter with name and description
• Skill folder is under appropriate category
• Path added to plugin.json skills array
• For agents: model is specified (haiku/sonnet/opus)
• ./scripts/validate-marketplace.sh passes

---

Troubleshooting

Skill not appearing after install

• Verify the path in plugin.json matches the folder structure
• Check that SKILL.md exists in the folder
• Try reinstalling: /plugin uninstall dotnet-skills && /plugin install dotnet-skills

Validation errors

• Ensure JSON is valid: jq . .claude-plugin/plugin.json
• Check for trailing commas in arrays
• Verify all referenced folders contain SKILL.md

Release not created

• Ensure tag follows semver format (v1.0.0)
• Check GitHub Actions logs for errors
• Verify plugin.json version matches the tag

---

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