locating-plugin-source-code

name

Locating Plugin Source Code

description

Use when you need to find the source code location of installed plugins, explore plugin structure, access reference materials in plugins, or debug plugin issues. Provides step-by-step guidance to trace installed plugins back to their local repository locations by reading ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json and navigating to the installPath. Useful for finding skills, commands, reference docs, or understanding plugin implementation.

Locating Plugin Source Code

This skill helps you find and navigate to the source code of installed Claude Code plugins.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Find the source code location of an installed plugin
• Access reference materials within a plugin (e.g., JWT security docs in pr-review)
• Explore plugin structure and organization
• Debug plugin issues or understand implementation details
• Contribute to or modify a locally-installed plugin
• Find specific skill files or command files within a plugin

How Plugin Installation Works

When plugins are installed locally:

• Installation metadata is stored in ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json
• Each plugin entry contains an installPath pointing to the actual source code location
• For local marketplace installations, the path typically points to a git repository on your machine

Step-by-Step: Finding Plugin Source Code

Step 1: Read the Installation Metadata

Read the installed plugins file to find plugin information:

# Read the installed plugins metadata
cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json

This file contains entries like:

{
  "version": 1,
  "plugins": {
    "plugin-name@marketplace-name": {
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "installedAt": "2025-10-27T17:15:15.309Z",
      "lastUpdated": "2025-10-27T17:15:15.309Z",
      "installPath": "/Users/username/src/marketplace-repo/plugin-name",
      "gitCommitSha": "abc123...",
      "isLocal": true
    }
  }
}

Key field: The installPath contains the absolute path to the plugin's source code.

Step 2: Navigate to the Plugin Source

Use the installPath from Step 1 to navigate to the plugin:

cd /path/from/installPath

Step 3: Explore Plugin Structure

Once in the plugin directory, explore its contents:

# List the plugin structure
ls -la

# Find all markdown files (skills, commands, reference docs)
find . -name "*.md" -o -name "*.MD"

# Find specific content (e.g., JWT security docs)
find . -name "*jwt*" -o -name "*security*"

Step 4: Access Specific Components

Common plugin structure:

plugin-name/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json        # Plugin manifest
├── skills/
│   └── skill-name/
│       ├── SKILL.md       # Main skill file
│       └── reference/     # Additional documentation
│           ├── best-practices.md
│           └── examples.md
├── commands/
│   └── command-name.md    # Slash commands
└── README.md

To read specific files, use the Read tool with the full path:

• Skills: {installPath}/skills/{skill-name}/SKILL.md
• Reference docs: {installPath}/skills/{skill-name}/reference/{doc-name}.md
• Commands: {installPath}/commands/{command-name}.md

Example: Finding pr-review JWT Security Docs

Goal: Find JWT security best practices in the pr-review skill.

Step 1: Read installed plugins

cat ~/.claude/plugins/installed_plugins.json

Step 2: Locate the pr-review plugin entry and extract installPath

"bbrowning-claude@bbrowning-marketplace": {
  "installPath": "/Users/bbrowning/src/bbrowning-claude-marketplace/bbrowning-claude"
}

Step 3: Find markdown files in that location

find /Users/bbrowning/src/bbrowning-claude-marketplace/bbrowning-claude -name "*.md"

Step 4: Locate the JWT security reference

/Users/bbrowning/.../skills/pr-review/reference/jwt-security.md

Step 5: Read the file Use the Read tool on the full path.

Validation Checklist

After locating plugin source code:

• Verified installPath exists in installed_plugins.json
• Confirmed the directory exists at the installPath
• Found the plugin's .claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest
• Located the specific component (skill, command, reference doc) you need
• Successfully read the target file

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Finding All Skills in a Plugin

# From the installPath
find . -name "SKILL.md"

Pattern 2: Finding Reference Documentation

# Look for reference directories
find . -type d -name "reference"

# List reference docs in a specific skill
ls skills/skill-name/reference/

Pattern 3: Searching for Specific Content

# Find files containing specific keywords
grep -r "jwt" . --include="*.md"
grep -r "security" . --include="*.md"

Tips

• Multiple plugins from same marketplace: If a marketplace contains multiple plugins, each will have its own subdirectory within the marketplace repository
• Local vs remote plugins: The isLocal field indicates if the plugin is installed from a local path (true) or remote git URL (false)
• Git repository: If the plugin is in a git repository, you can see the installed commit via gitCommitSha
• Plugin updates: The lastUpdated timestamp shows when the plugin was last updated

Troubleshooting

Problem: installPath directory doesn't exist

• The plugin may have been moved or the marketplace repository relocated
• Check if the repository exists elsewhere on your system
• Reinstall the plugin if necessary

Problem: Can't find specific file in plugin

• Verify you're looking in the correct component directory (skills/ vs commands/)
• Check the plugin's plugin.json to see which directories are configured
• Some plugins may organize files differently than expected

Problem: Multiple versions of same plugin

• Check all entries in installed_plugins.json for the plugin name
• The marketplace suffix (@marketplace-name) distinguishes different sources