// manage babysitter plugins. use this command to see the list of installed babysitter plugins, their status, and manage them (install, update, uninstall, list from marketplace, add marketplace, configure plugin, create new plugin, etc).
Submit feedback or contribute to babysitter project
Set up a project for babysitting. Guides you through onboarding a new or existing project — researches the codebase, interviews you about goals and workflows, builds the project profile, installs the best tools, and optionally configures CI/CD integration.
Resume orchestrating of a babysitter run. use this command to resume babysitting a complex workflow.
Analysis for a run and its results, process, suggestions for process improvements, process optimizations, fixes, etc. for the next runs.
Set up babysitter for yourself. Guides you through onboarding — installs dependencies, interviews you about your specialties and preferences, builds your user profile, and configures the best tools for your workflow.
Orchestrate via @babysitter. Use this skill when asked to babysit a run, orchestrate a process or whenever it is called explicitly. (babysit, babysitter, orchestrate, orchestrate a run, workflow, etc.)
| name | plugins |
| description | manage babysitter plugins. use this command to see the list of installed babysitter plugins, their status, and manage them (install, update, uninstall, list from marketplace, add marketplace, configure plugin, create new plugin, etc). |
This command installs and manages plugins for babysitter. A plugin is a version-managed package of contextual instructions (for install, uninstall, configure, and update/migrate between versions), not a conventional software plugin.
if the command is run without arguments, it lists all installed plugins with their name, version, marketplace, installation date, and last update date. as well as marketplaces added to the system. and instructions on how to install new plugins from marketplaces. if there are no marketplaces added, add the default marketplace:
babysitter plugin:add-marketplace --marketplace-url https://github.com/a5c-ai/babysitter --marketplace-path plugins/a5c/marketplace/marketplace.json --global --json
Plugins can be installed at two scopes:
--global): stored under ~/.a5c/, available for all projects--project): stored under <projectDir>/.a5c/, project-specificMarketplaces are git repositories containing a marketplace.json manifest and plugin package directories. The SDK clones them locally with --depth 1.
Storage locations:
~/.a5c/marketplaces/<name>/<projectDir>/.a5c/marketplaces/<name>/The marketplace name is derived from the git URL's last path segment (stripping .git suffix and trailing slashes).
babysitter plugin:add-marketplace --marketplace-url <url> [--marketplace-path <relative-path>] [--marketplace-branch <ref>] [--force] --global|--project [--json]
Clones the marketplace repository to the local marketplaces directory. Use --marketplace-path to specify the relative path to marketplace.json within the repo (for monorepos or repos where the manifest is not at the root). Use --marketplace-branch to clone a specific branch, tag, or ref (defaults to the repo's default branch). Use --force to replace an existing marketplace clone (deletes and re-clones).
babysitter plugin:update-marketplace --marketplace-name <name> [--marketplace-branch <ref>] --global|--project [--json]
Runs git pull on the local marketplace clone to fetch latest changes. Use --marketplace-branch to switch to a different branch before pulling (works even with shallow clones).
babysitter plugin:list-plugins --marketplace-name <name> --global|--project [--json]
Reads the marketplace.json manifest and returns all available plugins sorted alphabetically by name. Each entry includes: name, description, latestVersion, versions array, packagePath, tags, and author.
Note: For plugin:install, plugin:update, plugin:configure, and plugin:list-plugins, the --marketplace-name flag is auto-detected when only one marketplace is cloned for the given scope. You can omit it if there's only one marketplace.
babysitter plugin:update-marketplace --marketplace-name <name> --global|--projectbabysitter plugin:list-installed --global|--project to see installed plugins and versionsbabysitter plugin:install --plugin-name <name> [--marketplace-name <mp>] --global|--project [--json]
This command resolves the plugin package path from the marketplace manifest, reads install.md from the plugin package directory, and returns the installation instructions. If an install-process.js file exists, the instructions may reference it as an automated install process.
install.mdbabysitter plugin:update-registry --plugin-name <name> --plugin-version <ver> --marketplace-name <mp> --global|--project [--json]
babysitter plugin:update --plugin-name <name> --marketplace-name <mp> --global|--project [--json]
This command:
migrations/ directory for migration filesMigration filename format: <fromVersion>_to_<toVersion>.<ext> where:
1.0.0, 2.0.0-beta).md for markdown instructions, .js for executable process files1.0.0_to_1.1.0.md, 2.0.0-beta_to_2.0.0.jsAfter performing the migration steps, update the registry:
babysitter plugin:update-registry --plugin-name <name> --plugin-version <new-ver> --marketplace-name <mp> --global|--project [--json]
babysitter plugin:uninstall --plugin-name <name> --marketplace-name <mp> --global|--project [--json]
Reads uninstall.md from the plugin package directory and returns the uninstall instructions. After performing the uninstall steps, remove from registry:
babysitter plugin:remove-from-registry --plugin-name <name> --global|--project [--json]
babysitter plugin:configure --plugin-name <name> --marketplace-name <mp> --global|--project [--json]
Reads configure.md from the plugin package directory and returns configuration instructions.
The plugin registry (plugin-registry.json) tracks installed plugins with schema version 2026.01.plugin-registry-v1. Writes use atomic file operations (temp + rename) for crash safety.
Storage locations:
~/.a5c/plugin-registry.json<projectDir>/.a5c/plugin-registry.jsonbabysitter plugin:list-installed --global|--project [--json]
Returns all installed plugins sorted alphabetically. In --json mode, returns an array of registry entries. In human mode, displays a formatted table with name, version, marketplace, and timestamps.
babysitter plugin:remove-from-registry --plugin-name <name> --global|--project [--json]
Removes a plugin entry from the registry. Returns error if the plugin is not present.
To create a new plugin package from scratch, use the meta/plugin-creation babysitter process. This process guides you through requirements analysis, structure design, instruction authoring, optional process file generation, validation, and marketplace integration.
Orchestrate a babysitter run with the plugin creation process:
# Create inputs file
cat > /tmp/plugin-inputs.json << 'EOF'
{
"pluginName": "my-plugin",
"description": "What the plugin does — be specific about install/configure/uninstall behavior",
"scope": "project",
"outputDir": "./plugins",
"components": {
"installProcess": false,
"configureProcess": false,
"uninstallProcess": false,
"migrations": false,
"processFiles": false
},
"marketplace": {
"name": "my-marketplace",
"author": "my-org",
"tags": ["category1", "category2"]
}
}
EOF
# Create and run
babysitter run:create \
--process-id meta/plugin-creation \
--entry library/specializations/meta/plugin-creation.js#process \
--inputs /tmp/plugin-inputs.json \
--prompt "Create a new babysitter plugin package" \
--json
The process creates a complete plugin package directory:
| File | Description |
|---|---|
install.md | Agent-readable installation instructions with numbered steps |
uninstall.md | Reversal instructions for clean removal |
configure.md | Configuration options table and adjustment instructions |
install-process.js | (optional) Automated babysitter process for complex install steps |
configure-process.js | (optional) Automated configuration process |
process/main.js | (optional) Main process the plugin contributes |
marketplace-entry.json | Ready-to-use marketplace.json entry for publishing |
For simple plugins that only need instruction files, you can create the package manually following the structure below and the Plugin Author Guide.
my-plugin/
package.json # Optional (name field used as plugin ID, falls back to directory name)
install.md # Markdown instructions for installation
uninstall.md # Markdown instructions for removal
configure.md # Markdown instructions for configuration
install-process.js # Optional automated install process
uninstall-process.js # Optional automated uninstall process
configure-process.js # Optional automated configure process
migrations/ # Version migration files
1.0.0_to_1.1.0.md
1.1.0_to_2.0.0.js
process/ # Process definition files (collected recursively)
main.js
All commands accept --json for machine-readable output and --global|--project.
| Command | Required Flags | Description |
|---|---|---|
plugin:add-marketplace | --marketplace-url, --global|--project [--marketplace-path, --marketplace-branch, --force] | Clone a marketplace repository |
plugin:update-marketplace | --marketplace-name, --global|--project [--marketplace-branch] | Pull latest marketplace changes (optionally switch branch) |
plugin:list-plugins | --marketplace-name, --global|--project | List available plugins in a marketplace |
plugin:install | --plugin-name, --marketplace-name, --global|--project | Get install instructions for a plugin |
plugin:uninstall | --plugin-name, --marketplace-name, --global|--project | Get uninstall instructions for a plugin |
plugin:update | --plugin-name, --marketplace-name, --global|--project | Resolve migration chain and get update instructions |
plugin:configure | --plugin-name, --marketplace-name, --global|--project | Get configuration instructions for a plugin |
plugin:list-installed | --global|--project | List all installed plugins |
plugin:update-registry | --plugin-name, --plugin-version, --marketplace-name, --global|--project | Register or update a plugin entry |
plugin:remove-from-registry | --plugin-name, --global|--project | Remove a plugin entry from the registry |
After working with plugins, prompt the user to share improvements or report issues:
/babysitter:contrib library contribution: improved [plugin-name] [install|configure|uninstall] instructions/babysitter:contrib library contribution: new plugin [plugin-name] -- [description]/babysitter:contrib bug report: [description, e.g. "plugin:update-registry fails when marketplace hasn't been cloned"]/babysitter:contrib bug report: [plugin-name] install instructions [description of what was wrong]/babysitter:contrib feature request: plugin idea -- [description]Even reporting that a plugin's instructions were unclear helps improve it for the next user.