| name | scout-plugins |
| description | Research new/updated Claude Code plugins, MCP servers, and skills released in
the last week (or custom time window). Evaluates each against the current
dev-team plugin setup, identifies gaps, and proposes enhancements with priority
and effort. Usage: /scout-plugins or /scout-plugins 2w or /scout-plugins 30d
|
| argument-hint | [time window, e.g. 1w, 2w, 30d — default: 1w] |
Scout Plugins
Systematic competitive intelligence scan of the Claude Code plugin ecosystem.
Arguments
/scout-plugins — scan the last 1 week (default)/scout-plugins 2w — scan the last 2 weeks/scout-plugins 30d — scan the last 30 days/scout-plugins 3m — scan the last 3 months
Parse the argument to determine the time window. Default to 1 week if omitted.
Step 0: Load current capabilities
Read in parallel to understand what the dev-team plugin already provides:
_gc=$(git rev-parse --git-common-dir 2>/dev/null) \
&& MROOT=$(cd "$(dirname "$_gc")" && pwd) \
|| MROOT=$(pwd)
$MROOT/README.md — current feature set, commands, agents (changelog lives in $MROOT/CHANGELOG.md)$MROOT/AGENTS.md — project rules and conventions$MROOT/.claude-plugin/plugin.json — current version
Build a mental inventory of:
- All commands/skills and what they do
- All agents and their capabilities
- Review workflow, memory system, TDD gates, orchestration features
- Recent changelog entries (what was added recently — avoid re-discovering it)
Step 1: Research (parallel web searches)
Run these searches in parallel, adjusting date terms for the time window:
Search batch 1 (plugin ecosystem)
Claude Code plugins released updated <month> <year>Claude Code MCP servers new plugins <month> <year>Claude Code plugin marketplace new releases <date range>
Search batch 2 (community & repos)
site:github.com claude code plugin <year> <month>awesome claude code extensions plugins <year>Claude Code skills hooks agents new <month> <year>
Search batch 3 (specific categories)
Claude Code code review plugin <year>Claude Code memory context plugin <year>Claude Code testing TDD plugin <year>Claude Code orchestration workflow plugin <year>
Collect all unique plugins, skills, MCP servers, and tools mentioned.
Step 2: Filter and deduplicate
From the search results, build a candidate list. For each candidate:
- Name and author
- What it does (1-2 sentences)
- When released/updated (within the time window?)
- Install count or stars (if available)
- Source URL (GitHub repo or marketplace link)
Discard:
- Anything released before the time window
- Anything already installed or incorporated into dev-team (check changelog)
- Anything clearly low-quality (no README, no stars, abandoned)
Step 3: Deep evaluation of top candidates
For each candidate that passes the filter (up to 10), do a deeper dive:
3a. Fetch details
Read the plugin's README, SKILL.md, or documentation page. Understand:
- Exact features and commands provided
- Architecture (sub-agents, hooks, MCP servers, etc.)
- Dependencies and requirements
- License
3b. Gap analysis against dev-team
For each candidate, answer:
| Question | Answer |
|---|
| Does dev-team already do this? | fully / partially / no |
| If partially, what's missing? | specific gap |
| Would adopting this improve dev-team? | yes / maybe / no |
| Effort to incorporate | low / medium / high |
| Could we steal the idea instead of the plugin? | yes / no |
3c. Classify
Assign each candidate to one of:
- ADOPT — install or incorporate this; clear value add
- STEAL — don't adopt wholesale, but steal specific ideas/patterns
- WATCH — interesting but not actionable yet; revisit next scan
- SKIP — not relevant or already covered
Step 4: Output the report
═══ PLUGIN SCOUT REPORT ═══════════════════════════════
Time window: <start date> → <end date>
Current version: dev-team v<version>
Candidates scanned: <N>
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
## ADOPT (clear value — incorporate into dev-team)
### <plugin-name> by <author> — <stars/installs>
What: <1-2 sentences>
Gap: <what dev-team is missing>
Effort: <low/medium/high>
Source: <URL>
---
## STEAL (borrow ideas, not the whole plugin)
### <plugin-name> by <author>
What: <1-2 sentences>
Idea to steal: <specific technique or pattern>
How to apply: <where in dev-team this would go>
Effort: <low/medium/high>
---
## WATCH (revisit next scan)
- <plugin-name> — <why it's interesting but not ready>
---
## SKIP (already covered or not relevant)
- <plugin-name> — <reason>
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Omit any section with no entries.
Step 5: Enhancement proposal
If any ADOPT or STEAL candidates were found, produce an enhancement table:
## Proposed Enhancements
| Priority | Enhancement | Inspired By | Effort | Affects |
|----------|-------------|-------------|--------|---------|
| High | <what> | <plugin> | Low | <files> |
| Medium | <what> | <plugin> | Medium | <files> |
Step 6: Save the report
Save the full report to:
WTROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)
Print:
Report saved to: .claude/plans/<date>-scout-plugins.md
Next steps:
- Review ADOPT items and decide which to implement
- Schedule implementation with /kickoff for each approved enhancement
- Run /scout-plugins again in <time window> to stay current
Rules
- Always compare against the CURRENT state of dev-team, not an older version
- Be honest about gaps — don't dismiss competitors to protect ego
- Be skeptical about install counts — read the actual code/README
- Prefer stealing ideas over adopting whole plugins (less dependency, more control)
- If a plugin does something dev-team does but better, say so explicitly
- Note license compatibility (dev-team is MIT — flag GPL/AGPL conflicts)
- If nothing interesting was found in the time window, say so — don't invent findings
