plugin-management

name	plugin-management
description	Discover, evaluate, install, test, and manage agent plugins for VS Code Copilot
compatibility	>=3.2

Plugin Management

Skill metadata: version "1.0"; license MIT; tags [plugins, agents, extensions, discovery, management]; compatibility ">=3.2"; recommended tools [codebase, runCommands, editFiles].

Agent plugins (VS Code 1.110+, Preview) are installable packages that bundle agents, skills, hooks, MCP servers, and slash commands. This skill covers discovering, evaluating, installing, testing, and managing plugins alongside the template's own customization files.

When to use

• The user asks to find, list, install, or manage agent plugins
• A task would benefit from a plugin-provided agent or skill
• You need to check for conflicts between plugin-contributed and workspace-level agents or skills
• The user wants to test the template as a local plugin

Discovery

User wants a plugin
 │
 ├─ 1. CHECK INSTALLED — list installed plugins
 │     Run in Extensions view: filter @agentPlugins
 │     Or check VS Code settings for chat.plugins.paths (local dev plugins)
 │     ├─ Found  → verify it meets the need → DONE
 │     └─ Not found → ↓
 │
 ├─ 2. SEARCH — find plugins in configured marketplaces
 │     Extensions view → search @agentPlugins <keyword>
 │     Or browse chat.plugins.marketplaces URLs
 │     ├─ Found → evaluate (see Quality Gate below) → install
 │     └─ Not found → ↓
 │
 └─ 3. RECOMMEND ALTERNATIVE — no suitable plugin exists
       Consider: workspace skill (.github/skills/), MCP server, or custom tool

Quality gate

Before recommending or installing a plugin, verify:

• Publisher trust — known publisher or verified organization
• Maintenance — updated within 12 months; no abandoned or archived repo
• No credential exposure — plugin does not require secrets beyond standard VS Code secret storage
• Conflict check — no naming collisions with existing workspace agents, skills, or hooks
• Scope review — plugin only requests the minimum capability it needs (check the contributed agent and skill metadata for unnecessary tool access)

Plugins failing two or more checks are rejected.

Conflict resolution

When a plugin contributes an agent or skill with the same name as a workspace file:

Conflict type	Resolution
Agent name collision	Workspace agent takes priority. VS Code shows source in tooltip.
Skill name collision	Project skills (.github/skills/) override plugin skills.
Hook collision	Workspace hooks fire alongside plugin hooks — check for duplicate behaviour.

Use the Agent Debug Panel (Developer: Open Agent Debug Panel) to see exactly which agents, skills, and hooks are loaded and from which source.

Settings reference

Setting	Purpose
chat.plugins.enabled	Enable/disable plugin discovery (boolean)
chat.plugins.marketplaces	URLs of Git repositories serving as plugin marketplaces
chat.plugins.paths	Local paths for plugin development/testing

Testing the template as a plugin

To preview how the template's agents, skills, hooks, and prompts appear as plugin-contributed customizations:

1. Clone the template repo (or use an existing local copy)

2. Add to VS Code settings:

   "chat.plugins.paths": {
       "/path/to/copilot-instructions-template": true
   }
   

3. Reload VS Code — plugin-contributed agents appear in the Copilot dropdown

4. Verify: open the Agent Debug Panel to confirm agents, skills, and hooks are loaded

5. Check for conflicts with any workspace-level agents in .github/agents/

Managing installed plugins

1. List — Extensions view → filter @agentPlugins to see all installed plugins
2. Inspect — select a plugin to see its contributed agents, skills, and commands
3. Disable — right-click → Disable to temporarily suppress a plugin
4. Remove — right-click → Uninstall to fully remove

Verify

• Requested plugin was found or a suitable alternative was identified
• Quality gate was applied before installation
• No unresolved naming conflicts between plugin and workspace agents/skills
• Agent Debug Panel confirms correct loading order and source attribution