creating-plugins

name	creating-plugins
description	Guide for creating Claude Code plugins with commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP servers. Use when the user wants to create a new plugin, add plugin components (commands, agents, hooks), set up a plugin marketplace, or needs help with plugin.json configuration.

Plugin Creator

Create Claude Code plugins to extend functionality with custom commands, agents, skills, hooks, and MCP servers.

Plugin Creation Workflow

1. Gather Requirements

Ask the user:

• What functionality should the plugin provide?
• Which components are needed? (commands, agents, hooks, MCP servers, skills)
• Who is the target audience? (personal, team, public)

2. Create Plugin Structure

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json      # Required
├── commands/            # Optional: slash commands
├── agents/              # Optional: sub-agents
├── skills/              # Optional: agent skills
├── hooks/               # Optional: event handlers
└── .mcp.json           # Optional: MCP servers

3. Write plugin.json

Minimal example:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "description": "Brief description",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "author": {"name": "Author Name"}
}

4. Add Components

Based on user requirements, add:

• Commands: See commands.md for slash command format
• Agents: See agents.md for agent definition format
• Hooks: See hooks.md for event handler configuration
• MCP Servers: See mcp-servers.md for server configuration

5. Test Locally

Create a test marketplace:

mkdir test-marketplace/.claude-plugin

Create test-marketplace/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json:

{
  "name": "test-marketplace",
  "owner": {"name": "Developer"},
  "plugins": [{"name": "my-plugin", "source": "./my-plugin"}]
}

Test commands:

/plugin marketplace add ./test-marketplace
/plugin install my-plugin@test-marketplace

Quick Reference

Command File (commands/hello.md)

---
description: Greet the user
---
# Hello Command
Greet the user warmly.

Agent File (agents/reviewer.md)

---
description: Code review specialist
capabilities: ["review", "suggestions"]
---
# Reviewer
Review code for quality and best practices.

Hooks (hooks/hooks.json)

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [{
      "matcher": "Write|Edit",
      "hooks": [{"type": "command", "command": "prettier --write $CLAUDE_FILE_PATH"}]
    }]
  }
}

References

Plugin Development

• Plugins Guide - Complete plugin creation guide
• Plugins Reference - Technical schemas and configurations
• Plugin Structure - Directory layout and plugin.json schema
• Marketplace - Plugin distribution

Plugin Components

• Commands - Slash command format
• Agents - Sub-agent definitions
• Hooks - Event handlers
• MCP Servers - External tool integration

Skills Development

• Skills Overview - What skills are and how they work
• Skills Best Practices - Writing effective skills
• Skills Schema - SKILL.md format and validation