Why This Matters#

A plugin is a set of add-ons for Claude Code packaged in a single folder. Just as a smartphone app extends the phone’s capabilities, a plugin adds new commands, skills, and automatic checks to Claude Code.

Plugins let you:

• 📦 Install ready-made solutions from the community
• 🔄 Reuse the same tools across different projects
• 👥 Share useful configurations with your team
• 🎯 Use specialized skills (code review, Git workflow, design)

Plugin Structure#

Each plugin is a folder with the following structure:

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json        ← Manifest (plugin passport)
├── commands/              ← Commands (slash commands)
│   └── my-command.md
├── agents/                ← Agents (specialized assistants)
│   └── my-agent.md
├── skills/                ← Skills (knowledge bases)
│   └── my-skill/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── hooks/                 ← Hooks (automatic checks)
│   └── hooks.json
└── README.md              ← Documentation

Manifest — plugin.json#

This is the plugin’s “passport.” Minimal version:

{
  "name": "my-plugin"
}

Recommended version with full info:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "What this plugin does",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "email@example.com"
  }
}

Rules for the name (name):

• Only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens: code-review ✅
• No spaces or uppercase letters: Code Review ❌
• Must start with a letter: 1-plugin ❌

Installing Plugins#

Method 1: From the Marketplace#

# Inside Claude Code, use the command
/plugins install code-review

Method 2: From a Local Folder (For Development)#

claude --plugin-dir ./path/to/my-plugin

Method 3: From a Git Repository#

Clone the repository and specify the path to the plugin folder.

Overview of Official Plugins#

🔍 code-review — Automated Code Review#

Conducts pull request reviews using specialized agents and a confidence scoring system.

{
  "name": "code-review",
  "description": "Automated code review for pull requests",
  "version": "1.0.0"
}

What it does: analyzes your code for errors, style, and security.

🪝 hookify — Creating Hooks via Markdown#

Lets you create hooks (automatic checks) through simple .local.md files instead of writing scripts.

{
  "name": "hookify",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "Easily create hooks to prevent unwanted behaviors"
}

What it does: analyzes patterns in the conversation and configures hooks. Includes commands /hookify:hookify, /hookify:list, /hookify:configure.

📝 pr-review-toolkit — Comprehensive Pull Request Analysis#

A set of 5+ specialized agents for deep PR analysis:

• code-reviewer — general code review
• pr-test-analyzer — test analysis
• comment-analyzer — comment analysis
• silent-failure-hunter — finding silent failures
• code-simplifier — code simplification
• type-design-analyzer — type analysis

📦 commit-commands — Simplified Git Operations#

Three convenient commands:

• /commit-commands:commit — create a commit
• /commit-commands:commit-push-pr — commit + push + create PR
• /commit-commands:clean_gone — clean up stale branches

🎨 frontend-design — Interface Design#

A skill for creating quality UI/UX implementations:

{
  "name": "frontend-design",
  "description": "Frontend design skill for UI/UX implementation"
}

🔒 security-guidance — Security Checks#

Hooks that automatically remind about security when editing files. Checks Edit, Write, MultiEdit operations.

🛠️ plugin-dev — Plugin Development#

Skills for creating your own plugins: structure, commands, hooks, skills.

📚 Other Plugins#

• explanatory-output-style — explanatory response style
• learning-output-style — educational response style
• ralph-wiggum — fun response style 😄
• feature-dev — feature development
• claude-opus-4-5-migration — migration to new models

How Plugin Commands Differ from Regular Ones#

When using plugins, commands get a namespace:

This prevents conflicts if two plugins have commands with the same name.

Step-by-Step: Using a Plugin#

Step 1: Download the Plugin#

# Clone the repository with plugins
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code-plugins

Step 2: Launch Claude Code with the Plugin#

claude --plugin-dir ./claude-code-plugins/plugins/code-review

Step 3: Use Plugin Commands#

> /code-review:code-review

Claude Code will perform an automated review of your code.

Lesson Summary#

• A plugin is a folder with a plugin.json manifest and a set of components
• Plugin components: commands, agents, skills, hooks
• The plugin name must be in kebab-case format (lowercase letters and hyphens)
• Plugin commands have a namespace: /plugin-name:command
• Ready-made plugins exist for code review, Git operations, design, and security
• Plugins are installed from the marketplace, a local folder, or a Git repository