claude-plugins

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from review. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: claude-plugins
description: This skill should be used when creating plugins, publishing to marketplaces, or when "plugin.json", "marketplace", "create plugin", or "distribute plugin" are mentioned.
metadata:
  version: "1.0.0"
  related-skills:
    - claude-plugin-audit
    - claude-agents
    - claude-commands
    - claude-hooks
    - skills-dev
    - claude-rules
    - claude-config
---

# Claude Plugin Development

Complete lifecycle for developing, validating, and distributing Claude Code plugins.

## Steps

1. Define plugin scope and components needed
2. Initialize plugin structure with `plugin.json`
3. If adding commands, load the `outfitter:claude-commands` skill
4. If adding agents, load the `outfitter:claude-agents` skill
5. If adding hooks, load the `outfitter:claude-hooks` skill
6. If adding skills, load the `outfitter:skills-dev` skill
7. Delegate by loading the `outfitter:claude-plugin-audit` skill for validation
8. Fix issues and distribute

## Quick Start

```bash
# 1. Scaffold plugin
./scripts/scaffold-plugin.sh my-plugin --with-commands

# 2. Add components (commands, agents, hooks, skills)
# 3. Test locally
/plugin marketplace add ./my-plugin
/plugin install my-plugin@my-plugin

# 4. Distribute
git push origin main --tags
```

## Lifecycle Overview

```
Discovery -> Init -> Components -> Validate -> Distribute -> Marketplace
    |         |          |            |            |             |
    v         v          v            v            v             v
 Purpose   Scaffold   Commands    Structure    Package      Catalog
  Scope    plugin.json  Agents     Testing     Version      Publish
  Type      README      Hooks      Quality     Release       Share
```

## Stage 1: Discovery

Before creating a plugin, clarify:

| Question | Impact |
|----------|--------|
| What problem does this solve? | Plugin scope and features |
| Who will use it? | Distribution method |
| What components are needed? | Commands, agents, hooks, MCP servers |
| Where will it live? | Personal, project, or marketplace |

## Stage 2: Initialization

### Standalone Plugin

Standalone plugins need their own `.claude-plugin/plugin.json`:

```
my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json      # Required for standalone
├── README.md            # Required for distribution
├── commands/            # Optional components
├── agents/
├── skills/
└── hooks/
```

### plugin.json (Standalone)

```json
{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Brief description of what this plugin does",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "license": "MIT"
}
```

### Marketplace with Local Plugins (Consolidated)

For marketplaces where all plugins live in the same repo, use `strict: false` to consolidate metadata. Plugins don't need their own manifests:

```
my-marketplace/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── marketplace.json # All metadata here (strict: false)
├── plugin-a/
│   └── commands/
├── plugin-b/
│   └── skills/
└── README.md
```

### marketplace.json (Consolidated)

```json
{
  "name": "my-marketplace",
  "owner": {
    "name": "Team Name",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "strict": false,
  "plugins": [
    {"name": "plugin-a", "source": "./plugin-a", "version": "1.0.0", "description": "Plugin A", "license": "MIT"},
    {"name": "plugin-b", "source": "./plugin-b", "version": "1.0.0", "description": "Plugin B", "license": "MIT"}
  ]
}
```

**Benefits:** Single source of truth, no version drift between marketplace and plugin manifests.

For external plugins (GitHub repos), use minimal entries and let the external repo own its manifest.

See [structure.md](references/structure.md) for complete plugin.json schema.

## Stage 3: Components

Add components based on plugin needs. See Steps section for which skills to load.

### Slash Commands

Create custom commands in `commands/` directory:

```markdown
---
description: "Review code for quality issues"
---

Review the following code: {{