Plugins are how you install a bundle of Claude Code extensions — commands, subagents, skills, hooks, MCP servers — in one move. The thing that confuses newcomers is that there’s no single app store. Plugins come from marketplaces you add yourself, and once a marketplace is registered, its plugins become installable. This guide covers that whole flow, plus how to build a marketplace to share a setup with your team.
It pairs with the best Claude Code plugins, which is about what to install; this one is about how. Commands in this area evolve, so if a step differs, the plugins documentation is the source of truth.
The model: marketplaces, then plugins
Two concepts, in order:
How plugin distribution works
| Marketplace | A source (usually a git repo with a manifest) that lists installable plugins |
|---|---|
| Plugin | A bundle of extensions you install from a marketplace |
| /plugin | The command to browse, install, and manage plugins |
So you don’t install a plugin out of thin air — you add the marketplace that offers it, then install from there. This is what lets teams and projects publish their own sets rather than everything funneling through one registry.
Step 1: add a marketplace
A marketplace is typically backed by a git repository containing a manifest of the plugins it offers. You register it with Claude Code by its location. The general shape:
/plugin marketplace add <owner/repo-or-url>That points Claude Code at the marketplace’s manifest. Once added, the plugins it lists are available to install. Verify it registered before moving on — a typo’d repo is the usual reason a marketplace shows nothing.
Step 2: browse and install
With a marketplace added, browse what it offers and install a plugin:
/pluginThat opens the plugin interface where you can see available plugins and install one. Before you confirm, look at what the plugin bundles — especially whether it adds MCP servers (which cost context) or hooks (which run commands). A plugin’s contents matter more than its description.
Step 3: confirm it loaded
After installing, check that the plugin’s pieces are active. If it added slash commands, they show up in the command menu. If it bundled MCP servers, /mcp lists them. If it added subagents, /agents shows them. Seeing the parts appear is how you confirm the install worked rather than assuming it did.
If something’s missing, the usual causes are the same as anywhere in Claude Code: a server that failed to launch (check the cmd /c wrapper on native Windows, covered in the MCP setup guide), or a plugin that didn’t fully install.
Step 4: manage and remove
Plugins accumulate. Use /plugin to list what’s installed and remove anything you’ve stopped using. Removing a plugin takes its bundled pieces with it — the cleanest way to undo a setup. Treat this like dependency hygiene: prune periodically so you’re not carrying servers and hooks you forgot about.
Building your own marketplace
This is the real payoff for teams. Instead of asking everyone to hand-configure the same commands, agents, skills, and servers, you publish them as a plugin in a marketplace and have the team install it. A marketplace is essentially a repository with a manifest describing the plugins it offers.
The high-level steps:
- Put your extensions — commands, agents, skills, hooks, MCP server configs — in a repository, organized as a plugin.
- Add a marketplace manifest that lists the plugin(s) and points to them.
- Share the repo location with your team.
- They run
/plugin marketplace add <your-repo>and install.
your-marketplace-repo/
.claude-plugin/ # marketplace manifest
plugins/
team-setup/
commands/
agents/
skills/
hooks/The exact manifest format is in the plugin marketplaces docs — follow it precisely, since the manifest is what Claude Code reads to know what’s on offer.
Installing and managing plugins
- Add a marketplace with /plugin marketplace add
- Browse and install with /plugin
- Review what a plugin bundles before confirming
- Verify with /mcp, /agents, or the command menu
- Remove unused plugins to keep context lean
- For teams, publish a marketplace so everyone installs one setup
Wrapping up
Installing a plugin is a two-part flow: add the marketplace, then install from it with /plugin. The discipline is in reviewing what each plugin bundles — hooks run commands, MCP servers cost context — and pruning what you don’t use. For teams, the marketplace model turns “everyone configure the same thing” into a single install, which is the strongest reason to engage with plugins at all.
For what’s worth installing once you know how, see the best Claude Code plugins, and for the bigger picture, the power-user guide.
