Plugins

A plugin bundles up commands, skills, subagents, hooks, and MCP servers into a single installable unit, instead of you assembling each piece by hand.

Add the official marketplace, then browse and install from it:

add anthropics/claude-plugins-official

From there you can install whatever plugins the marketplace offers — or build and share your own, packaged the same way.

Check the marketplace before hand-rolling

This is a good default first move when setting up a new team member, or when you’re about to build a custom skill or command for something fairly common. Before writing it yourself, check whether an official or community plugin already covers it — it might save you the whole exercise.

See Onboarding Checklist for where this fits into getting a new teammate set up.

Check yourselfWhat's the difference between installing a plugin and writing your own skill from scratch?

Installing a plugin gets you a pre-built, already-tested bundle — commands, skills, subagents, hooks, and/or MCP servers — maintained by someone else, in one step. Writing your own skill from scratch means you own the whole thing: the instructions, keeping it up to date, and making sure it actually triggers correctly. Reach for a plugin first when one already covers your need; write your own when nothing does or you need something genuinely project-specific.