Claude Code Plugins: How to Install, Use and Build Them (2026)

Last Updated: November 6, 2026

Summary: Claude Code plugins are installable packages that bundle skills, subagents, hooks and MCP servers into one unit. Run /plugin in Claude Code to browse Anthropic's official marketplace, which is added automatically, then install with a command like /plugin install commit-commands@claude-plugins-official. Plugins cost nothing extra, but every enabled plugin adds to your context usage and runs with your user permissions.

Claude Code is powerful out of the box, but most teams end up building the same things on top of it: a review checklist, a deploy command, a connection to their issue tracker. Plugins are Anthropic's answer to sharing that setup. Install one and you get someone else's finished configuration with a single command, plus updates when they improve it.

This guide explains what Claude Code plugins are, how to install and manage them, which marketplaces to trust, what they cost in context and security, and how to build your own. Commands and details were checked against Anthropic's official Claude Code documentation in November 2026.

A Claude Code plugin is a directory of components that Claude Code installs and loads as one unit. According to Anthropic's plugin documentation, a plugin can hold any mix of these:

Anthropic introduced plugins in public beta on October 9, 2025, calling them its "standard way to bundle and share Claude Code customizations" in the launch announcement. They work in the terminal, the Claude Desktop app's Code tab and the VS Code extension.

Skills, subagents, hooks and MCP servers all work on their own without a plugin. A plugin is simply the packaging. If you only need one skill for yourself, our guide to Claude Code skills shows how to set it up directly. Plugins make sense when you want several pieces bundled together, installed in one step and kept up to date.

Start Claude Code in your project with claude, then run /plugin to open the plugin panel on its Discover tab, or install a specific plugin by name. Anthropic's docs use the commit-commands plugin, which adds commands for committing, pushing and opening pull requests, as the example:

In the Desktop app, click the + button next to the prompt box and choose Add plugins. In VS Code, type /plugins to open Manage plugins. To install from a script without opening a session, use claude plugin install <name>@<marketplace> in your shell.

Project scope is how teams standardize tools, but committing the setting only turns the plugin on. Each teammate still installs it once on their own machine. If the same plugin is set at several scopes, local overrides project and project overrides user.

Plugins come from marketplaces, which are catalogs that list plugins and where to fetch each one. A marketplace is usually a GitHub repository with a .claude-plugin/marketplace.json file. Anthropic publishes three general marketplaces, described in its marketplace guide:

Most of the official marketplace comes from tool vendors whose plugins connect Claude Code to their services. Anthropic maintains a smaller set of its own, including commit-commands, code-review, feature-dev, security-guidance and language server plugins for code intelligence. You can also browse the full catalog on the web at Claude Marketplace, which shows install counts and marks some plugins as Anthropic verified.

One common mix-up: older tutorials tell you to run /plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-code. That adds the demo marketplace, not the official one. Most demo plugins also exist in the official marketplace under the same names, so install them from claude-plugins-official to avoid duplicate copies.

Many popular plugins live in their authors' own marketplaces rather than Anthropic's. To use one, add it once, then install its plugins by name:

Then install with /plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name. Private marketplaces work too, using the git credentials already on your machine. Anthropic does not review third-party marketplaces, so read the next section before adding one.

A plugin can run code with your user privileges, whatever marketplace it comes from. Its hooks fire automatically and its MCP servers run alongside every session where it is enabled. Anthropic's documentation is direct about it: what the plugin runs, it runs as you.

That makes a few habits worth keeping:

Plugins are free to install, but they are not free to run. An enabled plugin is part of every session, not only the ones where you use it. For each skill, agent and command Claude can call on its own, the name and description sit in Claude's context on every turn. Those tokens count toward your usage and leave less room in the context window, even when nothing from the plugin runs.

You can check the footprint at each stage:

The practical rule: install what you will use weekly and disable the rest with /plugin or claude plugin disable. That matters more on plans with tighter limits. Our Claude API pricing guide explains how tokens translate into cost.

Auto-update is on by default for Anthropic's official marketplace and off for community, third-party and local marketplaces. You can switch it per marketplace on the Marketplaces tab. A running session keeps the versions it loaded; updates apply in the next session or after /reload-plugins.

Two other details trip people up. Plugins you turn on in your claude.ai account sync into terminal sessions under the name name@synced. And cloud sessions, including Claude Code on the web at claude.ai/code, do not load plugins installed on your own machine.

A plugin is a folder with a manifest and the components you want to share. The manifest is a JSON file at .claude-plugin/plugin.json that gives the plugin its name and can add a version and description. A simple plugin looks like this:

While building, you don't need a marketplace. Start Claude Code with --plugin-dir pointing at your folder to load the plugin for one session. When it's ready, publish it through your own marketplace repository, or submit it to Anthropic's community marketplace so others can find it.

For teams, a private marketplace is the cleanest way to share internal tooling. Put your plugins in one repository, have each developer add it once, and enable the plugins at project scope in each codebase.

For an individual developer, plugins save setup time. For a company, they turn scattered personal configurations into a shared, versioned standard.

As more engineering teams adopt Claude Code, plugins are how they keep everyone on the same setup. Our Claude Code statistics page tracks its growth, and our Claude Code vs Cursor comparison covers how it stacks up against the leading AI editor.

What are Claude Code plugins?
Claude Code plugins are packages that bundle skills, subagents, hooks and MCP servers so Claude Code can install them as one unit. Most come from marketplaces such as Anthropic's official claude-plugins-official catalog, and you install them with the /plugin command in a Claude Code session.

How do I install a Claude Code plugin?
Run /plugin in a Claude Code session to browse the Discover tab, or run /plugin install followed by the plugin and marketplace name, such as commit-commands@claude-plugins-official. Review what it adds, choose user, project or local scope, then type / to find its commands.

Are Claude Code plugins free?
Installing plugins costs nothing extra, but enabled plugins add their skill and agent descriptions to Claude's context on every turn, which counts toward your usage. Plugins in Anthropic's official marketplace show a context cost estimate before you install, and you can disable plugins you don't use.

Are Claude Code plugins safe to install?
A plugin runs code with your user permissions, including hooks and MCP servers, so review its details before installing. Anthropic maintains the official marketplace but does not review third-party marketplaces. Companies can allowlist or block marketplaces through managed settings.

What is the difference between a Claude Code plugin and a skill?
A skill is a single set of instructions Claude loads when relevant. A plugin is a package that can contain several skills plus subagents, hooks and MCP servers, installed together and updated from a marketplace. Use a standalone skill for personal tweaks and a plugin to share a full setup.

Do Claude Code plugins work on the web?
No. Cloud sessions, including Claude Code on the web at claude.ai/code, do not load plugins installed on your own machine. Plugins work in the terminal, the Claude Desktop app's Code tab and the VS Code extension, which all share the same settings files on one computer.

Claude Code plugins turn a personal setup into something you can install, share and update with one command. Start with Anthropic's official marketplace, which Claude Code adds for you, and install the few plugins you will actually use, since every enabled plugin adds to your context on every turn.

For teams, the bigger win is standardization. A private marketplace with project-scoped plugins gives every developer the same tools, connections and guardrails from their first day.

Written by the AI Business Weekly Editorial Team. Reviewed, edited and published by Sameer Khan. This article was AI-assisted, then reviewed by Sameer Khan before publishing.