Plugin Development Guide

This meta-skill provides an overview of Claude Code plugin development and routes to specialized skills based on the task at hand.

Plugin Development Skills Overview

The plugin-dev toolkit provides 9 specialized skills for building Claude Code plugins, plus this guide. Each skill handles a specific domain of plugin development.

Skill Quick Reference

Skill Purpose

plugin-structure Directory layout, manifest, component organization

command-development Simple prompts (single .md files in commands/)

agent-development Autonomous subagents

skill-development Complex prompts with bundled resources (skills/)

hook-development Event-driven automation

mcp-integration Model Context Protocol servers

lsp-integration Language Server Protocol for code intelligence

plugin-settings User configuration via .local.md

marketplace-structure Plugin marketplace creation

When to Use Each Skill

Starting a New Plugin

Skill: plugin-structure

Use when the user needs to:

• Create a new plugin from scratch

• Understand plugin directory layout

• Configure plugin.json manifest

• Learn about component auto-discovery

• Use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} for portable paths

Adding User-Facing Commands

Skill: command-development

Use when the user needs to:

• Create slash commands (/command-name)

• Configure command frontmatter (description, allowed-tools, model)

• Use dynamic arguments ($ARGUMENTS, $1, $2)

• Reference files with @ syntax

• Execute bash inline with [BANG] backticks

Creating Autonomous Agents

Skill: agent-development

Use when the user needs to:

• Create subagents for complex tasks

• Write agent system prompts

• Configure agent triggering (description with examples)

• Choose agent models and colors

• Restrict agent tool access

Building Skills

Skill: skill-development

Use when the user needs to:

• Create skills that extend Claude's capabilities

• Write SKILL.md with proper frontmatter

• Organize skill content with progressive disclosure

• Create references/, examples/, scripts/ directories

• Write effective trigger phrases

Implementing Event Hooks

Skill: hook-development

Use when the user needs to:

• React to Claude Code events (PreToolUse, Stop, SessionStart, etc.)

• Create prompt-based or command-based hooks

• Validate tool inputs before execution

• Enforce completion standards

• Block dangerous operations

Integrating External Services via MCP

Skill: mcp-integration

Use when the user needs to:

• Add MCP servers to plugins

• Configure stdio, SSE, HTTP, or WebSocket servers

• Set up authentication (OAuth, tokens)

• Use MCP tools in commands and agents

• Discover existing MCP servers on PulseMCP

Adding Code Intelligence via LSP

Skill: lsp-integration

Use when the user needs to:

• Add Language Server Protocol servers to plugins

• Enable go-to-definition and find-references

• Configure language-specific servers (pyright, gopls, rust-analyzer)

• Set up extensionToLanguage mappings

• Enhance Claude's code understanding

Managing Plugin Configuration

Skill: plugin-settings

Use when the user needs to:

• Store user-configurable settings

• Use .claude/plugin-name.local.md pattern

• Parse YAML frontmatter in hooks

• Create temporarily active hooks

• Manage agent state

Creating Plugin Marketplaces

Skill: marketplace-structure

Use when the user needs to:

• Create a marketplace for multiple plugins

• Configure marketplace.json

• Set up plugin sources (relative, GitHub, git URL)

• Distribute plugins to teams

• Organize plugin collections

Decision Tree for Skill Selection

User wants to... ├── Create/organize a plugin structure? → plugin-structure ├── Add a simple slash command (no bundled resources)? → command-development ├── Create an autonomous agent? → agent-development ├── Add a complex skill with scripts/references? → skill-development ├── React to Claude Code events? → hook-development ├── Integrate external service/API? → mcp-integration ├── Add code intelligence/LSP? → lsp-integration ├── Make plugin configurable? → plugin-settings └── Distribute multiple plugins? → marketplace-structure

Common Multi-Skill Workflows

Building a Complete Plugin

• Start: Load plugin-structure skill to create directory layout

• Add features: Load command-development for user-facing commands

• Automation: Load hook-development for event-driven behavior

• Configuration: Load plugin-settings if user configuration needed

• Validation: Use plugin-validator agent to validate structure

Creating an MCP-Powered Plugin

• Start: Load plugin-structure for basic structure

• Integration: Load mcp-integration to configure MCP servers

• Commands: Load command-development to create commands that use MCP tools

• Agents: Load agent-development for autonomous MCP workflows

Building a Code Intelligence Plugin

• Start: Load plugin-structure for basic structure

• LSP: Load lsp-integration to configure language servers

• Commands: Load command-development for commands using LSP features

Building a Skill-Focused Plugin

• Start: Load plugin-structure for basic structure

• Skills: Load skill-development to create specialized skills

• Validation: Use skill-reviewer agent to validate skill quality

Available Agents

The plugin-dev plugin also provides 3 agents:

Agent Purpose

plugin-validator Validates plugin structure and manifests

skill-reviewer Reviews skill quality and triggering

agent-creator Generates new agents from descriptions

Use agents proactively after creating components to ensure quality.

Available Commands

Command Purpose

/plugin-dev:plugin-dev-guide

Overview and skill routing

/plugin-dev:start

Entry point - choose plugin or marketplace creation

/plugin-dev:create-plugin

8-phase guided plugin creation workflow

/plugin-dev:create-marketplace

8-phase guided marketplace creation workflow

User Request

$ARGUMENTS

If the user provided a request above, analyze it and either:

• Route to a specific skill if the request clearly matches one domain

• Answer directly using this guide's overview information

• Ask for clarification if the request is ambiguous

If no request was provided, summarize the available plugin development capabilities and ask what the user wants to build or learn about.