# Plugin Creator > Scaffold Codex plugin packages with deterministic manifests, marketplace metadata, and traceability or evidence contracts for non-trivial adoption. Use when creating plugin roots or adopting existing skills into plugin ownership. - Skill: `jscraik/plugin-creator` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 20 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jscraik/plugin-creator` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jscraik/plugin-creator/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: jscraik (https://skillmd.com/u/jscraik) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jscraik/plugin-creator --- # Plugin Creator ## Core Philosophy - Start minimal, then add only requested surfaces. - Keep naming and manifest shape deterministic. ## When to Use Use for initial plugin scaffolding. ## Inputs - plugin name and destination scope - optional marketplace update intent - optional existing skill path to adopt by move ## Outputs Return: `schema_version`, `plugin_name`, `plugin_path`, `validation`, optional `blocked_by`. For non-trivial plugins, also return `factory_governance` with plugin posture, visibility policy, traceability mode, budget posture, and risks. ## Workflow Use the detailed scaffold procedure in `references/workflow.md`. Apply the context-disposition policy: move important still-valid context to references, and intentionally discard stale, duplicated, unsafe, superseded, or low-signal text. Classify reusable, delivery-oriented, visible-family, or `coding-harness` plugins with [references/factory-governance-spine.md](./references/factory-governance-spine.md). Keep one-skill plugins minimal. Apply the OpenAI-style plugin design contract during scaffold shape decisions: keep the root-visible surface small, split child skills by distinct user intent, declare side-effect classes early, and leave confirmation behavior for install, external write, destructive, or completion-gating actions. Add bundled hooks only when lifecycle behavior is explicitly requested, and prefer `hooks/hooks.json`. Read when: - You need full plugin scaffold and marketplace update flow: [references/workflow.md](./references/workflow.md). - You need plugin posture, visibility, budget, traceability, or session-evidence rules: [references/factory-governance-spine.md](./references/factory-governance-spine.md). - You need side-effect, context-minimization, user-control, or output-shape guidance: [OpenAI-style plugin design contract](../../../../../Infrastructure/references/openai-style-plugin-design-contract.md). - You need to choose whether the requested factory work should build a new artifact, improve an existing one, stay docs-only, or stop: [First-principles factory gate](../../../../../Infrastructure/references/first-principles-factory-gate.md). ## Required Behavior - folder name must equal manifest `name` - keep required policy/category fields ## Encouraging Variation - adapt only to requested scope (repo-local, home-local, or migration) - include optional surfaces only when requested - vary scaffold examples for marketplace, private/internal, and skill-adoption requests while keeping manifest fields deterministic ## Constraints - redact secrets and tokens in generated examples - do not overwrite existing plugin roots unless force semantics are explicit ## Execution Boundaries Create or adopt plugin-owned canonical source only. Do not edit generated runtime mirrors, user-level plugin copies, or marketplace projections as the source of truth. Keep plugin scaffolding separate from skill hardening. Route detailed skill quality work to [[skill-builder]] after the plugin package has deterministic ownership, manifest policy, and validation evidence. If the destination plugin root, marketplace ownership, or skill-adoption move semantics are ambiguous, stop and ask before writing. For non-trivial factory work, include `first_principles_gate` or an explicit `first_principles_gate_status: not_applicable` with the reason in the output or handoff before claiming readiness. ## Failure mode - Stop on unclear plugin ownership, destination conflicts, manifest policy gaps, or ambiguous adoption semantics. - Report the exact blocker and the smallest safe next action instead of creating a partial plugin surface. ## Validation ```bash python3 Skills/skill-builder/Infrastructure/scripts/quick_validate.py Plugins/plugin-factory/skills/scaffolding_templates/plugin-creator bash Infrastructure/scripts/validation-and-linting/validate_skill_authoring_family.sh ``` Fail fast: stop at first failed gate and report blocker text. ## Gotchas - A plugin scaffold is not a release claim; it still needs skill hardening and eval evidence before distribution. - Copying a skill into a plugin without moving canonical ownership creates drift. - Marketplace metadata is a policy surface. Keep it explicit and deterministic. ## Anti-Patterns - missing `.codex-plugin/plugin.json` - adding hook config when no lifecycle behavior was requested - partial marketplace policy fields - copying existing skills instead of moving canonical ownership ## Examples - "Create a repo-local plugin called `linear-helpers` with the required `.codex-plugin/plugin.json`, but do not add marketplace metadata yet." - "Create `review-tools` as a plugin and add it to the local marketplace with explicit installation and authentication policy fields." - "Move my existing `agent-ops/branch-cleanup` skill into a new plugin without leaving a duplicate canonical copy." - "Can you migrate this GitHub workflow helper into a plugin scaffold and validate the manifest before marketplace wiring?" ## References - `references/workflow.md` - `references/factory-governance-spine.md` - `references/contract.yaml` - `references/evals.yaml` - `references/task-profile.json` - `references/plugin-json-spec.md` - `../../../../../Infrastructure/references/openai-style-plugin-design-contract.md` - `../../../../../Infrastructure/references/software-literature-expert-lens-pack.md` - `../../../../../Infrastructure/references/software-literature-skill-expertise-map.md` - `assets/` ## Remember - The agent is capable of extraordinary plugin work when the scaffold stays deterministic. Keep names boring, policy fields explicit, and optional surfaces limited to what the user actually asked for.