# Claude Code Plugin Builder

> Creates Claude Code plugins with proper manifest structure, directory layout, and components (commands, agents, skills, hooks, MCP servers). This is for Claude Code plugins (`.claude-plugin/plugin.json`) — for Codex plugins (`.codex-plugin/plugin.json`) use the `plugin-creator` skill, and for Cursor plugins (`.cursor-plugin/plugin.json`) use the `create-plugin-scaffold` skill instead. Use when user requests creating plugins, adding slash commands, integrating MCP servers, setting up hooks, migrating Gemini extensions, or mentions "plugin.json", ".claude-plugin", or "marketplace.json". Handles plugin testing, debugging, and marketplace distribution.

- Skill: `pleaseai/claude-code-plugin-builder` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add pleaseai/claude-code-plugin-builder`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/pleaseai/claude-code-plugin-builder/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: pleaseai (https://skillmd.com/u/pleaseai)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/pleaseai/claude-code-plugin-builder

---


# Claude Code Plugin Builder

Expert skill for developing professional Claude Code plugins.

## Critical Directory Rules

Components MUST be at plugin root, NOT inside `.claude-plugin/`:

```
✅ CORRECT:
plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json  # Only manifest here
├── commands/                    # At root
├── agents/                      # At root
├── skills/                      # At root
└── hooks/                       # At root

❌ WRONG:
plugin/.claude-plugin/
├── plugin.json
├── commands/      # Won't load
└── agents/        # Won't load
```

## Plugin Creation Workflow

### 1. Initialize Structure

```bash
mkdir -p my-plugin/.claude-plugin
mkdir -p my-plugin/{commands,agents,skills,hooks}
```

### 2. Create Manifest

**Minimal** (`my-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json`):
```json
{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "What this plugin does"
}
```

**Complete**:
```json
{
  "name": "plugin-name",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Brief description",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "email@example.com",
    "url": "https://github.com/user"
  },
  "repository": "https://github.com/org/repo",
  "license": "MIT",
  "keywords": ["tag1", "tag2"],
  "hooks": "./hooks/hooks.json",
  "mcpServers": {
    "server-name": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@org/package"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "${API_KEY:-}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### 3. Add Components

**Commands** (user-invoked):
```markdown
<!-- commands/deploy.md -->
---
description: Deploy to production
validation:
  requiresFiles: ["package.json"]
---

# Deploy Command

1. Verify deployment readiness
2. Execute: npm run deploy
3. Monitor deployment status
4. Report results
```

**Agents** (autonomous specialists):
```markdown
<!-- agents/security-expert.md -->
---
description: Security vulnerability analysis expert
capabilities: ["vulnerability-scan", "audit", "remediation"]
---

# Security Expert

Specializes in OWASP vulnerabilities, CVE analysis, dependency scanning.

Invoke for: security audits, vulnerability assessments, compliance reviews.
```

**Skills** (model-invoked expertise):
```markdown
<!-- skills/incident-response/SKILL.md -->
---
name: Incident Response
description: Production incident handling including rollback, root cause analysis, postmortem. Use when production outages, security breaches, critical bugs, or user mentions "incident", "production down", "rollback".
---

# Incident Response

## Protocol
1. Assess severity (P0-P4)
2. Contain: rollback/disable/rate-limit
3. Investigate: logs, metrics, recent changes
4. Resolve: fix, test, deploy, verify
5. Document: postmortem, lessons learned

See [incident-procedures.md](./incident-procedures.md) for detailed runbooks.
```

**Hooks** (event automation):
```json
{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [{
      "matcher": "Write|Edit",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/format.sh",
        "timeout": 30
      }]
    }]
  }
}
```

**MCP Servers** (external integration):
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://localhost/db"],
      "env": {
        "PGPASSWORD": "${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

## Component Selection Guide

| Need | Component | Example |
|------|-----------|---------|
| User triggers action | Command | `/deploy production` |
| Autonomous specialist | Agent | Security analysis |
| Auto-invoked expertise | Skill | Incident response |
| Event automation | Hook | Format after write |
| External system | MCP Server | Database queries |

## Testing Workflow

### Local Development

**Checklist:**
- [ ] Create dev marketplace
- [ ] Add plugin to marketplace
- [ ] Install for testing
- [ ] Test each component
- [ ] Iterate and reload

**Setup:**
```bash
# 1. Create marketplace
cat > .claude-plugin/marketplace.json <<EOF
{
  "name": "dev",
  "owner": {"name": "Dev"},
  "plugins": [{
    "name": "my-plugin",
    "source": {"source": "path", "path": "."}
  }]
}
EOF

# 2. Install
claude
/plugin marketplace add /path/to/dev-marketplace
/plugin install my-plugin@dev

# 3. Test
/my-plugin:command-name

# 4. Reload after changes
/plugin uninstall my-plugin@dev
/plugin install my-plugin@dev
```

### Debug Mode

```bash
claude --debug  # Shows plugin loading, errors, registration
```

## Common Issues

| Issue | Solution |
|-------|----------|
| Plugin not loading | Validate JSON: `jq . .claude-plugin/plugin.json` |
| Commands missing | Ensure `commands/` at root, not in `.claude-plugin/` |
| Hooks not firing | `chmod +x hooks/script.sh`, use `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` |
| MCP server fails | Use `${VAR:-}` for optional env vars, test command independently |
| Skill not activating | Add specific triggers: file types, error patterns, keywords |

## Marketplace Creation

```json
{
  "name": "company-plugins",
  "owner": {
    "name": "Company",
    "email": "dev@company.com"
  },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "plugin-name",
      "description": "What it does",
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "org/repo"
      }
    }
  ]
}
```

**Distribution:**
- GitHub: `/plugin marketplace add owner/repo`
- Git URL: `/plugin marketplace add https://git.server.com/plugins.git`
- Local: `/plugin marketplace add ./marketplace`

## Gemini CLI Migration

**Checklist:**
- [ ] Create `.claude-plugin/` directory
- [ ] Convert `gemini-extension.json` → `plugin.json`
- [ ] Migrate `GEMINI.md` to SessionStart hook
- [ ] Update README with Claude Code install
- [ ] Test with `claude --debug`

**Quick migrate:**
```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

mkdir -p .claude-plugin hooks

# Extract from gemini-extension.json
NAME=$(jq -r '.name' gemini-extension.json)
VERSION=$(jq -r '.version' gemini-extension.json)
DESC=$(jq -r '.description' gemini-extension.json)

# Create plugin.json
cat > .claude-plugin/plugin.json <<EOF
{
  "name": "$NAME",
  "version": "$VERSION",
  "description": "$DESC",
  "hooks": "./hooks/hooks.json"
}
EOF

# Create SessionStart hook
cat > hooks/hooks.json <<'EOF'
{
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [{
      "matcher": "startup",
      "hooks": [{
        "type": "command",
        "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/context.sh",
        "timeout": 10
      }]
    }]
  }
}
EOF

cat > hooks/context.sh <<'EOF'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
CONTEXT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/CONTEXT.md"
if [ -f "$CONTEXT" ]; then
  jq -n --arg ctx "$(cat "$CONTEXT")" '{
    "hookSpecificOutput": {
      "hookEventName": "SessionStart",
      "additionalContext": $ctx
    }
  }'
fi
EOF

chmod +x hooks/context.sh
[ -f GEMINI.md ] && cp GEMINI.md hooks/CONTEXT.md
```

## Best Practices

**Manifest:**
- Use semantic versioning
- Include keywords for discovery
- Document env vars in README

**Commands:**
- Clear descriptions for `/help`
- Single responsibility per command
- Add validation rules

**Agents:**
- Define clear expertise boundaries
- Specify invocation criteria
- Document tool usage

**Skills:**
- Descriptions with concrete triggers (file types, error patterns, keywords)
- Keep SKILL.md under 500 lines
- Use reference files for details: `[details](./reference.md)`
- Focus on workflows, not explanations

**Hooks:**
- Scripts executable: `chmod +x`
- Use `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` for paths
- Include timeouts
- Return proper JSON

**MCP Servers:**
- Prefer npx for npm packages: `npx -y @org/package`
- Use `${VAR:-}` for optional env vars
- Use fully qualified tool names: `ServerName:tool_name`
- Test command independently

## Progressive Disclosure

For complex plugins:
- Keep SKILL.md concise with workflows
- Link to reference files one level deep
- Organize by task, not by concept
- Example structure:
  ```
  skills/plugin-expert/
  ├── SKILL.md              # Core workflows
  ├── components.md         # Component details
  ├── testing.md            # Testing procedures
  ├── troubleshooting.md    # Common issues
  └── examples/             # Example plugins
  ```

## Quick Reference

**Commands:**
```bash
/plugin marketplace add owner/repo
/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace
/plugin uninstall plugin-name@marketplace
/plugin list
claude --debug
```

**Paths:**
- `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` - Plugin directory
- `${VAR:-}` - Optional env var
- `${VAR}` - Required env var

**Events:**
- SessionStart, SessionEnd
- PreToolUse, PostToolUse
- UserPromptSubmit
- Notification, Stop, SubagentStop
- PreCompact

## Resources

For detailed information:
- Component examples: [examples.md](./examples.md)
- Ready-to-use templates: [templates.md](./templates.md)
- Complete guides: [README.md](./README.md)

Official docs:
- [Plugins](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugins)
- [Plugin Reference](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugins-reference)
- [Marketplaces](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/plugin-marketplaces)
- [MCP](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)