Marketplaces

A marketplace is a catalog (typically a git repo) listing plugins others can install. Install from one with:

# add a marketplace, then install
/plugin marketplace add patterson-agents/design-system
/plugin install patterson-brand@patterson-design

# see what is installed
/plugin list

# develop locally without installing
claude --plugin-dir ~/work/my-plugin

{
  "name": "patterson-design",
  "owner": { "name": "Patterson Engineering" },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "patterson-brand",
      "source": "./plugins/brand",
      "description": "Brand tokens, logo assets, and voice guidance",
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "keywords": ["design", "brand"]
    }
  ]
}

Installed plugins are cached under ~/.claude/plugins; orphaned versions are deleted 7 days after an update or uninstall. Publishers can add relevance blocks so Claude Code suggests the plugin when a user's work matches, declare version constraints on plugin dependencies, and emit CLI hint markers that prompt users to install the official plugin.

Check your understanding

Question 1Where do installed plugins live?

Question 2How do you test a plugin during development without installing it?