Claude Code Plugins & Skills Guide

Comprehensive guide to installed plugins and skills on the cluster.

Last Updated: December 5, 2025

Overview

4 plugin marketplaces with dozens of skills:

Marketplace	Focus	Key Plugins
neely-brain-dump-marketplace	Infrastructure & context	Database queries, SSH, machine profiles
anthropic-agent-skills	Document processing	PDF, XLSX, DOCX, PPTX, frontend design
superpowers-marketplace	Development discipline	TDD, debugging, brainstorming, planning
claude-code-plugins-plus	Full-stack development	254 plugins, generators, overnight dev

Tier 1: Best-in-Class (Highly Recommended)

neely-brain-dump Skills

Your infrastructure context - always accurate.

Skill	Use When
`neely-brain-dump:machine-context`	Need hardware/software specs for any cluster node
`neely-brain-dump:ssh-management`	Need SSH access, container IPs, tunnel info
`neely-brain-dump:databases`	Query PubMed (4.5M), Legal (9.2M), StackOverflow (18.5M), ArXiv (2.8M)
`neely-brain-dump:file-search`	Search files across cluster via Elasticsearch
`neely-brain-dump:plugin-guide`	This guide - what skills exist and when to use them

superpowers Skills

Enforce disciplined development workflows. Opinionated but effective.

Skill	Use When
`superpowers:brainstorming`	Planning a new feature - forces one question at a time
`superpowers:test-driven-development`	Writing any new code - enforces RED-GREEN-REFACTOR
`superpowers:systematic-debugging`	Any bug - 4-phase process prevents random fixes
`superpowers:writing-plans`	Need implementation roadmap
`superpowers:verification-before-completion`	Before marking anything done

Key insight: These are "opinionated by design" - they force discipline. The TDD skill literally says "delete code written before tests."

example-skills (Anthropic Official)

Professional document creation and processing.

Skill	Use When
`example-skills:pdf`	Read, create, merge, split, OCR PDFs
`example-skills:xlsx`	Excel/spreadsheet work with formulas
`example-skills:docx`	Word documents with formatting
`example-skills:pptx`	PowerPoint presentations
`example-skills:frontend-design`	Building UIs - anti "AI slop" aesthetics

Tier 2: Useful Specialists

fullstack-starter-pack

Generate boilerplate for full-stack apps. 15 plugins.

Command	Use When
`/project-scaffold`	Start a new full-stack project
`/express-api-scaffold`	Generate Express.js API
`/fastapi-scaffold`	Generate FastAPI backend
`/prisma-schema-gen`	Create database schemas
`/component-generator`	Generate React components
`/auth-setup`	Add JWT/OAuth authentication

overnight-dev

Git hooks that block commits until tests pass - Claude works autonomously overnight.

Use when: Well-defined, testable task and want Claude to iterate until green.

Other Useful Skills

Skill	Use When
`example-skills:mcp-builder`	Creating new MCP servers
`example-skills:skill-creator`	Creating new skills
`example-skills:webapp-testing`	Testing web apps with Playwright
`example-skills:canvas-design`	Creating visual art/posters
`example-skills:algorithmic-art`	Generative art with p5.js

Tier 3: Specialized / Situational

Document Skills

Skill	Notes
`example-skills:doc-coauthoring`	Structured workflow for writing docs
`example-skills:internal-comms`	Templates for status reports, updates
`example-skills:brand-guidelines`	Anthropic brand colors/fonts
`example-skills:theme-factory`	10 pre-set themes for artifacts

claude-code-plugins-plus Categories

254 plugins across:

productivity/ - Taskwarrior, YAML tools, content validators
devops/ - CI/CD, Docker, deployment
security/ - Security scanning, auditing
database/ - Schema tools, query builders
ai-ml/ - ML experiment logging, model tools

Known Issues

Broken Plugins (Don't Use)

Plugin	Issue
`formatter@claude-code-plugins-plus`	Duplicate hooks file error
`security-agent@claude-code-plugins-plus`	Invalid manifest
`design-to-code@claude-code-plugins-plus`	Invalid manifest

Recommendations by Task

Infrastructure Work

neely-brain-dump:machine-context  (hardware/software context)
neely-brain-dump:ssh-management   (access and IPs)
neely-brain-dump:file-search      (find files across cluster)
neely-brain-dump:databases        (query 377GB of data)

Development Work

superpowers:brainstorming         (design before code)
superpowers:test-driven-development (write tests first)
superpowers:systematic-debugging  (debug methodically)

Document Work

example-skills:pdf                (PDF manipulation)
example-skills:xlsx               (spreadsheets with formulas)
example-skills:docx               (Word documents)

Building Apps

fullstack-starter-pack commands   (scaffolding)
example-skills:frontend-design    (creative UIs)
overnight-dev                     (autonomous TDD)

Quick Reference: Invoking Skills

# Invoke a skill (loads the full documentation)
Skill("neely-brain-dump:databases")
Skill("superpowers:brainstorming")
Skill("example-skills:pdf")

# Run slash commands
/superpowers:brainstorm      # Interactive design session
/superpowers:write-plan      # Create implementation plan
/overnight-setup             # Set up overnight dev hooks
/project-scaffold            # Generate full-stack project

Skill Philosophy Summary

Marketplace	Philosophy
neely-brain-dump	"Know your infrastructure" - rich context about YOUR setup
superpowers	"Discipline beats talent" - rigid workflows that prevent mistakes
example-skills	"Do it right" - professional-grade document/code handling
plugins-plus	"Don't reinvent" - generators and boilerplate for common tasks

Maintenance Notes

Skills load from markdown files - can be updated without reinstalling
neely-brain-dump skills reference YOUR actual infrastructure - keep current
superpowers skills evolve - always run current version
Some plugins in claude-code-plugins-plus have manifest errors

plugin-guide