Marketplace Manager

Guidelines for authoring, appending, and distributing plugin marketplace catalogs.

Step 1: Initialize the Marketplace

To create a new marketplace:

1. Create directory: Create a dedicated git repository or local path for the catalog.
2. Create config directory: Create a .claude-plugin/ directory at the root.
3. Create catalog file: Create a marketplace.json file inside .claude-plugin/.
4. Add basic setup metadata (name must be kebab-case):

   {
     "name": "my-marketplace",
     "owner": {
       "name": "My Name",
       "email": "optional@example.com"
     },
     "plugins": []
   }
   

Reserved names (blocked by Claude Code): claude-code-marketplace, claude-code-plugins, claude-plugins-official, anthropic-marketplace, anthropic-plugins, agent-skills, knowledge-work-plugins, life-sciences. Names that impersonate official marketplaces (e.g. official-claude-plugins) are also blocked.

Step 2: Add Plugin Entries

To add entries to your marketplace plugins list:

1. Define the name (kebab-case).
2. Specify the source — choose the type that matches your hosting:

Source Types

Same-repo subdirectory (monorepo — verified working)

{ "source": "./plugins/my-plugin-folder" }

Path is resolved relative to the marketplace root (the directory containing .claude-plugin/), not from .claude-plugin/ itself. Must start with ./.

Note: Relative paths only work when the marketplace is added via Git (GitHub, GitLab, git URL). If added via a direct URL to marketplace.json, relative paths fail — use github, npm, or url sources instead.

GitHub repository

{ "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "owner/repo", "ref": "v2.0.0", "sha": "a1b2c3d..." } }

ref and sha are optional. Omit to use the default branch.

Monorepo subdirectory via sparse clone (avoids fetching whole repo)

{ "source": { "source": "git-subdir", "url": "https://github.com/owner/repo", "path": "plugins/my-plugin" } }

Note: field is path (not subdir), and the key is source (not type). Also accepts GitHub shorthand or SSH URLs.

npm package

{ "source": { "source": "npm", "package": "@scope/my-plugin", "version": "^1.0.0", "registry": "https://registry.npmjs.org" } }

version defaults to latest; registry defaults to the public npm registry.

Non-GitHub git host

{ "source": { "source": "url", "url": "https://gitlab.com/owner/repo.git", "ref": "main" } }

The .git suffix is optional — Azure DevOps and AWS CodeCommit URLs without it work fine.

3. Set strict mode:

   • strict: true (default) — plugin's own plugin.json is authoritative; marketplace entry can supplement with additional components.
   • strict: false — marketplace entry IS the entire definition; plugin must NOT also have a plugin.json declaring components (conflict = plugin fails to load).

4. Optional: use metadata.pluginRoot to shorten relative source paths. Setting "pluginRoot": "./plugins" lets you write "source": "formatter" instead of "source": "./plugins/formatter".

5. Optional: pin a version. Warning: do not set version in both the marketplace entry and the plugin's plugin.json — plugin.json wins silently and the marketplace version is ignored. For relative-path plugins, set version in the marketplace entry. For all other sources, set it in plugin.json.

Plugin Author Note: In hooks or server configs, use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} (read-only install path) and ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA} (persistent state directory) instead of absolute host paths.

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Step 3: Validate Before Publishing

Run validation to catch schema errors before consumers see them:

/plugin validate .
# or via CLI:
claude plugin validate .

Validator checks: plugin.json, skill/agent/command frontmatter, hooks/hooks.json syntax and schema.

Common errors:

Error	Solution
File not found: .claude-plugin/marketplace.json	Create the file with required fields
Duplicate plugin name "x"	Give each plugin a unique name
plugins[0].source: Path contains ".."	Use paths without ..
YAML frontmatter failed to parse	Fix YAML syntax in the skill/agent file

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Step 4: Distribution

Publishing to GitHub (verified — Claude Code 2.1.81+)

1. Create .claude-plugin/marketplace.json at the repo root (not inside a subdirectory).
2. Commit and push to the default branch (main).
3. Claude Code fetches from the default branch — the PR must be merged before consumers can install.

Consumers register the marketplace with:

/plugin marketplace add owner/repo

Example: /plugin marketplace add richfrem/agent-plugins-skills

On success, Claude Code responds: Successfully added marketplace: <name>

Known non-working subcommands (Claude Code 2.1.81):

• /plugin marketplace browse — returns no content, not a supported subcommand
• Use /plugin list or /plugin help to discover what subcommands are available in your version

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Step 5: Install Plugins (Consumer)

After adding the marketplace, install any listed plugin by name:

/plugin install <name>

This opens an interactive Plugins panel (not plain text output) showing:

• Plugin name and source marketplace
• Description pulled from marketplace.json
• Scope picker: user scope (all repos) / project scope (collaborators on this repo) / local scope (this repo only)

Scope flags (if using CLI directly):

• /plugin install <name> — user scope (default)
• /plugin install <name> --scope project — team shared
• /plugin install <name> --scope local — machine local

Note: The command returns no stdout — the install UI renders in the Plugins panel, not the terminal.

After install, run /reload-plugins to activate immediately without restarting. Output format:

Reloaded: N plugins · N skill · N agents · N hooks · N plugin MCP servers · N plugin LSP server

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Plugin Manager TUI (/plugin)

Running /plugin with no arguments opens the full plugin manager with tabs:

• Plugins — browse all available
• Discover — explore by category
• Installed — manage active plugins
• Marketplaces — view/manage registered marketplaces
• Errors — installation or load errors

Marketplaces Tab

Shows each registered marketplace with:

• claude-plugins-official *        ← * = built-in/pinned
  anthropics/claude-plugins-official
  117 available • 2 installed • Updated 3/22/2026

• my-marketplace-id
  owner/repo
  27 available • 1 installed • Updated 3/22/2026

Keybindings: Enter select · u update · r remove

Installed Plugin Detail View

Selecting an installed plugin shows:

plugin-name @ marketplace-id
Scope: project
Version: 2.0.0
<description>

Author: Author Name
Status: Enabled

Installed components:
• Skills: skill-a, skill-b

Options: Disable plugin · Mark for update · Update now · Uninstall · View repository · Back to plugin list

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Team & Enterprise Distribution

Auto-install for a team (.claude/settings.json)

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "my-marketplace-id": {
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "owner/repo"
      }
    }
  },
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "my-plugin@my-marketplace-id": true
  }
}

extraKnownMarketplaces is a keyed object (not an array) where the key is the marketplace ID (kebab-case). enabledPlugins is also a keyed object using the format "plugin-name@marketplace-id": true. Both make the marketplace and plugin available by default for every team member.

Lock to approved marketplaces only (enterprise)

strictKnownMarketplaces in managed settings restricts which sources users can add:

{ "strictKnownMarketplaces": [] }                    // complete lockdown
{ "strictKnownMarketplaces": [{ "source": "github", "repo": "acme/approved" }] }  // allowlist
{ "strictKnownMarketplaces": [{ "source": "hostPattern", "hostPattern": "^github\\.example\\.com$" }] }  // regex on host
{ "strictKnownMarketplaces": [{ "source": "pathPattern", "pathPattern": "^/opt/approved/" }] }  // regex on path

Note: this is a policy gate only — it does NOT register marketplaces. Pair with extraKnownMarketplaces to pre-register allowed ones.

Pre-populate plugins in containers / CI

export CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_SEED_DIR=/path/to/pre-installed-plugins
# Seed directory mirrors ~/.claude/plugins structure (known_marketplaces.json, marketplaces/, cache/)
# Seed entries are read-only — auto-updates disabled for seeded marketplaces
# To layer multiple seed dirs, separate with : (Unix) or ; (Windows)

Release channels

Point two marketplace entries at different ref values of the same repo:

{ "name": "stable-tools", "plugins": [{ "name": "my-plugin", "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "acme/plugin", "ref": "stable" } }] }
{ "name": "latest-tools", "plugins": [{ "name": "my-plugin", "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "acme/plugin", "ref": "latest" } }] }

Each ref's plugin.json must declare a different version — same version = Claude Code treats them as identical and skips the update.

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Marketplace Management Commands (Consumer)

/plugin marketplace list                    # list all registered marketplaces
/plugin marketplace update <name>           # refresh catalog from remote
/plugin marketplace remove <name>           # remove (also uninstalls its plugins)

/plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace>      # install (user scope default)
/plugin disable <plugin>@<marketplace>      # disable without uninstalling
/plugin enable <plugin>@<marketplace>       # re-enable
/plugin uninstall <plugin>@<marketplace>    # remove completely
claude plugin install <plugin> --scope project   # install at specific scope

Shortcuts: /plugin market = /plugin marketplace, rm = remove.

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Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose
CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_SEED_DIR	Pre-populate plugins for containers/CI
CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_GIT_TIMEOUT_MS	Git clone/pull timeout in ms (default: 120000)
GITHUB_TOKEN / GH_TOKEN	Auth for private GitHub marketplace repos (auto-updates)
GITLAB_TOKEN / GL_TOKEN	Auth for private GitLab repos
BITBUCKET_TOKEN	Auth for private Bitbucket repos
FORCE_AUTOUPDATE_PLUGINS=true	Keep plugin auto-updates on when DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER is set

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SkillsMP.com (Open SKILL.md Ecosystem Marketplace)

skillsmp.com auto-indexes open-source SKILL.md skills from GitHub daily.

Requirements to Get Indexed

1. Public GitHub repo with SKILL.md files containing name + description frontmatter
2. Add GitHub topic tags: claude-skills and/or claude-code-skill
3. Wait up to 24 hours for the daily sync

TODO: CHECK INDEXING - Topics added to richfrem/agent-plugins-skills on 2026-03-22. Verify at skillsmp.com after 2026-03-23.

Watch Out

Skills at plugins/<plugin>/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md (4 levels deep) may not be crawled. If not indexed after first sync, add a top-level skills/ directory mirroring the skill folders.

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References & Examples

• references/marketplace-schema.md - Struct, vars, and strict overrides.
• examples/marketplace.json - Working sample with GitHub lookup.