Plugin marketplaces - Claude Docs

Plugin marketplaces are catalogs of available plugins that make it easy to discover, install, and manage Claude Code extensions. This guide shows you how to use existing marketplaces and create your own for team distribution.

Overview

A marketplace is a JSON file that lists available plugins and describes where to find them. Marketplaces provide:

Centralized discovery: Browse plugins from multiple sources in one place
Version management: Track and update plugin versions automatically
Team distribution: Share required plugins across your organization
Flexible sources: Support for git repositories, GitHub repos, local paths, and package managers

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed and running
Basic familiarity with JSON file format
For creating marketplaces: Git repository or local development environment

Add and use marketplaces

Add marketplaces using the /plugin marketplace commands to access plugins from different sources:

Add GitHub marketplaces

Add a GitHub repository containing .claude-plugin/marketplace.json

/plugin marketplace add owner/repo

Add Git repositories

Add any git repository

/plugin marketplace add https://gitlab.com/company/plugins.git

Add local marketplaces for development

Add local directory containing .claude-plugin/marketplace.json

/plugin marketplace add ./my-marketplace

Add direct path to marketplace.json file

/plugin marketplace add ./path/to/marketplace.json

Add remote marketplace.json via URL

/plugin marketplace add https://url.of/marketplace.json

Install plugins from marketplaces

Once you’ve added marketplaces, install plugins directly:

Install from any known marketplace

/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name

Browse available plugins interactively

/plugin

Verify marketplace installation

After adding a marketplace:

List marketplaces: Run /plugin marketplace list to confirm it’s added
Browse plugins: Use /plugin to see available plugins from your marketplace
Test installation: Try installing a plugin to verify the marketplace works correctly

Configure team marketplaces

Set up automatic marketplace installation for team projects by specifying required marketplaces in .claude/settings.json:

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "team-tools": {
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "your-org/claude-plugins"
      }
    },
    "project-specific": {
      "source": {
        "source": "git",
        "url": "https://git.company.com/project-plugins.git"
      }
    }
  }
}

When team members trust the repository folder, Claude Code automatically installs these marketplaces and any plugins specified in the enabledPlugins field.

Create your own marketplace

Build and distribute custom plugin collections for your team or community.

Prerequisites for marketplace creation

Git repository (GitHub, GitLab, or other git hosting)
Understanding of JSON file format
One or more plugins to distribute

Create the marketplace file

Create .claude-plugin/marketplace.json in your repository root:

{
  "name": "company-tools",
  "owner": {
    "name": "DevTools Team",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "code-formatter",
      "source": "./plugins/formatter",
      "description": "Automatic code formatting on save",
      "version": "2.1.0",
      "author": {
        "name": "DevTools Team"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "deployment-tools",
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "company/deploy-plugin"
      },
      "description": "Deployment automation tools"
    }
  ]
}

Marketplace schema

Required fields

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Marketplace identifier (kebab-case, no spaces)
`owner`	object	Marketplace maintainer information
`plugins`	array	List of available plugins

Optional metadata

Field	Type	Description
`metadata.description`	string	Brief marketplace description
`metadata.version`	string	Marketplace version
`metadata.pluginRoot`	string	Base path for relative plugin sources

Plugin entries

Plugin entries are based on the plugin manifest schema (with all fields made optional) plus marketplace-specific fields (source, category, tags, strict), with name being required.

Required fields:

Field	Type	Description
`name`	string	Plugin identifier (kebab-case, no spaces)
`source`	string\|object	Where to fetch the plugin from

Optional plugin fields

Standard metadata fields:

Field	Type	Description
`description`	string	Brief plugin description
`version`	string	Plugin version
`author`	object	Plugin author information
`homepage`	string	Plugin homepage or documentation URL
`repository`	string	Source code repository URL
`license`	string	SPDX license identifier (e.g., MIT, Apache-2.0)
`keywords`	array	Tags for plugin discovery and categorization
`category`	string	Plugin category for organization
`tags`	array	Tags for searchability
`strict`	boolean	Require plugin.json in plugin folder (default: true) ¹

Component configuration fields:

Field	Type	Description
`commands`	string\|array	Custom paths to command files or directories
`agents`	string\|array	Custom paths to agent files
`hooks`	string\|object	Custom hooks configuration or path to hooks file
`mcpServers`	string\|object	MCP server configurations or path to MCP config

^{1 - When strict: true (default), the plugin must include a plugin.json manifest file, and marketplace fields supplement those values. When strict: false, the plugin.json is optional. If it’s missing, the marketplace entry serves as the complete plugin manifest.}

Plugin sources

Relative paths

For plugins in the same repository:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "source": "./plugins/my-plugin"
}

GitHub repositories

{
  "name": "github-plugin",
  "source": {
    "source": "github",
    "repo": "owner/plugin-repo"
  }
}

Git repositories

{
  "name": "git-plugin",
  "source": {
    "source": "url",
    "url": "https://gitlab.com/team/plugin.git"
  }
}

Advanced plugin entries

Plugin entries can override default component locations and provide additional metadata. Note that ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} is an environment variable that resolves to the plugin’s installation directory (for details see Environment variables):

{
  "name": "enterprise-tools",
  "source": {
    "source": "github",
    "repo": "company/enterprise-plugin"
  },
  "description": "Enterprise workflow automation tools",
  "version": "2.1.0",
  "author": {
    "name": "Enterprise Team",
    "email": "[email protected]"
  },
  "homepage": "https://docs.company.com/plugins/enterprise-tools",
  "repository": "https://github.com/company/enterprise-plugin",
  "license": "MIT",
  "keywords": ["enterprise", "workflow", "automation"],
  "category": "productivity",
  "commands": [
    "./commands/core/",
    "./commands/enterprise/",
    "./commands/experimental/preview.md"
  ],
  "agents": [
    "./agents/security-reviewer.md",
    "./agents/compliance-checker.md"
  ],
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write|Edit",
        "hooks": [{"type": "command", "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/validate.sh"}]
      }
    ]
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "enterprise-db": {
      "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/db-server",
      "args": ["--config", "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/config.json"]
    }
  },
  "strict": false
}

Schema relationship: Plugin entries use the plugin manifest schema with all fields made optional, plus marketplace-specific fields (source, strict, category, tags). This means any field valid in a plugin.json file can also be used in a marketplace entry. When strict: false, the marketplace entry serves as the complete plugin manifest if no plugin.json exists. When strict: true (default), marketplace fields supplement the plugin’s own manifest file.

Host and distribute marketplaces

Choose the best hosting strategy for your plugin distribution needs.

Host on GitHub (recommended)

GitHub provides the easiest distribution method:

Create a repository: Set up a new repository for your marketplace
Add marketplace file: Create .claude-plugin/marketplace.json with your plugin definitions
Share with teams: Team members add with /plugin marketplace add owner/repo

Benefits: Built-in version control, issue tracking, and team collaboration features.

Host on other git services

Any git hosting service works for marketplace distribution, using a URL to an arbitrary git repository. For example, using GitLab:

/plugin marketplace add https://gitlab.com/company/plugins.git

Use local marketplaces for development

Test your marketplace locally before distribution:

Add local marketplace for testing

/plugin marketplace add ./my-local-marketplace

Test plugin installation

/plugin install test-plugin@my-local-marketplace

Manage marketplace operations

List known marketplaces

List all configured marketplaces

/plugin marketplace list

Shows all configured marketplaces with their sources and status.

Update marketplace metadata

Refresh marketplace metadata

/plugin marketplace update marketplace-name

Refreshes plugin listings and metadata from the marketplace source.

Remove a marketplace

/plugin marketplace remove marketplace-name

Removes the marketplace from your configuration.

Removing a marketplace will uninstall any plugins you installed from it.

Troubleshooting marketplaces

Common marketplace issues

Marketplace not loading

Symptoms: Can’t add marketplace or see plugins from it Solutions:

Verify the marketplace URL is accessible
Check that .claude-plugin/marketplace.json exists at the specified path
Ensure JSON syntax is valid using claude plugin validate
For private repositories, confirm you have access permissions

Plugin installation failures

Symptoms: Marketplace appears but plugin installation fails Solutions:

Verify plugin source URLs are accessible
Check that plugin directories contain required files
For GitHub sources, ensure repositories are public or you have access
Test plugin sources manually by cloning/downloading

Validation and testing

Test your marketplace before sharing:

Validate marketplace JSON syntax

claude plugin validate .

Add marketplace for testing

/plugin marketplace add ./path/to/marketplace

Install test plugin

/plugin install test-plugin@marketplace-name

For complete plugin testing workflows, see Test your plugins locally. For technical troubleshooting, see Plugins reference.

Next steps

For marketplace users

Discover community marketplaces: Search GitHub for Claude Code plugin collections
Contribute feedback: Report issues and suggest improvements to marketplace maintainers
Share useful marketplaces: Help your team discover valuable plugin collections

For marketplace creators

Build plugin collections: Create themed marketplace around specific use cases
Establish versioning: Implement clear versioning and update policies
Community engagement: Gather feedback and maintain active marketplace communities
Documentation: Provide clear README files explaining your marketplace contents

For organizations

Private marketplaces: Set up internal marketplaces for proprietary tools
Governance policies: Establish guidelines for plugin approval and security review
Training resources: Help teams discover and adopt useful plugins effectively

Getting started

Build with Claude Code

Claude Code SDK

Deployment

Administration

Configuration

Reference

Resources

​Overview

​Prerequisites

​Add and use marketplaces

​Add GitHub marketplaces

​Add Git repositories

​Add local marketplaces for development

​Install plugins from marketplaces

​Verify marketplace installation

​Configure team marketplaces

​Create your own marketplace

​Prerequisites for marketplace creation

​Create the marketplace file

​Marketplace schema

​Required fields

​Optional metadata

​Plugin entries

​Optional plugin fields

​Plugin sources

​Relative paths

​GitHub repositories

​Git repositories

​Advanced plugin entries

​Host and distribute marketplaces

​Host on GitHub (recommended)

​Host on other git services

​Use local marketplaces for development

​Manage marketplace operations

​List known marketplaces

​Update marketplace metadata

​Remove a marketplace

​Troubleshooting marketplaces

​Common marketplace issues

​Marketplace not loading

​Plugin installation failures

​Validation and testing

​Next steps

​For marketplace users

​For marketplace creators

​For organizations

​See also

Overview

Prerequisites

Add and use marketplaces

Add GitHub marketplaces

Add Git repositories

Add local marketplaces for development

Install plugins from marketplaces

Verify marketplace installation

Configure team marketplaces

Create your own marketplace

Prerequisites for marketplace creation

Create the marketplace file

Marketplace schema

Required fields

Optional metadata

Plugin entries

Optional plugin fields

Plugin sources

Relative paths

GitHub repositories

Git repositories

Advanced plugin entries

Host and distribute marketplaces

Host on GitHub (recommended)

Host on other git services

Use local marketplaces for development

Manage marketplace operations

List known marketplaces

Update marketplace metadata

Remove a marketplace

Troubleshooting marketplaces

Common marketplace issues

Marketplace not loading

Plugin installation failures

Validation and testing

Next steps

For marketplace users

For marketplace creators

For organizations

See also