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How to install a Claude Code plugin

Most plugins install with two commands inside Claude Code: one adds the marketplace, the other installs the plugin. A plugin with no marketplace loads from a cloned folder with --plugin-dir.

Updated

Install a plugin from a marketplace

A marketplace is a GitHub repository with a .claude-plugin/marketplace.json file that lists plugins. You add the marketplace once, then install any plugin in it by name:

Claude Code 
/plugin marketplace add owner/repo
/plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name

The part after @ is the name the marketplace gives itself in marketplace.json. It often differs from the repository name, so don't guess it. Every mod page here shows both lines with the real names filled in.

You can also install from your shell with claude plugin install plugin-name@marketplace-name. If Claude Code is already open, run /reload-plugins there to pick the plugin up. Otherwise it loads the next time you start Claude Code.

Claude Code adds Anthropic's own marketplace, claude-plugins-official, the first time you start it in a terminal. To browse it, run /plugin and open the Discover tab.

Load a plugin from a folder for one session

Plenty of plugins sit in an ordinary repository with no marketplace. Clone the repository and start Claude Code with --plugin-dir:

Terminal 
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git
claude --plugin-dir repo

If the plugin lives in a subfolder, give that path instead, for example claude --plugin-dir repo/plugins/name. The plugin stays loaded until you quit. Next time you start Claude Code it's gone, which makes this the easy way to try something out.

Pick a scope: user, project or local

When you install from a marketplace, Claude Code asks who the plugin is for:

  • User: you, in every project on this computer.
  • Project: everyone working in the repository. Claude Code writes it to .claude/settings.json, which you commit. Each teammate still installs the plugin on their own machine.
  • Local: you, in this repository only.

Check that a mod loaded

Mods, the plugins that run JavaScript or TypeScript inside Claude Code, need Claude Code 2.1.287 or later in the terminal, or 2.1.286 or later in the Desktop app. Run claude --version to check yours.

After you start a session, run /plugin. A dim line under the tabs names the mods that loaded, for example “1 mod active · first-mod”. A mod missing from that line didn't load.

Turn a plugin off or remove it

  • To disable or uninstall one plugin, open /plugin and go to the Installed tab. From the shell, run claude plugin disable.
  • To start one session with every installed mod and your other customizations off, run claude --safe-mode.
  • To stop every mod you installed, in every session, set "disableAllHooks": true in ~/.claude/settings.json. This also stops your settings hooks and custom status line.

Before you install

A plugin runs with your permissions, and nobody sandboxes it. Spend two minutes on checking a plugin before you install it. To find one, browse the catalog or start with the most-starred mods in each category.