Install and Use Claude Code Plugins

Using & Installing Plugins

Skills are powerful, but creating everything yourself takes time. Plugins let you tap into skills that others have already built and refined.

What's a plugin?

A plugin is a packaged collection of skills that you can install and use immediately. Instead of writing your own "financial data formatting" skill from scratch, you can install one that an accountant already perfected.

Plugins can include:

• One or more skill files
• Example CLAUDE.md files
• Sample data for testing
• Documentation

Where to find plugins

The Claude Code plugin marketplace is coming soon — it'll be the easiest way to browse and install plugins from the community. For now, plugins are shared through:

• GitHub repositories
• Team shared folders
• Direct downloads from tutorials (like this site)

When the marketplace launches, you'll be able to search by category, see ratings, and install with one command.

Installing a plugin manually

Until the marketplace is live, here's how to install a plugin from a GitHub repo:

# Navigate to your skills folder
cd ~/.claude/skills

# Clone the plugin repository
git clone https://github.com/username/plugin-name.git

Or if you downloaded a zip file:

# Unzip into skills folder
unzip plugin-name.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

The plugin's skill files are now in your skills folder. Claude will load them on next startup.

Managing installed plugins

List what you have installed:

ls ~/.claude/skills/

To remove a plugin, just delete its folder:

rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/plugin-name

Plugin conflicts

What if two plugins have overlapping instructions? For example, two different "email drafting" skills?

Claude will load both, which can cause inconsistent behavior. Best practices:

1. Review before installing — check what skills a plugin includes
2. Don't install duplicates — one email skill is enough
3. Customize, don't duplicate — if a plugin is close to what you want, edit it rather than keeping both

Checking what Claude knows

To see what skills Claude has loaded, you can ask:

What skills do you have available?

Claude will list the skills it knows about. This helps you verify a plugin installed correctly.

Vetting plugins

Since plugins run on your computer and have access to your files, be thoughtful about what you install:

• Trusted sources — Install from known authors, official repos, or recommendations you trust
• Read the code — Skill files are plain markdown, easy to review
• Start small — Test with non-sensitive data first

A skill file can only contain instructions for Claude — it can't run arbitrary code. But a poorly-written skill could still cause Claude to do things you don't want (like overwriting files). Review before installing.

Plugin examples to try

Here are some plugin types that make sense for non-developers:

Business writing pack:

• Email drafting
• Report formatting
• Executive summary generation
• Meeting notes processing

Finance & ops pack:

• Expense categorization rules
• Invoice data extraction
• Financial report formatting
• Budget analysis templates

Marketing pack:

• Content calendar generation
• Social media formatting
• Competitor analysis structure
• Campaign reporting

These might be separate plugins or bundled together. Look for ones that match your workflow.

Creating a team plugin

If you're on a team, you can create a shared plugin with your collective best practices:

1. Create a folder with your team's skills
2. Put it in a shared drive or git repo
3. Each team member installs it

Now everyone has the same standards for reports, emails, data formatting, etc.

Next up

Ready to go further? In the next lesson, you'll learn how to package your own skills as a plugin — complete with documentation and examples — so you can share them with your team or the community.