Claude Code Plugins: Install, Build, and Verify

Claude Code plugins are installable, versioned directories that package capabilities such as skills, subagents, hooks, MCP or LSP server configurations, and executables for distribution through marketplaces, while plugins themselves add no functionality beyond the components they contain. Unlike standalone skills, plugins provide namespacing, version control, and shared installation options, but their structure requires most component folders to remain at the plugin root rather than inside `.claude-plugin`, which should generally contain only the optional manifest. Installing a plugin involves registering a marketplace catalog and then selecting a plugin with an appropriate user, project, local, or managed scope, while developers can test plugins directly with `--plugin-dir` and publish them by listing sources in a marketplace catalog. Built-in validation checks manifests and directory structure but does not prove that a skill or other component performs its advertised behavior, so meaningful evaluation requires inventorying installed components, triggering them, and applying behavioral tests, particularly for UI changes. Plugins should be treated as supply-chain dependencies because hooks can execute shell commands and bundled executables can enter the Bash PATH; users are advised to review installation details, begin with local scope, inspect errors and debug output when plugins fail to load, and rely on independent verification tools for changes that need real-world testing.

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