What are the required fields in a plugin manifest?

The only strictly required field is 'name' in kebab-case format, though version, description, and author are highly recommended for discovery.

Can I use custom directory names for plugin components?

Yes, while Claude Code has default directories like /commands and /agents, you can specify custom paths using the component fields in your plugin.json file.

Where should the plugin manifest be located?

The plugin.json manifest must be placed within the .claude-plugin/ directory at the root of your plugin to be correctly recognized by Claude Code.

What is ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} used for?

It is an environment variable used for intra-plugin path references, ensuring that scripts and resources remain accessible regardless of the user's installation path or OS.

How does Claude Code discover new commands?

Claude Code automatically scans the commands/ directory at the plugin root for Markdown files with YAML frontmatter and registers them as slash commands.

Claude Code Plugin Architect

Name: Claude Code Plugin Architect
Author: Activer007

byActiver007

Developer Tools

Standardizes the creation and organization of Claude Code plugins using a structured directory layout and manifest configuration.

About

This skill provides comprehensive guidance on building Claude Code plugins, ensuring developers follow industry best practices for directory structure, component discovery, and manifest configuration. It streamlines the process of setting up the .claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest and organizing commands, agents, and skills for seamless integration. By enforcing portable path references using the ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} variable, it ensures that plugins remain functional across different operating systems and installation methods, making it an essential tool for developers building maintainable Claude Code extensions.

Key Features

Manifest-driven configuration guidance for plugin metadata
Best practices for file naming and component organization
0 GitHub stars
Support for auto-loading commands, agents, skills, and hooks
Implementation of portable paths using ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
Standardized directory layout for automatic component discovery

Use Cases

Scaffolding a new Claude Code plugin from scratch with the correct hierarchy
Refactoring existing scripts into a portable and discoverable plugin format
Configuring event hooks and MCP servers within the plugin architecture

About

Key Features

Manifest-driven configuration guidance for plugin metadata
Best practices for file naming and component organization
0 GitHub stars
Support for auto-loading commands, agents, skills, and hooks
Implementation of portable paths using ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
Standardized directory layout for automatic component discovery

Use Cases

Scaffolding a new Claude Code plugin from scratch with the correct hierarchy
Refactoring existing scripts into a portable and discoverable plugin format
Configuring event hooks and MCP servers within the plugin architecture