Claude Plugin Distribution

Packages and publishes Claude Code plugins with proper structure, documentation, versioning, and release automation.

Quick Start

Distribution Checklist

Before distributing your plugin:

• Plugin structure is correct
• plugin.json is complete and valid
• All components tested (commands, agents, hooks, MCP servers)
• Documentation complete (README, CHANGELOG)
• License file included
• Version number updated
• Git tags created
• GitHub release published (if applicable)

Basic Distribution Workflow

1. Prepare plugin

   • Validate structure
   • Update version
   • Write documentation

2. Package plugin

   • Create ZIP with correct structure
   • Verify package contents

3. Publish plugin

   • Push to Git repository
   • Create release tag
   • Add to marketplace

4. Share with users

   • Provide installation instructions
   • Document requirements

Plugin Structure for Distribution

Required Files

my-plugin/
├── plugin.json          # Required: Plugin metadata
├── README.md            # Required: Documentation
├── LICENSE              # Required: License file
└── CHANGELOG.md         # Recommended: Version history

Complete Structure

my-plugin/
├── plugin.json
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── .gitignore
├── commands/            # If applicable
│   └── my-command.md
├── agents/              # If applicable
│   └── my-agent.md
├── hooks/               # If applicable
│   └── pre-tool.sh
└── servers/             # If applicable
    └── my-server/

plugin.json for Distribution

Minimal Configuration

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Brief description of plugin",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "you@example.com"
  },
  "license": "MIT"
}

Complete Configuration

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Comprehensive plugin description",
  "author": {
    "name": "Your Name",
    "email": "you@example.com"
  },
  "license": "MIT",
  "homepage": "https://github.com/username/my-plugin",
  "repository": "https://github.com/username/my-plugin",
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2", "keyword3"],
  "category": "development"
}

Documentation

README.md Template

# Plugin Name

Brief description of what this plugin does.

## Installation

\`\`\`bash
/plugin marketplace add username/plugin-repo
/plugin install my-plugin@username
\`\`\`

Or from local:
\`\`\`bash
/plugin marketplace add ./path/to/plugin
/plugin install my-plugin@my-plugin
\`\`\`

## Features

- Feature 1
- Feature 2
- Feature 3

## Usage

### Commands

- \`/command-name\` - Description

### Agents

Describe how to use custom agents.

### MCP Servers

If your plugin includes MCP servers, describe the tools and resources they provide.

## Configuration

List any required environment variables:

\`\`\`bash
export VAR_NAME=value
\`\`\`

## Requirements

- Claude Code
- Node.js 18+ (if applicable)
- Python 3.10+ (if applicable)

## License

[License Name]
\`\`\`

### CHANGELOG.md Template

```markdown
# Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).

## [1.0.0] - 2025-01-20

### Added
- Initial release
- Command X for feature Y
- Agent Z for task W

### Changed
- Updated behavior of command A

### Fixed
- Fixed bug in agent B

## [0.2.0] - 2025-01-15

### Added
- Beta release
- Preview features

## [0.1.0] - 2025-01-10

### Added
- Initial development version

Versioning

Semantic Versioning

Follow semver (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH):

Version format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

• MAJOR: Breaking changes
• MINOR: New features (backward compatible)
• PATCH: Bug fixes

Examples:

• 1.0.0 → 1.0.1 (bug fix)
• 1.0.1 → 1.1.0 (new feature)
• 1.1.0 → 2.0.0 (breaking change)

Updating Version

1. Update plugin.json

   {
     "version": "1.1.0"
   }
   

2. Update CHANGELOG.md Add entry for new version

3. Commit changes

   git add plugin.json CHANGELOG.md
   git commit -m "chore: bump version to 1.1.0"
   

4. Create git tag

   git tag v1.1.0
   git push origin main --tags
   

Packaging

ZIP Distribution

Create a ZIP file with proper structure:

Correct structure:

my-plugin.zip
└── my-plugin/           # Plugin folder is root
    ├── plugin.json
    ├── README.md
    └── ...

Incorrect structure:

my-plugin.zip            # Files directly in root
├── plugin.json
├── README.md
└── ...

Creating ZIP Package

# From parent directory
zip -r my-plugin.zip my-plugin/

# Verify structure
unzip -l my-plugin.zip

Excluding Files

Create .zipignore or use .gitignore:

.git/
.DS_Store
*.log
node_modules/
__pycache__/
.env
.vscode/
test/
*.test.js

Create package script:

#!/bin/bash
zip -r my-plugin.zip my-plugin/ -x "*.git*" "*.DS_Store" "node_modules/*" "__pycache__/*"

Publishing to GitHub

Repository Setup

1. Create repository

   gh repo create my-plugin --public
   

2. Add remote

   git remote add origin https://github.com/username/my-plugin.git
   

3. Push code

   git push -u origin main
   

Creating Releases

Manual release:

# Create and push tag
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

# Create GitHub release
gh release create v1.0.0 \
  --title "v1.0.0" \
  --notes "Initial release"

With ZIP artifact:

# Create package
zip -r my-plugin-v1.0.0.zip my-plugin/

# Create release with artifact
gh release create v1.0.0 \
  --title "v1.0.0" \
  --notes "$(cat CHANGELOG.md | sed -n '/## \[1.0.0\]/,/## \[/p' | sed '1d;$d')" \
  my-plugin-v1.0.0.zip

Distribution Methods

Method 1: GitHub Repository

Advantages:

• Version control
• Issue tracking
• Easy updates
• Free hosting

Setup:

# Users install with:
/plugin marketplace add username/my-plugin
/plugin install my-plugin@username

Method 2: Git Repository

For GitLab, Bitbucket, or self-hosted Git:

# Users install with:
/plugin marketplace add https://gitlab.com/username/my-plugin.git

Method 3: Marketplace Distribution

Add to an existing marketplace:

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "name": "my-plugin",
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "username/my-plugin"
      },
      "description": "Plugin description",
      "version": "1.0.0"
    }
  ]
}

Method 4: Direct ZIP Download

Host ZIP file and users can install:

# Download and extract
wget https://example.com/my-plugin.zip
unzip my-plugin.zip

# Install locally
/plugin marketplace add ./my-plugin
/plugin install my-plugin@my-plugin

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

Create .github/workflows/release.yml:

name: Release Plugin

on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Validate plugin structure
        run: |
          # Check required files
          test -f plugin.json
          test -f README.md
          test -f LICENSE

      - name: Validate plugin.json
        run: |
          jq empty plugin.json

      - name: Create ZIP package
        run: |
          cd ..
          zip -r my-plugin-${{ github.ref_name }}.zip my-plugin/ \
            -x "*.git*" "*.github*" "*.DS_Store"

      - name: Create Release
        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
        with:
          files: ../my-plugin-${{ github.ref_name }}.zip
          generate_release_notes: true

Validation Workflow

Create .github/workflows/validate.yml:

name: Validate Plugin

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  validate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Validate JSON files
        run: |
          jq empty plugin.json

      - name: Check required files
        run: |
          test -f README.md || { echo "Missing README.md"; exit 1; }
          test -f LICENSE || { echo "Missing LICENSE"; exit 1; }

      - name: Validate commands
        run: |
          if [ -d commands ]; then
            for f in commands/**/*.md; do
              grep -q "^---$" "$f" || { echo "Missing frontmatter: $f"; exit 1; }
            done
          fi

      - name: Validate agents
        run: |
          if [ -d agents ]; then
            for f in agents/**/*.md; do
              grep -q "^---$" "$f" || { echo "Missing frontmatter: $f"; exit 1; }
            done
          fi

Installation Instructions

For End Users

GitHub installation:

# Add marketplace
/plugin marketplace add username/plugin-repo

# Install plugin
/plugin install plugin-name@username

Local installation:

# Add local directory
/plugin marketplace add ./path/to/plugin

# Install
/plugin install plugin-name@plugin-name

For Marketplace Maintainers

Add entry to marketplace.json:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "source": {
    "source": "github",
    "repo": "username/my-plugin"
  },
  "description": "Plugin description",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "author": {
    "name": "Author Name"
  },
  "license": "MIT",
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2"]
}

Best Practices

Documentation

• Keep README concise and clear
• Provide installation examples
• Document all configuration options
• Include troubleshooting section
• Add screenshots/demos if helpful

Versioning

• Follow semantic versioning
• Update CHANGELOG for each release
• Tag releases in Git
• Never delete or modify existing tags

Package Quality

• Validate all files before release
• Test installation process
• Check cross-platform compatibility
• Minimize package size
• Exclude development files

Maintenance

• Respond to issues promptly
• Keep dependencies updated
• Test with latest Claude Code
• Announce breaking changes clearly
• Maintain backward compatibility when possible

Troubleshooting Distribution

Issue: Plugin structure invalid

# Verify structure
unzip -l plugin.zip

Issue: Missing files in package

# Check .gitignore doesn't exclude required files
# Verify all files committed to Git

Issue: Version conflicts

# Ensure version in plugin.json matches Git tag
# Check marketplace entry has correct version

Next Steps

• See EXAMPLES.md for real-world distribution examples