What are the required fields for a plugin manifest?

A valid plugin.json requires a name (lowercase alphanumeric), description, version (semantic versioning), and an author object with a name field.

Where should the plugin.json file be located?

The plugin.json manifest must be located inside the .claude-plugin/ directory at the root of your plugin project.

Can I put my commands and skills inside the .claude-plugin folder?

No, essential directories like commands/, agents/, and skills/ must reside at the plugin root level, not inside the .claude-plugin/ directory.

What is the correct format for a Claude Code skill file?

Skills must use a subdirectory format: skills/skill-name/SKILL.md. Flat file formats like skills/my-skill.md are not supported.

How do I namespace my custom slash commands?

You can namespace commands by using subdirectories within the commands/ folder; for example, placing a file at commands/git/commit.md creates the /git:commit command.

Claude Code Plugin Architect

Name: Claude Code Plugin Architect
Author: astoeffer

byastoeffer

Developer Tools

Standardizes and validates the directory structure and manifest requirements for building custom Claude Code plugins.

About

The Plugin Architect skill serves as a comprehensive blueprint for developing Claude Code extensions, ensuring all components like commands, agents, skills, and hooks are correctly configured. It streamlines the development process by providing instant access to schema requirements for plugin.json, SKILL.md, and specific frontmatter for agents and commands. By enforcing standard naming conventions and directory hierarchies, it helps developers build robust, discoverable plugins while offering targeted troubleshooting for common configuration and loading errors.

Key Features

Specifies required YAML frontmatter for skills, agents, and commands
Enforces namespacing best practices for slash commands
Validates plugin directory layouts according to Claude Code standards
0 GitHub stars
Provides precise JSON schemas for plugin.json manifests
Identifies and fixes common plugin discovery and loading errors

Use Cases

Troubleshooting a plugin that isn't appearing or loading correctly in the environment
Refactoring legacy scripts into standardized agents or skills for the plugin marketplace
Bootstrapping a new Claude Code plugin from scratch with the correct file hierarchy

About

Key Features

Specifies required YAML frontmatter for skills, agents, and commands
Enforces namespacing best practices for slash commands
Validates plugin directory layouts according to Claude Code standards
0 GitHub stars
Provides precise JSON schemas for plugin.json manifests
Identifies and fixes common plugin discovery and loading errors

Use Cases

Troubleshooting a plugin that isn't appearing or loading correctly in the environment
Refactoring legacy scripts into standardized agents or skills for the plugin marketplace
Bootstrapping a new Claude Code plugin from scratch with the correct file hierarchy