Should I commit .local.md files to my repository?

No, these files are intended for project-local state and configuration. You should add .claude/*.local.md to your .gitignore file.

Can settings files contain instructions for Claude?

Absolutely. The Markdown body following the YAML frontmatter is ideal for storing task descriptions, prompts, or additional context that your plugin can read and feed back to Claude.

Do I need to restart Claude Code after updating a settings file?

Yes, because hooks and plugin configurations are loaded at startup, you must restart Claude Code for changes in .local.md files to take effect.

Where are plugin settings files stored?

Settings should be stored in the project root under the .claude/ directory, specifically using the naming convention plugin-name.local.md.

How do I parse YAML settings in a bash hook?

The recommended pattern uses sed to extract content between the triple-dash delimiters and grep/awk to isolate specific configuration values.

Plugin Settings & State Management

Name: Plugin Settings & State Management
Author: anthropics

byanthropics

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291

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Developer Tools

Implements a standardized pattern for managing project-specific plugin configurations and persistent state using YAML frontmatter.

This skill provides a comprehensive framework for Claude Code plugin developers to handle user-configurable settings and state management. By adopting the .claude/plugin-name.local.md pattern, developers can store structured configuration in YAML frontmatter and detailed context in Markdown bodies. The skill offers proven implementation patterns for reading these files via Bash hooks, commands, and agents, ensuring that plugin behavior can be customized per-project without committing sensitive or local-only data to version control.

Key Features

01Secure lifecycle management via .gitignore best practices

02Standardized .claude/plugin-name.local.md file structure

03Markdown body support for prompts and human-readable context

04Bash-ready parsing techniques for hooks and CLI commands

05YAML frontmatter for machine-readable configuration and state

06291 GitHub stars

Use Cases

01Coordinating state and task numbers across multi-agent swarms

02Defining project-specific validation levels and processing modes

03Enabling or disabling specific plugin hooks on a per-project basis

What are Skills?·How to Install

Install with 🐟 Skill.Fish

npx skillfish add anthropics/claude-plugins-official plugin-settings

For use in Claude.ai and ChatGPT

Download Skill