Building a Claude Code Plugin Marketplace

## Overview

A plugin marketplace is a catalog that distributes Claude Code plugins to others,
with centralized discovery, version tracking, and updates. This guide covers
creating a `marketplace.json`, hosting it on a git repository, and letting users
add and install from it.

## Steps

1. **Create plugins**: build one or more plugins with skills, agents, hooks, MCP
   servers, or LSP servers (see the plugin docs for authoring details).
2. **Create the marketplace file**: define a `marketplace.json` that lists your
   plugins and where to find each one.
3. **Host it**: push the repository to GitHub, GitLab, or another git host.
4. **Share**: users add your marketplace and install individual plugins.

## Add and install

Users add your marketplace and install from it:

```text
/plugin marketplace add your-org/your-marketplace-repo
/plugin install your-plugin@your-marketplace
```

After pushing changes to the repository, users refresh their local copy:

```text
/plugin marketplace update your-marketplace
```

## Private marketplaces

To keep distribution internal to a team, host the marketplace in a private
repository. Only users with access to that repository can add the marketplace and
install its plugins. This is the recommended approach for organization-internal
plugins.

## Versioning and updates

Decide whether each plugin sets an explicit `version` in its manifest or relies on
the git commit SHA. With an explicit version, users only receive updates when you
bump it; without one, every commit counts as a new version. Choose a strategy
that gives your users predictable updates.

## Test before sharing

- Validate locally with `claude plugin validate` before distribution.
- Install your own marketplace and confirm plugins, skills, agents, and hooks load
  as expected.
- Have a teammate test the install flow on a clean machine.

## Community marketplaces

Anthropic maintains an official curated marketplace and a public community
marketplace; submitting to the community marketplace runs an automated review and
safety screening. For team-internal plugins, a private marketplace you host is the
right path.

## Source

- Create and distribute a plugin marketplace: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces