Plugin Structure

Plugin auto-discovery requires a standardized directory structure with a `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` manifest at the root. Configure commands, agents, skills, and hooks in separate subdirectories, and the plugin loader automatically discovers and registers components matching the manifest configuration without manual registration.

The plugin.json manifest specifies which component types to load—commands, agents, skills, hooks—and their directory paths. Use the ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} path reference to point to folders relative to your plugin root, enabling the auto-discovery system to scan and load all matching components.

Yes. Organize commands, agents, skills, and hooks in separate subdirectories within your plugin. The manifest references each directory, and auto-discovery loads all components from those paths automatically, supporting anything from minimal single-command plugins to enterprise-grade structures with hundreds of components.

A minimal plugin needs a directory containing `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` and a `commands/` folder with at least one `.md` command file. This scaffolding satisfies the auto-discovery requirements and produces a working plugin without additional configuration.

Plugin manifests declare integration points for MCP server components within the plugin structure. The manifest references MCP server configurations and paths, allowing auto-discovery to connect plugin commands, agents, and hooks to MCP resources seamlessly.

Use lowercase directory names matching component types—`commands/`, `agents/`, `skills/`, `hooks/`—and name individual component files descriptively with lowercase and hyphens. The auto-discovery system scans these standard locations and registers components by file path and manifest declarations.