Using Plugins

Out of the box, Claude is a generalist. It can write, research, and analyze — but it doesn’t know your standards, your workflows, or your preferred formats. Every time you start a new conversation, you’d need to re-explain how you want things done.

Plugins solve this. Each plugin packages domain expertise — writing standards, naming conventions, research processes, editorial criteria — into a format Claude can use automatically. Install a plugin once and Claude gains that expertise across every session.

The result: Instead of writing long prompts to explain what you want, you describe your goal in plain language and Claude applies the right expertise automatically.

Looking for non-Claude platforms?

This page covers the Claude ecosystem (Claude Code, Claude.ai, Cowork, API). For Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, VS Code Copilot, or any LLM, see How to Add Skills to Your Platform.

What’s Inside a Plugin

The plugin format supports agents, skills, commands, hooks, and MCP server connections. The Hands-on AI plugins currently provide:

• Agents — Expert personalities that Claude activates automatically based on your request. Ask for a LinkedIn post and Claude brings in a writing specialist. Ask for an AI news briefing and a research specialist takes over.
• Skills — Step-by-step workflows (an instruction file plus optional reference material) that teach Claude specific tasks. A skill might encode your editorial standards, your workflow naming conventions, or your documentation templates.
• Commands — Slash commands that trigger specific actions (like /commit for git workflows).
• Hooks — Automations that run in response to events (e.g., running a linter after every file edit).
• MCP servers — Connections to external tools and services (e.g., Notion, GitHub, Slack).

The plugins in this marketplace currently focus on agents and skills. As they grow, they may also include commands, hooks, and connectors.

Agents vs Skills

	Agents	Skills
What they are	Expert personalities (writing style, domain knowledge, process)	Step-by-step workflows with instructions + reference material
How they activate	Claude automatically picks the right one based on your request	Automatically when relevant, or type /plugin-name:skill-name
Where they work	Claude Code and Cowork	Claude Code, Claude.ai (upload as ZIP), and Cowork
Example	”Write a LinkedIn post about RAG” activates tech-executive-writer	”Name a workflow for drafting email responses” loads naming-workflows naming conventions

Transparency & Security

Plugins are plain-text Markdown files — there’s no compiled code or hidden logic. Every agent and skill in this marketplace is fully readable, so you can review exactly what instructions Claude receives before you install anything.

Review the source: All plugin files are open source in the handsonai-plugins GitHub repository. Each plugin’s detail page (linked from the marketplace) includes the full list of agents and skills with descriptions of what they do.

Anthropic’s guidance on third-party plugins

Anthropic recommends reviewing any plugin before installing it. From the official plugin documentation: “Make sure you trust a plugin before installing it. Anthropic does not control what MCP servers, files, or other software are included in plugins and cannot verify that they work as intended.”

The Hands-on AI plugins contain only Markdown instruction files — no MCP servers, no executable code, and no external network calls. You can verify this yourself by browsing the plugin source.

Getting Started in Claude Code

Prerequisites

• Claude Code installed and working (Getting Started with Claude)
• An active Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise subscription (plugins are not available on the free plan)

Step 1: Add the Marketplace

A marketplace is a collection of plugins hosted online. Adding it tells Claude Code where to find plugins you can install. You only need to add it once.

In your Claude Code session, type:

/plugin marketplace add jamesgray-ai/handsonai-plugins

This tells Claude Code where to find the Hands-on AI plugins. It does not install anything yet. For more on how marketplaces work, see the official Discover and install plugins guide.

Tip

You can see which marketplaces you’ve added with /plugin marketplace list.

Step 2: Install a Plugin

Browse the Plugin Marketplace to find a plugin that matches your workflow. Each plugin lists the agents and skills it includes.

To install a plugin, type the install command shown on the marketplace page in your Claude Code session:

/plugin install <plugin-name>@handsonai

For example:

/plugin install business-first-ai@handsonai

After installing, the plugin’s agents and skills are available in your Claude Code session. Installed plugins are stored in ~/.claude/plugins/ on your machine.

Tip

You can install as many plugins as you like. They don’t conflict with each other.

Step 3: Use It

Installed plugins add agents and skills that Claude Code can use automatically. You don’t need to call them by name — just describe what you need and Claude will use the right agent or skill.

Agents — just talk naturally

Describe what you need. Claude Code matches your request to the right agent automatically.

Examples from the business-first-ai plugin:

"Write a LinkedIn post about how RAG is transforming enterprise search"
→ tech-executive-writer activates

"Review this article for HBR quality"
→ hbr-editor activates

"What's new in AI today?"
→ ai-news-researcher activates

Claude Code shows which agent it selected at the top of the response. You can list all available agents with /agents.

Skills — natural language or slash commands

Skills activate the same way — describe what you need and the relevant skill loads automatically.

You can also invoke a skill directly with a slash command:

/ai-registry:name-workflow

The format is /plugin-name:command (the command may differ from the skill directory name).

Examples:

Plugin	Slash command	What it does
ai-registry	/ai-registry:name-workflow	Generates consistent workflow names and creates Notion entries
ai-registry	/ai-registry:workflow-sop	Writes Standard Operating Procedure docs for workflows
business-first-ai	/business-first-ai:edit-article	Loads HBR editorial criteria for article editing

Each plugin on the marketplace page includes a recommended workflow and example prompts so you know exactly what to ask.

Note

Skills from the ai-registry plugin require the Notion MCP connector to be configured. Without it, Claude can follow the naming conventions and draft the output, but cannot read from or write to Notion.

Checking what’s installed

/plugin list

This shows all installed plugins with their agents and skills. For the full plugin management commands (scopes, updates, disabling), see the official Discover and install plugins documentation.

Using Skills in Claude.ai (Web)

Claude.ai supports skills through a ZIP upload process. You can take any plugin skill and use it on the web — no terminal required.

Prerequisites

• Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan
• Code execution enabled in Settings > Capabilities (this lets Claude run skills — it does not give Claude access to your computer)

Upload a plugin skill to Claude.ai

1. Find the skill on your machine

If you use Claude Code and have already added the marketplace, all plugin skills are stored locally at:

~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/

Each skill is a folder containing SKILL.md and optional reference files.

Don’t use Claude Code?

Download the skill folder directly from GitHub instead — click the plugin folder, then skills, then the skill you want.

2. Zip the skill folder

Terminal command (optional — faster)

If you’re comfortable with Terminal, this is faster. Otherwise, use the Finder method. Open Terminal and paste this command, replacing <plugin-name> and <skill-name> with the actual names:

cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/<plugin-name>/skills && \
  zip -r ~/Desktop/<skill-name>.zip <skill-name>/

Concrete example for editing-hbr-articles:

cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/business-first-ai/skills && \
  zip -r ~/Desktop/editing-hbr-articles.zip editing-hbr-articles/

The ZIP file appears on your Desktop.

Finder (visual)

1. Open Finder
2. From the menu bar, click Go → Go to Folder… (or press Cmd + Shift + G)
3. Paste this path and press Enter:

   ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/

4. Open the plugin folder (e.g., business-first-ai), then skills
5. Right-click the skill folder (e.g., editing-hbr-articles) and choose Compress

Common mistake

Zip the folder itself, not the individual files inside it. When you open the ZIP, you should see a single folder (e.g., editing-hbr-articles/) — not loose files.

3. Upload to Claude.ai

Go to Settings > Capabilities > Upload skill. Select your .zip file.

4. Toggle the skill on

Find your uploaded skill in the Skills list and enable it.

5. Start using it

Open a new chat and describe your need. Claude automatically uses the skill when relevant.

Walkthrough: editing-hbr-articles in Claude.ai

The editing-hbr-articles skill is the most portable skill in the marketplace — no external dependencies.

• Plugin: business-first-ai
• Path: ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/business-first-ai/skills/editing-hbr-articles/
• Contents: SKILL.md and references/editorial-criteria.md
• Terminal zip command:

  cd ~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/business-first-ai/skills && \
    zip -r ~/Desktop/editing-hbr-articles.zip editing-hbr-articles/

• Test prompt in Claude.ai: “Edit this article for HBR quality” — then paste your draft

Claude applies the editorial criteria from the skill’s reference file automatically.

What about agents in Claude.ai?

In Claude Code, Claude automatically picks the right agent for your request. This automatic selection does not exist in Claude.ai.

Agent files have a different format from skill files and cannot be uploaded as skills directly. For agent-like behavior in Claude.ai, you can:

• Create a Project and paste the agent’s instructions as custom instructions
• Convert the agent into a skill (wrap its instructions in a SKILL.md file)

Skill compatibility across platforms

Most skills work fully across Claude Code, Claude.ai, Claude Desktop, and Cowork. A few skills require terminal or git access and are limited to Claude Code.

Skill	Claude Code	Claude.ai	Desktop / Cowork	Notes
editing-hbr-articles	Full	Full	Full	Pure instructions + reference doc
naming-workflows	Full	Full	Full	Reads/writes Notion across all platforms
writing-workflow-sops	Full	Full	Full	Reads/writes Notion across all platforms
writing-process-guides	Full	Full	Full	Reads/writes Notion across all platforms
registering-building-blocks	Full	Full	Full	Reads/writes Notion across all platforms
syncing-skills-to-github	Full	No	No	Requires terminal + git access

Using Plugins in Claude Cowork

Cowork is a visual workspace inside the Claude Desktop app (macOS) designed for non-technical work — writing, research, analysis, and project coordination. You set the goal and Claude delivers finished, professional work. It’s available on Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

Cowork has its own built-in plugin directory, so you don’t need Claude Code or a terminal to use plugins. The directory includes plugins across productivity, marketing, legal, finance, data analysis, and more — browse the full catalog at claude.com/plugins-for/cowork.

Install a plugin in Cowork

1. Open Claude Desktop and click Cowork in the sidebar
2. Click the + button at the bottom of the screen (next to “Work in a folder”)
3. Select Add plugins… from the menu
4. Browse the plugin directory or upload a custom plugin file

You can also click the Customize with plugins card on the Cowork home screen to go directly to plugin setup.

What Cowork offers with plugins

• Plugins bundle skills, connectors, slash commands, and sub-agents
• Cowork coordinates parallel workstreams and delivers professional outputs (Excel, PowerPoint, formatted docs)
• Pairs with Claude in Chrome for browser-based tasks
• Pairs with MCP connectors for external tool access (e.g., Notion)
• Plugins are saved locally to your machine

Cowork vs Claude Code

	Cowork	Claude Code
Interface	Visual — no terminal needed	Terminal-based
Plugin discovery	+ button > Add plugins… or plugin directory	/plugin install command
Agent activation	Via plugin commands	Auto-routing based on request
Best for	Knowledge workers, non-technical users	Developers, coding tasks
Plugin format	Same plugin files	Same plugin files

Both support the same plugin format and skill files. If you’re not comfortable with the terminal, Cowork is the recommended path.

Download from GitHub

Every file is plain-text Markdown — no compiled code, no special format. You don’t need Claude Code or plugins to use them. Download skill folders from GitHub and place them in your platform’s skill directory. See How to Add Skills to Your Platform for step-by-step instructions for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and VS Code Copilot.

GitHub Browse all skills on GitHub

Other ways to use them:

• Upload to Claude.ai — zip a skill folder and upload it under Settings > Capabilities > Upload skill (detailed instructions)
• Use via the Claude API — embed skill content in the system parameter (code example)

Using Skills via the Claude API

For developers

Skills can be used programmatically through the Claude API in two ways.

Skills API

Upload custom skills via the /v1/skills endpoints, then reference them by skill_id in conversations:

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic()

# Reference an uploaded skill by ID
response = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    max_tokens=4096,
    skill_ids=["sk_editing-hbr-articles"],
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Edit this article for HBR quality:\n\n[article text]"}
    ]
)

System prompt approach

Alternatively, embed the content of SKILL.md (and any reference files) directly in the system parameter:

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic()

# Read SKILL.md content
with open("editing-hbr-articles/SKILL.md") as f:
    skill_content = f.read()

with open("editing-hbr-articles/references/editorial-criteria.md") as f:
    criteria = f.read()

response = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    max_tokens=4096,
    system=f"{skill_content}\n\n## Reference: Editorial Criteria\n\n{criteria}",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Edit this article for HBR quality:\n\n[article text]"}
    ]
)

Note

MCP-dependent skills (like registering-building-blocks or syncing-skills-to-github) won’t work via the raw API since they require tool integrations that the API alone doesn’t provide.

Managing Plugins

Updating plugins

When a plugin is updated with new agents, skills, or improvements, pull the latest version:

/plugin update <plugin-name>@handsonai

Or update all installed plugins at once:

/plugin update --all

Enabling auto-updates

By default, Claude Code only auto-updates official Anthropic marketplaces. Third-party marketplaces like Hands-on AI have auto-updates disabled, so you won’t receive new agents, skills, or fixes automatically.

To enable auto-updates for the Hands-on AI marketplace:

1. Run /plugin to open the plugin manager
2. Select the Marketplaces tab
3. Choose handsonai from the list
4. Select Enable auto-update

Once enabled, Claude Code refreshes the marketplace and updates installed plugins each time it starts. If any plugins were updated, you’ll see a notification suggesting you restart Claude Code.

Tip

You can still update manually at any time with /plugin update --all — auto-update just makes it happen automatically at startup.

For more details on auto-update behavior and environment variables, see the official Configure auto-updates documentation.

Uninstalling

To remove a plugin you no longer need:

/plugin uninstall <plugin-name>@handsonai

To remove the marketplace entirely:

/plugin marketplace remove handsonai

Platform Summary

Capability	Claude Code	Claude.ai	Cowork	API
Plugin install	/plugin install	Upload skills as ZIP	+ button > Add plugins…	Skills API
Agent auto-routing	Yes	No	No	No
Skills (auto-trigger)	Yes	Yes (after upload)	Yes (via plugin)	Yes (Skills API)
Skills (slash command)	/plugin-name:command	No	/ commands	No
MCP / Connectors	Yes	Some skills (via MCP)	Yes (connectors)	No
Browser automation	No	No	Yes (Chrome)	No
Reference file loading	Automatic	Included in ZIP	Automatic (via plugin)	Manual
Best for	Developers	Quick skill use, any device	Knowledge work, non-technical users	Programmatic access

Troubleshooting

”Marketplace not found”

Make sure you’ve added the marketplace first:

/plugin marketplace add jamesgray-ai/handsonai-plugins

“Plugin not found”

Check the plugin name is spelled correctly and includes the @handsonai suffix:

# Correct
/plugin install business-first-ai@handsonai

# Wrong — missing marketplace suffix
/plugin install business-first-ai

“Permission denied” or authentication errors

The marketplace is public. If you see authentication errors, check your GitHub CLI configuration (GitHub Setup guide).

Run this in your terminal (not inside Claude Code):

gh auth status

“I installed a plugin but nothing happens”

Restart your Claude Code session. Then verify the plugin is installed:

/plugin list

If the plugin appears but agents don’t activate, try being more explicit in your prompt — for example, “Write a LinkedIn post about AI” rather than just “write something."

"Skill not working in Claude.ai”

1. Check that code execution is enabled in Settings > Capabilities
2. Check the compatibility table — some skills require MCP connectors that Claude.ai doesn’t support
3. Make sure the skill is toggled on in your Skills list

”ZIP upload failed”

• The ZIP must contain a folder with SKILL.md inside it — not loose files at the root
• The name field in SKILL.md frontmatter must use only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens
• The ZIP file should not exceed the upload size limit

”Can’t find skill files”

If you’ve added the marketplace, skill files are on your machine at:

~/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/handsonai/plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/

Not sure which plugin a skill belongs to?

Run /plugin list in Claude Code to see all installed plugins with their skills listed.

You can also browse skill source files on GitHub. The Plugin Marketplace links each skill name directly to its source folder, or use this URL pattern:

https://github.com/jamesgray-ai/handsonai-plugins/tree/main/plugins/<plugin-name>/skills/<skill-name>/

Next Steps

• Plugin Marketplace — browse available plugins and see what each one does
• Notion Registry setup — required for ai-registry skills that save to Notion