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Plugin Structure for Claude Code · brycewang-stanford | DecimalAI

agent toolingby brycewang-stanford

Plugin Structure for Claude Code

brycewang-stanford/plugin-structure

Source brycewang-stanford/Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills ↗License NOASSERTION

This skill should be used when the user asks to "create a plugin", "scaffold a plugin", "understand plugin structure", "organize plugin components", "set up plugin.json", "use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}", "add commands/agents/skills/hooks", "configure auto-discovery", or needs guidance on plugin directory layout, manifest configuration, component organization, file naming conventions, or Claude Code plugin architecture best practices.

SkillScore100Maintained

Automatic

AI Engineer pack

Last verified 8/8/2026

What it changes

Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 13 of 22 without it.

Without skill59%

With skill100%

Checks it passed that the model alone missed

Specifies that slash command files must use the .md extension
States that relative paths in component manifest fields must start with ./
Requires using bash ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/... to specify the hook script path

and 9 more in the full report

9 fixed13 passed either way0 still failing0 broke

Pass-rate lift: +41 pp
Tokens: +145%
Agent turns: 0%
Response time: -53%

Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/8/2026v122 of 22 cases passed with skill

Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.

Use this skill

Save it into your project's skills folder. Claude Code picks it up in its next session.

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/SKILL.md

Want it pinned and updatable? pip install "decimalai>=0.15", then decimalai skills add brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure, and start Claude Code with claude --plugin-dir "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.agents"

1 · One-time — install the CLI (docs ↗)

pip install "decimalai>=0.15"

2 · Get the skill — writes .agents/skills/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/ and pins it in .decimal/skills.lock

decimalai skills add brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure

No CLI? Get the same file — curl · raw file

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/SKILL.md

Raw file: /s/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure/SKILL.md ↗ · machine-readable summary at /s/brycewang-stanford-plugin-structure.json ↗

Safety checks: 3 of 3 passed

Code scan CleanIntent PassedContent Clean

See it in action

One of 9 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.

1 of 9

Prompt

In my plugin's .mcp.json file, I want to launch an MCP server node script located in servers/server.js. What should the args array entry look like for the script path?

What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked	Without skill	With skill
States that the path argument should be formatted as ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/server.js	Missed	Passed

case-19 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/8/2026 · answers are capped and redacted

What's inside

The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.

SKILL.md470 lines3 files

Plugin Structure for Claude Code

Overview

Claude Code plugins follow a standardized directory structure with automatic component discovery. Understanding this structure enables creating well-organized, maintainable plugins that integrate seamlessly with Claude Code.

Key concepts:

Conventional directory layout for automatic discovery
Manifest-driven configuration in .claude-plugin/plugin.json
Component-based organization (commands, agents, skills, hooks)
Portable path references using ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}
Explicit vs. auto-discovered component loading

Directory Structure

Every Claude Code plugin follows this organizational pattern:

plugin-name/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json          # Required: Plugin manifest
├── commands/                 # Slash commands (.md files)
├── agents/                   # Subagent definitions (.md files)
├── skills/                   # Agent skills (subdirectories)
│   └── skill-name/
│       └── SKILL.md         # Required for each skill
├── hooks/
│   └── hooks.json           # Event handler configuration
├── .mcp.json                # MCP server definitions
└── scripts/                 # Helper scripts and utilities

Critical rules:

Manifest location: The plugin.json manifest MUST be in .claude-plugin/ directory
Component locations: All component directories (commands, agents, skills, hooks) MUST be at plugin root level, NOT nested inside .claude-plugin/
Optional components: Only create directories for components the plugin actually uses
Naming convention: Use kebab-case for all directory and file names

Plugin Manifest (plugin.json)

Track record

Benchmark

22 / 22

test cases passed, vs 13 / 22 without

Adoption

Users: 0
Times used: 0

Safety and source details

SkillSafety

✓ 3 of 3 passed

Code scan15 of 15 checks clean

0 critical · 0 warning · 0 info — scanner v4 — 8/2/2026

View 15 scanner checks

live_secretremote_code_executionreverse_shelldata_exfiltrationssrf_metadataagent_snoopinganti_refusaldestructive_commandsobfuscated_unicodeunicode_homoglyphopaque_blobsuspicious_urltool_overreachtrigger_abuseprompt_injection_phrasing

IntentSafe

LLM judge · does the skill do what it claims

ContentClean

LLM judge · policy & harmful-content review

Source

Imported

brycewang-stanford / Auto-Empirical-Research-Skills

skills/33-Galaxy-Dawn-claude-scholar/skills/plugin-structure/SKILL.md

View on GitHub ↗

License NOASSERTIONImported 8/2/2026Version v1Bundled 2 files

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See it in action

What's inside

Plugin Structure for Claude Code

Overview

Directory Structure

Plugin Manifest (plugin.json)

Track record

Benchmark

Adoption

SkillSafety

Source

Other skills for the same job

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