# Claude Plugins

> Claude Plugins are installable bundles of skills, slash commands, sub-agents, and MCP connectors that set up Claude Code or Claude Cowork for a role or team.

Claude Plugins are installable packages that bundle skills, slash commands, sub-agents, hooks, and MCP connectors so Claude Code or Claude Cowork is configured for a job in one step. Anthropic's open-source knowledge-work-plugins repo launched with eleven role plugins and holds seventeen as of September 2026; developers add marketplaces from the CLI, and Cowork users install from Customize.

**Claude Plugins are installable packages that bundle skills, slash commands, sub-agents, hooks, and MCP connectors into a single unit, so that Claude Code or Claude Cowork is set up for a specific job from the first conversation instead of piece by piece.**

The format comes from Claude Code, where a plugin is a directory with a `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` manifest and optional `skills/`, `commands/`, `agents/`, `hooks/`, and `.mcp.json` at its root. Plugins are distributed through marketplaces, which are git repositories holding a catalog. Developers add one and install from it:

```bash
claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
claude plugin install sales@knowledge-work-plugins
```

The same packages install into [Claude Cowork](/tools/claude-cowork) from the Customize menu (Plugins tab, Browse plugins, Install), and into chat on the web and desktop, though hooks and [sub-agents](/glossary/subagent) only run in Cowork. Plugins are available on all paid plans, and Anthropic hosts a directory at claude.com/plugins.

Anthropic's open-source `knowledge-work-plugins` repository (Apache-2.0) is the reference set. It launched on January 30, 2026 with eleven plugins (productivity, sales, customer support, product management, marketing, legal, finance, data, enterprise search, bio research, and plugin management) and holds seventeen Anthropic-built plugins as of September 2026, the later additions covering HR, design, engineering, operations, small business, and a PDF viewer. Each wires together [Agent Skills](/glossary/agent-skills) for the domain, slash commands for explicit actions, and [connectors](/glossary/ai-connectors) for the CRM, tracker, or warehouse the role uses. The [knowledge-work plugins guide](/guides/getting-started/claude-knowledge-work-plugins) covers choosing and installing one; the [Claude Code plugins guide](/guides/configuration/claude-code-plugins) covers building your own.

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_Source: https://agentscamp.com/glossary/claude-plugins — Term on AgentsCamp._