Claude Code plugin.json Schema Reference

Complete reference for Claude Code plugin manifest files.

Minimal Valid plugin.json

For plugins using standard directory structures, this is all you need:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Brief description of the plugin"
}

Auto-discovery will automatically load components from standard locations.

Complete Schema

{
  "name": "plugin-name",
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "description": "Brief plugin description",
  "author": {
    "name": "Author Name",
    "email": "author@example.com",
    "url": "https://github.com/author"
  },
  "homepage": "https://docs.example.com/plugin",
  "repository": "https://github.com/author/plugin",
  "license": "MIT",
  "keywords": ["keyword1", "keyword2"],
  "commands": "./custom/commands/",
  "agents": "./custom/agents/",
  "skills": "./custom/skills/",
  "hooks": "./config/hooks.json",
  "mcpServers": "./mcp-config.json",
  "outputStyles": "./styles/",
  "lspServers": "./.lsp.json"
}

Field Reference

Required Fields

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Unique identifier, kebab-case, max 64 chars
version	string	Semantic version (x.y.z)
description	string	Brief explanation of the plugin

Optional Metadata Fields

Field	Type	Description
author	object	{name, email?, url?}
homepage	string	Documentation URL
repository	string	Source code URL
license	string	License identifier (MIT, Apache-2.0, etc.)
keywords	array	Discovery tags (strings)

Component Path Fields

Field	Type	Auto-Discovery Location
commands	string | array	commands/
agents	string | array	agents/
skills	string | array	skills/
hooks	string | object	hooks/hooks.json
mcpServers	string | object	.mcp.json
lspServers	string | object	.lsp.json
outputStyles	string | array	(none)

Auto-Discovery

Claude Code automatically loads components from standard directories without needing explicit paths in plugin.json:

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json      # Only manifest required here
├── commands/            # Auto-discovered: all .md files
├── agents/              # Auto-discovered: all .md files
├── skills/              # Auto-discovered: subdirs with SKILL.md
├── hooks/
│   └── hooks.json       # Auto-discovered
├── .mcp.json            # Auto-discovered
└── .lsp.json            # Auto-discovered

Key insight: If using standard directories, omit the fields entirely from plugin.json. Explicit paths are only needed for non-standard locations.

When to Use Explicit Paths

Use explicit paths only when components are in non-standard locations:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "Plugin with custom paths",
  "commands": "./src/custom-commands/",
  "agents": ["./ai/agents/reviewer.md", "./ai/agents/tester.md"],
  "hooks": "./config/hooks.json"
}

Custom paths supplement (don't replace) auto-discovered components.

Path Format Rules

Correct Path Formats

// Directory path
"commands": "./custom/commands/"

// Single file path
"hooks": "./config/hooks.json"

// Array of paths
"agents": ["./agents/agent1.md", "./agents/agent2.md"]

Invalid Path Formats (Will Cause Validation Errors)

// WRONG: Missing leading ./
"commands": "commands/"

// WRONG: Absolute path
"commands": "/Users/me/plugins/commands/"

// WRONG: Path traversal (../)
"commands": "../shared/commands/"

// WRONG: Relative to plugin.json location
"commands": "../commands"

Inline Configuration

hooks, mcpServers, and lspServers can be inline objects instead of file paths:

Inline Hooks

{
  "hooks": {
    "PostToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write|Edit",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/format.sh"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Inline MCP Servers

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "database": {
      "command": "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/servers/db-server",
      "args": ["--config", "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/config.json"]
    }
  }
}

Common Validation Errors

"hooks: Invalid input"

• Cause: Using path traversal (../) or wrong type
• Fix: Use ./hooks/hooks.json or omit field for auto-discovery

"commands: Invalid input"

• Cause: Wrong path format or invalid type
• Fix: Use string ("./commands/") or array (["./cmd.md"]), or omit for auto-discovery

"agents: Invalid input"

• Cause: Wrong path format, often using object instead of string/array
• Fix: Use string ("./agents/") or array (["./agent.md"]), or omit for auto-discovery

General Validation Failures

1. Check all paths start with ./
2. Remove component fields if using standard directories
3. Verify no path traversal (../)
4. Ensure arrays contain only strings (paths)

Best Practices

1. Prefer minimal manifests - Only specify what's non-standard
2. Use auto-discovery - Put components in standard directories
3. Avoid explicit paths for standard locations - Don't add "commands": "./commands" if that's the default
4. Use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} - In hook scripts for portable paths
5. Validate before publishing - Run claude plugin validate /path/to/plugin

Directory Structure Template

my-plugin/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json       # Minimal manifest
├── README.md             # Plugin documentation
├── commands/             # Slash commands (auto-discovered)
│   ├── deploy.md
│   └── status.md
├── agents/               # Agents (auto-discovered)
│   └── reviewer.md
├── skills/               # Skills (auto-discovered)
│   └── analysis/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── hooks/                # Hooks (auto-discovered)
│   ├── hooks.json
│   └── scripts/
│       └── post-edit.py
└── scripts/              # Shared scripts
    └── utils.py

Debugging

# Validate plugin structure
claude plugin validate /path/to/plugin

# Debug mode for detailed loading info
claude --debug

# Check what components are loaded
claude /help  # Lists available commands from plugins