Plugins turn Claude Cowork from a general assistant into a role-specific operator. 11 official plugins, a marketplace with more added regularly, and the ability to build your own.
A plugin is a bundle of everything Claude needs to do a specific job well. Each one packages together skills (domain knowledge Claude draws on automatically), connectors (links to tools like Slack, HubSpot, or Jira), slash commands (explicit actions you trigger), and sub-agents (specialized AI helpers for specific tasks).
Plugins are just files. Markdown and JSON. No code, no infrastructure, no build steps. You can read every instruction a plugin gives Claude, edit it, or write your own from scratch. This is what makes Cowork plugins different from traditional software extensions. They're transparent and editable.
Without a plugin, Claude Cowork is a general assistant. With the right plugin installed, it becomes a sales rep who knows your CRM, a support agent who follows your escalation rules, or a finance analyst who runs your reconciliation workflow. The plugin tells Claude what to do, how to do it, and which tools to use.
Every plugin follows the same directory structure. Once you understand it, you can read, modify, or build any plugin.
plugin-name/ ├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json # Manifest: name, version, description ├── .mcp.json # Connector configs (MCP servers) ├── commands/ # Slash commands you trigger manually ├── skills/ # Domain knowledge Claude uses automatically ├── agents/ # Specialized sub-agents for complex tasks └── hooks/ # Event handlers (runs on specific triggers)
The manifest file. Contains the plugin's name, version, description, and metadata. This is what shows up in the marketplace when someone browses for plugins.
Connector configurations. This file tells Claude which external tools to connect to via the Model Context Protocol. Each connector entry specifies how to authenticate and communicate with a tool like Slack, Notion, or Snowflake.
Slash commands are actions you trigger explicitly. For example, /sales:call-prep or /finance:reconciliation. Each command is a markdown file with step-by-step instructions Claude follows when you invoke it.
SKILL.md files that give Claude domain expertise. Unlike commands, skills fire automatically when Claude detects they're relevant. A contract review skill activates when you drop a contract into the conversation. Read more about skills.
Sub-agents are specialized AI helpers with their own context, tools, and permissions. A plugin might include a research agent that only reads data, or a triage agent that sorts incoming tickets. Claude invokes them automatically based on the task.
Event handlers that run on specific triggers. A hook might auto-format documents after Claude writes them, or validate data before Claude sends it to a connector. Events include PreToolUse, PostToolUse, SessionStart, TaskCompleted, and more.
Anthropic ships these plugins in the official marketplace. Each is built for a specific role and pre-configured with the connectors that role needs most.
Task management, calendar coordination, daily workflows, and personal context. The general-purpose plugin for anyone who manages work across multiple tools.
Connectors: Slack, Notion, Asana, Linear, Jira, Monday.com, ClickUp, Microsoft 365
Prospect research, call prep, pipeline review, outreach drafts, and competitive battlecards. Built for SDRs, AEs, and sales managers who live in their CRM.
Connectors: Slack, HubSpot, Close, Clay, ZoomInfo, Notion, Jira, Fireflies, Microsoft 365
Ticket triage, response drafting, escalation routing, and knowledge base article creation. Pulls context from your help docs and past tickets to draft accurate replies.
Connectors: Slack, Intercom, HubSpot, Guru, Jira, Notion, Microsoft 365
Specs, roadmaps, user research synthesis, and stakeholder updates. Connects to your issue tracker, design tools, and analytics to keep product work grounded in data.
Connectors: Slack, Linear, Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp, Jira, Notion, Figma, Amplitude, Pendo, Intercom, Fireflies
Content drafting, campaign planning, brand voice enforcement, and competitive briefs. Connects to your SEO tools, design platform, and email marketing system.
Connectors: Slack, Canva, Figma, HubSpot, Amplitude, Notion, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb, Klaviyo
Contract review, NDA triage, compliance workflows, and risk assessment. Reads documents from cloud storage and generates summary memos with risk levels and recommended changes. Used by firms like those on our law firm setup page.
Connectors: Slack, Box, Egnyte, Jira, Microsoft 365
Journal entries, reconciliation, financial statement generation, and variance analysis. Connects directly to your data warehouse for calculations grounded in real numbers.
Connectors: Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Slack, Microsoft 365
SQL queries, statistical analysis, dashboard creation, and data validation. For analysts who need to pull, clean, and present data without switching between five different tools.
Connectors: Snowflake, Databricks, BigQuery, Hex, Amplitude, Jira
Cross-platform search across email, chat, docs, and wikis. Finds information buried across your organization's tools and returns it in one place.
Connectors: Slack, Notion, Guru, Jira, Asana, Microsoft 365
Literature search, genomics analysis, and target prioritization. Connects to scientific databases and rendering tools used by biotech and pharmaceutical researchers.
Connectors: PubMed, BioRender, bioRxiv, ClinicalTrials.gov, ChEMBL, Benchling
The meta-plugin. Use it to build new plugins from scratch. Generates the directory structure, skill files, connector configs, and command templates for you.
Connectors: None (it builds them)
The 11 official plugins are just the starting point. Claude Cowork has a marketplace of plugins built by Anthropic, third-party companies, and the community.
The claude-plugins-official marketplace is built into Claude Cowork. Browse it by typing /plugin and selecting the Discover tab. Install any plugin with one click, or use the command /plugin install plugin-name@claude-plugins-official. You can also submit your own plugins for inclusion at claude.ai/settings/plugins/submit.
Beyond the 11 official role-based plugins, there are integration plugins for specific platforms:
Any GitHub repo, Git URL, or local directory can serve as a plugin marketplace. Add one with /plugin marketplace add owner/repo. This is useful for teams that build internal plugins and want a centralized place to browse and install them.
The official plugins cover common roles. But your business isn't generic. Custom plugins encode the workflows, terminology, and tools specific to your business into something Claude follows every time.
Install the Plugin Create plugin and describe what you need. It generates the full directory structure: plugin.json, .mcp.json, commands, skills, agents, and hooks. You fill in the details. Since everything is markdown and JSON, you don't need a developer to maintain it.
All 11 official plugins are open source at github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins. Fork the one closest to your role, then customize it. Swap connectors in .mcp.json, add company-specific skill files, modify command workflows, or remove things you don't need.
Plugins can be installed at four levels, each with a different reach:
| Scope | Settings File | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| User | ~/.claude/settings.json |
Personal use across all projects |
| Project | .claude/settings.json |
Team-wide, shared via git |
| Local | .claude/settings.local.json |
Project-specific, gitignored |
| Managed | Enterprise settings | Org-wide, read-only for members |
A real estate team might fork the Productivity plugin and add skills for listing descriptions, comp analysis, and client follow-up. A law firm might start with the Legal plugin and add skills encoding their specific contract review checklist and citation formatting rules. The setup guide covers the full process.
On Team and Enterprise plans, organization owners can create curated plugin marketplaces for their members. This gives you control over which plugins your team uses and how they're distributed.
Plugin installs automatically for every member. Use this for must-have plugins that encode company standards.
Plugin is visible in the marketplace but optional. Members install it if it's relevant to their role.
Plugin exists in the org marketplace but isn't shown to members. Useful for plugins still in testing.
Manage all of this through Organization settings, in the Plugins section. For details on Cowork plan options, see the pricing guide.
You could learn the plugin system yourself. But most businesses don't have time to study MCP configs, skill file syntax, and connector authentication flows. We handle all of it so you get a working system, not a learning project.
We build plugins specific to your business. Your workflows, your tools, your terminology. Every skill file, command, and connector config is written for how your team actually works.
Already using an official plugin but need it tuned? We fork it, swap connectors, add your company context, and adjust workflows so it fits your process instead of a generic template.
Getting 38+ connectors configured correctly, with the right permissions and authentication, takes time. We set up your CRM, project management, document storage, and communication tools so they're ready from day one.
Remote or in-person. We walk your team through using their plugins, triggering commands, understanding what Claude is doing, and making simple edits to skill files when workflows change.
Book a free 15-minute call. We'll look at your current tools and workflows, then tell you exactly which plugins you need and what custom work would look like.
Book a Free 15-Minute CallNo commitment · We'll map your plugin needs in 15 minutes
/plugin, and browse the Discover tab. Select a plugin and click install. You can also install from the command line with /plugin install plugin-name@claude-plugins-official. Plugins can be scoped to a single user, a project, or an entire organization.