Plugins Overview

Last verified: 21 April 2026 | Applies to: Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise

In 30 seconds

Plugins are pre-built bundles that package skills (domain knowledge), connectors (tool integrations), slash commands, and sub-agents: all configured for a specific business function. Before plugins, you’d spend the first ten minutes of every Claude session explaining your workflows. Plugins skip that. Anthropic released 11 knowledge-work plugins, all open source at github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins.

What it does

graph TD
    subgraph "Work independently"
        A[Skills] -->|"All plans"| C[Claude]
        B[Connectors] -->|"All plans"| C
    end
    subgraph "Plugin bundles all four"
        D[Skills + Connectors] --> E[Slash commands]
        D --> F[Sub-agents]
    end
    E -->|"Pro+"| C
    F -->|"Pro+"| C

Plugins vs skills vs connectors: These terms get confused. Here’s the distinction:

Skills are the knowledge layer: markdown instructions that tell Claude how to do something. Skills work on their own, on any plan including Free.
Connectors link Claude to external tools via MCP: Slack, Asana, Notion, etc.
Plugins bundle skills + connectors + slash commands + sub-agents into a single installable package. They’re the most complete way to give Claude domain expertise.

Think of it this way: a skill is a recipe. A connector is access to the kitchen. A plugin is the recipe, the kitchen access, the sous chef, and the menu, all preconfigured.

What each plugin includes:

Skills: domain-specific instructions and frameworks (e.g., GAAP presentation standards in the Finance plugin)
Slash commands: shortcuts like /finance:reconciliation, /sales:call-prep, /legal:review-contract
Sub-agents: specialised agents for multi-step tasks within the domain
Connectors: preconfigured tool integrations relevant to that function

How to install

Install plugins from claude.com/plugins (browse the directory online) or via the Cowork interface in Claude Desktop (Cowork tab → Plugins in the sidebar).

Browse or search for the plugin you want
Click Install
Open a Cowork session: the plugin’s capabilities are now available
Try the plugin’s key slash command (listed below) to get started

The 11 knowledge-work plugins

Productivity Workplace memory, task tracking, and personal knowledge management. Start with /productivity:start.

Finance Reconciliations, variance analysis, journal entries. GAAP-aware. Start with /finance:reconciliation.

Legal Contract review, NDA triage (GREEN/YELLOW/RED), clause analysis. Start with /legal:review-contract.

Sales Prospect research, call prep briefs, pipeline review. Start with /sales:call-prep.

Marketing Content frameworks, campaign planning, competitive analysis, brand voice.

Data SQL across dialects, dashboards, statistical analysis, data cleaning. Start with /data:query.

Product Management Feature specs, RICE/MoSCoW scoring, stakeholder updates. Start with /product-management:feature-spec.

Customer Support Ticket triage, response drafting, knowledge base management.

Enterprise Search Cross-tool search and result synthesis across connected tools.

Bio Research Genomics analysis, literature review, experimental design. Niche audience.

Plugin Create Build new plugins from scratch or customise existing ones. The meta-plugin.

All are open source: github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

How operators actually use it

“I installed the Productivity plugin, ran /productivity:start, and spent fifteen minutes seeding context about my team and projects. Now Claude remembers everything between sessions: no more re-explaining.”

The Productivity plugin is the recommended starting point for all operators. See Workplace Memory for the full walkthrough.

“Our bookkeeper used the Finance plugin’s variance analysis workflow on a 200-line P&L. It flagged three miscoded expenses and a duplicate vendor payment in about ten minutes: work that normally takes half a day of eyeballing spreadsheets.”

Domain plugins come pre-loaded with frameworks operators actually use: GAAP standards in the Finance plugin, RICE scoring in the Product Management plugin, clause-by-clause analysis in the Legal plugin. They’re not perfect, but they’re a strong starting point.

Customising plugins

You have three paths:

Use as-is. Install Anthropic’s plugins and use them out of the box. Good starting point.
Customise existing plugins. The Plugin Customiser skill lets you adapt any plugin to your organisation: your terminology, your tools, your approval workflows. Describe what you need changed.
Build from scratch. Use Plugin Create to describe what you want. Claude builds the entire plugin (folder structure, manifest, skills) and delivers it as a ZIP ready to install. See Building a Plugin for the full workflow.

Plugins require Cowork. They run in Cowork sessions, not in standard chat. You need a Pro plan or above.
Not all slash commands are documented. Explore by asking Claude what commands a plugin provides, or browse the open-source repository.
Plugins don’t sync automatically across devices. Custom-built plugins need to be installed on each device. Team/Enterprise admins can provision plugins org-wide.
There are 11 plugins, not 7. Some older sources only list the first seven. Customer Support, Enterprise Search, Bio Research, and Plugin Create were released alongside the original seven.
Department-specific plugins exist. Beyond the 11 knowledge-work plugins, there are department-specific plugins for PE modelling, HR, design, operations, and more. Check claude.com/plugins for the full directory.
Enterprise private plugin marketplaces. Enterprise plans support private plugin marketplaces, letting you distribute custom-built or approved plugins exclusively within your organisation.

Workplace Memory: the first workflow most operators set up (uses the Productivity plugin)
Building a Plugin: create your own custom plugin
Skills: how the knowledge layer works independently of plugins
Community Plugins: operator-built plugins

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