Build plugins

Your job	Journey	Result
Install someone else's package	Use plugins	Managed client installation and activation instructions.
Write a new portable package	Continue below	Root plugin.json, Skills and/or MCP configuration.

Install the primary CLI with npm or Homebrew:

npm install -g universal-agent-plugins
# or: brew install 777genius/agentplugins/agentplugins

Then use agentplugins author throughout this guide. Version 0.1.65 provides the static init, validate, inspect, test, compat, doctor, capabilities, and skills authoring commands documented here.

Choose the smallest useful package

Need	Template	Inputs beyond destination and identity
Instructions an agent can follow	Standalone Skill	--template skill; optional explicit Skill name.
Connect to an existing service	Remote MCP	--template mcp-remote --url with an explicit endpoint.
Provide a local MCP process	Stdio MCP	--template mcp-stdio --runtime node.
Instructions plus tools	Hybrid	--template hybrid --mcp-template plus the selected MCP inputs.

A standalone Skill here means a standard package whose portable component is a Skill. It still has root plugin.json; it is not an external Skills installer. Add more instructions later with extra Skills.

Primary authoring commands

Job	Command
Create a package	agentplugins author init
Validate	agentplugins author validate
Inspect	agentplugins author inspect
Static test	agentplugins author test
Static client compatibility	agentplugins author compat
Project doctor	agentplugins author doctor
Engine capabilities	agentplugins author capabilities
Add or validate Skills	agentplugins author skills

Follow the authoring loop

1. Choose a template and an absent destination under an existing parent.
2. Review and edit the resulting package files.
3. Run validate, inspect, and static test against the exact root.
4. Evaluate explicit target compatibility and inspect project doctor evidence.
5. Send the package and its limits to the installer planner.

Creating files is local mutation. Validation, inspection, static test, and compatibility do not install into clients or launch package code. A passing static report is useful evidence, but it does not establish runtime success.

What this journey does not expose

The 0.1.65 public release does not run package code, start development servers, bootstrap dependencies, generate client projections, export bundles, or publish packages. Hooks remain client-specific extensions. Select destinations positionally and read command boundaries before adapting automation.