Use plugins

Choose by the result you need:

Your job	Start here	Tool boundary
Use an existing plugin in an agent	Find and install	agentplugins manages installation and activation instructions.
Write instructions or connect tools in a new package	Build plugins	agentplugins author is the supported authoring surface.

You do not need to create a project to use someone else's plugin. The installer accepts standard packages from the registry, local directories, or exact GitHub commits. Compatibility depends on both the package and the selected agent.

The installer journey

1. Find and inspect a package before selecting agents.
2. Review its source, tools, permissions, and any sign-in requirements.
3. Preview an explicit target selection with the installer's dry run.
4. Install only after reviewing the plan, then follow the printed activation steps.
5. Check and maintain installed state when updating or repairing.

A successful installation can still require a client restart, a fresh session, manual activation, or OAuth. Read the result for your selected client instead of assuming that every agent activates the same way.

Existing installer entrypoints

The current installer documentation uses the native agentplugins executable or the npm package universal-agent-plugins. The npm wrapper requires Node.js 22 or newer. These two examples express the same discovery job; choose one:

agentplugins search docs

npx universal-agent-plugins search docs

For installer acquisition, use the repository's native installation guide. The examples here assume the chosen installer is already available. For the released static authoring entrypoints, follow the Build guide.

Similar command names, different jobs

Command	Question it answers
agentplugins validate ./my-plugin	Can the installer read this local standard package?
agentplugins doctor	What needs attention in installer-managed state?
agentplugins author validate ./my-plugin	Does this authored package conform, and is its static readiness complete?
agentplugins author doctor ./my-plugin	What project and toolchain evidence can be inspected without execution?

Installer doctor does not author a package. Authoring doctor does not repair an installation. Keep reports from these jobs separate when asking for help.

What travels between the journeys

The handoff is a directory with root plugin.json and the package's components. It is not a promise that a server has been tested. Authors can prepare a local planner handoff; installers then make their own target, security, and activation decisions.

Portable components are Skills and MCP configuration. Client-specific hooks or extensions are separate compatibility concerns, not a third portable component.