Installation

Knowledge Work Plugins work in two environments: Claude Cowork and Claude Code. This guide covers installation for both.

Choose your environment

Claude Cowork

Visual interface with built-in plugin marketplace (recommended)

Claude Code

CLI-based development environment

Installing in Cowork

Cowork includes a visual plugin marketplace that makes installation simple.

Open the plugin marketplace

Navigate to claude.com/plugins or click the Plugins tab in your Cowork workspace.

Browse or search for a plugin

Use the search bar to find a specific plugin (e.g., “sales”) or browse by category:

Sales & Business Development
Customer Support
Product & Engineering
Marketing & Content
Finance & Operations
Research & Data

Click Install

Click the Install button on any plugin card. The plugin will download and activate automatically.

Verify installation

Start a new conversation and type / to see available slash commands. Your installed plugin’s commands should appear in the list.

Plugins installed in Cowork are available across all your workspaces. You don’t need to reinstall them for each project.

Installing in Claude Code

Claude Code uses a CLI-based plugin system. You’ll add the marketplace first, then install specific plugins.

Add the marketplace

Before installing any plugin, add the Knowledge Work Plugins marketplace:

claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins

This registers the marketplace repository and makes all plugins available for installation.

Install a plugin

Install any plugin using the plugin install command with the format plugin-name@marketplace-name:

# Install the sales plugin
claude plugin install sales@knowledge-work-plugins

# Install the data plugin
claude plugin install data@knowledge-work-plugins

# Install the customer-support plugin
claude plugin install customer-support@knowledge-work-plugins

Verify installation

List all installed plugins:

claude plugin list

You should see output like:

Installed plugins:
  - sales@knowledge-work-plugins (v1.1.0)
  - data@knowledge-work-plugins (v1.0.2)

Update a plugin

Update an installed plugin to the latest version:

claude plugin update sales@knowledge-work-plugins

Update all plugins at once:

claude plugin update --all

Uninstall a plugin

Remove a plugin you no longer need:

claude plugin uninstall sales@knowledge-work-plugins

Available plugins

All 11 plugins from the marketplace can be installed using either method:

Plugin	Install Command	Use Case
`sales`	`claude plugin install sales@knowledge-work-plugins`	Prospect, prep calls, manage pipeline, draft outreach
`customer-support`	`claude plugin install customer-support@knowledge-work-plugins`	Triage tickets, draft responses, build KB articles
`product-management`	`claude plugin install product-management@knowledge-work-plugins`	Write specs, plan roadmaps, synthesize research
`marketing`	`claude plugin install marketing@knowledge-work-plugins`	Draft content, plan campaigns, enforce brand voice
`data`	`claude plugin install data@knowledge-work-plugins`	Query datasets, write SQL, build dashboards
`finance`	`claude plugin install finance@knowledge-work-plugins`	Reconcile accounts, generate statements, manage close
`legal`	`claude plugin install legal@knowledge-work-plugins`	Review contracts, navigate compliance, assess risk
`productivity`	`claude plugin install productivity@knowledge-work-plugins`	Manage tasks, calendars, daily workflows
`enterprise-search`	`claude plugin install enterprise-search@knowledge-work-plugins`	Search across email, chat, docs, and wikis
`bio-research`	`claude plugin install bio-research@knowledge-work-plugins`	Preclinical research tools and databases
`cowork-plugin-management`	`claude plugin install cowork-plugin-management@knowledge-work-plugins`	Create and customize plugins

Plugin structure

Once installed, plugins are stored in your local environment. Each plugin follows this structure:

plugin-name/
├── .claude-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json          # Plugin manifest
├── .mcp.json                # MCP server connections
├── commands/                # Slash commands
│   ├── command-1.md
│   └── command-2.md
└── skills/                  # Auto-activated skills
    ├── skill-1/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    └── skill-2/
        └── SKILL.md

Plugin manifest

The plugin.json file contains metadata about the plugin:

{
  "name": "sales",
  "version": "1.1.0",
  "description": "Prospect, craft outreach, and build deal strategy faster.",
  "author": {
    "name": "Anthropic"
  }
}

MCP connections

The .mcp.json file defines connections to external tools via MCP servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hubspot": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.hubspot.com/anthropic"
    },
    "slack": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.slack.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Plugins work without any MCP connections (using web search and your input), but they’re supercharged when you connect your tools.

How plugins activate

Once installed, plugins activate automatically:

Skills activate implicitly

Skills trigger when Claude detects relevant intent. You don’t need to do anything special. Example:

You: "Prep me for my call with Acme Corp"

Claude: [call-prep skill activates automatically]

Commands activate explicitly

Commands are invoked with slash syntax: Example:

You: "/sales:call-summary [paste your call notes]"

Claude: [processes notes and generates summary]

View available commands

Type / in any conversation to see all available commands from your installed plugins:

/sales:call-summary
/sales:forecast  
/sales:pipeline-review
/data:write-query
/finance:reconciliation
...

Customizing after installation

Plugins are designed to be customized for your company’s specific needs:

Connect your tools

Edit .mcp.json to wire up your CRM, email, calendar, and other tools

Add company context

Drop your terminology, processes, and org structure into skill files

Modify workflows

Adjust skill instructions to match how your team actually works

Create new commands

Build custom slash commands for your specific workflows

Troubleshooting

Plugin not appearing after installation

In Cowork:

Refresh the plugin marketplace page
Check that the plugin appears in Settings → Plugins
Start a new conversation (plugins don’t activate mid-conversation)

In Claude Code:

Run claude plugin list to verify installation
Restart your Claude Code session
Check that you added the marketplace: claude plugin marketplace list

Slash commands not showing up

Type / in a new conversation. If commands don’t appear:

Verify the plugin is installed: claude plugin list (Claude Code) or check Settings → Plugins (Cowork)
Start a fresh conversation
Check the plugin’s commands/ directory to ensure command files exist

Plugin not finding my tools

If skills aren’t pulling from your CRM, email, or other tools:

Check that the .mcp.json file includes the correct connector URLs
Verify your MCP servers are running and accessible
Check authentication credentials for connected services
See Connectors documentation for detailed configuration

Plugin version conflicts

In Claude Code:

# Check current version
claude plugin list

# Update to latest
claude plugin update sales@knowledge-work-plugins

# Reinstall if needed
claude plugin uninstall sales@knowledge-work-plugins
claude plugin install sales@knowledge-work-plugins

In Cowork:

Go to Settings → Plugins
Click Update next to the plugin
Restart Cowork if the update doesn’t apply

Next steps

Try the quickstart

Follow the quickstart guide to use your first plugin end-to-end

Connect your tools

Set up MCP connectors to supercharge your plugins

Customize skills

Add your company’s context to skill files

Explore the marketplace

Browse all available plugins to find more for your role

Need help?

Get support, join the community, or report issues

Get Started

Core Concepts

Business Plugins

Operations Plugins

Technical Plugins

Specialized Plugins

Customization

Building Plugins

​Installation

​Choose your environment

Claude Cowork

Claude Code

​Installing in Cowork

​Installing in Claude Code

​Add the marketplace

​Install a plugin

​Verify installation

​Update a plugin

​Uninstall a plugin

​Available plugins

​Plugin structure

​Plugin manifest

​MCP connections

​How plugins activate

​Skills activate implicitly

​Commands activate explicitly

​View available commands

​Customizing after installation

Connect your tools

Add company context

Modify workflows

Create new commands

​Troubleshooting

​Plugin not appearing after installation

​Slash commands not showing up

​Plugin not finding my tools

​Plugin version conflicts

​Next steps

Need help?

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

Choose your environment

Installing in Cowork

Installing in Claude Code

Add the marketplace

Install a plugin

Verify installation

Update a plugin

Uninstall a plugin

Available plugins

Plugin structure

Plugin manifest

MCP connections

How plugins activate

Skills activate implicitly

Commands activate explicitly

View available commands

Customizing after installation

Troubleshooting

Plugin not appearing after installation

Slash commands not showing up

Plugin not finding my tools

Plugin version conflicts

Next steps