Claude Plugin Creator

A Claude Code plugin for scaffolding and testing new plugins that bundle self-installing local MCP servers.

Why this exists

Claude Code plugins can bundle an MCP server alongside skills and hooks into a single installable unit — no separate pipx install, no claude mcp add, no manual setup. But getting the configuration right is tricky: the SessionStart hook must install Python dependencies into an isolated site-packages using python3 -m pip (not pip, which doesn't exist on macOS), the .mcp.json must set PYTHONPATH to that directory, and the server must be invocable from any working directory via ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}.

This plugin generates all of that correctly. It scaffolds a working plugin with an MCP server, a skill, and a dependency hook — tested end-to-end — so you can rename the sample tool and start building your real plugin on a known-good foundation.

Install

claude plugin install plugin-creator@productivity

Requires the productivity marketplace:

claude plugin marketplace add https://github.com/krisrowe/claude-plugins.git

Scaffolding a plugin

Ask Claude to scaffold a plugin. It picks a random animal and saying, creates all the files, and tells you how to test:

> scaffold me a plugin

The generated plugin includes:

• A sample MCP tool (speak_<animal>) — proves the full self-installing pipeline works. Details →
• A sample skill (speak-animal) — demonstrates graceful degradation between tool calls and improvisation. Details →
• Correct SessionStart hook with python3 -m pip
• .mcp.json with proper PYTHONPATH configuration
• requirements.txt for dependency management

Testing plugins

After scaffolding (or any time you have a plugin's source locally), ask Claude to test it:

> debug that plugin

Claude runs a headless session against the plugin directory, validates that tools are discovered by intent (not by name), and reports the result. No manual commands needed.

Or run manually:

claude -p "speak alligator" --plugin-dir=/path/to/plugin \
  --allowedTools "mcp__plugin_alligator-speak_alligator-speak__*"

Testing any plugin

The debug_plugin tool works on any Claude Code plugin you have locally — not just plugins created by this scaffolder. Point it at any directory with a .claude-plugin/plugin.json and give it a natural-language prompt that should trigger one of the plugin's tools. It auto-discovers the plugin's MCP tool names from .mcp.json and pre-approves them so the headless session runs without permission prompts.

This is useful for:

• Verifying a plugin after code changes
• Testing plugins created manually or by other tools
• Validating that skills trigger the right tools
• Quick smoke tests before publishing to a marketplace

MCP Tools

scaffold_plugin

Creates a complete working plugin skeleton.

scaffold_plugin(animal_species, common_saying, path=None)

• animal_species — animal name (e.g., "alligator")
• common_saying — what it says (e.g., "After while, crocodile")
• path — target directory (default: current working directory)

debug_plugin

Runs a headless Claude session against a plugin directory.

debug_plugin(prompt, path=None)

• prompt (required) — natural-language phrase that should trigger the plugin. Describe intent, don't name tools directly.
• path — plugin directory (default: current working directory)

Do not use on long-running tools (deploys, builds, CI). It has a 60-second timeout.

Skills

• create-mcp-plugin — full guide for scaffolding manually or converting an existing MCP server into a plugin. Covers greenfield, absorb, and complement patterns.
• debug-plugin — test a plugin via the debug_plugin MCP tool.

Documentation

• docs/plugin-patterns.md — self-installing MCP servers, dependency management, orchestration
• docs/sample-tool.md — the generated sample tool
• docs/sample-skill.md — the generated sample skill