Plugin Engineer
Transform external repositories into Claude Code plugins.
External Repo → Research → Recon → Patterns → Codify → Author → Package → Audit → PluginSteps
- Clarify target repo and plugin goals
- Load the
outfitter:researchskill for external discovery (docs, APIs, community patterns) - Load the
outfitter:codebase-reconskill for internal analysis of target repo - Load the
outfitter:patternsskill to extract repeatable patterns worth automating - Load the
outfitter:codifyskill to map patterns to component types - Author components using
outfitter:skills-devoroutfitter:claude-skills - Load the
outfitter:claude-pluginsskill to package into distributable plugin - Delegate by loading the
outfitter:claude-plugin-auditskill for validation
<when_to_use>
- Turning a CLI tool into a Claude Code plugin
- Creating skills that wrap an external library or API
- Building plugin companions for MCP servers
- Extracting automation opportunities from a third-party repo
- Packaging workflow patterns around external tools
NOT for: plugins from scratch (use claude-plugins), single-skill creation (use skills-dev), existing Claude Code plugins (use claude-plugin-audit)
</when_to_use>
Artifact Structure
Track progress with artifacts in artifacts/plugin-engineer/:
artifacts/plugin-engineer/
├── discovery.md # Research output (docs, APIs, community patterns)
├── recon.md # Codebase analysis (structure, conventions, key files)
├── patterns.md # Extracted patterns with automation value
├── mapping.md # Pattern → component mapping decisions
├── components/ # Authored skills, agents, hooks, commands
│ ├── skill-1/
│ ├── skill-2/
│ └── ...
└── audit.md # Plugin validation resultsQuick Mode
For simple repos (single-purpose CLI, small API wrapper):
- Skip stages 3-4 — go direct from recon to authoring
- Create 1-2 skills covering primary use cases
- Package immediately
Trigger: User says "quick", repo has < 5 main commands, or clear single purpose.
Stages
Load the maintain-tasks skill for stage tracking. Stages advance only.
| Stage | Skill | activeForm |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Discovery | outfitter:research | "Researching external docs" |
| 2. Recon | outfitter:codebase-recon | "Analyzing target repo" |
| 3. Patterns | outfitter:patterns | "Extracting patterns" |
| 4. Mapping | outfitter:codify | "Mapping to components" |
| 5. Authoring | outfitter:skills-dev | "Creating components" |
| 6. Packaging | outfitter:claude-plugins | "Packaging plugin" |
| 7. Audit | outfitter:claude-plugin-audit | "Validating plugin" |
Stage 1: Discovery
Load outfitter:research skill. Gather external docs, community patterns, pain points.
See stage-1-discovery.md for details.
Stage 2: Recon
Load outfitter:codebase-recon skill. Analyze structure, API surface, conventions.
See stage-2-recon.md for details.
Stage 3: Patterns
Load outfitter:patterns skill. Extract workflows, command sequences, decision points.
See stage-3-patterns.md for details.
Stage 4: Mapping
Load outfitter:codify skill. Map patterns to component types (skill, command, hook, agent).
See stage-4-mapping.md for details.
Stage 5: Authoring
Load appropriate skill per component type. Create in artifacts/plugin-engineer/components/.
See stage-5-authoring.md for details.
Stage 6: Packaging
Load outfitter:claude-plugins skill. Create plugin structure with manifest and README.
Ask: "Do you have an existing marketplace to add this plugin to?" If yes, prepare the marketplace entry.
See stage-6-packaging.md for details.
Stage 7: Audit
Delegate by loading outfitter:claude-plugin-audit skill. Validate before distribution.
See stage-7-audit.md for details.
<decision_points>
Key decisions during engineering process:
Which patterns to automate?
- High frequency + medium complexity = best ROI
- Low frequency + high complexity = consider if audience is technical
- One-off patterns = skip
Skills vs Commands?
- Multi-step, needs guidance → Skill
- Quick action, obvious usage → Command
- User entry point to skill → Both (command loads skill)
Include agents?
- Only for complex repos with orchestration needs
- Most plugins don't need custom agents
- Consider if existing agents (analyst, engineer) suffice
Quick mode vs full pipeline?
- Single-purpose tool → Quick mode
- Complex tool with many features → Full pipeline
- Unclear → Start with recon, decide after
</decision_points>
ALWAYS:
- Start with discovery before touching code
- Track artifacts at each stage
- Validate patterns have 3+ use cases before creating components
- Use existing skills for authoring (don't reinvent)
- Run audit before declaring complete
NEVER:
- Skip recon stage (even for familiar repos)
- Create agents without clear orchestration need
- Package without audit validation
- Over-engineer (simpler plugin > feature-complete plugin)
Stage guides:
- overview.md — quick reference
- stage-1-discovery.md — external research
- stage-2-recon.md — codebase analysis
- stage-3-patterns.md — pattern extraction
- stage-4-mapping.md — component selection
- stage-5-authoring.md — creating components
- stage-6-packaging.md — plugin structure
- stage-7-audit.md — validation
- repo-types.md — CLI vs Library vs MCP patterns
Skills loaded:
outfitter:research— external discovery methodologyoutfitter:codebase-recon— repo analysis approachoutfitter:patterns— pattern extractionoutfitter:codify— pattern-to-component mappingoutfitter:claude-plugins— plugin packaging