Plugins & Distribution
Packaging, sharing, and installing bundles of skills, hooks, agents, and MCP servers
Extension Name Powers
Vendor Terms powers, POWER.md, mcp.json, steering/, keywords, dynamic MCP tool loading
Scopes
User / HomeProject / Repo Root
Interfaces IDE, kiro.dev
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Third-party powers explicitly disclaimed (not tested or screened across all use cases); MCP servers auto-register on install; environment variables for secrets; no sandboxing or permission model mentioned
Notes IDE-only; CLI support planned. 40+ curated and community powers available via kiro.dev marketplace and GitHub. Powers register in ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json (user scope) with workspace-level steering/hooks. Cross-tool compatibility (Cursor, Claude Code, Cline) planned. Install from kiro.dev, IDE powers panel, or GitHub URL.
Extension Name Plugins and Marketplaces
Vendor Terms plugins, plugin.json, marketplace.json, .claude-plugin, LSP servers, monitors, marketplace, plugin hints, plugin dependencies, output styles, channels, userConfig, bin
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / HomeOrganization / Enterprise
Interfaces terminal CLI, VS Code, Desktop, web
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Plugins execute arbitrary code with user privileges; managed marketplace restrictions allow org lockdown; plugin caching isolates installs; path traversal outside plugin root blocked; official marketplace requires submission review
Notes Includes plugin-only components (LSP servers, monitors) not available as standalone files; plugins namespace skills as /plugin-name:skill. Official Anthropic marketplace with submission review. npm packages as plugin source. Plugin dependency version constraints with semver. Plugin hints protocol for CLI integration. Managed marketplace restrictions (strictKnownMarketplaces).
Extension Name CLI Plugins
Vendor Terms CLI plugins, LSP servers, installable units, marketplace, plugin.json, marketplace.json, commands
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Interfaces CLI
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Packaging layer for reuse and team standardization; agents/skills use first-found-wins precedence (project overrides plugin); MCP servers use last-wins (plugin overrides user config)
Notes CLI only; bundles custom agents, skills, hooks, commands, MCP server configurations, and LSP server configurations; two default marketplaces (copilot-plugins, awesome-copilot); cross-tool compatibility with .claude-plugin/ directory; install from marketplace, GitHub repo, Git URL, or local path
Extension Name Plugins
Vendor Terms plugins, installable distribution unit, marketplace, plugin directory, $plugin-creator, plugin manifest
Scopes
Project / Repo RootUser / Home
Interfaces app, CLI
Availability current (explicit)
Trust Model Existing approval settings apply; bundled apps subject to their own auth/privacy policies; enable/disable via config.toml; marketplace policy fields control install behavior
Notes Plugins bundle skills, app integrations, and MCP servers. Three marketplace tiers: official curated directory, repo-scoped (.agents/plugins/marketplace.json), and personal (~/.agents/plugins/marketplace.json). Official public plugin publishing coming soon. Built-in $plugin-creator for scaffolding.