Plugin Authoring Reference

Knowledge base for building correct Claude Code plugins and hooks. Read the quick reference below, then navigate to the detailed reference files as needed.

Quick Reference

plugin.json — Minimal Template

{
  "name": "{name}",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "{what this plugin does}",
  "hooks": "./hooks/hooks.json",
  "skills": "./skills/"
}

Required field: name. The hooks field MUST be present for hooks to load. The skills field defaults to ./skills/ if omitted.

hooks.json — Minimal Template

{
  "description": "{what these hooks do}",
  "hooks": {
    "SessionStart": [
      {
        "matcher": "",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "bash \"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/session-start.sh\"",
            "timeout": 10,
            "statusMessage": "Bootstrapping..."
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Three nesting levels: event → matcher group → hook handler array.

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