context-plugins

Install a plugin from a plugin marketplace into every AI coding assistant on the machine — Claude Code, Cursor, and VS Code (Copilot) — with one command.

npx context-plugins install discourse-api-documentation-sdk

Assistants that aren't installed are skipped. Nothing is installed globally; npx runs the CLI from a cache.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer. That's the whole list.
• git is optional — it makes fetching faster; without it the CLI uses the GitHub API instead.

Commands

context-plugins install <plugin> [options]     # install into the assistants you choose
context-plugins uninstall <plugin> [options]   # remove it again
context-plugins update                         # refresh everything already installed
context-plugins list                           # what the marketplace offers
context-plugins installed                      # what this machine has
context-plugins doctor                         # check this machine can install

Something not working?

doctor checks everything an install depends on and says which part is unhappy:

$ npx context-plugins doctor

Environment
  ✓   Node.js          v20.11.0
  ✓   git              git version 2.43.0

Editors
  ✓   Claude Code      claude on PATH
  ✓   Cursor           ~/.cursor
  !   VS Code          not installed (looked in ~/.config/Code/User)

Marketplace
  ✓   Reachable        raw.githubusercontent.com
  ✓   Registry         context-plugins, 44 plugins
  ✓   API budget       59 of 60 requests left

Local state
  ✓   State directory  ~/.context-plugins (writable)
  ✓   Installed        2 plugins

✓ fine, ! works but worth knowing, x blocks an install. It exits non-zero only when something blocks, so it can be used in a script; add --json for machine-readable output.

Option	Default	Description
--repo <owner/repo>	the bundled marketplace	Install from a different marketplace
--ref <branch|tag|sha>	main	Version to install from
--marketplace <name>	read from marketplace.json	Marketplace name
--targets <list>	ask	claude, cursor, vscode, or all — skips the prompt
-y, --yes	off	Accept every detected assistant without asking
--force	off	Replace a plugin installed from a different marketplace
--json	off	Machine-readable output for list / installed
--verbose / --quiet	off	More or less progress detail

Environment equivalents: CP_PLUGIN, CP_REPO, CP_REF, CP_MARKETPLACE. GITHUB_TOKEN raises the GitHub API rate limit. CP_STATE_DIR moves the state directory.

Defaults can also be kept in a .contextpluginsrc file, in the current directory or your home directory:

{ "repo": "your-org/plugin-marketplace" }

Choosing where to install

install detects which assistants are present and asks before touching each one:

[Harnesses]
  ?   Install into Claude Code? [Y/n] y
  ?   Install into Cursor? [Y/n] n
  ?   Install into VS Code? [Y/n] y

Only the ones you accept are installed. Assistants that aren't detected are never offered, and the plugin is downloaded after you answer — decline everything and nothing is fetched, written, or recorded.

The question is skipped when the answer is already known: with --targets, with -y, during update (which reuses your earlier choices), and in a non-interactive shell such as CI, where it falls back to every detected assistant rather than waiting on input.

What it does per assistant

Assistant	Mechanism	Location
Claude Code	claude plugin marketplace add <repo> then claude plugin install <plugin>@<marketplace> --scope user	Managed by Claude Code
Cursor	Copies the plugin folder into the local-plugin directory	~/.cursor/plugins/local/<plugin>/
VS Code	Copies the folder to the state directory and registers it in chat.pluginLocations	~/.context-plugins/vscode/<plugin>/

Everything is installed for the current user, so it is available in every project you open.

After installing, reload the editor: Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P) → Developer: Reload Window. Claude Code picks up skills on next launch.

settings.json is edited as text and never reparsed, so comments and trailing commas survive — and it is backed up to settings.json.bak-<timestamp> before any change.

Where things live

~/.context-plugins/
  installed.json          what is installed, and from which marketplace
  vscode/<plugin>/        the copy VS Code points at

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause / fix
'claude' CLI not on PATH - skipping	Claude Code isn't installed, or its CLI isn't on PATH. Other assistants still install.
GitHub API request failed (403)	Unauthenticated API limit (60/hour) with no git available. Install git, or set GITHUB_TOKEN.
'<plugin>' is already installed from a different marketplace	Two marketplaces ship the same plugin id. Uninstall the first, or pass --force.
Could not determine the marketplace name	The repository has no .claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Pass --marketplace <name>.
Plugin doesn't appear after install	Reload the editor window. For VS Code, check the entry in chat.pluginLocations.

License

MIT