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 <plugin>

For example, to install the PayPal SDK plugin:

npx context-plugins install paypal

npx context-plugins list shows every plugin the marketplace offers. Assistants that aren't installed are skipped. Nothing is installed globally; npx runs the CLI from a cache.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer — the only requirement for the CLI itself.
• At least one assistant. Each has its own prerequisite: Claude Code needs the claude CLI on PATH, Cursor needs ~/.cursor, VS Code needs its user directory. Missing ones are skipped, so an install succeeds as long as one is present.
• 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

Options

| 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 | | --long | off | Show plugin descriptions in list | | --json | off | Machine-readable output for list / installed | | --verbose / --quiet | off | More or less progress detail | | -h, --help | — | Show usage and exit | | -v, --version | — | Print the version and exit |

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 looks for each assistant and asks before touching the ones it finds:

[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.

Detection is a directory check, not a true install check: Claude Code is found by looking for the claude CLI on PATH, but Cursor and VS Code are found by the presence of their user directories. A leftover directory from an uninstalled editor still counts as present, and an editor that has never been launched may not be found yet.

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 | Adds the marketplace, or updates it if you already had it, 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. In Claude Code, run /reload-plugins to load the plugin without restarting — or start a new claude session.

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

Something not working?

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

$ npx context-plugins doctor
# example output from Linux - versions, paths, and counts will differ on your machine

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, 29 plugins
  ✓   API budget       59 of 60 requests left

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

The VS Code path on that last Editors line is platform-specific:

| Platform | VS Code user directory | | --- | --- | | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User | | Linux | ~/.config/Code/User (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/Code/User) | | Windows | %APPDATA%\Code\User |

✓ 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. The live plugin list and count are at the Context Plugins directory, or run npx context-plugins list.

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>. | | Claude Code already has a marketplace named '<name>', from <other-repo> | An unrelated marketplace occupies that name. Remove it with claude plugin marketplace remove <name>, then re-run. | | '<plugin>' is not listed in <marketplace> | Wrong id, or the plugin was renamed upstream — the message suggests the closest match, and list shows them all. | | A plugin fails during update | Usually a plugin renamed upstream, so the recorded id no longer exists: uninstall <old-id>, then install <new-id>. | | Plugin doesn't appear after install | Reload the editor window. For VS Code, check the entry in chat.pluginLocations. |

License

MIT