Claude Code plugins, and one for scheduled work.
A Claude Code plugin is an add-on you install once to give Claude Code new skills and tools. This guide shows how to install one from a marketplace, using the RoutineOS plugin as the example, and says what that plugin contains and where it does not run.
Install a Claude Code plugin from a marketplace
A marketplace is a repository that lists plugins. You add the plugin by naming it and its marketplace.
- Check your versionThe marketplace form of the command needs Claude Code 2.1.275 or later. The RoutineOS CLI also needs Python 3.11 or later and no extra packages.
- Run the install lineIn Claude Code, run the command below. From a terminal, the same thing is
claude plugin install routineos --marketplace devkindhq/routineos. - Restart Claude CodeRestart so the plugin loads.
- Check your setupRun
python3 skills/routineos/scripts/routineos.py doctorfrom the plugin folder to confirm Python and the standard library are in order.
/plugin install routineos --marketplace devkindhq/routineosWhat the RoutineOS Claude Code plugin contains
A skill
The instructions Claude follows to design, build, check and run a routine. A second skill, routineos-migrate, helps move work in from other tools.
A CLI
One Python script with commands to scaffold, lint, seed and install. Standard library only.
Templates
Ten packs you can install, such as Jobs watch and Inbox triage.
The Desk
The bundled page where you see what a routine found and decide. See the Desk.
A docs server
A read-only MCP server with the docs and template catalog. Installing the plugin in Claude Code connects it.
A plugin does not run inside a cloud scheduled run
This is the part people miss. You install the plugin on your own machine, and it helps you build and check a routine there. The scheduled run happens on Anthropic's cloud, where plugins a repository turns on are not installed.
What does carry over is a skill committed to the repository under .claude/skills/. A skill kept only in ~/.claude/skills/ on your machine does not. So RoutineOS routines keep their logic in files in the repo, and the run reads those.
| Statement | How we know |
|---|---|
Skills committed to the repo's .claude/skills/ load in a cloud run | docs-stated |
| Plugins a repository turns on are not installed in a cloud session | docs-stated |
| Repo delivery of a routine's logic works end to end | pilot-verified |
Install the plugin
One line in Claude Code 2.1.275 or later.