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Plugin bundles

Pllan supports one shared class of external plugin package: bundle plugins. Today that means three closely related ecosystems:
  • Codex bundles
  • Claude bundles
  • Cursor bundles
Pllan shows all of them as Format: bundle in pllan plugins list. Verbose output and pllan plugins inspect <id> also show the subtype (codex, claude, or cursor). Related:

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What a bundle is

A bundle is a content/metadata pack, not a native in-process Pllan plugin. Today, Pllan does not execute bundle runtime code in-process. Instead, it detects known bundle files, reads the metadata, and maps supported bundle content into native Pllan surfaces such as skills, hook packs, MCP config, and embedded Pi settings. That is the main trust boundary:
  • native Pllan plugin: runtime module executes in-process
  • bundle: metadata/content pack, with selective feature mapping

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Shared bundle model

Codex, Claude, and Cursor bundles are similar enough that Pllan treats them as one normalized model. Shared idea:
  • a small manifest file, or a default directory layout
  • one or more content roots such as skills/ or commands/
  • optional tool/runtime metadata such as MCP, hooks, agents, or LSP
  • install as a directory or archive, then enable in the normal plugin list
Common Pllan behavior:
  • detect the bundle subtype
  • normalize it into one internal bundle record
  • map supported parts into native Pllan features
  • report unsupported parts as detected-but-not-wired capabilities
In practice, most users do not need to think about the vendor-specific format first. The more useful question is: which bundle surfaces does Pllan map today?

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Detection order

Pllan prefers native Pllan plugin/package layouts before bundle handling. Practical effect:
  • pllan.plugin.json wins over bundle detection
  • package installs with valid package.json + pllan.extensions use the native install path
  • if a directory contains both native and bundle metadata, Pllan treats it as native first
That avoids partially installing a dual-format package as a bundle and then loading it later as a native plugin.

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What works today

Pllan normalizes bundle metadata into one internal bundle record, then maps supported surfaces into existing native behavior.

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Supported now

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Skill content

  • bundle skill roots load as normal Pllan skill roots
  • Claude commands roots are treated as additional skill roots
  • Cursor .cursor/commands roots are treated as additional skill roots
This means Claude markdown command files work through the normal Pllan skill loader. Cursor command markdown works through the same path.

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Hook packs

  • bundle hook roots work only when they use the normal Pllan hook-pack layout. Today this is primarily the Codex-compatible case:
    • HOOK.md
    • handler.ts or handler.js

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MCP for Pi

  • enabled bundles can contribute MCP server config
  • Pllan merges bundle MCP config into the effective embedded Pi settings as mcpServers
  • Pllan also exposes supported bundle MCP tools during embedded Pi agent turns by launching supported stdio MCP servers as subprocesses
  • project-local Pi settings still apply after bundle defaults, so workspace settings can override bundle MCP entries when needed

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Embedded Pi settings

  • Claude settings.json is imported as default embedded Pi settings when the bundle is enabled
  • Pllan sanitizes shell override keys before applying them
Sanitized keys:
  • shellPath
  • shellCommandPrefix

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Detected but not executed

These surfaces are detected, shown in bundle capabilities, and may appear in diagnostics/info output, but Pllan does not run them yet:
  • Claude agents
  • Claude hooks.json automation
  • Claude lspServers
  • Claude outputStyles
  • Cursor .cursor/agents
  • Cursor .cursor/hooks.json
  • Cursor .cursor/rules
  • Codex inline/app metadata beyond capability reporting

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Capability reporting

pllan plugins inspect <id> shows bundle capabilities from the normalized bundle record. Supported capabilities are loaded quietly. Unsupported capabilities produce a warning such as: 
bundle capability detected but not wired into Pllan yet: agents
Current exceptions:
  • Claude commands is considered supported because it maps to skills
  • Claude settings is considered supported because it maps to embedded Pi settings
  • Cursor commands is considered supported because it maps to skills
  • bundle MCP is considered supported because it maps into embedded Pi settings and exposes supported stdio tools to embedded Pi
  • Codex hooks is considered supported only for Pllan hook-pack layouts

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Format differences

The formats are close, but not byte-for-byte identical. These are the practical differences that matter in Pllan.

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Codex

Typical markers:
  • .codex-plugin/plugin.json
  • optional skills/
  • optional hooks/
  • optional .mcp.json
  • optional .app.json
Codex bundles fit Pllan best when they use skill roots and Pllan-style hook-pack directories.

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Claude

Pllan supports both:
  • manifest-based Claude bundles: .claude-plugin/plugin.json
  • manifestless Claude bundles that use the default Claude layout
Default Claude layout markers Pllan recognizes:
  • skills/
  • commands/
  • agents/
  • hooks/hooks.json
  • .mcp.json
  • .lsp.json
  • settings.json
Claude-specific notes:
  • commands/ is treated like skill content
  • settings.json is imported into embedded Pi settings
  • .mcp.json and manifest mcpServers can expose supported stdio tools to embedded Pi
  • hooks/hooks.json is detected, but not executed as Claude automation

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Cursor

Typical markers:
  • .cursor-plugin/plugin.json
  • optional skills/
  • optional .cursor/commands/
  • optional .cursor/agents/
  • optional .cursor/rules/
  • optional .cursor/hooks.json
  • optional .mcp.json
Cursor-specific notes:
  • .cursor/commands/ is treated like skill content
  • .cursor/rules/, .cursor/agents/, and .cursor/hooks.json are detect-only today

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Claude custom paths

Claude bundle manifests can declare custom component paths. Pllan treats those paths as additive, not replacing defaults. Currently recognized custom path keys:
  • skills
  • commands
  • agents
  • hooks
  • mcpServers
  • lspServers
  • outputStyles
Examples:
  • default commands/ plus manifest commands: "extra-commands" => Pllan scans both
  • default skills/ plus manifest skills: ["team-skills"] => Pllan scans both

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Security model

Bundle support is intentionally narrower than native plugin support. Current behavior:
  • bundle discovery reads files inside the plugin root with boundary checks
  • skills and hook-pack paths must stay inside the plugin root
  • bundle settings files are read with the same boundary checks
  • supported stdio bundle MCP servers may be launched as subprocesses for embedded Pi tool calls
  • Pllan does not load arbitrary bundle runtime modules in-process
This makes bundle support safer by default than native plugin modules, but you should still treat third-party bundles as trusted content for the features they do expose.

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Install examples

pllan plugins install ./my-codex-bundle
pllan plugins install ./my-claude-bundle
pllan plugins install ./my-cursor-bundle
pllan plugins install ./my-bundle.tgz
pllan plugins marketplace list <marketplace-name>
pllan plugins install <plugin-name>@<marketplace-name>
pllan plugins inspect my-bundle
If the directory is a native Pllan plugin/package, the native install path still wins. For Claude marketplace names, Pllan reads the local Claude known-marketplace registry at ~/.claude/plugins/known_marketplaces.json. Marketplace entries can resolve to bundle-compatible directories/archives or to native plugin sources; after resolution, the normal install rules still apply.

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Troubleshooting

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Bundle is detected but capabilities do not run

Check pllan plugins inspect <id>. If the capability is listed but Pllan says it is not wired yet, that is a real product limit, not a broken install.

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Claude command files do not appear

Make sure the bundle is enabled and the markdown files are inside a detected commands root or skills root.

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Claude settings do not apply

Current support is limited to embedded Pi settings from settings.json. Pllan does not treat bundle settings as raw Pllan config patches.

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Claude hooks do not execute

hooks/hooks.json is only detected today. If you need runnable bundle hooks today, use the normal Pllan hook-pack layout through a supported Codex hook root or ship a native Pllan plugin.