Claude Cowork plugins, skills and connectors explained
Plugins are how Claude Cowork goes from capable to tailored. They're also the feature people most often confuse with skills and connectors, so this guide draws the distinctions clearly and shows how installation actually works.
Skills vs connectors vs plugins
These three work together but do different things. Connectors link Cowork to external apps and data (Google Drive, Gmail, Slack, Asana and the rest). Skills package a repeatable multi-step workflow into a one-click action you upload under Customize → Skills. Plugins are the bundle: a single package that can add any mix of skills, connectors (MCP), sub-agents, hooks and slash commands in one install. Plugins are available in Cowork and Claude Code, but not in Chat.
How to install a plugin
Install plugins via Customize → Plugins → Browse plugins. The default marketplace is Anthropic's official catalogue, and you can also install from an uploaded file or from a Git-repo marketplace — a GitHub repo (including GitHub Enterprise), or public GitLab/Bitbucket — added by URL or as owner/repo. Team and Enterprise admins can require specific plugins across the organisation, which is how you standardise a team's setup.
Anthropic's catalogue and the limits
Anthropic ships example plugins including Brand Voice, Legal and Finance, and maintains an open-source anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins repository aimed squarely at Cowork knowledge workers — a good place to start. A few limits are worth knowing: a plugin can be up to 200 MB or 5,000 files, a marketplace can list up to 500 plugins, and you can add up to 25 marketplaces. Private-install marketplaces were announced on 24 February 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between skills, plugins and connectors in Cowork?
Connectors link Cowork to external apps and data; skills package a repeatable multi-step workflow into a one-click action; plugins bundle capabilities — any mix of skills, connectors, sub-agents, hooks and slash commands — into a single install. Anthropic ships example plugins like Brand Voice, Legal and Finance.
How do I install a Claude Cowork plugin?
Go to Customize → Plugins → Browse plugins. Install from Anthropic's official catalogue, from an uploaded file, or from a Git-repo marketplace (GitHub including Enterprise, or public GitLab/Bitbucket) added by URL or owner/repo. Team and Enterprise admins can require plugins organisation-wide.
Are plugins available in Claude Chat?
No — plugins work in Cowork and Claude Code, not in Chat. Some capabilities, like live artifacts and local MCP-server plugins, are also desktop-only.
Want a hand putting this into practice?
Our hands-on Claude Cowork training takes your team from the basics to a repeatable practice, using your own data.