Beginner Onboarding

Go from zero to productive with Claude Code plugins in 15 minutes. This playbook walks you through installation, running your first skill, exploring the ecosystem, and customizing your setup for maximum productivity.

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• A terminal (macOS Terminal, iTerm2, Windows Terminal, or any Linux terminal)
• An Anthropic API key or Claude Pro/Team subscription

Install Claude Code CLI

Install Claude Code globally via npm:

# Install Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Verify installation
claude --version

If you see a version number, you're ready to go. Visit the official Claude Code documentation for detailed setup instructions, including authentication and configuration.

First Launch

# Start Claude Code in any project directory
cd your-project/
claude

Claude Code will start an interactive session. You can now chat with Claude about your codebase, run commands, and use plugins.

Step 2: Install Your First Plugin

The Tons of Skills Marketplace

The Tons of Skills marketplace hosts 346+ plugins with 1,900+ skills covering everything from code review to DevOps to SaaS integrations.

Install the Marketplace Plugin

Run this command inside a Claude Code session:

/plugin marketplace add jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins

This installs the full marketplace plugin collection. You'll see a confirmation message listing the installed plugins and available skills.

Verify Installation

# List installed plugins
/plugins

# You should see the marketplace plugins listed with their versions

Tip: If the install fails, check your internet connection and ensure you have the latest version of Claude Code. See the Troubleshooting Guide for common fixes.

Step 3: Explore Available Skills

Browse Skills in the CLI

Use the /skills command to see all available skills in your current session:

# List all available skills
/skills

# You'll see skills organized by plugin, with descriptions
# showing when each skill activates

Browse Online

For a richer browsing experience, visit tonsofskills.com/explore. The web interface offers:

• Search: Find skills by keyword, category, or use case
• Filters: Filter by category (AI/ML, DevOps, Security, etc.)
• Skill details: See full descriptions, allowed tools, and usage examples
• Install commands: Copy-paste install commands directly

Skill Categories

Step 4: Run a Skill

Your First Skill Run

Let's run a practical skill to validate a SKILL.md file. This is a great first skill because it gives immediate, actionable feedback:

# Run the skill validator on any SKILL.md file
/validate-skillmd path/to/SKILL.md

The validator will check your skill file against the specification and report any issues with frontmatter fields, allowed tools, or content structure.

How Skills Activate

Skills in Claude Code activate in two ways:

• Slash commands: Explicitly invoke with /skill-name (e.g., /validate-skillmd)
• Auto-activation: Skills activate automatically when Claude detects a relevant context based on the skill's description field

Example: Running More Skills

# Code review skill
/code-review src/main.ts

# Generate tests
/test-gen src/utils.ts

# Check for security issues
/security-audit

Important: Each skill specifies which tools it can use via the allowed-tools frontmatter field. This is a security feature that limits what actions a skill can perform.

Step 5: Install a SaaS Pack

What Are SaaS Packs?

SaaS packs are curated collections of skills for specific platforms. Each pack includes 20-30 skills covering installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and advanced usage patterns.

Install the Supabase Pack

# Install a SaaS pack
/plugin marketplace add jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins --path plugins/saas-packs/supabase-pack

Once installed, you get instant access to Supabase-specific skills:

• supabase-install-auth: Set up authentication with Supabase
• supabase-hello-world: Quick start project scaffold
• supabase-common-errors: Troubleshoot common Supabase issues
• supabase-security-basics: Row-level security and best practices
• supabase-performance-tuning: Optimize queries and indexes

Available SaaS Packs

Browse all packs at tonsofskills.com/explore and filter by the SaaS Packs category.

Step 6: Customize Your Setup

Model Preferences

Some skills support model overrides via the model frontmatter field. You can prefer faster models for simple tasks or more capable models for complex analysis:

# In a skill's SKILL.md frontmatter
model: sonnet    # Fast, cost-effective
model: opus      # Most capable, for complex tasks
model: haiku     # Fastest, for simple lookups

Add More Plugins

Install individual plugins for specific needs:

# Install a specific plugin by path
/plugin marketplace add jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins --path plugins/ai-ml/vertex-ai-validator

# Install from a different repository
/plugin add github-username/plugin-repo

Project-Level Configuration

Create a .claude/plugins.json in your project root to define which plugins load for that project:

{
  "plugins": [
    "jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins/plugins/devops/docker-hardener",
    "jeremylongshore/claude-code-plugins/plugins/security/owasp-top-10"
  ]
}

This ensures consistent plugin sets across your team without requiring each developer to install manually.

Explore Commands and Agents

Beyond skills, plugins can include:

• Commands (commands/*.md): Slash commands for specific actions
• Agents (agents/*.md): Specialized AI agents with custom capabilities and tool restrictions

# List available commands
/help

# List available agents (if your plugins include them)
/agents

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Plugins

Essential Commands

Best Practices

• Start small: Install one or two plugins first, learn their skills, then expand
• Read skill descriptions: The description field tells you exactly when a skill activates
• Check allowed-tools: Know what tools a skill can use before running it
• Use auto-activation: Write naturally and let skills activate when relevant, rather than always using slash commands
• Stay updated: Check tonsofskills.com for new plugins and updates

Next Steps

• Set up production validation and CI/CD integration
• Learn how to troubleshoot common issues
• Explore the full skills catalog for your tech stack

Last Updated: 2026-03-21

Author: Jeremy Longshore

Related Playbooks: Production Setup, Troubleshooting Guide