Plugins

Plugins are bundles of skills, tools, and integrations that extend what your agents can do on systemprompt.io. Instead of adding capabilities one at a time, a plugin gives your workspace a complete package of related functionality in a single install.

What is a Plugin?

A plugin groups related capabilities together into one installable unit. A typical plugin includes:

• Skills -- prompt instructions that teach agents how to perform specific tasks.
• MCP tool integrations -- connections to external services and APIs that agents can call.
• Configuration -- default settings, required secrets, and metadata that tie everything together.

For example, a "GitHub" plugin might bundle a code review skill, a pull request summary skill, and an MCP tool integration that connects to the GitHub API. Installing the plugin gives your agents all of these capabilities at once.

Plugins vs. Skills

Skills and plugins serve different purposes. Understanding the distinction helps you choose the right approach for your workspace.

Skills are individual instructions. Each skill defines a single capability, like "summarize a document" or "draft a marketing email." You add skills one at a time and assign them to agents directly.

Plugins are packages that bundle multiple skills and tools together. They represent a complete integration or workflow rather than a single task. When you install a plugin, all of its included skills and tool connections become available in your workspace.

Use a skill when you need one specific capability. Use a plugin when you need a coordinated set of capabilities that work together.

Plugin Architecture

Every plugin on systemprompt.io follows a consistent structure:

1. Metadata -- name, description, version, author, and tags that identify the plugin.
2. Skills bundle -- one or more skills that define what agents can do with the plugin.
3. Tool definitions -- MCP tool integrations that connect to external services.
4. Configuration schema -- any settings or secrets the plugin requires to function.
5. Dependencies -- other plugins or platform features the plugin relies on.

Plugins run within the systemprompt.io platform. Tool integrations communicate through the MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, which handles authentication, rate limiting, and error handling on your behalf.

Adding plugins from the catalogue

The plugin catalogue is where you discover and add plugins built by systemprompt.io and the community.

1. Open your systemprompt.io dashboard.
2. Navigate to Browse Plugins in the sidebar.
3. Use the search bar or filter by category to find plugins relevant to your needs.
4. Select any plugin to view its description, included skills, and configuration.
5. Click Add to create a personal copy of the plugin in your workspace.

When you add a plugin, the platform creates copies of all its skills and agents in your workspace. Each copy links back to the original via a base_skill_id for lineage tracking, but the copy is fully yours to edit. This means you can customise skills to match your business without affecting the original plugin.

For the full walkthrough including personalisation with the Socratic interview, see Adding and Personalising Plugins.

Managing your plugins

After adding plugins, you can manage them from the dashboard:

• View your plugins -- go to My Plugins in the sidebar to see everything in your workspace.
• Configure -- update settings, API keys, or connection details for any plugin.
• Edit skills -- click into any plugin to view and edit its individual skills.
• Remove -- remove a plugin and all of its associated skills and tools from your workspace.

Using Plugin Tools with MCP

Plugins that include MCP tool integrations connect your agents to external services. When an agent needs to perform an action defined by a plugin tool, the request flows through the MCP server:

1. The agent determines it needs to use a plugin tool based on its assigned skills.
2. The MCP server receives the tool call, authenticates with the external service, and executes the request.
3. The result is returned to the agent, which incorporates it into its response.

You do not need to manage MCP connections manually. The plugin handles the integration details, and the platform manages the server connection.

Next Steps

• Creating Plugins -- build your own plugin with custom skills and tool integrations.
• Publishing Plugins -- share your plugin with your team or the marketplace community.

Troubleshooting

Plugin installation fails. Check that your workspace has not reached its plugin limit. Verify that any required secrets or API keys are entered correctly during setup.

Plugin tools are not responding. Go to Plugins, select the plugin, and check its status. Ensure the external service is reachable and that your credentials are still valid.

Skills from a plugin are not appearing. Confirm the plugin is enabled (not just installed). Disabled plugins do not expose their skills to agents.

Marketplace is not loading. Refresh the page and check your internet connection. If the issue persists, check the systemprompt.io status page for any ongoing service disruptions.