Plugins

Plugins extend Clew Code with custom hooks that run at every lifecycle stage — before or after tool use, before bash execution, before edits, after prompts, and more. Unlike skills (which are prompt-based), plugins are executable code with a manifest.

Plugin lifecycle

Session start → Load plugins → Register hooks
  ↓
User message → Pre-prompt hooks → AI processes → Pre-tool hooks → Tool executes → Post-tool hooks
  ↓
Next turn

Hook types

Hook	Timing
PreToolUse	Before any tool runs. Can modify, approve, or deny the call.
PostToolUse	After a tool finishes. Can inspect or transform the result.
PreBash	Before Bash command execution. Can approve, deny, or rewrite.
PreAcceptEdit	Before FileEdit applies changes. Can review and block.
PostPrompt	After the AI prompt is constructed. Can inject additional context.

Plugin manifest

Each plugin has a manifest file defining its metadata and hooks:

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "description": "Validates commit messages",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": "pre-tool.js",
    "PostToolUse": "post-tool.js"
  },
  "settings": {
    "strictMode": true
  }
}

Installing plugins

Plugins can be installed from the community marketplace or loaded from a local directory.

From marketplace

> /plugin search commit
> /plugin install commit-guardian

Local development

1. Create a directory with your plugin manifest and hook scripts.
2. Point Clew Code to it:

   > /plugin add ./path/to/my-plugin

Creating a plugin

Example: Commit message validator

my-plugin/
├── manifest.json
├── pre-tool.js
└── post-tool.js

manifest.json:

{
  "name": "commit-validator",
  "description": "Validates conventional commit format",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": "pre-tool.js"
  }
}

pre-tool.js:

// Runs before every tool call
export default function(context) {
  if (context.toolName === 'Bash' && context.input.command.includes('git commit')) {
    // Validate or block the commit
    return { ok: true }; // or { ok: false, reason: "..." }
  }
  return { ok: true };
}

Plugin commands

Command	Description
/plugin list	List loaded plugins and their hooks
/plugin search <term>	Search the community marketplace
/plugin install <name>	Install from marketplace
/plugin remove <name>	Uninstall a plugin
/plugin add <path>	Load a local plugin directory
/plugin reload	Reload all plugins

Security

• Plugins run in the same process as Clew Code with the same permissions.
• Review plugin source before installing from untrusted sources.
• Use the guardian permission mode to review plugin actions.
• Plugin hooks can be bypassed by disabling the plugin temporarily.

Marketplace

The community plugin marketplace is at clew-code.org/plugins. Contributions welcome — publish your plugin by submitting a PR to the Clew Code plugins repository.