# Claude Marketplace Plugin Categories: Complete List and How to Use Them > Explore all 13 Claude Marketplace plugin categories, from testing and productivity to development and finance. Learn how to use these community tools effectively. - Repository: [Anthropic/claude-plugins-community](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community) - Tags: tutorial - Published: 2026-09-06 --- **The Claude Marketplace organizes community-contributed plugins into 13 distinct categories including `testing`, `productivity`, `development`, `location`, `finance`, `monitoring`, `deployment`, `design`, `database`, `security`, `learning`, `automation`, and `Developer Tools`.** Each plugin in the `anthropics/claude-plugins-community` repository declares its category in the `"category"` field of the marketplace manifest. Understanding these categories helps you quickly discover tools that match your workflow, whether you need AI-powered testing frameworks or database management utilities. --- ## How Plugin Categories Are Defined The authoritative source for all category assignments is [`.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json). This JSON file serves as the master manifest for the Claude Marketplace, with each plugin entry containing metadata including its assigned category. Categories are not hierarchical—each plugin maps to exactly one category value. The current snapshot reveals both lowercase snake_case labels (`security`, `automation`) and title-case variants (`Developer Tools`), reflecting organic growth of the taxonomy over time. --- ## Complete List of Claude Marketplace Plugin Categories Here are all 13 categories with representative examples from the source files: - **`testing`** — Visual regression and quality assurance tools. Example: *meticulous* at line 105【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L105】 - **`productivity`** — Marketing stack integrations and workflow enhancers. Example: *adup-ai-marketing-agent* at line 368【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L368】 - **`development`** — Engineering team simulations and coding assistants. Example: *10x-team* at line 695【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L695】 - **`location`** — Geospatial and location-aware services. Found at line 1273【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L1273】 - **`finance`** — Accounting and financial operations. Example: *accountsos* ("AI-native UK accounting") at line 6502【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L6502】 - **`monitoring`** — System observability and alerting tools. Found at line 6591【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L6591】 - **`deployment`** — Release management and infrastructure deployment. Found at line 7041【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L7041】 - **`design`** — Creative and visual design utilities. Found at line 8232【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L8232】 - **`database`** — Data storage and management interfaces. Found at line 10041【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L10041】 - **`security`** — Authentication and authorization services. Example: *auth0* ("A single unified Auth0 skill") at line 20808【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L20808】 - **`learning`** — Educational and knowledge-acquisition tools. Found at line 22801【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L22801】 - **`automation`** — Task automation and scheduling systems. Found at line 23201【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L23201】 - **`Developer Tools`** — General development utilities. Found at line 12397【https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json#L12397】 --- ## Working with Categories via CLI The Claude CLI provides built-in filters to query plugins by their assigned categories. These commands read directly from the same [`marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/marketplace.json) structure. List all plugins in a specific category: ```bash claude plugin list --category development ``` Install a plugin from a particular category: ```bash claude plugin install adup-ai-marketing-agent@claude-community ``` Search within a category for specific functionality: ```bash claude plugin search --category security "auth0" ``` Generate distribution statistics: ```bash claude plugin stats --group-by category ``` --- ## Key Files for Plugin Category Research | File | Purpose | |------|---------| | [`.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json) | Master manifest containing all plugin metadata including the `"category"` field | | [`README.md`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/README.md) | Repository overview and installation instructions | | [`opencode.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/opencode.json) | Opencode tooling metadata (infrastructure, not category-related) | All category assignments originate in [`marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/marketplace.json). When the marketplace updates, this file reflects new categories or reassignments immediately. --- ## Summary - **13 documented categories** span the Claude Marketplace plugin ecosystem, from `testing` to `automation` - **Category data lives in** [`.claude-plugin/marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json) at the repository root - **CLI filtering** supports `--category` flags for installation, search, and listing operations - **Mixed casing exists**: most categories use lowercase, with `Developer Tools` as the title-case exception - **Line-specific references** in this article allow direct verification against the source JSON --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I find which category a specific plugin belongs to? Search the [`marketplace.json`](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/marketplace.json) file for the plugin name, then inspect its `"category"` field. Each plugin entry is a JSON object with consistent top-level keys including `name`, `description`, and `category`. ### Can plugins belong to multiple categories? No. The current schema assigns exactly one category string per plugin. If you need cross-cutting functionality, use `claude plugin search` with keywords rather than filtering by category alone. ### What is the most populated category in the Claude Marketplace? The source JSON shows significant clustering around `development`, `productivity`, and `security`, though exact counts require parsing the full manifest. Run `claude plugin stats --group-by category` for real-time distributions. ### How are new categories added to the marketplace? New categories emerge organically when plugin authors propose entries with novel category values. The `anthropics/claude-plugins-community` maintainers may eventually normalize these into the official taxonomy, as seen with the `Developer Tools` title-case variant standardizing earlier inconsistent labels.