Where to Find Documentation for a Specific Claude Plugin: A Complete Guide

Documentation for any Claude plugin is stored in its dedicated subdirectory within the anthropics/claude-plugins-community repository, with README.md, plugin.json, and SKILL.md files containing complete setup and usage instructions.

Every community plugin for Claude follows a consistent documentation structure. Whether you're installing the TRES Finance plugin, QuickDesign, or TestDino, the source of truth resides in specific files you can browse directly on GitHub without cloning the repository.

Primary Documentation Locations

Each plugin subdirectory contains standardized files that serve different purposes:

Documentation Type	File Location	Purpose
Overview and installation	README.md in plugin root	High-level description, install commands, basic usage
Machine-readable metadata	.claude-plugin/plugin.json	Plugin name, version, config schema, MCP servers
Skill-specific guides	skills/*/SKILL.md	Detailed task documentation for individual skills
Marketplace index	.claude-plugin/marketplace.json (repo root)	JSON listing of all available community plugins

Exploring Plugin Documentation on GitHub

TRES Finance Plugin

The TRES Finance plugin documentation lives at tres-finance-plugin/README.md. This file contains:

• Plugin overview and capabilities
• Installation command: claude plugin install tres-finance@claude-community
• Quick start examples
• MCP server configuration details

The machine-readable specification is available at tres-finance-plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json, which defines the plugin's schema and available skills.

QuickDesign Plugin

Documentation for the QuickDesign plugin is located at quickdesign/README.md. This plugin also includes skill-specific documentation at quickdesign/skills/quickdesign/SKILL.md for advanced usage patterns.

TestDino Plugin

The TestDino plugin combines its main testdino/README.md with detailed skill documentation in testdino/skills/*/SKILL.md files, covering MCP integration and testing workflows.

Installing and Inspecting Plugins with Claude CLI

The claude command-line interface provides direct access to plugin documentation and metadata:

# Register the community marketplace (one-time setup)

claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community

# Install a specific plugin by name

claude plugin install tres-finance@claude-community

# List all installed plugins with versions

claude plugin list

# Display full plugin.json metadata for an installed plugin

claude plugin info tres-finance

The claude plugin info command outputs the contents of .claude-plugin/plugin.json, giving you immediate access to configuration schemas and capability definitions without visiting GitHub.

Programmatic Documentation Access

For automation or custom tooling, fetch documentation directly from GitHub's raw content API:

import requests

def fetch_plugin_readme(plugin_name: str) -> str:
    """
    Retrieve README.md for any community plugin.
    
    Args:
        plugin_name: Plugin directory name (e.g., "tres-finance-plugin")
    """
    url = (
        "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/"
        "anthropics/claude-plugins-community/main/"
        f"{plugin_name}/README.md"
    )
    response = requests.get(url)
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.text


def fetch_plugin_json(plugin_name: str) -> dict:
    """Fetch machine-readable plugin metadata."""
    url = (
        "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/"
        "anthropics/claude-plugins-community/main/"
        f"{plugin_name}/.claude-plugin/plugin.json"
    )
    response = requests.get(url)
    response.raise_for_status()
    return response.json()


# Example usage

readme = fetch_plugin_readme("tres-finance-plugin")
metadata = fetch_plugin_json("tres-finance-plugin")
print(f"Plugin version: {metadata.get('version')}")

Understanding the Marketplace Index

The root-level .claude-plugin/marketplace.json serves as the authoritative registry of all community plugins. This JSON file maps plugin names to their source repositories and is the mechanism by which claude plugin marketplace add discovers available plugins.

Direct URL: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/main/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

Summary

• Start with README.md in the plugin's subdirectory for human-readable documentation and installation steps
• Check .claude-plugin/plugin.json for programmatic discovery of capabilities, versions, and configuration schemas
• Review SKILL.md files in skills/ subdirectories for detailed task-specific guidance
• Use claude plugin info <name> to inspect installed plugin metadata from the command line
• Reference marketplace.json for the complete list of available community plugins

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the main documentation for Claude plugins located?

All official documentation resides in the anthropics/claude-plugins-community repository on GitHub. Each plugin maintains its own subdirectory containing README.md, .claude-plugin/plugin.json, and skill-specific SKILL.md files. No external documentation site exists—the repository itself is the canonical source.

What information does plugin.json contain?

The .claude-plugin/plugin.json file stores machine-readable metadata including the plugin name, semantic version, user configuration schema, declared MCP servers, available skills, and entry points. This file enables the Claude CLI to validate configurations and present appropriate options to users.

How do I find documentation for plugin skills specifically?

Skill-level documentation is located in SKILL.md files within each skill's subdirectory under skills/. For example, the TRES Finance plugin's request skill documentation is at tres-finance-plugin/skills/tres-request-skill-update/SKILL.md. These files contain task-specific parameters, expected inputs, and usage patterns.

Can I browse plugin documentation without installing anything?

Yes. All documentation files are publicly accessible via GitHub's web interface and raw content API. Navigate to https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community, open any plugin folder, and view README.md directly in your browser.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}