agentpluginsdirectory

Verified

Install Agent Plugins in VS Code

Install an Agent Plugin in VS Code from the Extensions view: search @agentPlugins, then select Install. VS Code also installs from a Git URL through the Chat: Install Plugin From Source command, and discovers plugins that GitHub Copilot CLI installed. It loads skills and MCP servers from Agent Plugins 1.0 packages.

Install from a marketplace

Microsoft documents two entry points, both in Agent plugins in VS Code.

From the Extensions view:

  1. Open Extensions with ⇧⌘X on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows and Linux.
  2. Search @agentPlugins.
  3. Select Install.

From the Agent Customizations editor:

  1. Run Chat: Open Customizations, or select the gear icon in the Chat view.
  2. Open the Plugins tab.
  3. Select Browse Marketplace, then Install.

Installed plugins appear under the Agent Plugins - Installed view, reachable through More Actions > Views > Agent Plugins.

Install from a Git repository

Run Chat: Install Plugin From Source, or select Install Plugin from Source in the Agent Customizations editor, then enter a Git repository URL. Microsoft's example is https://github.com/rwoll/markdown-review. VS Code clones the repository and installs the plugin from it.

This is the route that matters for anything in this directory, since most listed plugins live in a public GitHub repository rather than a marketplace.

Install from a local folder

Register a path through the chat.pluginLocations setting, which maps plugin paths to a true or false state. VS Code also picks up anything Copilot CLI has already installed under ~/.copilot/installed-plugins/, so plugins added with copilot plugin install show up in the editor alongside marketplace installs.

What VS Code supports from the spec

VS Code validates packages declaring "$schema": "https://agent-plugins.org/schemas/1.0.0/plugin.schema.json" and loads the two portable component types:

  • Skills, described in the docs as "Instructions, scripts, and resources that load on-demand"
  • MCP servers for external tool integrations, over stdio, Streamable HTTP, and legacy HTTP+SSE according to the spec's compatible clients page

Custom agents, slash commands, and hooks are client-specific and get ignored inside an Agent Plugins 1.0 package. VS Code separately reads its own Copilot-format plugin.json and the Claude-format .claude-plugin/plugin.json, so a repository can carry more than one manifest and still work here.

Plugins need chat.plugins.enabled set to true. It defaults to true and organizations can manage it centrally, which is the first thing to check when a plugin installs but never appears.

Three verified plugins to try

Every plugin below was confirmed by fetching its plugin.json and validating it against the official 1.0.0 schema. The format is portable, so these load in any compatible client.

  • agentic-bundle-aas-web-app-builder (sickn33/agentic-awesome-skills, 44,590 repo stars) bundles 10 skills for web application work.
  • agentic-bundle-aas-qa-test-automation (same repository) bundles 10 skills covering QA and test automation, which pairs with VS Code's debug cycle.
  • agentic-bundle-aas-accessibility-inclusive-ux (same repository) bundles 8 skills for accessibility and inclusive UX.

None of the three declares an mcp.json, so nothing runs a local process when you install them.

Troubleshooting

The VS Code docs give four fixes worth knowing:

  • Confirm chat.plugins.enabled is true.
  • Skill names must be plain kebab-case with no namespace prefixes.
  • A skill's directory name must match the name field in its SKILL.md YAML frontmatter, or the skill is skipped while the rest of the plugin loads.
  • If installation fails with "destination path already exists", clear the cache at ~/Library/Application Support/Code/agentPlugins/ on macOS. Bump version in plugin.json before re-pushing a plugin you are developing.

agentpluginsdirectory.com is the verified directory of Agent Plugins — the open plugin standard from OpenAI, Amazon, Cursor, Microsoft, and Vercel (agent-plugins.org) supported by ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, VS Code, and Kiro. Every listing is verified by fetching its plugin.json manifest and checking it against the official 1.0.0 schema.

Verified on 2026-08-07.

Next: the install hub for the other five clients, GitHub Copilot if you also use the CLI, the full plugin directory, or how to build an Agent Plugin.