1# Minimal Plugin Example
2 
3A bare-bones plugin with a single command.
4 
5## Directory Structure
6 
7```
8hello-world/
9├── .claude-plugin/
10│   └── plugin.json
11└── commands/
12    └── hello.md
13```
14 
15## File Contents
16 
17### .claude-plugin/plugin.json
18 
19```json
20{
21  "name": "hello-world"
22}
23```
24 
25### commands/hello.md
26 
27```markdown
28---
29name: hello
30description: Prints a friendly greeting message
31---
32 
33# Hello Command
34 
35Print a friendly greeting to the user.
36 
37## Implementation
38 
39Output the following message to the user:
40 
41> Hello! This is a simple command from the hello-world plugin.
42>
43> Use this as a starting point for building more complex plugins.
44 
45Include the current timestamp in the greeting to show the command executed successfully.
46```
47 
48## Usage
49 
50After installing the plugin:
51 
52```
53$ claude
54> /hello
55Hello! This is a simple command from the hello-world plugin.
56 
57Use this as a starting point for building more complex plugins.
58 
59Executed at: 2025-01-15 14:30:22 UTC
60```
61 
62## Key Points
63 
641. **Minimal manifest**: Only the required `name` field
652. **Single command**: One markdown file in `commands/` directory
663. **Auto-discovery**: Claude Code finds the command automatically
674. **No dependencies**: No scripts, hooks, or external resources
68 
69## When to Use This Pattern
70 
71- Quick prototypes
72- Single-purpose utilities
73- Learning plugin development
74- Internal team tools with one specific function
75 
76## Extending This Plugin
77 
78To add more functionality:
79 
801. **Add commands**: Create more `.md` files in `commands/`
812. **Add metadata**: Update `plugin.json` with version, description, author
823. **Add agents**: Create `agents/` directory with agent definitions
834. **Add hooks**: Create `hooks/hooks.json` for event handling
84