AI Guides › Workbench
By Nigel Guy · 8 min read
The usual move is to install all five, run one slash command on a made-up example, get something generic back and decide plugins are hype. The plugins weren't the problem. They are built to plug into your tools and your house rules, and out of the box they know neither — the legal one even ships with American contract positions as its default playbook.
The rule: install one plugin for the job you do every week, connect it to one real tool or one real file, and test it on a task you have already done by hand so you can judge the output.
| Word | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| Plugin | A bundle that adds a set of skills, slash commands and app connections in one install |
| Skill | Instructions Claude loads by itself when your request matches them (for example, a contract-review method) |
| Command | Something you trigger on purpose by typing /, such as /legal:triage-nda |
| Connector | A link to an app (HubSpot, Slack, Microsoft 365, Box) so Claude can read from it, and sometimes write to it |
| Marketplace | A catalogue of plugins. Anthropic's role plugins live in one called knowledge-work-plugins |
They are open source in Anthropic's anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins GitHub repository, which lists eleven at time of writing.
| Plugin | What it does | Cost at time of writing | Best for | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Drafts content, plans campaigns, checks copy against brand voice, competitor briefs, SEO audits, email sequences | Included with any paid Claude plan; no free tier | Anyone writing regular posts, emails or campaign plans | Generic until you give it your brand voice and personas |
| Sales | Call prep and summaries, account research, outreach drafts, pipeline and forecast reviews (36 skills in its current version) | As above | Founders and reps who live in a CRM | Shines with a CRM connected; without one you upload exports |
| Legal | Contract review against a playbook, NDA triage (green/yellow/red), vendor checks, templated responses | As above | First-pass triage before a solicitor sees it | Default playbook reflects US positions (Delaware, New York, California). Not legal advice |
| Productivity | Task list (TASKS.md), a working-memory file, a local dashboard; /start and /update |
As above | Anyone tired of re-explaining their people and projects | Works best in Cowork or Claude Code, where it can keep files |
| Finance | Journal entries, reconciliations, income statements, variance analysis, SOX testing | As above | Bookkeepers and finance leads doing month-end | Written around US GAAP and SOX; UK reporting (FRS 102, Companies House) is not its default |
On cost: plugins are available on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise, not the free plan. Pro is listed at US$20 a month; Anthropic charges in local currency in supported regions, with tax shown at checkout, so the pound figure there is the real one at time of writing. The plugins themselves cost nothing extra; the apps you connect may.
/ or click + in a chat to see its skills.Anthropic's help centre notes that hooks and sub-agents only run in Cowork and Claude Code, so some parts appear greyed out in ordinary chat. Customising a plugin's skills and connectors from the app is a Cowork feature.
From your terminal (not inside a session):
claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
claude plugin install marketing@knowledge-work-plugins
claude plugin list
The install defaults to user scope (every project on this machine); add --scope project to share it with a repository. Plugins installed from the shell load next time you start Claude Code, or straight away if you run /reload-plugins in an open session. Inside a session, /plugin opens a panel where you can browse, see what a plugin will install, and pick a scope.
Two details beginners miss. First, if you are signed in, plugins you turned on in your claude.ai account sync into Claude Code (version 2.1.273 or later) and show up as <name>@synced — so you may not need to install twice. Second, Claude Code's docs say auto-update is off by default for the knowledge-work-plugins marketplace, so update it yourself now and then with claude plugin update marketing@knowledge-work-plugins.
Both have their own plugin systems, and these plugins are mostly Markdown files, so skills can in principle be copied across. We found no official documentation confirming this marketplace installs in either, so treat it as unsupported.
Use this before you install anything else. Fill in your role and the three tasks that eat most of your week.
You are helping me decide how to start with one Claude role plugin. I am not technical.
My role: [YOUR_ROLE, e.g. owner of a 4-person lettings agency]
The plugin I have installed: [PLUGIN_NAME]
The three tasks that take most of my week:
1. [TASK_1]
2. [TASK_2]
3. [TASK_3]
The apps I already use: [APPS, e.g. HubSpot, Outlook, Xero]
Steps:
1. List the plugin's commands and skills you can see, in plain English.
2. Match each of my three tasks to the closest command or skill, or say "no good match".
3. Recommend ONE task to set up first: the one most repeated and easiest to check.
4. Say what I must supply for it to work (a file, a connector, a brand or playbook note).
5. Suggest one test: a past example of that task I have already finished by hand, so I can compare.
Output: a short table (task | matching command | fit: good/partial/none), then the recommendation in under 120 words.
Rules: do not invent commands you cannot see. If any of my inputs are missing or vague, ask me before answering.
Before you reply, check that every command you name actually appears in the plugin.
Once a test task passes, move to live work with this. Fill in the role, the task and the source material.
Context: the [PLUGIN_NAME] plugin is switched on. I work as [YOUR_ROLE] in a UK business.
The task: [WHAT YOU NEED DONE, e.g. triage this incoming NDA]
The material: [PASTE THE TEXT OR ATTACH THE FILE]
House rules to apply: [BRAND VOICE / PLAYBOOK / ACCOUNTING BASIS, or "none yet"]
What "done" looks like: [e.g. a red/amber/green verdict plus the three clauses to raise]
Steps:
1. Tell me which of the plugin's skills or commands you are using and why.
2. Before starting, list anything you need and do not have, and wait for my answer.
3. Do the task. Mark every assumption, and flag anything based on US law, US GAAP or US conventions that may not apply in the UK.
4. Do not send, post, book or update anything in a connected app. Show me the proposed action instead.
Output: the result first, then a short "assumptions and gaps" list.
Self-check before replying: is every fact taken from my material or clearly marked as an assumption?
/brand-review on something you have already published./sales:call-summary on notes from yesterday's call..claude/legal.local.md in Claude Code) with your own positions./start in Cowork or Claude Code.claude plugin details <name> shows that cost in tokens.