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A marketplace lets you distribute Packmind packages as managed plugins through a Git repository, so your team can install them directly in Claude Code or GitHub Copilot. Instead of committing instruction files into each project, you publish a package once and Packmind keeps the marketplace repository up to date for you.

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Overview

A marketplace is a Git repository that hosts a marketplace descriptor — the catalogue your coding assistant reads to discover and install plugins. A marketplace targets either Claude Code or GitHub Copilot, never both — Packmind picks up which one automatically from the descriptor file the repository contains, so you don’t choose it yourself when linking. When you publish a package to a marketplace, Packmind:
  • Renders the package’s skills and commands into a plugin for that marketplace’s assistant.
  • Opens (or amends) a single Packmind sync pull request on the marketplace repository.
  • Adds the plugin to the marketplace catalogue once you merge that pull request.
With a marketplace in place you can:
  • Publish a package as a plugin your whole organization can install.
  • Track every publish attempt and its status.
  • Monitor the marketplace’s health and who has adopted each plugin.
  • Retire plugins that are no longer needed.
A marketplace targets Claude Code or GitHub Copilot depending on which descriptor file its repository contains: .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (or marketplace.json at the repository root) makes it a Claude Code marketplace, while .github/plugin/marketplace.json makes it a GitHub Copilot marketplace. A repository can only expose one of the two. To distribute standards, commands, and skills as instruction files across other AI assistants (Cursor and more), use the standard distribution flow instead.

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Before you start

  • Connect a Git provider. The marketplace repository must be reachable through a connected Git provider — the GitHub App (recommended) or a personal access token. Providers created automatically by the CLI can’t be used, because they hold no credentials. See Git Repository Connection.
  • Prepare the marketplace repository. It must contain a marketplace descriptor: .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (or marketplace.json at the root) to target Claude Code, or .github/plugin/marketplace.json to target GitHub Copilot. Whichever one Packmind finds decides the marketplace’s type.
  • Be an organization administrator. Only admins can link or unlink a marketplace. Any organization member can publish packages to a linked marketplace.
Only organization administrators can link a marketplace.
  1. Navigate to Marketplaces in your organization.
  2. Click Link a marketplace.
  3. Choose a Git connection from your connected providers.
  4. Pick the repository that hosts the marketplace. Use the search box to filter a long list.
  5. Click Link marketplace.
Packmind validates that the repository exposes a valid marketplace descriptor, and determines whether the marketplace targets Claude Code or GitHub Copilot from which descriptor file it finds. Once linked, the marketplace appears in the list with its contents and health at a glance.
If you don’t have a Git provider connected yet, the form guides you to Settings → Git Providers to set one up first.

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Publish a package as a plugin

You publish from the same Distribute menu you use for repositories.
  1. Navigate to the Packages section.
  2. Select the package (or packages) you want to publish.
  3. Click Distribute and choose To marketplaces.
  4. In the Publish to a marketplace dialog, pick the target marketplace.
  5. Click Publish.
Packmind opens or amends the Packmind sync pull request on the marketplace repository. Review that pull request and merge it to make the plugin live.
Packages need a skill or a command. A marketplace plugin must contain at least one skill or command. Packages that contain only standards can’t be published as plugins.

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Track distributions

Open a marketplace to see its plugins and every publish attempt. Each publish creates a distribution record you can follow through its lifecycle: Packmind checks the marketplace periodically and moves a distribution from Pending PR review to Published as soon as it confirms the pull request was merged. If you’d rather not wait, use Sync now to check immediately.

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Monitor marketplace health

Each marketplace shows a health indicator so you can spot problems early: When drift is detected, either mark the affected plugin for removal (if the change was intentional) or restore it in the marketplace repository (if it was a mistake). See Retire a plugin from a marketplace for the full workflow.

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Monitor adoption

Open a plugin and switch to the Adoption tab to see who is using it. You can view adoption two ways:
  • By repo — which repositories have installed the plugin.
  • By person — which people have installed it.
Each entry shows whether it’s Up to date or Outdated compared with the published version, so you can tell when consumers are running an older build and nudge them to update.
Adoption data appears after someone starts a Claude Code session with the plugin enabled. A newly published plugin shows no consumers until it’s installed and used.

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Retire a plugin

When a plugin is no longer needed, retire it through the guided, pull-request-governed flow — the same rolling Packmind sync pull request used to publish. See Retire a plugin from a marketplace for the complete process, including cancelling a pending removal and handling drift.
Only organization administrators can unlink a marketplace.
  1. Navigate to Marketplaces.
  2. Find the marketplace in the list.
  3. Use its row action to Unlink and confirm.
Unlinking stops Packmind from tracking the repository. It does not delete plugins already published to the marketplace — those remain in the repository until you remove them.

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Troubleshooting

  • Problem: The To marketplaces option is greyed out.
    • Solution: Your selection contains only standards. Add at least one skill or command to the package, or select a package that already has one.
  • Problem: Linking fails with a descriptor error.
    • Solution: Confirm the repository has a valid marketplace descriptor — .claude-plugin/marketplace.json (or marketplace.json) for Claude Code, or .github/plugin/marketplace.json for GitHub Copilot — and that the connected Git provider can access it.
  • Problem: A publish stays at Pending PR review.
    • Solution: The Packmind sync pull request hasn’t been merged yet. Open it on the marketplace repository, review, and merge. Use Sync now to refresh the status afterwards.
  • Problem: The marketplace shows Unreachable.
    • Solution: Check that the Git provider is still connected and authorized, then use Sync now to retry.
  • Problem: A publish fails with a name conflict.
    • Solution: A plugin with the same name already exists in the marketplace and isn’t managed by Packmind. Rename or remove the conflicting entry, then publish again.
  • Problem: A publish fails saying the marketplace’s type changed.
    • Solution: The repository’s descriptor file was swapped for the other assistant’s after the marketplace was linked — for example .claude-plugin/marketplace.json was replaced with .github/plugin/marketplace.json, or the other way around. Packmind doesn’t pick up a type change on its own, to avoid silently rewriting the marketplace in a different format. Restore the original descriptor, or unlink and relink the marketplace to adopt its new type.