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Create a Plugin

This guide covers creating a plugin and adding components to it. For the fields on each component form, see Plugin Components Reference. For publishing and syncing, see Distribute a Plugin. Open Build > Plugins to start.

Prerequisites​

You need:

  • admin access to Willow
  • the components you want to bundle (skills, toolkits, commands, and so on), or you can create them inline

Create the plugin​

  1. Open Build > Plugins.
  2. Select Add Plugin, then Manual. The other option, From GitHub, imports plugins from a repository instead; see Sync Plugins from GitHub.
  3. Fill in the Create Plugin dialog:
    • Name: display name of the plugin.
    • Slug: URL-safe identifier, auto-generated from the name. Set at creation and not editable afterward.
    • Description: what the plugin does.
  4. Select Create Plugin to save it as a draft, or use the split-button menu to select Create & Publish to save and publish in one step.
Create Plugin dialog with Name, Slug, and Description fields and a Create Plugin split button whose menu shows Create & Publish

Willow opens the plugin's edit page.

The edit page​

The edit page has two columns: the component editor on the left and a Marketplace Preview tree on the right that shows the file structure Willow will generate.

Plugin edit page with a Plugin Details card showing Name, Slug, Version, and Description, a Target Platforms row, and a Marketplace Preview panel listing the generated file structure, with Download and Save in the top right

Plugin details​

At the top, edit the plugin Name and Description. Slug and Version are read-only in the edit form. The version is shown as a badge beside the plugin's name in the list.

Select Verified to show a verified badge and include the plugin in verified-only catalog results.

Under Target Platforms, a plugin inherits the organization-level marketplace platforms by default. Turn on Override defaults to choose a custom set for this plugin only. See Target marketplace platforms for the organization options.

Plugin Details with editable Name and Description, read-only Slug and Version, Verified checkbox, and Target Platforms override switch

Add components​

Below the details card are collapsible sections, one per component type: Skills, Toolkits, Commands, Rules, Hooks, Sub-Agents, MCP Servers, and Custom MCP Servers. In each section you can:

  • Search existing items and add them with the + button.
  • Create a new item inline from the section header.
  • Remove an included item.
Expanded Skills section in the plugin editor showing an INCLUDED group with a remove control and an AVAILABLE list with a search field and add controls

For every field on the Create Hook, Create Rule, Create Command, Create Sub-Agent, and Custom MCP Server forms, see Plugin Components Reference.

Marketplace preview​

As you add components, the right-side Marketplace Preview panel updates to show the file tree Willow will generate for the plugin. Use it to confirm the structure before syncing.

Save​

Select Save in the top right to persist the plugin. Changes do not take effect until saved.

What to do next​

On this page