Claude Code plugins (e.g. frontend-design) should be available in Cowork sessions
Description
Plugins installed in Claude Code (from the anthropics/claude-code marketplace) are not available in Cowork sessions. The two plugin ecosystems are completely disconnected:
- Claude Code uses plugins from
anthropics/claude-code(installed via/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-code) - Cowork uses plugins from
anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins(installed via the Cowork sidebar)
This means first-party plugins like frontend-design that work in Claude Code CLI are inaccessible when using Cowork, even though both products are made by Anthropic and run on the same underlying system (Claude Agent SDK).
Steps to Reproduce
- Install
frontend-design@claude-code-pluginsin Claude Code — works great - Open a Cowork session in the Claude desktop app
- The
frontend-designskill is not available — it doesn't appear in the skills list and cannot be invoked - Searching the Cowork VM filesystem confirms no
frontend-designfiles exist anywhere
Expected Behavior
Plugins installed in Claude Code should be available in Cowork sessions, or there should be a clear mechanism to sync/share plugins between the two environments.
Current Workaround
Manually downloading the SKILL.md file and placing it in /mnt/.claude/skills/frontend-design/SKILL.md within the Cowork VM. This is fragile (resets between sessions) and shouldn't be necessary for a first-party Anthropic plugin.
Environment
- Claude Desktop App (macOS)
- Cowork mode (research preview)
- Claude Code with
frontend-design@claude-code-pluginsinstalled locally
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