[FEATURE] Cowork Personal tab — allow users to add custom plugin marketplaces by URL

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

Summary

Cowork's plugin browser has three tabs: Your organization, Anthropic & Partners, and Personal. None of them let an individual Cowork user add a custom plugin marketplace by URL.

This means a plugin author can build a plugin, host it in a (public or private) git repository, and have no way to share it with users outside their own Cowork org — even when those external users would be happy to provide their own credentials for a private repo.

The Claude Code CLI already supports /plugin marketplace add <url> for exactly this use case. Bringing the same capability to Cowork's "Personal" tab would close the parity gap and unlock a major distribution path.

Use case

I author a Claude Code plugin hosted in a git repo (public or private). I want to share it with:

• Collaborators at other companies (different Cowork orgs)
• Beta testers, advisors, or contractors who aren't part of my org
• Independent users / customers / partners

Today, my only viable paths are:

1. Tell the external user to install Claude Code CLI and run /plugin marketplace add .... Works, but excludes anyone who only uses the Cowork desktop app.
2. Make the repo public AND submit to the Anthropic & Partners curated registry. Excludes anything not appropriate for full public release.
3. Get them added to my Cowork org. Almost never feasible for cross-company collaboration.

None of these work for "private plugin, shared with specific external Cowork users."

Proposed Solution

Proposed feature

In Cowork's plugin browser, under the Personal tab, add an "Add marketplace by URL" button. Clicking it opens a dialog where the user enters:

• A git URL (HTTPS or SSH form), or owner/repo shorthand for GitHub
• For private repos: a credential method (use system git auth, paste a token, or sign in via the host's OAuth flow)

The plugin would then appear in the Personal tab alongside any Anthropic-curated plugins, and the user could install it via the normal flow.

Why this matters

• Cowork's Personal tab today is read-only from the user's perspective, which makes it feel like a missing seat. The CLI is the only escape hatch, which excludes designers, PMs, researchers, and other non-terminal users.
• Plugin authors are forced to choose between "fully public" or "ask everyone to use CLI" — there's no middle ground for trusted-but-external distribution.
• This is functionality the CLI already supports. Bringing it to Cowork is parity, not a new product surface.

Suggested behavior

• Personal marketplaces are scoped to that user only — they don't affect org-managed plugin policy or other users.
• Installed plugins from a Personal marketplace appear in /plugin listings clearly tagged as "Personal".
• Credentials for private repos are stored securely (system keychain or per-user secure storage).
• Same auto-update semantics as org marketplaces (poll on startup, cached SHA, etc.).

Related

• Plugin reference: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins-reference.md
• CLI marketplace docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces.md
• Existing Cowork plugin help: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13837440-use-plugins-in-claude-cowork

Alternative Solutions

_No response_

Priority

Critical - Blocking my work

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

Today, my only viable paths are:

1. Tell the external user to install Claude Code CLI and run /plugin marketplace add .... Works, but excludes anyone who only uses the Cowork desktop app.
2. Make the repo public AND submit to the Anthropic & Partners curated registry. Excludes anything not appropriate for full public release.
3. Get them added to my Cowork org. Almost never feasible for cross-company collaboration.

None of these work for "private plugin, shared with specific external Cowork users."

Additional Context

_No response_