Your Plugin Journey: Zero to Production

The Growth Path

• **The meta-lesson** — Don't plan a plugin. Grow one. Our skills across 4 plugins didn't start as a 'comprehensive AI development platform' — they started as 'I'm tired of typing the same build command.'
• **Month-by-month evolution**
  • › Month 1 — One skill solving one pain point (a build checker, a convention reminder)
  • › Month 2 — Add related skills as patterns emerge ('I always do X before Y') plus rules
  • › Month 3 — Add agents when tasks need different model tiers (Haiku for lookups, Opus for review)
  • › Month 4 — Add hooks as guardrails after you make a mistake (wrong branch, bad config edit)
  • › Month 5 — Package as a plugin when 2+ projects need the same tools
• **Start from real friction** — Each skill should save you 10 minutes per day. A build checker, a component verifier, a convention reminder. If it doesn't solve a real pain point, don't build it.
• **Patterns reveal themselves** — As you use your first skill, you'll notice what you always do before and after it. Those adjacent tasks become your next skills.

Your First Steps

1. 1 **Write your first skill today** — Pick the one task you repeat most and automate it with a single SKILL.md file. That's your Day 1.
2. 2 **Follow the natural growth path**
   • › Start with `.claude/commands/` for project-local skills
   • › Add `.claude/rules/` when you notice recurring conventions
   • › Add `agents/` when different tasks need different model tiers
   • › Add `hooks/hooks.json` when you need structural guardrails
   • › Graduate to a plugin when multiple projects need the same tools
3. 3 **Package when shared** — The moment two projects need the same skills, bundle them as a plugin. Write a sync script. Version it. One source, many consumers.
4. 4 **Don't over-engineer early** — Resist the urge to plan the full plugin up front. Let real usage drive what you build next. Iterate tomorrow.