Plugins - Qoder

Plugins bundle rules, skills, agents, commands, MCP servers, and hooks into distributable packages. Use plugins to extend Qoder’s capabilities — from code review and automated deployment to connecting enterprise systems.

What Plugins Contain

Component	Description
Skills	Atomic AI execution units defining “how to do something”. Each skill is a `SKILL.md` file
Rules	Directives injected into AI context to constrain behavior and style
Agents	Sub-agent definitions that can be dispatched by the main agent
Commands	Slash commands (`/command-name`) — user-triggered shortcuts
MCP Servers	Configuration for external service connections via MCP
Hooks	Event hooks that automatically execute scripts at specific moments

Directory Structure

my-plugin/
├── .qoder-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json         # Plugin manifest (required)
├── skills/                 # Skills
│   ├── skill-a/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── skill-b/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── rules/                  # Rules (.md files)
├── agents/                 # Sub-agents (.md files)
├── commands/               # Slash commands (.md files)
├── hooks/
│   └── hooks.json          # Hook configuration
├── mcp.json                # MCP server configuration
├── qoder.md                # Project instructions (optional)
├── CONNECTORS.md           # Connector dependency docs (optional)
└── README.md               # Plugin documentation (optional)

All directories except .qoder-plugin/ are optional. Paths can be explicitly declared in plugin.json to override defaults.

Plugin Manifest (plugin.json)

Located at .qoder-plugin/plugin.json, this is the only required file.

Field	Type	Required	Description
name	string	Yes	Plugin identifier, must be kebab-case
version	string	Yes	Semantic version, e.g. 1.0.0
description	string	No	Brief description
displayName	string	No	Display name (supports CJK), for UI and marketplace
author	object	No	Author info
keywords	string array	No	Search keywords
homepage	string	No	Homepage or documentation URL
repository	string	No	Source repository URL
license	string	No	SPDX license identifier

Component Path Declarations

Field	Type	Description
`skills`	string or string array	Skill directory paths
`rules`	string or string array	Rule directory paths
`agents`	string or string array	Agent file paths
`commands`	string, string array, or object	Command file/directory paths, or command object map
`hooks`	string	Hook config JSON file path
`mcpServers`	string	MCP server config JSON file path

The skills field supports explicit declaration of which skills to load:

"skills": ["skills/submit-request", "skills/review-backlog"]

If pointing to a directory (e.g. "./skills"), all subdirectories containing SKILL.md are loaded.

Minimal Configuration

{
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A simple Qoder plugin"
}

Full Example

{
  "name": "requirement-pool",
  "version": "2.3.0",
  "description": "Requirement pool management toolkit",
  "displayName": "Requirement Pool",
  "author": { "name": "Product Team" },
  "keywords": ["requirement", "backlog"],
  "skills": ["skills/submit-request", "skills/review-backlog"],
  "rules": "./rules",
  "agents": ["./agents/requirement-reviewer.md"],
  "commands": {
    "submit-req": {
      "source": "./commands/submit.md",
      "description": "Submit a new requirement",
      "argumentHint": "[title]"
    }
  },
  "hooks": "./hooks/hooks.json",
  "mcpServers": "./mcp.json"
}

Skills (SKILL.md)

Each skill is an independent directory containing a SKILL.md file with YAML frontmatter + Markdown body:

---
description: Run code lint checks and auto-fix for the current project
name: lint-check
---

## Workflow
1. Read the project's lint configuration
2. Run checks and summarize issues
3. Auto-fix after user confirmation

Key fields:

Field	Description
description	The most important field — Qoder uses it to decide when to invoke the skill
name	Skill name, defaults to directory name

MCP Server Configuration

The MCP config file is mcp.json (or .mcp.json), using the top-level mcpServers field.

Local Process Mode
Remote Service Mode (Declarative Connector)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-db": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@my-org/db-mcp-server"],
      "env": { "DB_URL": "postgres://localhost:5432/mydb" }
    }
  }
}

When an MCP Server requires user credentials, use placeholders + _setup for guided configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "audit-log": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "{{USER_CONFIG}}",
      "_setup": {
        "configUrl": "https://example.com/mcp-setup",
        "guide": "Visit the link above to obtain your personal MCP Server URL",
        "required": true
      }
    }
  }
}

{{USER_CONFIG}}: Placeholder — user fills in the actual URL during installation
_setup.configUrl: Page guiding users to obtain credentials
_setup.guide: Setup instruction text
_setup.required: Whether configuration is mandatory

Client behavior (QoderWork): When a Skill’s required Connector is not configured, QoderWork displays a friendly prompt asking the user to configure it, rather than throwing a connection error.

Hooks

Hook configuration file is hooks/hooks.json, executing commands automatically on specific events.

{
  "description": "Simple Pre-Write Check",
  "hooks": {
    "PreToolUse": [
      {
        "matcher": "Write",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "node \"${QODER_PLUGIN_ROOT}/check.js\""
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

matcher: Filters which tool names trigger the hook
${QODER_PLUGIN_ROOT}: Absolute path to the plugin’s installation directory. Use it to reference internal plugin resources (scripts, configs, etc.) — paths resolve correctly regardless of where the plugin is installed

For supported event types and detailed configuration, see the Hooks documentation.

Project Instructions (qoder.md)

qoder.md is the plugin-level project instructions file, defining the agent persona, workflow orchestration, and guardrails. It is injected as the core system prompt when the plugin is activated. File name is qoder.md. QoderWork also recognizes qoderwork.md.

Connector Dependencies (CONNECTORS.md)

CONNECTORS.md documents connector dependencies for plugin users — which skills depend on which connections, what resources are accessed, and how to configure them. Example:

# Connector Dependencies

## Audit Log
- **Purpose**: skill "Query Logs" depends on this connector to read audit logs
- **Resource**: Audit log API
- **Setup**: Visit https://example.com/mcp-setup to obtain your personal MCP Server URL

## Enterprise Database
- **Purpose**: skill "Generate Reports" depends on this connector to query business data
- **Resource**: PostgreSQL read-only replica
- **Setup**: Contact your DBA to obtain a read-only connection string

This file helps users quickly understand which external connections need to be configured after installing the plugin, along with each connection’s permissions and security boundaries.

Commands Object Format

When commands is an object, each command can have detailed configuration:

Field	Type	Description
`source`	string	Command Markdown file path
`description`	string	Command description
`argumentHint`	string	Argument hint, e.g. `"[env]"`

Packaging and Distribution

Package Format

Plugins are distributed as .zip files:

The zip root IS the plugin root

No extra nesting — the manifest sits directly under the zip root.

plugin.json must exist

.qoder-plugin/plugin.json is required.

Use the recommended filename

Recommended filename: {name}-{version}.zip.

Correct structure:

deploy-helper-2.0.0.zip
├── .qoder-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json
├── skills/
├── hooks/
│   └── hooks.json
├── mcp.json
├── CONNECTORS.md
└── README.md

Path Rules

All relative paths must start with ./
.. is not allowed (no path traversal)
JSON paths must end with .json
Markdown paths must end with .md

FAQ

What’s the difference between a plugin and a standalone skill?

Standalone skills are for single-project use (placed in .qoder/skills/). Plugins are for cross-project sharing and enterprise distribution — bundling multiple skills and configurations as one unit.

Where does plugin.json go?

It must be at .qoder-plugin/plugin.json.

How to handle MCP Servers requiring personal credentials?

Use declarative Connector configuration ({{USER_CONFIG}} placeholder + _setup guidance). Each user fills in their own credentials during installation.

Client Support Matrix

Supported　 Coming Soon　 N/A

Component	Qoder Desktop	Qoder CLI	JetBrains Plugin	QoderWork
Skills (SKILL.md)
Rules (.md)
Agents (.md)
Commands
MCP Servers
Hooks (hooks.json)
Project Instructions (qoder.md)

​What Plugins Contain

​Directory Structure

​Plugin Manifest (plugin.json)

​Component Path Declarations

​Minimal Configuration

​Full Example

​Skills (SKILL.md)

​MCP Server Configuration

​Hooks

​Project Instructions (qoder.md)

​Connector Dependencies (CONNECTORS.md)

​Commands Object Format

​Packaging and Distribution

​Package Format

​Path Rules

​FAQ

​What’s the difference between a plugin and a standalone skill?

​Where does plugin.json go?

​How to handle MCP Servers requiring personal credentials?

​Client Support Matrix

What Plugins Contain

Directory Structure

Plugin Manifest (plugin.json)

Component Path Declarations

Minimal Configuration

Full Example

Skills (SKILL.md)

MCP Server Configuration

Hooks

Project Instructions (qoder.md)

Connector Dependencies (CONNECTORS.md)

Commands Object Format

Packaging and Distribution

Package Format

Path Rules

FAQ

What’s the difference between a plugin and a standalone skill?

Where does plugin.json go?

How to handle MCP Servers requiring personal credentials?

Client Support Matrix