---
title: "Plugins"
description: "Add plugins that give your whale new commands, connectors, skills and agents, see what each can do before it runs, and turn them off or remove them."
works_on: [desktop]
---

# Plugins

Add plugins that give your whale new commands, connectors, skills and agents.
See what each one can do before it runs, and turn it off or remove it.

**Works on:** the desktop app, for plugins on this computer. The phone and
the web: not available yet.

![Customize › Plugins with a plugin open](images/plugins-detail.png)

## Open Plugins

Do one of these:

- Choose **Customize** in the sidebar, then **Plugins**.
- Pick **Open plugins** or **Browse plugins** in the command palette (⌘K, or
  Ctrl+K on Windows and Linux).
- Type `/plugin` in the composer.

The page lists the plugins installed on this computer. Each row shows the
plugin's name, what it adds ("1 connector · 1 skill") and a switch. A plugin
you haven't reviewed yet shows **Needs you · review it**.

Settings › Tools & MCP has a **Plugins** row that says "Not available yet".
Plugins live here, in Customize.

## Install a plugin

1. Choose **Browse**. The catalogs on this computer are listed with the
   plugins each one offers.
2. Choose **Install** beside a plugin. To install from somewhere else, choose
   **Install from a link** and give "A GitHub repository, a download link, or
   a folder on this computer", for example `github:owner/repo`.
3. "It installs turned off. You'll see what it can do before it runs." The
   review opens straight away.

To add a catalog, choose **Add a catalog** at the end of Browse and give the
catalog file on this computer. To remove one, press its ⋯ and choose **Remove
catalog**.

## Review what a plugin can do

![The review before a plugin runs](images/plugins-review.png)

The review lists **What it can do**, read from the plugin itself:

- **Run a program on this computer**, with the exact command
- **Reach** a site, or **Read and change files in** a folder
- **Read these settings** (their names, never their values)
- **Run its own steps when things happen**
- **Change what happens when work starts and stops**
- **Add commands**, **Add skills** and **Add agents**

When a plugin can do none of the risky things, the review also says **What it
can't do**: "Run programs, change your files or reach the internet." A part
that can't run here is named: "One part won't run here: … Everything else
works." **Details** shows where it came from, its version and its content
hash.

Choose **Turn on** to trust exactly what you reviewed and turn it on. Choose
**Not now** to leave it installed and off. If the plugin changes later, it
shows **Needs you · review again** and stays off until you review it again.

## Turn a plugin off or on

Use the switch on its row. Turning it off hides everything it adds, and a
toast offers **Undo**. Turning a reviewed plugin back on needs no second
review.

## See what a plugin adds

Choose a plugin to open its page on the right:

- **What it adds:** each command, connector, skill, agent and hook, with
  **Open** to go to where it lives. Everything a plugin adds is marked
  **From** and the plugin's name wherever it shows, and you turn it off or
  remove it here, on the plugin.
- **What it can do:** the same list as the review.
- **Update** gets a new copy from where it came from. **Stop trusting** keeps
  it installed but off until you review it again.
- **Remove…** asks once: "Everything it adds goes away. You can install it
  again later."

## Right-click a plugin

Right-click a row, press its ⋯, or focus it and press Shift+F10:

| Item | Key |
| --- | --- |
| **Turn off** or **Turn on** | O |
| **Review access…** | A |
| **Stop trusting** | T |
| **Remove…** | ⌘⌫ (Ctrl+Backspace) |

## Not available yet

- **Tool levels** and **Activity** on a plugin's page.
- **Update**, **Show in folder** and **Roll back** in a plugin's menu. Use
  **Update** on the plugin's page instead.

## Related

- [Connectors and skills](connectors-and-skills.md)
- [Customize](customize.md)
- [Approvals and permissions](approvals-and-permissions.md)

Previous: [The whale on your screen](whale-on-screen.md) · Next: [Connectors and skills](connectors-and-skills.md)