Getting started with Modyard

#What a mod is

A Claude Code mod is a plugin that uses function hooks: a small TypeScript module that Claude Code loads and calls when something happens, such as a tool call, a submitted prompt or the start of a session. A mod can show a status line, block a risky command, rewrite a tool input or add a command of its own. Function hooks need Claude Code 2.1.287 or later, so check your version before you start:

claude --version

Modyard is where publishers share those mods. You browse them on the mods page, read their code there, and install them from inside Claude Code. There is no account to create for installing: you only need one to publish.

#Find a mod

Open the mods page and search by name or description. Each mod page shows:

• the publisher that owns it, which is also the marketplace you install it from;
• its versions, the latest first;
• what it can touch: a list of categories such as files, network or processes, read from its code;
• every file in the mod, browsable in the page.

For this guide, picture a mod called bash-logger, published by ana. It shows the first characters of every Bash command Claude runs in the status line.

#Install it in two commands

Every publisher on Modyard is its own Claude Code marketplace. First add the publisher's marketplace. This command runs inside Claude Code, at the prompt:

/plugin marketplace add https://mods.gonzaloverdugo.com/publishers/ana/marketplace.json

Then install the mod from your terminal. The part after @ is the marketplace name, which is always the publisher's slug:

claude plugin install bash-logger@ana --scope user

--scope user installs it for every project on your machine. Use --scope project if you want it only in the current repository, so that it travels with the project's settings.

That is all. The next session loads the mod. Claude Code downloads the version's archive from Modyard and checks its sha256 against the one written in the marketplace before installing anything, so the files you get are the files the marketplace describes.

#Check before you install

A mod runs inside Claude Code with your permissions. It can do what you can do on your machine, so treat installing one like adding a dependency to a project. Three things to look at first:

1. What it can touch. If bash-logger says it touches display and tool calls, that matches what it claims to do. If it also listed network or processes, you would want to know why before installing. The list is a reading aid built from the code, not a guarantee: what a mod can touch explains how it is derived and where it stops.
2. The code itself. Open the files on the mod page. A typical mod is one register.tsx of a few dozen lines. Read the hooks it registers and what each one does with the event.
3. The publisher. Who owns the marketplace matters more than the mod's name. Once you add ana's marketplace, updates come from ana. Publisher marketplaces explains why each publisher is separate and what that means for trust.

If something looks off, do not install it. Nothing on Modyard has been reviewed for security.

#Keep it up to date

New versions of a mod reach you when you refresh the publisher's marketplace, again inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace update ana

Versions on Modyard are immutable: once bash-logger 0.1.0 exists, its files never change. A fix is always a new, higher version, so the code you read for 0.1.0 is the code that runs for 0.1.0. When an update arrives, it is worth looking at what changed before you accept it.

#Try a mod without installing it

If you have the mod's folder locally (for example, you downloaded it to read it), you can load it for one session without installing anything:

claude --plugin-dir ./bash-logger

That is also how publishers try their own mods while writing them.

#Remove it

Uninstall the mod the same way you installed it:

claude plugin uninstall bash-logger@ana

The marketplace stays added, so you can install other mods from ana later. You can remove the marketplace itself from Claude Code's /plugin menu.

#Where to go next

• Read what a mod can touch before installing anything you do not fully understand.
• Want to share your own? Write your first mod builds bash-logger from an empty folder, and publish a mod takes it to Modyard.
• Using an agent? Use Modyard from an agent shows how Claude can search and read mods for you.