Install BuildDown skills

Experimental version.This is the latest in-development version of AI-Implement. Features may change without notice and behavior is not guaranteed. Switch to the latest stable version here.

BuildDown ships from the BuildDownAI/skills marketplace. Installing gives you every bd- skill — see BuildDown skills for what each one does. The marketplace offers one plugin per release channel:

builddown — the Stable channel, pinned to the most recent released version.
builddown-dev — the Dev channel, which tracks ongoing development.

Install only one.

Codex doesn’t use the plugin system. To install for Codex, use the script instead — skip to installing without the plugin system.

Installation

In Claude Code

Add the marketplace and install the plugin

The plugin manager accepts two command forms:

claude plugin … — works in the Claude Code app or a terminal, and is the form to use in scripts.
/plugin … — the slash form, available in the Claude Code CLI. Some options exist only here.

Add the marketplace, then install the plugin for the channel you want.For Stable:

claude plugin marketplace add BuildDownAI/skills
claude plugin install builddown@builddown

For Dev:

claude plugin marketplace add BuildDownAI/skills
claude plugin install builddown-dev@builddown

Both channels are covered in Versions and channels below.

Load the skills

Run /reload-plugins to activate the plugin in your current session. Restarting Claude Code also works, but is heavier than necessary.The bd- skills aren’t available until you do one or the other.

Verify plugin registration

Confirm the plugin is registered:

claude plugin list

Your plugin — builddown or builddown-dev — appears in the list, and the bd- skills are available in your session.

On claude.ai

Add the marketplace from the repository

Open Customize › Plugins › Add › Add marketplace › Add from a repository.Enter BuildDownAI/skills, keep Sync automatically on, and click Sync.

Add the plugin

Add builddown for the Stable channel, or builddown-dev for Dev. Add only one.

A Team or Enterprise organization marketplace needs a private repository. Because BuildDownAI/skills is public, each member adds it to their own account rather than sharing an organization marketplace.

If you uploaded the plugin zip before, you have a builddown plugin under Created by you on claude.ai. Remove it there so the marketplace copy loads instead.

Versions and channels

Which version you get depends on the plugin you install:

Plugin	Channel	How you get it
`builddown`	Stable — pinned to the latest release tag	Add the `BuildDownAI/skills` marketplace, then install `builddown@builddown`
`builddown-dev`	Dev — tracks the `testing` branch	Add the `BuildDownAI/skills` marketplace, then install `builddown-dev@builddown`
`builddown`	Dev — via direct ref	Add the `BuildDownAI/skills#testing` marketplace, then install `builddown@builddown`
pinned	a specific tag, without the plugin system	`./install.sh --from-git <url>@v1.4.0`
unversioned	whatever a local checkout contains	`./install.sh` from that checkout

A version changes only when the plugin’s version changes. Stable changes only when a new version ships. Dev follows testing and can change at any time, including in ways that haven’t been through a release.

Two separate references decide what you end up with. The marketplace reference picks which catalog you read; the catalog then names which version of the skills to install. On the Stable channel the catalog pins that to the release tag, which is why refreshing the marketplace doesn’t move your skills until a new version is out.

Check which version you have

claude plugin list

The slash form also accepts a state filter, which the terminal form does not:

/plugin list --enabled

Move between channels

Your channel is recorded on your machine when you first add the marketplace. A new release cannot move you — switching is something you do locally. To move to Stable:

claude plugin marketplace remove builddown
claude plugin marketplace add BuildDownAI/skills
claude plugin install builddown@builddown

To move to Dev, install builddown-dev@builddown in the third command instead:

claude plugin marketplace remove builddown
claude plugin marketplace add BuildDownAI/skills
claude plugin install builddown-dev@builddown

Removing a marketplace uninstalls every plugin installed from it. The third command is not optional — without it you are left with no skills installed.

Updating

Refresh the marketplace, update the plugin, then reload:

claude plugin marketplace update builddown
claude plugin update <plugin>@builddown

Replace <plugin> with builddown or builddown-dev. Then run /reload-plugins. What this actually picks up depends on your channel. On Stable you move only if a new version has been released; running it between releases is a no-op. On Dev you get whatever has landed on testing since you last updated.

Third-party marketplaces have automatic updates switched off by default. You can turn it on per marketplace from the Marketplaces tab of /plugin if you would rather not update by hand.

On claude.ai, choosing Check for updates on the plugin installs the new version immediately.

Install without the plugin system

If you would rather not use the plugin manager, the repository ships an install script:

git clone https://github.com/BuildDownAI/skills.git builddown-skills
cd builddown-skills
./install.sh

By default this symlinks the skills into ~/.claude/skills/, so a later git pull updates them immediately. The script installs for Claude Code unless you say otherwise. It can install for the Codex app and CLI instead, which changes where the skills land and how you reload them. To pin a specific release instead of tracking a checkout:

./install.sh --from-git https://github.com/BuildDownAI/skills.git@v1.4.0

Script options

Run ./install.sh --help for the authoritative list.

Where the skills are installed

Option	Effect
`--claude`	Install for Claude Code. The default.
`--codex`	Install for the Codex app and CLI instead — skills land under `~/.agents/skills/`, and you restart Codex rather than running `/skills`.
`--user`	Install at user scope, into your home directory. The default.
`--project <path>`	Install into `<path>` instead, scoping the skills to a single repository rather than your user account.

How the files are placed

Option	Effect
`--copy`	Copy the skills instead of symlinking them, so a later `git pull` in the checkout leaves your installed copy untouched.
`--force`	Overwrite skills already installed at the target.
`--prune`	Remove installed skills that were renamed or removed upstream — worth adding when upgrading across versions.

Installing from a clone

Option	Effect
`--from-git <url>`	Install from a managed clone rather than the current directory. Accepts `<url>@<ref>` to pin a branch, tag, or SHA.
`--ref <ref>`	The branch, tag, or SHA to install with `--from-git`, as an alternative to appending `@<ref>` to the URL.
`--update`	Fetch and reset the managed clone to `<ref>` before installing — how you move a pinned install onto a later release.

Backing out

Option	Effect
`--uninstall`	Remove this repository’s skills from the target, backing out either kind of install.
`--dry-run`	Report what the script would do without changing anything.

Next step

With the skills installed, connect your orchestrator and ticketing system so the bd- skills know where your issues and repo live.

Connect your orchestrator and tracker

Add your orchestrator and ticketing system as claude.ai connectors.

​Installation

​In Claude Code

​On claude.ai

​Versions and channels

​Check which version you have

​Move between channels

​Updating

​Install without the plugin system

​Script options

​Where the skills are installed

​How the files are placed

​Installing from a clone

​Backing out

​Next step

Connect your orchestrator and tracker

Installation

In Claude Code

On claude.ai

Versions and channels

Check which version you have

Move between channels

Updating

Install without the plugin system

Script options

Where the skills are installed

How the files are placed

Installing from a clone

Backing out

Next step