Glossary

This page and the Terminology section of the specification are generated from one file, glossary/terms.json. Terms taken from another specification name their source and keep its wording.

Base namespace

The configurable path, by default /.agent-marketplace/, that holds every published file other than the entry points. Written <base> in paths; it starts and ends with a slash.

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “base path”, “base directory”, “output folder”
See also: Entry point

Canonical JSON

The single JSON serialization every generated JSON file uses: sorted keys, two-space indentation and a final newline (section 7.1).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “pretty JSON”, “normalized JSON”

Catalog

The document <base>catalog.json, from which every other published file is derived (section 7.2).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “registry”, “manifest file”, “master index”
See also: Entry document

Client

Software that reads the published files of a site to list, download or install packages, such as a host or a skills command-line tool. A conforming client meets section 16.1.

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “consumer”
See also: Host, Site

Component

One of skills, agents, commands, hooks or Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers inside a plugin.

Source: Claude Code plugin reference
Since: 0.1.0-draft
See also: Plugin

Conformance case

A directory of the conformance suite holding case.json, input/, expected/ and SHA256SUMS (section 16.2).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “test fixture”, “golden test”
See also: Generator

Digest

The lowercase hexadecimal SHA-256 of an archive’s bytes, written sha256:<hex> where an upstream format requires that form.

Source: Agent Skills discovery 0.2.0
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “hash value”, “fingerprint”
See also: Archive

Entry document

The file <base>entries/<p>.json or <base>entries/skills/<s>.json: one catalog item with $schema, kind and specVersion added (section 7.6).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “entry file”, “item file”
See also: Catalog

Entry point

A published file that a client finds by a fixed path rather than by a link (section 5).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “discovery file”, “root file”
See also: Base namespace, Well-known URI

External entry

An input B marketplace entry whose source is remote. It is listed in the catalog but never fetched or packaged (section 7.7).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “remote plugin”, “third-party plugin”
See also: Catalog

Generator

Software that reads an input tree and parameters and writes the published files. A conforming generator meets section 16.1.

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “projector”, “exporter”, “site builder”
See also: Conformance case

Host

An application that installs plugins or skills. This profile covers Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, Antigravity and Gemini CLI, plus clients of Agent Skills discovery.

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “client app”, “agent platform”
See also: Support level, Host package

Host package

An archive or tree in a host-specific layout, produced only when requested (Annex A).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “host bundle”, “platform package”
See also: Host

Install prompt

Generated text a user can paste into their own agent to install one plugin or skill with the host’s own commands (section 12).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “install instructions”, “agent prompt”, “setup prompt”
See also: Host

Lock

The record, kept in the source repository and never published, of every archive published under a versioned path and its digest (section 11.2).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “lockfile”, “lock file”, “release ledger”
See also: Yank, Digest

Plugin

A directory in the Claude Code plugin layout: an optional .claude-plugin/plugin.json plus component folders such as skills/, agents/, commands/ and hooks/.

Source: Claude Code plugin reference
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “add-on”, “addon”
See also: Component, Plugin archive

Plugin archive

The archive of a whole plugin, with the plugin root at the top, used as a Claude Code archive source (section 10.1).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
See also: Archive

Site

The static website the files are published on. Its origin is the scheme, host and port of siteUrl.

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “web site”
See also: Entry point

Skill

A directory holding a SKILL.md file and any supporting files.

Source: Agent Skills
Since: 0.1.0-draft
See also: Skill archive

Skill archive

The archive of one skill with SKILL.md at the top, as Agent Skills discovery 0.2.0 requires (section 10.1).

Source: Agent Skills discovery 0.2.0
Since: 0.1.0-draft
See also: Archive

Support level

One of native, partial or none, saying how much of a plugin works on a host (section 7.5).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “compatibility level”, “compatibility score”
See also: Host

Well-known URI

A URI whose path starts with /.well-known/, reserved for names registered with IANA.

Source: RFC 8615
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “well-known path”
See also: Entry point

Yank

To withdraw one published version: it leaves every published document and its archives stop being served, and the lock keeps the reason (section 11.4).

Source: this spec
Since: 0.1.0-draft
Do not call it: “unpublish”, “revoke”
See also: Lock