How to load a Claude Code mod in the terminal or the desktop app

Before you start

• Use a recent Claude Code. Mods are an early-access feature. Check your version with claude --version and update with claude update. The desktop app keeps its own copy up to date.
• Read the listing and the source first. A mod runs inside your session. How to install Claude Code mods safely lists five checks.

Step 1: get the mod

If the listing has an Install from the official directory button, use that and follow the instructions there. You can skip the rest of this guide.

Mods that are not in the official directory yet are loaded from their source. Clone the repository into a folder you keep, for example claude-mods in your home folder:

git clone https://github.com/modsforclaude/env-guard ~/claude-mods/env-guard

Then check that you have the version that was reviewed. This prints the commit you have, which should match the pinned commit on the listing:

git -C ~/claude-mods/env-guard log -1 --format=%H

The examples use ~ for your home folder. On Windows, write the full path if your shell does not expand it, for example C:\Users\you\claude-mods\env-guard.

Step 2a: in the terminal

Start Claude Code with --plugin-dir and the folder of the mod:

claude --plugin-dir ~/claude-mods/env-guard

For several mods, repeat the flag:

claude --plugin-dir ~/claude-mods/env-guard --plugin-dir ~/claude-mods/git-status-line

The flag only counts for that session. Start Claude Code without it and the mod is gone again, which makes this the easiest way to try a mod out.

Step 2b: in the desktop app

The Code tab of the desktop app starts Claude Code for you, so there is no command line to add a flag to. Instead, list the folders in the setting CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS, in the env block of your user settings file ~/.claude/settings.json. On Windows that file is C:\Users\<you>\.claude\settings.json.

On Windows, separate the folders with a semicolon and write each backslash twice:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS": "C:\\Users\\you\\claude-mods\\env-guard;C:\\Users\\you\\claude-mods\\git-status-line"
  }
}

On macOS and Linux, separate them with a colon:

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS": "~/claude-mods/env-guard:~/claude-mods/git-status-line"
  }
}

If the file already has an env block, add the line to it instead of adding a second block. Then start a new session in the Code tab: sessions that were already open do not pick up the change.

Good to know:

• Use full paths. A relative path depends on where the session starts.
• It has to be your user settings file. A project's .claude/settings.json cannot set this, so a repository you clone cannot load a mod this way.
• This setting counts for every Claude Code session on your machine, the terminal included. Use it for mods you always want; use the flag for trying one out.

Step 3: check that it works

The README of each mod says what you should see: a status line, a toast after a long turn, or an edit that gets blocked with a reason. Try that first.

If nothing happens, Claude Code usually says why. A mod that fails to load, or a hook that fails, is named in a dim line in the transcript together with the reason. When there is no such line, start the terminal with claude --debug and look for the name of the mod in the debug log. The most common causes are a Claude Code version that is too old and a path with a typo.

Change the settings of a mod

Some mods have options, such as which files to protect or after how many seconds to show a toast. The README lists them. Change them in the config menu (/config) or in ~/.claude/settings.json under pluginConfigs and the name of the mod.

Update or remove a mod

• Update: run git pull in the folder of the mod, compare the new commit with the listing, and start a new session. A listing that says new version, not yet reviewed means nobody has read the new code yet.
• Remove: leave out the flag, or take the folder out of CLAUDE_CODE_PLUGIN_DIRS and start a new session. Then you can delete the folder.

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