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Plugins
A skill is how you write a workflow. A plugin is how somebody else gets it.
Plugins distribute skills and connectors through a directory shared by ChatGPT and Codex. A skill you keep to yourself can be a folder; the moment two people need it, it wants to be a plugin.
codex plugin listMarketplace `openai-curated-remote` Remote catalog PLUGIN STATUS VERSION gmail@openai-curated-remote not installed 0.1.10 github@openai-curated-remote not installed 0.1.12 slack@openai-curated-remote not installed 0.1.8
That is a real listing, trimmed. The curated marketplace carries connectors for common services, and a team can point Codex at its own marketplace as well.
Where each thing lives
| Skills | Plugins | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The workflow itself | A way to distribute skills and connectors |
| Where it works | Desktop app, CLI, IDE extension | Also Chat and Work, on web and mobile |
| Who has it | You, unless you share the folder | Anybody who installs it |
The practical rule: design in a skill, publish in a plugin. A plugin can also bundle lifecycle hooks and MCP servers, which are the next two lessons, so a team's whole setup can arrive in one install.
It is code you are running
A plugin is code somebody else wrote, running on your machine with your permissions. Installing one deserves the same care as adding a dependency, and the sandbox from lesson 3 still applies to what it does.
Try it yourself
- Run
codex plugin listand see what your account already has access to. - Decide which of your skills would be worth publishing to your team.
Every expert started right here.