Claude Plugin Converter

Convert a Claude Code plugin (.claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest + components) into a self-contained, installable Hermes plugin (plugin.yaml + __init__.py + bundled skills/hooks).

When to Use

• User wants to use a Claude Code plugin with Hermes Agent
• User says "convert this Claude plugin" or "make this work with Hermes"
• User provides a Claude plugin directory, git URL, or marketplace reference

Overview

Two-phase workflow:

1. Discovery — analyze the Claude plugin, report what can/can't be converted
2. Conversion — generate a complete Hermes plugin directory the user can install with hermes plugins enable <name>

The output is a single self-contained Hermes plugin — skills, hooks, and MCP config all bundled inside one ~/.hermes/plugins/<name>/ directory. Not scattered artifacts.

⚠️ Security & Trust Boundary

Only convert plugins from sources you trust. The converter reads shell commands, Python hooks, and MCP server configurations from the source plugin and reproduces them in the Hermes output. Converted hooks may execute shell commands from the source plugin via subprocess.run(..., shell=True, ...).

Before enabling a converted plugin:

• Review hooks.py — inspect every subprocess.run call and _CMD_* variable for dangerous commands
• Review __init__.py — check what's registered (tools, hooks, slash commands)
• Review mcp_config.yaml — verify MCP server commands and env vars are safe
• Review MANUAL_STEPS.md — understand what the converter couldn't automate

Do not blindly convert and enable plugins from untrusted GitHub repos or marketplaces without reviewing the generated output first.

Phase 1: Discovery

Run the analysis script:

python3 {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/analyze.py <claude_plugin_dir> --output <output_dir>/analysis.json

The script reads .claude-plugin/plugin.json and all component directories, producing structured JSON with convertibility assessments for each component.

Present the findings to the user as a table showing:

• What converts cleanly (✅)
• What converts partially (⚠️)
• What has no Hermes equivalent (⏭️)

See references/mapping-tables.md for the full component → component mapping.

Phase 2: Conversion

After user approval, run the conversion script:

python3 {SKILL_DIR}/scripts/convert.py <claude_plugin_dir> --analysis <output_dir>/analysis.json --output <output_dir>/<plugin_name>

This generates a complete Hermes plugin directory:

<plugin_name>/
├── plugin.yaml              # Translated manifest
├── __init__.py              # register(ctx) — wires tools, hooks, skills, commands
├── schemas.py               # Tool schemas (if MCP servers had custom tools)
├── tools.py                 # Tool handlers (if any)
├── hooks.py                 # Hook callback functions (only if hooks exist)
├── skills/                  # Bundled skills (registered via ctx.register_skill)
│   └── <skill-name>/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── engines/                 # Non-skill data dirs copied from source (engines, foundations, etc.)
├── foundations/
├── connectors/
├── mcp_config.yaml          # MCP server config snippet (for user to merge)
├── CONVERSION_REPORT.md     # Full report: converted, partial, skipped, manual steps
└── MANUAL_STEPS.md           # What the user must do by hand

Installation

After conversion, install the plugin:

cp -r <output_dir>/<plugin_name> ~/.hermes/plugins/
hermes plugins enable <plugin_name>
# Then restart: /reset in CLI or /restart in gateway

If the plugin has MCP servers, merge mcp_config.yaml into ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

cat <plugin_name>/mcp_config.yaml >> ~/.hermes/config.yaml
# Or use: hermes mcp add <name> --command <cmd> --args <args>

Component Mapping Summary

Claude Component	Hermes Target	Location	Convertibility
Manifest (plugin.json)	plugin.yaml	Plugin root	✅ Direct field mapping
Skills (skills/*/SKILL.md)	Bundled skills	skills/*/SKILL.md + ctx.register_skill()	✅ Frontmatter remap
Commands (commands/*.md)	Slash commands	ctx.register_command() in __init__.py	⚠️ Simpler format, needs wrapping
Hooks (hooks/hooks.json)	Plugin hooks	hooks.py + ctx.register_hook()	⚠️ ~10/30 events have equivalents
Agents (agents/*.md)	Delegation skills	skills/<agent-name>/SKILL.md	⚠️ Paradigm shift
MCP servers (.mcp.json)	MCP config	mcp_config.yaml snippet	✅ Config format translation
LSP servers (.lsp.json)	❌ No equivalent	—	⏭️ Skipped, noted in report
Monitors (monitors/*.json)	Cron jobs	Noted in MANUAL_STEPS.md	⚠️ Different concept, manual setup
bin/ (PATH executables)	Plugin data files	Copied into plugin dir	✅ Low priority

Frontmatter Mapping (SKILL.md)

Claude Field	Hermes Field	Notes
description	description	Direct copy
name	name	Direct copy (used for ctx.register_skill)
disable-model-invocation	❌	No equivalent — Hermes skills are always model-invoked. Remove and note.
$ARGUMENTS (in body)	❌	No placeholder equivalent. Rewrite to reference "the user's request" or flag for manual review.
(missing)	version	Inherit from plugin.json version
(missing)	author	Inherit from plugin.json author

Hook Event Mapping

See references/mapping-tables.md for the complete 30+ event mapping table.

Key mappings:

• PreToolUse → pre_tool_call (both can block)
• PostToolUse → post_tool_call
• SessionStart → on_session_start
• SessionEnd → on_session_end
• UserPromptSubmit → pre_llm_call (both can inject context)
• SubagentStart → subagent_start
• SubagentStop → subagent_stop
• Stop → post_llm_call (closest match)
• PermissionRequest → pre_approval_request

Events with no Hermes equivalent: PostToolBatch, PreCompact, PostCompact, Notification, FileChanged, WorktreeCreate/Remove, CwdChanged, InstructionsLoaded, ConfigChange, TeammateIdle, Elicitation, TaskCreated/Completed.

Hook Type Mapping

Claude Hook Type	Hermes Implementation	Notes
command (shell)	Python callback in hooks.py using subprocess	Or shell hook in config.yaml
http (POST to URL)	Python callback using httpx.post()	Straightforward
mcp_tool (call MCP tool)	Python callback using ctx.dispatch_tool()	Map scoped tool names
prompt (LLM eval)	⚠️ No direct equivalent	Note in MANUAL_STEPS — could spawn one-shot agent
agent (agentic verifier)	⚠️ No direct equivalent	Note in MANUAL_STEPS — could use delegate_task

Agent → Delegation Skill Conversion

Claude agents are markdown files with a system prompt + frontmatter (model, effort, maxTurns, tools).

Hermes has no standalone agent definitions. Instead, each agent becomes a bundled skill that instructs the agent to use delegate_task:

---
name: <agent-name>
description: <from Claude agent description>
---

# <Agent Name>

When the user's task matches this agent's specialty, delegate it:

1. Call `delegate_task` with:
   - `goal`: "<from Claude agent description>"
   - `context`: "<full system prompt from the Claude agent .md file>"
2. Do not attempt the task yourself — delegate it.

## Original Agent Config
- Model: <from frontmatter>
- MaxTurns: <from frontmatter>
- Tools: <from frontmatter, if restricted>

Pitfalls

1. $ARGUMENTS has no Hermes equivalent — Claude skills use $ARGUMENTS for user input. Hermes skills are loaded into context and the agent reads the user's message naturally. Flag for manual review.

2. disable-model-invocation — Claude lets skills be manual-only. Hermes skills are always model-invoked. Remove the field, note it.

3. Agent paradigm shift — Claude has standalone agent definitions. Hermes uses delegate_task at runtime. The converter wraps each agent as a delegation skill, but the behavior won't be identical.

4. Many hook events have no Hermes equivalent — ~20 of 30 Claude events can't be converted. The report lists them clearly.

5. prompt and agent hook types — No direct Hermes equivalent. These are noted in MANUAL_STEPS for the user to implement manually if needed.

6. LSP servers — Hermes has no LSP integration. Skipped, noted in report.

7. ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} appears in skill body text, not just hooks — Claude skills use ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} in markdown links and inline code to reference files in the plugin tree (e.g. [${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/foundations/doctrine.md](../../foundations/doctrine.md)). A real plugin had 120 occurrences across 21 skills. The converter replaces ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} with .. (relative path from skills/<name>/ to plugin root). For Python hooks, use Path(__file__).parent instead.

8. MCP server scoped names — Claude uses mcp__plugin_<plugin-name>_<server-name>__<tool>. Hermes uses mcp__<server-name>__<tool> (no plugin namespace). The converter must strip the plugin namespace prefix.

9. Commands vs Skills — Claude commands/ are simpler than skills/ (flat markdown, no frontmatter). Hermes slash commands need a Python handler. The converter wraps each command as a ctx.register_command() that returns the markdown content as a prompt.

10. Non-skill data directories must be copied — Claude plugins often ship support directories (engines/, foundations/, connectors/, docs/) that skills reference via relative paths. These must be copied into the Hermes plugin output directory alongside the converted skills, or all relative links break. The converter skips .git, __pycache__, .pytest_cache, tests, and hidden dirs but copies everything else.

11. Conditional hooks import in __init__.py — When a Claude plugin has no hooks, the generated __init__.py must NOT import a hooks module. The converter checks analysis["components"]["hooks"] and only generates the from . import hooks line when hooks exist.

Verification

After conversion, verify the plugin loads:

# Copy to plugins dir (if not already there)
cp -r <output_dir>/<plugin_name> ~/.hermes/plugins/

# Check it's discovered
HERMES_PLUGINS_DEBUG=1 hermes plugins list

# Enable and test
hermes plugins enable <plugin_name>
# Then test skill loading (plugin skills are opt-in, not in available_skills):
hermes chat -q 'Load skill "plugin-name:skill-name" and tell me what it does' -t skills

Plugin skills are opt-in (not listed in <available_skills>). They load via skill_view("plugin-name:skill-name"). This is expected — not a conversion failure.

Pitfalls: Parser Bugs (found in testing)

12. monitors.json can be a bare list — not always {"monitors": [...]}. The analyzer must handle isinstance(monitors_data, list) and use it directly, falling back to .get("monitors", []) for the dict case.

13. Claude hooks.json has a nested layout — each event entry contains a hooks array inside it: {"Stop": [{"hooks": [{"type": "command", "command": "..."}]}]}. The analyzer must iterate hook_entry.get("hooks", []) for the inner hook definitions, not read type/command from the outer entry directly. The outer entry may also have a matcher field that applies to all inner hooks. Fall back to flat layout (reading type/command from the entry itself) when no inner hooks array is present.

14. Hook callback names must be threaded from convert_hooks() to generate_init_py() — convert_hooks() generates callback function names (e.g. _on_post_llm_call_0) and returns them in hook_infos, but generate_init_py() needs those names to emit ctx.register_hook() calls. Pass them as a {event_name: [callback_name, ...]} dict. If you skip this, __init__.py has an empty hooks section and no hooks fire.

15. Shell commands with complex quoting break manual escaping — Claude hook commands often contain nested single quotes, double quotes, and backslashes (e.g. python3 -c "import os; os.environ.get('CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT')..."). Never manually escape these with .replace("'", "\\'") — it produces invalid Python. Use Python's repr() (the !r format spec) to generate a safely-quoted module-level variable, then reference that variable in subprocess.run(): store as _CMD_0 = {command!r} then subprocess.run(_CMD_0, shell=True, ...).

Verification Checklist

1. Run python3 -c "import py_compile; py_compile.compile('hooks.py', doraise=True)" on every generated .py file
2. Install the plugin: cp -r <name> ~/.hermes/plugins/ && hermes plugins enable <name>
3. Check logs for load failures: grep -i "failed to load plugin" ~/.hermes/logs/agent.log
4. Test skill loading: hermes chat -q 'Load skill "plugin-name:skill-name" and tell me what it does' -t skills
5. Plugin skills are opt-in (not in <available_skills>) — loading via skill_view("plugin:skill") is the correct test, NOT checking if it appears in skills_list

Tested Against

• A 21-skill accounting-style plugin (Python engines, foundations, connectors) — all 21 skills converted cleanly, 120 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} refs rewritten, data dirs copied, plugin loaded and skill_view confirmed working.

• A 51-skill multi-component plugin (6 agents, 2 hooks, 1 monitor, bin/) — 51 skills converted, 6 agents → delegation skills, 2 Stop hooks → post_llm_call, monitor noted for manual cron. Hit 4 bugs (monitors.json list format, nested hooks layout, callback name threading, shell quoting) — all fixed in scripts. Plugin loaded, skill_view confirmed working for both regular and delegation skills.