fix(skills): reject multi-skill Claude plugin archives

Document the portable SKILL.md compatibility boundary for Claude Code plugin bundles and keep /skill install from silently flattening plugin archives that carry multiple skills plus plugin.json runtime metadata.

Reported by @AiurArtanis in #2743.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

crates/tui/src/skills/install.rs

@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@
 //! * No `+x` is granted on extracted files. The optional `/skill trust <name>`
 //!   command writes a `.trusted` marker; tool-execution gating is a separate
 //!   concern that lives next to the tool registry.
+//! * Claude Code plugin archives that contain multiple skills are rejected with
+//!   an explicit migration message. CodeWhale can install individual
+//!   `SKILL.md` bundles, including `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`, but it
+//!   does not execute `plugin.json` plugin runtimes or custom command bundles.
 
 use std::fs;
 use std::io::{Read, Write};
@@ -228,6 +232,10 @@ pub enum InstallError {
     MissingFrontmatterField(&'static str),
     #[error("symlinks are not allowed in skill tarballs")]
     SymlinkRejected,
+    #[error(
+        "Claude Code plugin archive contains multiple SKILL.md entries; CodeWhale installs one SKILL.md bundle at a time and does not run plugin.json/custom-command runtimes. Install or migrate an individual skills/<name> directory instead"
+    )]
+    ClaudePluginBundle,
     #[error("skill '{0}' is already installed; use update or remove it first")]
     AlreadyInstalled(String),
     #[error("skill '{0}' was not installed via /skill install (no .installed-from marker)")]
@@ -1081,6 +1089,8 @@ fn scan_tarball(bytes: &[u8], max_size: u64) -> Result<TarballScan> {
     let mut total_size: u64 = 0;
     let mut prefix: Option<String> = None;
     let mut skill_md_relative: Option<(SkillMdCandidate, Vec<u8>)> = None;
+    let mut skill_md_candidate_count: usize = 0;
+    let mut has_claude_plugin_manifest = false;
     let mut link_paths: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
 
     for entry in archive
@@ -1098,6 +1108,9 @@ fn scan_tarball(bytes: &[u8], max_size: u64) -> Result<TarballScan> {
         if !is_safe_path(&path) {
             return Err(InstallError::PathTraversal(path_str).into());
         }
+        if is_claude_plugin_manifest_path(&path) {
+            has_claude_plugin_manifest = true;
+        }
 
         // Track total size against `max_size` (uncompressed). We honor `header
         // .size` rather than streaming-read every file; tar archives are
@@ -1144,6 +1157,7 @@ fn scan_tarball(bytes: &[u8], max_size: u64) -> Result<TarballScan> {
         if entry_type.is_file() {
             let stripped = strip_prefix(&path_str, prefix.as_deref().unwrap_or(""));
             if let Some(candidate) = skill_md_candidate(&stripped) {
+                skill_md_candidate_count += 1;
                 let mut buf = Vec::new();
                 entry
                     .read_to_end(&mut buf)
@@ -1162,6 +1176,9 @@ fn scan_tarball(bytes: &[u8], max_size: u64) -> Result<TarballScan> {
     }
 
     let prefix = prefix.unwrap_or_default();
+    if has_claude_plugin_manifest && skill_md_candidate_count > 1 {
+        return Err(InstallError::ClaudePluginBundle.into());
+    }
     let (skill_md, skill_md_bytes) = skill_md_relative
         .ok_or(InstallError::MissingSkillMd)
         .map_err(anyhow::Error::from)?;
@@ -1232,6 +1249,21 @@ fn skill_md_candidate(stripped_path: &str) -> Option<SkillMdCandidate> {
     None
 }
 
+fn is_claude_plugin_manifest_path(path: &Path) -> bool {
+    let parts: Vec<String> = path
+        .components()
+        .filter_map(|component| match component {
+            Component::Normal(part) => Some(part.to_string_lossy().to_string()),
+            _ => None,
+        })
+        .collect();
+
+    parts.windows(2).any(|window| {
+        window[0].eq_ignore_ascii_case(".claude-plugin")
+            && window[1].eq_ignore_ascii_case("plugin.json")
+    })
+}
+
 fn extract_into(scan: &TarballScan, bytes: &[u8], dest: &Path, max_size: u64) -> Result<()> {
     let cursor = std::io::Cursor::new(bytes);
     let gz = GzDecoder::new(cursor);

crates/tui/tests/skill_install.rs

@@ -363,6 +363,48 @@ async fn install_accepts_nested_workflow_pack_skill_directory() {
     shutdown(tx, handle);
 }
 
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn install_rejects_multi_skill_claude_plugin_archive() {
+    let tarball = make_tarball(&[
+        (
+            "repo-main/.claude-plugin/plugin.json",
+            br#"{"name":"workflow-pack","version":"1.0.0"}"#,
+        ),
+        (
+            "repo-main/skills/plan/SKILL.md",
+            &skill_md("plan", "Planning skill"),
+        ),
+        (
+            "repo-main/skills/review/SKILL.md",
+            &skill_md("review", "Review skill"),
+        ),
+    ]);
+    let (url, tx, handle) = spawn_tarball_server(tarball);
+
+    let tmp = TempDir::new().unwrap();
+    let policy = allow_all_policy();
+    let err = install::install(
+        InstallSource::DirectUrl(url),
+        tmp.path(),
+        install::DEFAULT_MAX_SIZE_BYTES,
+        &policy,
+        false,
+    )
+    .await
+    .expect_err("multi-skill Claude plugin archive should not be flattened");
+    let msg = format!("{err:#}");
+    assert!(
+        msg.contains("Claude Code plugin archive contains multiple SKILL.md entries"),
+        "expected Claude plugin compatibility error, got: {msg}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        std::fs::read_dir(tmp.path()).unwrap().next().is_none(),
+        "rejected plugin archive must not write an installed skill"
+    );
+
+    shutdown(tx, handle);
+}
+
 #[tokio::test]
 async fn install_accepts_single_skill_subdirectory_archive() {
     let tarball = make_tarball(&[

docs/CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Claude Plugin Compatibility
+
+CodeWhale treats Claude Code skill folders as instruction bundles when they are
+plain `SKILL.md` directories. It does not run Claude Code plugin runtimes.
+
+## Supported
+
+- Workspace or global `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` directories discovered by
+  the normal skill registry.
+- GitHub or tarball installs that contain one selected skill directory such as
+  `skills/<name>/SKILL.md`, `.agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`,
+  `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`, or a nested package layout ending in
+  `skills/<name>/SKILL.md`.
+- Companion files inside the selected skill directory, such as `references/`,
+  `examples/`, or scripts that are only used after the skill is explicitly
+  loaded and trusted.
+
+## Not Supported As A Plugin Runtime
+
+Claude Code plugin features remain outside the v0.8.60 compatibility boundary:
+
+- `.claude-plugin/plugin.json` metadata and activation semantics.
+- Custom slash-command bundles.
+- Plugin build steps, compiled TypeScript agents, dashboard servers, shared
+  plugin state, or token-gated service processes.
+- Frontmatter fields that require Claude-specific runtime behavior, such as
+  `model: inherit`.
+
+If a Claude Code plugin repository contains multiple skills, install or migrate
+one `skills/<name>` directory at a time. `/skill install` rejects multi-skill
+plugin archives with a clear message so it never silently chooses one skill and
+drops the plugin runtime behavior.
+
+For richer integrations, wrap the plugin's executable surface as MCP, hooks, or
+a CodeWhale skill that names the external command explicitly.

docs/CONFIGURATION.md

@@ -1006,7 +1006,9 @@ If you are upgrading from older releases:
   agentskills.io-compatible `~/.agents/skills` and the broader Claude-ecosystem
   `~/.claude/skills`. First launch installs versioned bundled skills for common
   workflows including skill creation, delegation, MCP/plugin scaffolding,
-  documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, and Feishu/Lark.
+  documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, and Feishu/Lark. See
+  [CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md](CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md) for the supported boundary
+  between portable `SKILL.md` bundles and Claude Code plugin runtimes.
 - `mcp_config_path` (string, optional): defaults to `~/.codewhale/mcp.json`, with
   legacy `~/.deepseek/mcp.json` fallback when the CodeWhale path is absent.
   It is visible in `/config` and can be changed from the TUI. The new path is

docs/GUIDE.md

@@ -404,8 +404,9 @@ work. Read the local guidance before editing, and keep any contribution within
 the repository's conventions.
 
 Next: see [SKILL_INVOCATION_DESIGN.md](SKILL_INVOCATION_DESIGN.md) for skill
-activation behavior and [CONFIGURATION.md](CONFIGURATION.md) for config paths
+activation behavior, [CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md](CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md) for
-and project authority.
+Claude Code skill/plugin compatibility, and [CONFIGURATION.md](CONFIGURATION.md)
+for config paths and project authority.
 
 ## 10. Getting Help