Update docs to reflect awesome-copilot as default plugin marketplace in CLI and VS Code (#901)

* Initial plan

* docs: update plugin discovery for default marketplace in CLI and VS Code

Co-authored-by: aaronpowell <434140+aaronpowell@users.noreply.github.com>

* docs: revert README.md changes (covered by #900), update README.plugins.md

Co-authored-by: aaronpowell <434140+aaronpowell@users.noreply.github.com>

* fix: update plugin template in constants.mjs so README.plugins.md survives rebuilds

Co-authored-by: aaronpowell <434140+aaronpowell@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: aaronpowell <434140+aaronpowell@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Copilot

docs/README.plugins.md

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # 🔌 Plugins
 
-Curated plugins of related agents and skills organized around specific themes, workflows, or use cases. Plugins can be installed directly via GitHub Copilot CLI.
+Curated plugins of related agents and skills organized around specific themes, workflows, or use cases. Plugins can be installed directly via GitHub Copilot CLI or VS Code.
+
+> **Awesome Copilot is a default plugin marketplace** — no setup required in either Copilot CLI or VS Code.
 ### How to Contribute
 
 See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-plugins) for guidelines on how to contribute new plugins, improve existing ones, and share your use cases.
@@ -13,10 +15,13 @@ See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-plugins) for guidelines on how t
 - Each plugin includes agents and skills for specific workflows
 - Plugins make it easy to adopt comprehensive toolkits for particular scenarios
 
-**Install Plugins:**
-- Use \`copilot plugin install <plugin-name>@awesome-copilot\` to install a plugin
-- Or browse to the individual files to copy content manually
-- Plugins help you discover related customizations you might have missed
+**Find & Install in Copilot CLI:**
+- Browse the marketplace from within an interactive Copilot session: \`/plugin marketplace browse awesome-copilot\`
+- Install a plugin: \`copilot plugin install <plugin-name>@awesome-copilot\`
+
+**Find & Install in VS Code:**
+- Open the Extensions search view and type \`@agentPlugins\` to browse available plugins
+- Or open the Command Palette and run \`Chat: Plugins\`
 
 | Name | Description | Items | Tags |
 | ---- | ----------- | ----- | ---- |

eng/constants.mjs

@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-instructions) for guidelines on
 
   pluginsSection: `## 🔌 Plugins
 
-Curated plugins of related agents and skills organized around specific themes, workflows, or use cases. Plugins can be installed directly via GitHub Copilot CLI.`,
+Curated plugins of related agents and skills organized around specific themes, workflows, or use cases. Plugins can be installed directly via GitHub Copilot CLI or VS Code.
+
+> **Awesome Copilot is a default plugin marketplace** — no setup required in either Copilot CLI or VS Code.`,
 
   pluginsUsage: `### How to Contribute
 
@@ -41,10 +43,13 @@ See [CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-plugins) for guidelines on how t
 - Each plugin includes agents and skills for specific workflows
 - Plugins make it easy to adopt comprehensive toolkits for particular scenarios
 
-**Install Plugins:**
-- Use \\\`copilot plugin install <plugin-name>@awesome-copilot\\\` to install a plugin
-- Or browse to the individual files to copy content manually
-- Plugins help you discover related customizations you might have missed`,
+**Find & Install in Copilot CLI:**
+- Browse the marketplace from within an interactive Copilot session: \\\`/plugin marketplace browse awesome-copilot\\\`
+- Install a plugin: \\\`copilot plugin install <plugin-name>@awesome-copilot\\\`
+
+**Find & Install in VS Code:**
+- Open the Extensions search view and type \\\`@agentPlugins\\\` to browse available plugins
+- Or open the Command Palette and run \\\`Chat: Plugins\\\``,
 
   featuredPluginsSection: `## 🌟 Featured Plugins
 

website/src/content/learning-hub/installing-and-using-plugins.md

@@ -94,12 +94,12 @@ Plugins are especially valuable when you want to:
 
 ## Finding Plugins
 
-Plugins are collected in **marketplaces** — registries you can browse and install from. Copilot CLI comes with two marketplaces registered by default:
+Plugins are collected in **marketplaces** — registries you can browse and install from. Both Copilot CLI and VS Code come with two marketplaces registered by default — **no setup required**:
 
 - **`copilot-plugins`** — Official GitHub Copilot plugins
 - **`awesome-copilot`** — Community-contributed plugins from this repository
 
-### Browsing a Marketplace
+### Browsing in Copilot CLI
 
 List your registered marketplaces:
 
@@ -121,6 +121,13 @@ Or from within an interactive Copilot session:
 
 > **Tip**: You can also browse plugins on this site's [Plugins Directory](../../plugins/) to see descriptions, included agents, and skills before installing.
 
+### Browsing in VS Code
+
+Because `awesome-copilot` is a default marketplace in VS Code, you can discover plugins without any configuration:
+
+- Open the **Extensions** search view and type **`@agentPlugins`** to see all available plugins
+- Or open the **Command Palette** (`Ctrl+Shift+P` / `Cmd+Shift+P`) and run **Chat: Plugins**
+
 ### Adding More Marketplaces
 
 Register additional marketplaces from GitHub repositories:
@@ -137,9 +144,9 @@ copilot plugin marketplace add /path/to/local-marketplace
 
 ## Installing Plugins
 
-### From a Registered Marketplace
+### From Copilot CLI
 
-The most common way to install a plugin — reference it by name and marketplace:
+Reference a plugin by name and marketplace:
 
 ```bash
 copilot plugin install database-data-management@awesome-copilot
@@ -151,6 +158,10 @@ Or from an interactive session:
 /plugin install database-data-management@awesome-copilot
 ```
 
+### From VS Code
+
+Browse to the plugin via `@agentPlugins` in the Extensions search view or via **Chat: Plugins** in the Command Palette, then click **Install**.
+
 ## Managing Plugins
 
 Once installed, plugins are managed with a few simple commands:

website/src/pages/plugins.astro

@@ -11,6 +11,15 @@ import PageHeader from '../components/PageHeader.astro';
 
     <div class="page-content">
       <div class="container">
+        <div class="how-to-access">
+          <p><strong>Awesome Copilot is a default plugin marketplace</strong> — no setup required. Access it directly from your tools:</p>
+          <ul>
+            <li><strong>GitHub Copilot CLI</strong>: Type <code>/plugin marketplace browse awesome-copilot</code> in a Copilot session</li>
+            <li><strong>VS Code</strong>: Type <code>@agentPlugins</code> in the Extensions search view, or open the Command Palette and run <code>Chat: Plugins</code></li>
+          </ul>
+          <p>Install any plugin with: <code>copilot plugin install &lt;plugin-name&gt;@awesome-copilot</code></p>
+        </div>
+
         <div class="search-bar">
           <label for="search-input" class="sr-only">Search plugins</label>
           <input type="text" id="search-input" placeholder="Search plugins..." autocomplete="off">
@@ -44,4 +53,29 @@ import PageHeader from '../components/PageHeader.astro';
   <script>
     import '../scripts/pages/plugins';
   </script>
+
+  <style>
+    .how-to-access {
+      background: var(--sl-color-bg-nav);
+      border: 1px solid var(--sl-color-hairline);
+      border-radius: 0.5rem;
+      padding: 1rem 1.25rem;
+      margin-bottom: 1.5rem;
+      font-size: 0.9rem;
+      line-height: 1.6;
+    }
+    .how-to-access p { margin: 0 0 0.5rem; }
+    .how-to-access p:last-child { margin-bottom: 0; }
+    .how-to-access ul {
+      margin: 0.25rem 0 0.5rem 1.25rem;
+      padding: 0;
+    }
+    .how-to-access li { margin: 0.2rem 0; }
+    .how-to-access code {
+      background: var(--sl-color-bg-inline-code);
+      padding: 0.1em 0.35em;
+      border-radius: 0.2rem;
+      font-size: 0.85em;
+    }
+  </style>
 </StarlightPage>