Split plugins/external.json into per-plugin files

Split the monolithic plugins/external.json into individual files under
plugins/external/ (one per external plugin) to support per-file CODEOWNERS
entries. Updated all scripts that scan the plugins directory to exclude
the new external/ subdirectory and read individual JSON files instead.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: tmeschter

AGENTS.md

@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ When adding a new agent, instruction, skill, hook, workflow, or plugin:
 6. Verify the plugin appears in `.github/plugin/marketplace.json`
 
 **For External Plugins:**
-1. Edit `plugins/external.json` and add an entry with `name`, `source`, `description`, and `version`
+1. Create a new JSON file in `plugins/external/` named after the plugin (e.g., `plugins/external/my-plugin.json`) with `name`, `source`, `description`, and `version`
 2. The `source` field should be an object specifying a GitHub repo, git URL, npm package, or pip package (see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#adding-external-plugins))
 3. Run `npm run build` to regenerate marketplace.json
 4. Verify the external plugin appears in `.github/plugin/marketplace.json`

CODEOWNERS

@@ -47,3 +47,13 @@
 
 # Added via #codeowner from PR #1118
 /agents/github-actions-node-upgrade.agent.md @joshjohanning
+
+# External plugins
+/plugins/external/dataverse.json @suyask-msft
+/plugins/external/azure.json @microsoft/ghcp4a
+/plugins/external/dotnet.json @ManishJayaswal
+/plugins/external/dotnet-diag.json @ManishJayaswal
+/plugins/external/skills-for-copilot-studio.json @ericsche
+/plugins/external/modernize-dotnet.json @tlmii
+/plugins/external/microsoft-docs.json @TianqiZhang
+/plugins/external/figma.json @siminapasat

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -190,22 +190,20 @@ plugins/my-plugin-id/
 
 #### Adding External Plugins
 
-External plugins are plugins hosted outside this repository (e.g., in a GitHub repo, npm package, or git URL). They are listed in `plugins/external.json` and merged into the generated `marketplace.json` during build.
+External plugins are plugins hosted outside this repository (e.g., in a GitHub repo, npm package, or git URL). They are listed as individual JSON files in the `plugins/external/` directory and merged into the generated `marketplace.json` during build.
 
-To add an external plugin, append an entry to `plugins/external.json` following the [Claude Code plugin marketplace spec](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces#plugin-entries). Each entry requires `name`, `source`, `description`, and `version`:
+To add an external plugin, create a new JSON file in `plugins/external/` named after the plugin (e.g., `plugins/external/my-external-plugin.json`) following the [Claude Code plugin marketplace spec](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugin-marketplaces#plugin-entries). Each file contains a single JSON object with `name`, `source`, `description`, and `version`:
 
 ```json
-[
-  {
-    "name": "my-external-plugin",
-    "source": {
-      "source": "github",
-      "repo": "owner/plugin-repo"
-    },
-    "description": "Description of the external plugin",
-    "version": "1.0.0"
-  }
-]
+{
+  "name": "my-external-plugin",
+  "source": {
+    "source": "github",
+    "repo": "owner/plugin-repo"
+  },
+  "description": "Description of the external plugin",
+  "version": "1.0.0"
+}
 ```
 
 Supported source types:
@@ -215,7 +213,7 @@ Supported source types:
 - **npm**: `{ "source": "npm", "package": "@scope/package", "version": "1.0.0" }`
 - **pip**: `{ "source": "pip", "package": "package-name", "version": "1.0.0" }`
 
-After editing `plugins/external.json`, run `npm run build` to regenerate `marketplace.json`.
+After creating the file, run `npm run build` to regenerate `marketplace.json`.
 
 ### Adding Hooks
 

eng/clean-materialized-plugins.mjs

@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ function main() {
   }
 
   const pluginDirs = fs.readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory())
+    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory() && entry.name !== "external")
     .map(entry => entry.name)
     .sort();
 

eng/generate-marketplace.mjs

@@ -5,18 +5,18 @@ import path from "path";
 import { ROOT_FOLDER } from "./constants.mjs";
 
 const PLUGINS_DIR = path.join(ROOT_FOLDER, "plugins");
-const EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_FILE = path.join(ROOT_FOLDER, "plugins", "external.json");
+const EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_DIR = path.join(ROOT_FOLDER, "plugins", "external");
 const MARKETPLACE_FILE = path.join(ROOT_FOLDER, ".github/plugin", "marketplace.json");
 
 /**
  * Validate an external plugin entry has required fields and a non-local source
  * @param {object} plugin - External plugin entry
- * @param {number} index - Index in the array (for error messages)
+ * @param {string} filename - Source filename (for error messages)
  * @returns {string[]} - Array of validation error messages
  */
-function validateExternalPlugin(plugin, index) {
+function validateExternalPlugin(plugin, filename) {
   const errors = [];
-  const prefix = `external.json[${index}]`;
+  const prefix = `external/${filename}`;
 
   if (!plugin.name || typeof plugin.name !== "string") {
     errors.push(`${prefix}: "name" is required and must be a string`);
@@ -44,41 +44,56 @@ function validateExternalPlugin(plugin, index) {
 }
 
 /**
- * Read external plugin entries from external.json
+ * Read external plugin entries from individual JSON files in plugins/external/
  * @returns {Array} - Array of external plugin entries (merged as-is)
  */
 function readExternalPlugins() {
-  if (!fs.existsSync(EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_FILE)) {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_DIR)) {
     return [];
   }
 
-  try {
-    const content = fs.readFileSync(EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_FILE, "utf8");
-    const plugins = JSON.parse(content);
-    if (!Array.isArray(plugins)) {
-      console.warn("Warning: external.json must contain an array");
-      return [];
-    }
+  const files = fs.readdirSync(EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_DIR)
+    .filter(f => f.endsWith(".json"))
+    .sort();
+
+  if (files.length === 0) {
+    return [];
+  }
+
+  const plugins = [];
+  let hasErrors = false;
+
+  for (const file of files) {
+    const filePath = path.join(EXTERNAL_PLUGINS_DIR, file);
+    try {
+      const content = fs.readFileSync(filePath, "utf8");
+      const plugin = JSON.parse(content);
 
-    // Validate each entry
-    let hasErrors = false;
-    for (let i = 0; i < plugins.length; i++) {
-      const errors = validateExternalPlugin(plugins[i], i);
+      if (typeof plugin !== "object" || Array.isArray(plugin)) {
+        console.error(`Error: external/${file} must contain a single JSON object`);
+        hasErrors = true;
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const errors = validateExternalPlugin(plugin, file);
       if (errors.length > 0) {
         errors.forEach(e => console.error(`Error: ${e}`));
         hasErrors = true;
+      } else {
+        plugins.push(plugin);
       }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error(`Error reading external/${file}: ${error.message}`);
+      hasErrors = true;
     }
-    if (hasErrors) {
-      console.error("Error: external.json contains invalid entries");
-      process.exit(1);
-    }
+  }
 
-    return plugins;
-  } catch (error) {
-    console.error(`Error reading external.json: ${error.message}`);
-    return [];
+  if (hasErrors) {
+    console.error("Error: one or more external plugin files contain invalid entries");
+    process.exit(1);
   }
+
+  return plugins;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -114,9 +129,9 @@ function generateMarketplace() {
     process.exit(1);
   }
 
-  // Read all plugin directories
+  // Read all plugin directories (excluding the 'external' directory)
   const pluginDirs = fs.readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory())
+    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory() && entry.name !== "external")
     .map(entry => entry.name)
     .sort();
 

eng/generate-website-data.mjs

@@ -504,7 +504,7 @@ function generatePluginsData(gitDates) {
 
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory());
+    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory() && d.name !== "external");
 
   for (const dir of pluginDirs) {
     const pluginDir = path.join(PLUGINS_DIR, dir.name);
@@ -544,19 +544,23 @@ function generatePluginsData(gitDates) {
     }
   }
 
-  // Load external plugins from plugins/external.json
-  const externalJsonPath = path.join(PLUGINS_DIR, "external.json");
-  if (fs.existsSync(externalJsonPath)) {
+  // Load external plugins from plugins/external/ directory
+  const externalDir = path.join(PLUGINS_DIR, "external");
+  if (fs.existsSync(externalDir)) {
     try {
-      const externalPlugins = JSON.parse(
-        fs.readFileSync(externalJsonPath, "utf-8")
-      );
-      if (Array.isArray(externalPlugins)) {
-        let addedCount = 0;
-        for (const ext of externalPlugins) {
+      const externalFiles = fs.readdirSync(externalDir)
+        .filter((f) => f.endsWith(".json"))
+        .sort();
+      let addedCount = 0;
+      for (const file of externalFiles) {
+        try {
+          const ext = JSON.parse(
+            fs.readFileSync(path.join(externalDir, file), "utf-8")
+          );
+
           if (!ext.name || !ext.description) {
             console.warn(
-              `Skipping external plugin with missing name/description`
+              `Skipping external plugin ${file} with missing name/description`
             );
             continue;
           }
@@ -591,13 +595,15 @@ function generatePluginsData(gitDates) {
             )} ${ext.author?.name || ""} ${ext.repository || ""}`.toLowerCase(),
           });
           addedCount++;
+        } catch (e) {
+          console.warn(`Failed to parse external plugin ${file}: ${e.message}`);
         }
-        console.log(
-          `  ✓ Loaded ${addedCount} external plugin(s)`
-        );
       }
+      console.log(
+        `  ✓ Loaded ${addedCount} external plugin(s)`
+      );
     } catch (e) {
-      console.warn(`Failed to parse external plugins: ${e.message}`);
+      console.warn(`Failed to read external plugins directory: ${e.message}`);
     }
   }
 

eng/materialize-plugins.mjs

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ function materializePlugins() {
   }
 
   const pluginDirs = fs.readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory())
+    .filter(entry => entry.isDirectory() && entry.name !== "external")
     .map(entry => entry.name)
     .sort();
 

eng/update-plugin-commands-to-skills.mjs

@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ function main() {
   // Find all plugin.json files
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((entry) => entry.isDirectory())
+    .filter((entry) => entry.isDirectory() && entry.name !== "external")
     .map((entry) => entry.name);
 
   console.log(`Found ${pluginDirs.length} plugin directory(ies)\n`);

eng/update-readme.mjs

@@ -731,7 +731,7 @@ function generatePluginsSection(pluginsDir) {
   // Get all plugin directories
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(pluginsDir, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory())
+    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory() && d.name !== "external")
     .map((d) => d.name);
 
   // Map plugin dirs to objects with name for sorting
@@ -806,7 +806,7 @@ function generateFeaturedPluginsSection(pluginsDir) {
   // Get all plugin directories
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(pluginsDir, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory())
+    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory() && d.name !== "external")
     .map((d) => d.name);
 
   // Map plugin dirs to objects, filter for featured

eng/validate-plugins.mjs

@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ function validatePlugins() {
 
   const pluginDirs = fs
     .readdirSync(PLUGINS_DIR, { withFileTypes: true })
-    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory())
+    .filter((d) => d.isDirectory() && d.name !== "external")
     .map((d) => d.name);
 
   if (pluginDirs.length === 0) {