Nixtla Plugin Scaffolder

Rapidly scaffold production-ready Claude Code plugin structures from PRD documents, generating all required files with enterprise compliance standards.

Overview

This skill transforms PRD documents into complete plugin scaffolds:

• Parse PRDs: Extract plugin metadata, functional requirements, and MCP tools
• Generate structure: Create plugin directories with correct layout
• Create templates: Generate plugin.json, SKILL.md, README.md, tests
• Ensure compliance: Follow enterprise standards for naming, licensing, author info
• Accelerate development: Turn 11 planned plugins into scaffolds in hours, not days

Prerequisites

Required:

• Python 3.8+
• PRD documents in 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/*/02-PRD.md format
• Write access to target plugin directory

Optional:

• jq: For JSON validation (install via apt install jq or brew install jq)

Instructions

Step 1: Identify PRD

Locate the PRD document for the plugin to scaffold:

ls 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/*/02-PRD.md

Step 2: Run Scaffold Script

Execute the scaffolding script with the PRD path:

python {baseDir}/scripts/scaffold_plugin.py \
    --prd 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/implemented/nixtla-roi-calculator/02-PRD.md \
    --output 005-plugins/nixtla-roi-calculator

Step 3: Review Generated Files

The script creates a complete plugin structure:

005-plugins/nixtla-roi-calculator/
├── plugin.json               # Plugin metadata and configuration
├── README.md                 # Plugin documentation
├── .claude/
│   ├── skills/
│   │   └── nixtla-roi-calculator/
│   │       └── SKILL.md      # Main skill definition
│   ├── commands/             # Slash commands
│   └── agents/               # Custom agents
├── scripts/
│   └── roi_mcp_server.py     # MCP server implementation
└── tests/
    └── test_roi_calculator.py # Test suite

Step 4: Customize Generated Files

Edit the generated files to match specific requirements:

• plugin.json: Update MCP server configurations
• SKILL.md: Expand instructions and examples
• README.md: Add plugin-specific documentation
• scripts/: Implement MCP server logic

Step 5: Validate Plugin Structure

Run the plugin validator to ensure compliance:

python 004-scripts/validate_skills_v2.py --verbose

Output

• Complete plugin scaffold with all required files
• Enterprise-compliant metadata (author, license, version)
• MCP server template ready for implementation
• Test framework with example tests
• Documentation templates for README and SKILL.md

Error Handling

1. Error: PRD file not found

Solution: Verify PRD path, check 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/ directory

1. Error: Output directory already exists

Solution: Use --force flag to overwrite or choose different output path

1. Error: Invalid PRD format

Solution: Ensure PRD has required sections (Overview, Functional Requirements, MCP Server Tools)

1. Error: Permission denied creating directory

Solution: Check write permissions on target directory

1. Error: Missing plugin name in PRD

Solution: PRD must specify plugin name in header (e.g., Plugin: nixtla-roi-calculator)

Examples

Example 1: Scaffold ROI Calculator Plugin

python {baseDir}/scripts/scaffold_plugin.py \
    --prd 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/implemented/nixtla-roi-calculator/02-PRD.md \
    --output 005-plugins/nixtla-roi-calculator \
    --author "Jeremy Longshore <[email protected]>" \
    --license MIT

Generated plugin.json:

{
  "name": "nixtla-roi-calculator",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "description": "Enterprise ROI calculator for TimeGPT vs. build-in-house analysis",
  "author": { "name": "Jeremy Longshore", "email": "[email protected]" },
  "license": "MIT",
  "mcpServers": {
    "nixtla-roi-calculator": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["scripts/nixtla_roi_calculator_mcp_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Example 2: Scaffold Multiple Plugins in Batch

for prd in 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/*/02-PRD.md; do
    plugin_name=$(basename $(dirname "$prd"))
    python {baseDir}/scripts/scaffold_plugin.py \
        --prd "$prd" \
        --output "005-plugins/$plugin_name"
done

Example 3: Scaffold with Custom Template

python {baseDir}/scripts/scaffold_plugin.py \
    --prd 000-docs/000a-planned-plugins/implemented/nixtla-forecast-explainer/02-PRD.md \
    --output 005-plugins/nixtla-forecast-explainer \
    --template {baseDir}/assets/templates/plugin_custom.json

Resources

• Claude Code Plugin Spec: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/plugins
• MCP Protocol: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/
• Enterprise Plugin Standard: 000-docs/6767-e-OD-REF-enterprise-plugin-readme-standard.md
• Validator v2: 004-scripts/validateskillsv2.py

Related Skills:

• nixtla-prd-to-code: Transform PRD into implementation tasks
• nixtla-demo-generator: Generate Jupyter notebook demos
• nixtla-test-generator: Create comprehensive test suites

Scripts:

• {baseDir}/scripts/scaffold_plugin.py: Main scaffolding script
• {baseDir}/assets/templates/plugin.json: Plugin metadata template
• {baseDir}/assets/templates/skill_template.md: SKILL.md template