SOP: Claude Code Plugin Marketplace Setup (Conversica Auto Onboarding)

Internal — agents and managers only.

This SOP walks through connecting Claude Code to the Conversica plugin marketplace (the shared GitLab repo) and installing the Conversica Auto Onboarding plugin — the full TAM onboarding suite for auto Sales/Service dealerships. The marketplace is the only supported distribution channel: never install plugin copies from Slack, email, or the shared drive.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code (desktop app) installed and signed in to the Conversica organization
• Conversica GitLab account (accessed through Okta SSO)
• Access to the plugin repo — verified in Part 1

Part 1: Verify GitLab Access

The marketplace lives in a private GitLab repo:

https://gitlab.com/conversica/ai-extensions/shared-claude-plugins

1. Log in to GitLab through Okta — open Okta and launch GitLab from there. Do not sign in to gitlab.com directly; repeated direct login attempts can lock your account, which requires a Help Desk unlock. First-time logins include a few email verification steps.
2. Open the repo link above in your browser. If the page loads, you have access — continue to Part 2.
3. If you get a 404, your GitLab account does not have repo access yet (common for newer team members). File an IT Help Desk request asking for access to the TAM plugins repo conversica/ai-extensions/shared-claude-plugins, and wait for confirmation before continuing — everything below fails without it.

Part 2: Generate a GitLab Personal Access Token

Claude needs a token to read the private repo.

1. In GitLab, click your avatar → Preferences → Access tokens → Add new token (choose the legacy/personal token option if prompted)
2. Enter a recognizable name (e.g., Claude GitLab Repository)
3. Set the expiration to the maximum allowed (about 12 months) and set a calendar reminder to renew it — when the token expires, plugin updates silently stop working
4. Scopes: read_api + read_repository are enough for installing and updating plugins. (api also works, and is required later if you contribute plugin changes via merge requests.)
5. Copy the token immediately (it starts with glpat-) — it will not be shown again after you leave the page

Important: Treat the token like a password. Never share tokens in Slack or email, and never commit them to version control.

Part 3: Add the Marketplace in Claude Code

Do not use the Customize → Plugins → “Add marketplace” form — it currently only accepts GitHub sources and rejects the GitLab URL with “Marketplace source format is invalid.” GitLab marketplaces also only work from Code sessions, not Cowork.

Instead, open a Claude Code session and paste the following prompt:

Add https://gitlab.com/conversica/ai-extensions/shared-claude-plugins.git as a plugin marketplace. It is a private GitLab repo — I will authenticate with a personal access token when you ask for it.

Claude will detect that the repo is private, offer the personal-access-token option, and prompt you to paste the token from Part 2. Paste it and let Claude finish the setup.

If Claude reports “your token is valid but the project returns 404,” your GitLab account does not have repo access — go back to Part 1 and file the Help Desk request.

Part 4: Relaunch and Install the Plugin

1. Fully quit and relaunch the Claude desktop app. New marketplaces and plugins often do not appear until after a relaunch.
2. Go to Customize → Plugins → Browse plugins
3. The Conversica marketplace appears under the Code section — not under the organization section. This is expected.
4. Install Conversica Auto Onboarding

Optional plugins from the same marketplace, install as needed:

• conversica-chat-form — configure lead-capture chat forms for Chat/AnswersIQ clients
• guardrails — add per-account AI guardrail configurations
• conversica-visualize — visualization helpers
• analytics — data warehouse queries (read-only; treat its schema knowledge as possibly out of date)

Part 5: Delete Outdated Standalone Skills

If you previously installed individual TAM onboarding skills (downloaded from the shared drive or sent to you directly), delete them now:

1. Go to Customize → Skills
2. Delete each of the old standalone onboarding skills — they are all included in the plugin now, and keeping both means two versions can conflict and give wrong answers
3. Keep unrelated personal skills (e.g., skill-creator)

Getting Updates

Plugin updates are distributed through the marketplace. When an update merges, pull it by asking Claude in a Code session to “update the Conversica plugin marketplace” (or run claude plugin marketplace update conversica-plugins), then relaunch the app.

Troubleshooting

Security Reminders

• Treat the GitLab token like a password — never share it in Slack, email, or version control
• Rotate tokens periodically — revoke old ones in GitLab → Preferences → Access tokens
• Use least-privilege scopes — read_api + read_repository is enough for installing plugins
• One token per use case — separate tokens can be revoked independently

Related Resources

• Conversica shared-claude-plugins repo (plugin marketplace) — each plugin’s README covers purpose, usage, and limitations
• SOP: Help Center Connector Setup
• Claude Code Download

To report plugin issues: open a GitLab issue on the repo above, or post in #tam.