Mods change how Claude Code itself looks and behaves: a panel beside the conversation, a line above the prompt box, a new slash command, or a check that pauses before something risky. You don't need to code to use one. Install one in a few keystrokes, or describe the one you want and Claude builds it for you.
Customize Claude Code with Mods
What a Mod Can Do
Think of a mod as a small add-on for Claude Code's own interface. Skills change what Claude knows. Mods change the tool you're working in. Some of Claude Code's built-in features are already mods, such as the /diff view of what changed.
- Add a panel beside the conversation, with tabs and buttons
- Show a live line above the prompt box, like how full the conversation is getting
- Restyle parts of the interface Claude Code draws, such as the spinner
- Add your own slash command that answers instantly
- Pause a risky action and ask you first, with buttons to go ahead or cancel
Mods need Claude Code v2.1.287 or later. Run claude --version in your Terminal to check, and claude update if yours is older. They work in the Terminal and in the Code tab of the Claude Desktop app. The VS Code chat panel runs them but doesn't show their panels.
Option A: Ask Claude to Make One
This is the fastest way in, and it fits how you already work: describe the outcome, let Claude handle the build.
Describe the mod
- In a Claude Code session, ask in plain words, for example: "make a mod that shows the current git branch above the prompt"
- Claude Code asks before Claude saves each of the mod's files, because they go in a protected settings folder. Approve each one
Turn it on
- When the first file is saved, Claude Code asks whether to enable hot reloading for the session
- Choose "Enable for this session". The mod loads as soon as Claude finishes its turn
Try it and refine it
- Use what you asked for. If it's not quite right, tell Claude what to change
- The mod reloads after every change, so you can review it straight away, like iterating on a component
A few prompts to start from:
make a mod that shows how full the conversation is above the prompt
make a mod that asks me before you delete any file
make a mod that adds a /changes command listing every file you edited in this sessionIt loads only in the session that made it, and Claude Code clears it out later. If you want to keep it, ask Claude to copy the mod to a folder of your own, such as ~/mods, and to tell you how to load it next time.
Option B: Install One Someone Else Made
Mods are packaged as plugins, so you install them the same way as any Claude Code plugin.
Open the plugin browser
- In the Terminal: type /plugin and press Enter. It opens on the Discover tab
- In the Desktop app's Code tab: click the + next to the prompt box, then Plugins, then Add plugin
Find the mod
- Type to search, then press Enter on a result to open its details
- If someone sent you an install command instead, paste it, for example /plugin install name@marketplace
Read before you install
- The details show what the plugin will add
- Choose "Install for you" to have it in every project, or limit it to the current one
A mod isn't a theme. It runs with the same access you have: it can read your files, see what you type, and act without asking. Treat installing one like handing someone your laptop. Stick to Anthropic and authors you know.
See, Pause, or Remove a Mod
- See what's running: type /plugin. A dim line under the tabs reads something like "1 mod active · git-branch"
- Turn one off: in /plugin, press Tab to reach Installed, select the mod and press Space
- Remove one: on the Installed tab, press Enter on the mod and choose Uninstall
- Something feels off? Start Claude Code with claude --safe-mode to run a session with every mod you installed, and your other customizations, switched off
Claude Code, customized
- Know what a mod is and how it differs from a skill
- Asked Claude to build a mod and refined it in the same session
- Can install, pause, and remove mods from /plugin
- Know to install only from authors you trust
Last lesson coming up. Things will go wrong eventually; knowing how to fix them keeps the workflow running.