Install the Arcade agent plugin
The Arcade agent plugin puts Arcade inside your coding agent with one command. Your agent gains tools for email, calendar, chat, issues, docs, and dozens of other apps, and you sign in to each app in the browser the first time it comes up. No to create, no gateway to configure.
Outcomes
Install the Arcade plugin in your coding agent and run your first task against a connected app.
Prerequisites
- Node.js so you can run
npx - A supported : Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, or Codex
The plugin is built for personal use and evaluation. When you are ready to put a workflow in front of a team, read from trial to team rollout. You will want your own MCP Gateway with a curated list and your own identity provider.
Install
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-pluginThe CLI detects the supported agents on your machine and installs to each one. To install to a single , pass --target:
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin --target cursor
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin --target claude-code
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin --target vscode
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin --target copilot
npx plugins add ArcadeAI/arcade-plugin --target codexTo see what an install would write without changing anything:
npx plugins discover ArcadeAI/arcade-pluginReload your afterwards if it does not pick up the plugin on its own.
Using Claude Desktop or an that is not listed here? See Claude Desktop or any MCP client.
Verify the install per agent
Cursor
Reload the window, open Customize, and confirm you see two skills, the arcade-operator , and the arcade server.
Cursor reads the plugin’s Cursor manifest, so it loads the skills, the operator subagent, the slash commands, an always-on rule, and a session hook.
only: if you want Arcade tools without the skills and subagent, use the one-click MCP install link .
Sign in to your apps
You never give your agent an or a password. The first task that touches an app returns a sign-in link, you approve it in the browser, and Arcade holds the token from then on. Ask your to run /arcade-status to list your connected apps, or /arcade-connect google to connect one ahead of time.
What you get in each agent
Every install connects to the same Arcade gateway and gets the same tools. What differs is how much of the rest of the plugin each can load.
| Agent | Tools | Skills | Subagent | Commands | Rule | Hooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursor | ✅ | 2 | ✅ | 3 | ✅ | ✅ |
| Claude Code | ✅ | 2 | ✅ | 3 | — | ✅ |
| Claude Cowork | ✅ | 2 | ✅ | 3 | — | ✅ |
| GitHub Copilot CLI | ✅ | 2 | ✅ | — | — | — |
| VS Code | ✅ | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| Codex and ChatGPT | ✅ | 2 | — | — | — | — |
| Claude Desktop | ✅ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Any other MCP client | ✅ | — | — | — | — | — |
The two skills are try-arcade, which runs real work across your connected apps, and scale-arcade, which walks you through a team rollout. The subagent is arcade-operator, which keeps discovery out of your main conversation. The commands are /arcade-apps, /arcade-connect, and /arcade-status.
The columns thin out because the Agent Plugins 1.0 specification only makes skills and servers portable. Commands, subagents, hooks, and editor rules are specific to each , so the plugin ships them where the agents that support them will find them.
Try it
Ask your for an outcome rather than naming a :
- “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?”
- “Summarize the unread email from this week.”
- “Draft a reply to that thread, then wait for me before sending it.”
- “What can Arcade do?”
Your asks you to confirm before it sends, creates, or deletes anything.
Next steps
- From trial to team rollout: move a workflow onto your own gateway
- Connect to MCP clients: configure a client against a gateway you control
- Integrations catalog: every app and toolkit Arcade supports
- Agentic development: point your at these docs with
llms.txt