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Claude Desktop Plugin

Note

Claude Desktop runs the same plugin package as Claude Code — apps/plugin-claude-code, identical hooks (SessionStart, UserPromptSubmit, PreToolUse, PostToolUse), the same fail-open guarantee, the same local SQLite store (~/.aka/data/aka.db), and the same /aka:* commands.

See the Claude Code plugin guide for the full architecture, hook contract, and command reference — this page only covers what's different about running it inside Desktop.

Installing

Claude Desktop has no terminal, so plugin management happens in Settings → Plugins instead of the /plugin slash commands used in the Code CLI:

  1. Open Settings → Plugins.
  2. Add marketplace and enter the marketplace repo: akasecurity/ai-tc.
  3. Find aka in the installed marketplace's plugin list and click Install.
  4. Restart Claude Desktop to load the plugin.

Removing it later? See Uninstalling.

Onboarding and everyday use

Once installed, /aka:setup and every other /aka:* command work exactly as documented for Claude Code — type them into the Desktop chat box the same way. Findings, policy, and the local store are shared: ~/.aka/data/aka.db is the same file regardless of whether a session ran in Code or Desktop, so /aka:findings in one shows detections from the other.

What's Code-CLI-only

The following depend on a terminal and don't apply to Desktop:

  • Loading an unpublished build for a single session (claude --plugin-dir ...)
  • /reload-plugins after a local rebuild
  • Testing hook scripts directly via stdin (echo '...' | node .../user-prompt-submit.js)

For that contributor/dev workflow, see Installing, developing, and testing in the Claude Code guide — building from source and loading the plugin for development is done through the Code CLI even if you'll also use it in Desktop.

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