brand-md — Claude Code plugin: what it does, how to install
The plugin generates BRAND.md files — an open standard for brand identity. Like AGENTS.md gives coding instructions, BRAND.md gives AI agents strategy, voice, and visual direction.
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install brand-md@claude-communityWhat brand-md does
The plugin interviews you as the founder, researches your market, and produces a complete brand file: positioning (category and differentiation), tonal rules for voice, core palette, and art direction. The file lives in the project root and gives agents context for copy, interfaces, and visual decisions.
Spec 0.3.0 divides the structure into four layers — Strategy, Voice, Visual, and optional Governance — and supports inheritance for sub-brands and product lines. The plugin checks for specVersion in the frontmatter and interprets files without it as version 0.2.
BRAND.md describes identity that survives a redesign. The applied system — tokens, type scales, components — lives in a separate DESIGN.md that points to the brand file with brand: ../BRAND.md.
What it helps with
- generate a brand file for a new project or startup
- give AI agents tone and visual rules
- define positioning and differentiation from competitors
- support multiple product lines with shared identity
Example prompts for the agent
- Create a
BRAND.mdfor a zero-downtime deployment service - Interview me and build a brand file
- Add voice and visual territory to the project
How to install brand-md
Plugin marketplace
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community/plugin install brand-md@claude-communityStep by step, with commands for each platform: Claude Code plugins: marketplaces, installing, and building your own
Questions about brand-md
How do I install brand-md in Claude Code?
First /plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community, then /plugin install brand-md@claude-community. After that, call /brand-md:brand.
What does brand-md do?
The plugin generates BRAND.md — a markdown file with brand strategy, voice, and visual identity. It interviews you, researches the market, and creates a four-layer structure that AI agents use for copy and design.
How is brand-md different from DESIGN.md?
BRAND.md describes identity that does not change with a redesign: positioning, tone, core palette. DESIGN.md holds the applied system for one surface — tokens, components, typography — and points to the brand file.
Source text
SKILL.md · MIT
# BRAND.md An open standard for brand identity files. `BRAND.md` lives in a project and gives AI tools durable context about how a brand looks, sounds, and behaves. Like `AGENTS.md` provides coding instructions, `BRAND.md` provides brand strategy, voice, approved identity primitives, and governance. ## Install and run Add the Claude Code marketplace, install the plugin, then invoke the skill: ```text /plugin marketplace add caiopizzol/brand.md /plugin install brand-md@brand-md /brand-md:brand ``` To test the plugin from a local clone: ```bash git clone https://github.com/caiopizzol/brand.md claude --plugin-dir ./brand.md ``` ## Example This abbreviated excerpt is not a conformant file. See the [complete Marginalia example](examples/marginalia/BRAND.md) for every required section. ```markdown --- name: "Acme" tagline: "Build faster, break nothing" specVersion: "0.3.0" version: 1 language: en --- # Acme ## Strategy ### Positioning Category: Zero-downtime deployment infrastructure. Not a CI/CD pipeline. Not a hosting provider. Not DevOps consulting. ## Voice ### Tonal Rules - Write like an engineer explaining to another engineer. - Never use "revolutionary" or "game-changing." ## Visual ### Core Colors - Deep Navy `#0F172A` (mandatory): the brand's weight and steadiness ### Art Direction Visual territory: an aircraft maintenance log. Plain, exact, no ornament. ``` The format has four layers: Strategy, Voice, Visual, and optional Governance. It also supports sparse product and sub-brand files that inherit from a parent. The [specification](spec/brand-md.md) defines all sections, hierarchy rules, and version behavior. Files without `specVersion` continue to be interpreted as 0.2. ## Relationship to DESIGN.md `BRAND.md` owns identity that should survive a complete visual redesign. [`DESIGN.md`](https://github.com/google-labs-code/design.md) owns the applied visual system for one surface, including tokens, type scales, layout, components, and motion. One brand can inform several separate design systems. Each `DESIGN.md` points to its brand with `brand: ../BRAND.md`; the brand file does not maintain a reverse list. Read the [integration contract](spec/design-md-integration.md) or explore the [worked example](examples/marginalia). ## License MIT ## Contributors <a href="https://github.com/caiopizzol"><img src="https://github.com/caiopizzol.png" width="50" height="50" alt="caiopizzol" title="Caio Pizzol" /></a>
© caiopizzol · MIT · caiopizzol/brand.md
