staff-engineer-mode — Claude Code plugin: what it does, how to install
Routes design, resilience, and reliability questions to 64 targeted engineering roles. Helps catch failure modes before code reaches production.
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install staff-engineer-mode@claude-communityWhat staff-engineer-mode does
The plugin embeds an automated router into Claude Code that maps engineering inquiries to 64 focused specialist profiles. You do not pick specialists manually. The router inspects your request, identifying the target artifact, lifecycle stage, system surface, and operational risk. It then calls the matching specialist to evaluate trade-offs, potential failure points, and verification gates.
Specialist definitions reside in specialists/ and load into context only after routing completes. When you ask to inspect a commit, the plugin executes agent-pr-review against the exact staged diff. If your changes are not staged in git, the inspection has nothing to evaluate. For release preparations or version bumps, it combines reproducibility checks with production readiness reviews.
The catalog covers security, data contracts, circuit breakers, and migration strategies. A secondary specialist activates only when a separate artifact must be generated alongside the main task.
What it helps with
- Design retry loops and dead-letter handling for incoming partner webhooks
- Set timeout budgets and fallbacks for critical upstream service dependencies
- Verify build reproducibility and deployment readiness before cutting a release
- Audit staged git diffs against architectural failure modes
Example prompts for the agent
- Plan retry logic, replay rules, and dead-letter storage before building the partner webhook integration.
- Determine timeout policies, retries, and fallback behaviors for our new inventory service call.
- Perform an engineering review on my staged commit.
How to install staff-engineer-mode
Plugin marketplace
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community/plugin install staff-engineer-mode@claude-communityStep by step, with commands for each platform: Claude Code plugins: marketplaces, installing, and building your own
Questions about staff-engineer-mode
How to install staff-engineer-mode in Claude Code?
Run /plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community followed by /plugin install staff-engineer-mode@claude-community in your Claude Code chat session.
How does automatic specialist selection work?
The router inspects your question, determining the relevant development phase, component surface, and failure risk. It selects one primary specialist from specialists/ without requiring manual role selection.
What is required to run a commit review?
The commit inspection relies on agent-pr-review reading git index data. Your code changes must be added to the staged diff before initiating the review.
