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explanatory output style — Agent Skill

by anthropics · Updated

Adds educational insights about implementation choices and codebase patterns (mimics the deprecated Explanatory output style)

At a glance

explanatory-output-style is an Agent Skill by anthropics in the Coding & Engineering category. In Claude Code it installs with `/plugin install explanatory-output-style@claude-plugins-official` after adding the anthropics/claude-plugins-official marketplace; other assistants use its SKILL.md instructions as rules. Its source repository has 45,210 GitHub stars (as of Oct 28, 2026).

Source 45kGitHub stars

How to install explanatory output style in your AI client

Setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Cline and VS Code — copy-paste ready.

How to install explanatory output style in Claude CodeAnthropic's agentic CLI

  1. Add the marketplace

    claude
    /plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-official

  2. Install the skill

    claude
    /plugin install explanatory-output-style@claude-plugins-official

  3. Use it

    These are slash commands for a Claude Code session, not your shell. Claude auto-invokes the skill when your request matches its description — or type its slash command if it exposes one.

Documentation

Full README

Explanatory Output Style Plugin

This plugin recreates the deprecated Explanatory output style as a SessionStart hook.

WARNING: Do not install this plugin unless you are fine with incurring the token cost of this plugin's additional instructions and output.

What it does

When enabled, this plugin automatically adds instructions at the start of each session that encourage Claude to:

  1. Provide educational insights about implementation choices
  2. Explain codebase patterns and decisions
  3. Balance task completion with learning opportunities

How it works

The plugin uses a SessionStart hook to inject additional context into every session. This context instructs Claude to provide brief educational explanations before and after writing code, formatted as:

text
`★ Insight ─────────────────────────────────────`
[2-3 key educational points]
`─────────────────────────────────────────────────`

Usage

Once installed, the plugin activates automatically at the start of every session. No additional configuration is needed.

The insights focus on:

  • Specific implementation choices for your codebase
  • Patterns and conventions in your code
  • Trade-offs and design decisions
  • Codebase-specific details rather than general programming concepts

Migration from Output Styles

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