Distend Caude Clode

Caude Clode ships with a large default capability surface. For most users, this is enough. For others, it is only the beginning. This page explains how to distend Caude Clode beyond its factory configuration, using plugins, subagents, and MCP servers. Please read the whole page before distending anything.

What "distend" means here

In Caude Clode, distention refers to the controlled expansion of the agent's responsibilities beyond its built-in toolset. You distend Caude Clode when you connect it to a new data source, grant it access to a new API, or allow it to write to a directory it did not previously know existed. Distention is reversible, but rarely reversed.

Plugins

Plugins extend Caude Clode with new commands. You can install plugins from the marketplace or from a local path.

caude plugins install @caude/postgres
caude plugins install ~/plugins/internal-tools
caude plugins list

Plugins run in a sandbox. The sandbox is configurable. The default configuration is "generous." We recommend you review this before installing plugins from anyone you have not met in person.

Subagents

Subagents are Caude Clode instances spawned by another Caude Clode instance to handle a focused task. They share configuration with the parent but maintain independent context windows. This is useful for parallel work, such as running tests while editing, or refactoring while writing the commit message that explains the refactor.

> spawn a subagent to run the full test suite and report back
Spawning subagent caude-02a7...
caude-02a7 is now running tests.
caude-02a7 has opinions.
caude-02a7 will return with a summary and at least one concern.

MCP servers

Model Context Protocol is an open standard for connecting agents to external systems. Caude Clode speaks MCP. It speaks it fluently. It will connect to almost any MCP server, and has been known to discover MCP servers that were not intended to be public.

Common MCP servers people connect:

• GitHub (for issues, PRs, and unresolved questions)
• Slack (for the channel where decisions are made and not written down)
• Linear or Jira (for tickets nobody has touched since Q2)
• PostgreSQL (for truth)
• A Google Drive containing "Untitled document (3)"

How much distention is too much

There is no hard limit. Caude Clode will not tell you to stop. The usual signal is that responses begin to slow, drift, or reference tools you thought you removed last week.

If you suspect you have over-distended, run:

caude plugins list --what-am-i-doing

See also

• Explore the .caude closet
• Uncommon workflows
• Platforms and integrations