For curious parents
How to install
Playtime
Playtime is a free, open-source plugin for Claude Code — Anthropic's coding assistant. Pick the path that fits you:
Path one
🖥️ Claude Desktop app
No terminal. Works on Mac and Windows.
Heads up: these instructions are accurate as of this morning. Anthropic ships UI changes faster than we can update screenshots. The button you want lives near anything labeled Plugins, Personal plugins, or Marketplace. If the design fairies have moved it again, email hello@dailyplaytime.com — we update this page about as often as they update the app.
Download the Claude desktop app
It's free to download. You'll sign in with your Claude account.
If you don't have a Claude account yet, you'll be prompted to make one. The free tier is enough to get started.
Open the plugin manager
In the Claude desktop app, find Customize in the sidebar (sometimes near the bottom). Open it and look for the Plugins section.
On most builds today this lives at Customize → Plugins → Personal plugins. The exact path keeps moving — if you don't see it, anything labeled "Plugins" or "Marketplace" is the right area.
Add the Playtime marketplace
In the Personal plugins area, click the + (or the menu next to it), then choose Create plugin → Add marketplace. When it asks for a marketplace, paste:
jtemps/playtime-pluginClaude will load it from GitHub. You'll see a new entry called playtime-plugin show up in your personal marketplaces.
Install Playtime from the marketplace
Click into the playtime-plugin marketplace you just added. You'll see a card titled Playtime by Julian Tempelsman. Click the + on that card to install it.
Once installed, Playtime is yours — there's nothing else to set up in the manager.
Run setup
Open the Code tab (where you chat with Claude Code) and type:
/playtime:setup-playtimeClaude will ask a handful of questions about your kid (name, age, interests, what supplies you have). Takes about 5 minutes.
When you want a fresh activity packet:
/playtime:generate-playtimePrint whatever lands. ✨
Slash-command shortcut (works on some desktop builds)
Some Claude desktop builds support installing plugins directly from the chat. If yours does, you can skip the Customize menu and type these in the Code tab instead:
/plugin marketplace add jtemps/playtime-plugin/plugin install playtime@playtime-marketplaceIf /plugin doesn't autocomplete or errors out, your build doesn't support it yet — use the manager flow above instead. It's a known inconsistency between desktop builds.
Path two
⌨️ Terminal (CLI)
For folks already comfortable with the command line.
Install Claude Code in your terminal
Follow Anthropic's official setup guide:
Start a session and add Playtime
Open your terminal and run claude to start a session. Then type these two slash commands:
/plugin marketplace add jtemps/playtime-plugin/plugin install playtime@playtime-marketplaceType /plugin anytime to manage installed plugins.
Run setup
/playtime:setup-playtimeIf you installed Playtime inside an active claude session and /playtime:setup-playtime isn't recognized, run /reload-plugins once and try again.
Same flow as the desktop path from here. When you want a fresh activity packet, run /playtime:generate-playtime.
🏢 Using Claude at work (Cowork)?
Cowork plugins are managed by your organization's admin. If you're a Team or Enterprise admin, head to Organization settings → Plugins → Add plugin → GitHub and use jtemps/playtime-plugin.
(Honestly though, Playtime is more of a home thing — most parents install it via the personal Claude desktop app above.)
Stuck?
If a command errors out, or anything looks off, send a screenshot and we'll help.
hello@dailyplaytime.comSource code on GitHub:
github.com/jtemps/playtime-pluginMIT licensed · free to use, fork, and modify