What Is Claude Ads? Ad Audits with Claude Code, Installation, What It Does and Doesn't Do
You give Claude Code an export (CSV) from your ad platform; the Claude Ads plugin audits it and produces draft recommendations. It has audit, planning, creative production, monitoring and reporting workflows for 12 ad platforms: Google, Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Reddit, Pinterest, Snapchat and X. It's read-only by default: it doesn't make changes in your ad account and doesn't connect to the account itself; according to the repository's capability manifest, the only verified capability is reading an authorized export (CSV), and live account changes and the account health score are turned off on all 12 platforms. Install it with `/plugin marketplace add agricidaniel/claude-ads`. It's MIT-licensed and free. This page is not advertising or budget advice.
- What it does
- Audits an ad account export and produces draft recommendations
- Type
- Claude Code plugin (skill and agent package)
- Where
- Claude Code (primary); install options for Codex, Gemini, Cursor
- Account connection
- None; you provide your own export
- Changes to your account
- None; drafts only (live writes are off)
- Turkish
- Not stated in the official documentation
- Cost
- Free (MIT); a paid community mirror is separate
What Is Claude Ads For? What's Inside?
A set of workflows built to review an ad account the way a specialist would. It works through the subcommands of a single /ads command: setup (client, KPIs, privacy profile), audit, plan, creative production, campaign change drafts, monitoring, optimization drafts, experiment design and reporting.
| Subcommand | What it does |
|---|---|
/ads setup | Creates the client, account, KPI, privacy and guardrail profile (credential values aren't stored). |
/ads audit | A full or scoped audit, with evidence. |
/ads plan | Channel, campaign, budget, competitor and measurement plan. |
/ads create | Copy, images, video and product photos. |
/ads launch --draft, /ads optimize --draft | A draft and a before/after diff that don't change the account. |
/ads monitor, /ads report | Pacing, delivery, tracking and fatigue; a report from a verified bundle. |
File counts from the repository tree (the README gives no numbers): 33 skills in the skills folder (the official site also says 33) plus the root "ads" skill, 25 agent files, and 414 checks in the audit catalog. There are no separate command files, hooks or MCP. With the plugin, the command is /claude-ads:ads; with a standalone install, /ads. Who it's for: agencies and businesses that manage ad accounts; verify the findings yourself, as this isn't advice.
How Do You Install Claude Ads?
The README describes Claude Code as the "primary runtime." The commands are taken verbatim from the README.
› /plugin marketplace add agricidaniel/claude-ads› /plugin install claude-ads@ai-marketing-hub-claude-adsThe marketplace method only loads the skill files; the docs don't make clear whether the Python dependencies (CPython 3.11 or 3.12) get installed. If you added the marketplace before v2.0.0, the old alias remains: first run /plugin marketplace remove agricidaniel-claude-ads, then the two commands above.
› git clone https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-ads.git› bash install.sh --source=localFor another program, use --target=codex or --target=gemini; for the skills only, --no-deps.
› .\install.ps1 -Source localClone the repository and go into the folder first. For the skills only, use -NoDeps.
Optional: the Playwright browser for screenshots, WeasyPrint and Pango for PDFs, and a Gemini, OpenAI, Stability AI or Replicate API key (as an environment variable) for image generation.
How Do You Use Claude Ads?
First introduce the client and goals with /ads setup, then provide the export you downloaded from the ad platform. There's no scheduled monitoring that runs on its own; you run the audit yourself.
!Verify the findings and recommendations in your own account. An open issue (#75) reports that in the Google audit, ad group–level negative keywords can be counted as "active keywords"; check against the raw search term data.
Which Programs Does Claude Ads Work In?
| Claude CodeYes | README: the primary runtime; plugin marketplace or local install. |
|---|---|
| Codex, Gemini, Cursor, Windsurf, GoosePartly | The README says the skill files can be used wherever the runtime supports them; there's no test information on which feature works in which program. |
What Does Claude Ads Access? Does It Write to Your Account?
No. The only verified capability in the repository's capability manifest is "reading an authorized export"; the plugin has no OAuth or API connector to the ad platforms. Live reading is left to an external MCP or API tool that you connect. A key requirement is documented only for the image generation providers.
In the capability manifest, live account changes ("account-mutation") are off on all 12 platforms; the --draft commands only produce drafts. The README also says permanent deletion isn't supported in v2.
The exports, screenshots and manually entered metrics you provide; it fetches the landing page and competitor URLs you give it from the web.
It writes report and finding files (JSON, Markdown, HTML, PDF) to your local disk. According to SECURITY.md, the network destinations are: image providers (only if a key is provided), the URLs you give it, github.com and PyPI. The README sets a rule that account exports must not end up in the repository or in reports.
!The capability manifest snapshot is dated July 11, 2026, while version v2.0.2 is from September 10, 2026: the documentation doesn't say whether anything changed after the manifest. The health score is also "disabled" on all 12 platforms in the manifest, with the reason "no approved, sourced severity decision"; the official site mentions an "evidence-backed health score," but no score appears to be produced today: don't expect a score. GitHub advisories are empty; an open issue (#88) reports a high-severity alert for pillow and urllib3 in the lock file. That doesn't mean "safe."
Is Claude Ads Free?
The public version is MIT-licensed and free, with no membership required. A paid community called "AI Marketing Hub Pro" offers early access in a community mirror; its price isn't in the README and is on a page that doesn't load. Image generation is subject to the external providers' own fees (the key is requested from you). Claude Code's own subscription is separate. No local-currency price is listed.
- MIT: commercial and agency use is allowed
- Third-party APIs, trademarks and cited documents are subject to their own terms (THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES)
Source: README. This is not legal or advertising advice.
Common Problems and Fixes
| What's happening | What to do |
|---|---|
| The plugin marketplace won't add; old alias error | If it was added before v2.0.0, run /plugin marketplace remove agricidaniel-claude-ads, then add it again and install. |
| Landing page analysis returned "all checks failed" even when the page couldn't be fetched at all | Reported by users Issue #61 is open; the v2.0.2 notes say a page that can't be fetched is no longer counted as a failed check. If you're on an older version, update. |
| Python dependencies don't update on an old installation | In v2.0.2, the install script scans the old installation first (issue #57); for the skills only, use --no-deps. |
| Reported by users The Google audit gives a false "self-blocking keyword" finding | Open issue #75 (September 16, 2026); verify the finding yourself against the raw search term data. |
How Do You Uninstall Claude Ads?
- If you installed it from the plugin marketplace: remove the claude-ads plugin from the /plugin menu (optional:
/plugin marketplace remove). - If you installed it with the script:
bash uninstall.sh --target=claude(PowerShell: uninstall.ps1); it deletes only the files the script owns. - Keys: Delete the image provider keys you set as environment variables.
Frequently asked questions
Does Claude Ads connect to my ad account?
The plugin itself doesn't connect to your account through OAuth. The verified capability in the capability manifest is reading an authorized export: you provide your own export. If you connect the platforms' own MCP or API tools yourself, it can also use the results of those reads.
Will it make changes to my account on its own?
No. It's read-only by default; in the capability manifest, live account changes are off on all 12 platforms. /ads launch and /ads optimize produce drafts. However, the manifest snapshot is dated July; check the current status in the repository.
Does it give an account health score?
It doesn't appear to produce a score right now: the repository says the scoring profiles are disabled on all 12 platforms and that there's no approved severity decision. The official site mentions an evidence-backed health score; don't expect a score, look at the findings.
How many skills, agents and commands does it include?
Based on the file counts in the repository tree: 33 skills in the skills folder along with the root "ads" skill, 25 agent files, and 414 checks in the audit catalog. There are no separate command files; the commands are under /ads.
Is there a paid version?
The public version is MIT and free. A paid community called "AI Marketing Hub Pro" gives access to an early-access community mirror; its price isn't in the README.
Which ad platforms does it support?
Google, Meta, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Reddit, Pinterest, Snapchat and X.
Related guides
Sources
Not clear in the official sources: The price of the Pro community · whether the Python core gets installed with the marketplace install · which features work in Codex, Cursor and other programs · the capability manifest is dated July: whether anything changed after v2.0.2 · context cost · Turkey-specific checks. Each one is covered in its section.