diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/src/Commands/CheckCommand.cs b/eng/skill-validator/src/Commands/CheckCommand.cs
index 1905bb7605..e6001c107b 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/src/Commands/CheckCommand.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/src/Commands/CheckCommand.cs
@@ -111,11 +111,20 @@ private static async Task<int> RunPluginCheck(CheckConfig config)
             allPlugins.Add(plugin);
 
             // Resolve skills path from plugin.json and discover skills per plugin
-            if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plugin?.SkillsPath)
-                && PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(fullPath, plugin.SkillsPath, out var skillsDir, out _)
-                && Directory.Exists(skillsDir))
+            var skillsDirs = new List<string>();
+            if (plugin is not null)
             {
-                var skills = await SkillDiscovery.DiscoverSkills(skillsDir!);
+                foreach (var sp in plugin.SkillPaths)
+                {
+                    if (PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(fullPath, sp, out var dir, out _)
+                        && Directory.Exists(dir))
+                        skillsDirs.Add(dir!);
+                }
+            }
+
+            foreach (var dir in skillsDirs)
+            {
+                var skills = await SkillDiscovery.DiscoverSkills(dir);
                 pluginSkills[pluginName] = new List<SkillInfo>(skills);
                 allSkillsList.AddRange(skills);
             }
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/src/Models/Models.cs b/eng/skill-validator/src/Models/Models.cs
index 659229ffda..ea299068d1 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/src/Models/Models.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/src/Models/Models.cs
@@ -114,8 +114,8 @@ public sealed record PluginInfo(
     string Name,
     string? Version,
     string? Description,
-    string? SkillsPath,
-    string? AgentsPath,
+    IReadOnlyList<string> SkillPaths,
+    IReadOnlyList<string> AgentPaths,
     string DirectoryPath,
     string DirectoryName);
 
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/AgentRunner.cs b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/AgentRunner.cs
index 1a79e819c8..6fb53c2629 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/AgentRunner.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/AgentRunner.cs
@@ -415,15 +415,17 @@ internal static string[] ResolvePluginSkillDirectories(string pluginRoot)
             // without extra skill directories; validation surfaces the real error.
             return [];
         }
-        if (pluginInfo?.SkillsPath is null) return [];
+        if (pluginInfo is null || pluginInfo.SkillPaths.Count == 0) return [];
 
-        if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(
-                pluginRoot, pluginInfo.SkillsPath, out var skillsDir, out _))
-            return [];
-
-        if (!Directory.Exists(skillsDir!)) return [];
-
-        return [skillsDir!];
+        var dirs = new List<string>();
+        foreach (var relativePath in pluginInfo.SkillPaths)
+        {
+            if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(pluginRoot, relativePath, out var fullPath, out _))
+                continue;
+            if (Directory.Exists(fullPath!))
+                dirs.Add(fullPath!);
+        }
+        return dirs.ToArray();
     }
 
     public static async Task<RunMetrics> RunAgent(RunOptions options)
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/PluginValidator.cs b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/PluginValidator.cs
index 7e8ad07800..ce3137d244 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/PluginValidator.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/PluginValidator.cs
@@ -45,29 +45,41 @@ public static PluginValidationResult ValidatePlugin(PluginInfo plugin)
         }
 
         // --- Skills path validation ---
-        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plugin.SkillsPath))
+        if (plugin.SkillPaths.Count == 0)
         {
             errors.Add("plugin.json has no 'skills' field — required.");
         }
-        else if (!TryGetSafeSubdirectory(plugin.DirectoryPath, plugin.SkillsPath, out var skillsDir, out var skillsPathError))
-        {
-            errors.Add($"Plugin skills path is invalid: {skillsPathError}");
-        }
-        else if (!Directory.Exists(skillsDir!))
+        else
         {
-            errors.Add($"Plugin skills path '{plugin.SkillsPath}' does not exist at '{skillsDir}'.");
+            foreach (var skillPath in plugin.SkillPaths)
+            {
+                if (!TryGetSafeSubdirectory(plugin.DirectoryPath, skillPath, out var resolved, out var skillPathError))
+                {
+                    errors.Add($"Plugin skills path is invalid: {skillPathError}");
+                }
+                else if (!Directory.Exists(resolved!) && !File.Exists(resolved!))
+                {
+                    errors.Add($"Plugin skills path '{skillPath}' does not exist at '{resolved}'.");
+                }
+            }
         }
 
         // --- Agents path validation (optional, but warn if specified and missing) ---
-        if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plugin.AgentsPath))
+        foreach (var agentPath in plugin.AgentPaths)
         {
-            if (!TryGetSafeSubdirectory(plugin.DirectoryPath, plugin.AgentsPath, out var agentsDir, out var agentsPathError))
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(agentPath))
             {
-                warnings.Add($"Plugin agents path is invalid: {agentsPathError}");
+                warnings.Add("Plugin agents entry is empty or whitespace and will be ignored.");
+                continue;
             }
-            else if (!Directory.Exists(agentsDir!))
+
+            if (!TryGetSafeSubdirectory(plugin.DirectoryPath, agentPath, out var resolved, out var agentPathError))
             {
-                warnings.Add($"Plugin agents path '{plugin.AgentsPath}' does not exist at '{agentsDir}'.");
+                warnings.Add($"Plugin agent path is invalid: {agentPathError}");
+            }
+            else if (!Directory.Exists(resolved!) && !File.Exists(resolved!))
+            {
+                warnings.Add($"Plugin agent path '{agentPath}' does not exist at '{resolved}'.");
             }
         }
 
@@ -129,12 +141,43 @@ internal static bool TryGetSafeSubdirectory(string rootDirectory, string relativ
         var name = doc.TryGetProperty("name", out var n) ? n.GetString() : null;
         var version = doc.TryGetProperty("version", out var v) ? v.GetString() : null;
         var description = doc.TryGetProperty("description", out var d) ? d.GetString() : null;
-        var skills = doc.TryGetProperty("skills", out var s) ? s.GetString() : null;
-        var agents = doc.TryGetProperty("agents", out var a) ? a.GetString() : null;
+        // skills and agents can be an array of strings (Claude Code schema, preferred)
+        // or a string path (legacy). Normalize both into the array form.
+        IReadOnlyList<string> skillPaths = [];
+        if (doc.TryGetProperty("skills", out var s))
+        {
+            if (s.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.Array)
+            {
+                skillPaths = s.EnumerateArray()
+                    .Where(e => e.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String)
+                    .Select(e => e.GetString()!)
+                    .ToList();
+            }
+            else if (s.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String && s.GetString() is { } sv)
+            {
+                skillPaths = [sv];
+            }
+        }
+
+        IReadOnlyList<string> agentPaths = [];
+        if (doc.TryGetProperty("agents", out var a))
+        {
+            if (a.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.Array)
+            {
+                agentPaths = a.EnumerateArray()
+                    .Where(e => e.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String)
+                    .Select(e => e.GetString()!)
+                    .ToList();
+            }
+            else if (a.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.String && a.GetString() is { } av)
+            {
+                agentPaths = [av];
+            }
+        }
 
         var dirPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(Path.GetFullPath(pluginJsonPath))!;
         var dirName = Path.GetFileName(dirPath);
 
-        return new PluginInfo(name ?? "", version, description, skills, agents, dirPath, dirName);
+        return new PluginInfo(name ?? "", version, description, skillPaths, agentPaths, dirPath, dirName);
     }
 }
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/SkillDiscovery.cs b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/SkillDiscovery.cs
index e158ae4524..a56df9e3c1 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/SkillDiscovery.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/src/Services/SkillDiscovery.cs
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<SkillInfo>> DiscoverSkillsRecursive(strin
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Discover skills within a plugin root directory.
-    /// Uses plugin.json to determine the skills path.
+    /// Uses plugin.json to determine the skills paths.
     /// </summary>
     public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<SkillInfo>> DiscoverSkillsInPlugin(string pluginRoot)
     {
@@ -67,13 +67,18 @@ public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<SkillInfo>> DiscoverSkillsInPlugin(string
             return [];
 
         var plugin = PluginValidator.ParsePluginJson(pluginJsonPath);
-        if (plugin is null || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plugin.SkillsPath))
+        if (plugin is null || plugin.SkillPaths.Count == 0)
             return [];
 
-        if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(pluginRoot, plugin.SkillsPath, out var skillsDir, out _))
-            return [];
-
-        return await DiscoverSkills(skillsDir!);
+        var skills = new List<SkillInfo>();
+        foreach (var relativePath in plugin.SkillPaths)
+        {
+            if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(pluginRoot, relativePath, out var fullPath, out _))
+                continue;
+            if (Directory.Exists(fullPath!))
+                skills.AddRange(await DiscoverSkills(fullPath!));
+        }
+        return skills;
     }
 
     /// <summary>
@@ -253,7 +258,8 @@ public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<AgentInfo>> DiscoverAgents(IReadOnlyList<
 
     /// <summary>
     /// Discover agent files (.agent.md) within a plugin root directory.
-    /// Uses plugin.json to determine the agents path.
+    /// Uses plugin.json to determine the agents paths; falls back to
+    /// the "agents" directory by convention when none are specified.
     /// </summary>
     public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<AgentInfo>> DiscoverAgentsInPlugin(string pluginRoot)
     {
@@ -265,14 +271,31 @@ public static async Task<IReadOnlyList<AgentInfo>> DiscoverAgentsInPlugin(string
         if (plugin is null)
             return [];
 
-        var agentsPath = !string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(plugin.AgentsPath)
-            ? plugin.AgentsPath
-            : "agents";
+        // Use declared paths; fall back to "agents" directory convention.
+        var paths = plugin.AgentPaths.Count > 0
+            ? plugin.AgentPaths
+            : (IReadOnlyList<string>)["agents"];
 
-        if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(pluginRoot, agentsPath, out var agentsDir, out _))
-            return [];
+        var agents = new List<AgentInfo>();
+        foreach (var relativePath in paths)
+        {
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(relativePath))
+                continue;
 
-        return await DiscoverAgentsInDirectory(agentsDir!);
+            if (!PluginValidator.TryGetSafeSubdirectory(pluginRoot, relativePath, out var fullPath, out _))
+                continue;
+            if (Directory.Exists(fullPath!))
+            {
+                agents.AddRange(await DiscoverAgentsInDirectory(fullPath!));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                var agent = await DiscoverAgentAt(fullPath!);
+                if (agent is not null)
+                    agents.Add(agent);
+            }
+        }
+        return agents;
     }
 
     /// <summary>
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/tests/AgentPluginTests.cs b/eng/skill-validator/tests/AgentPluginTests.cs
index b5d27c3f96..5c51bea786 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/tests/AgentPluginTests.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/tests/AgentPluginTests.cs
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ public void ValidPluginProducesNoErrors()
             Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "agents"));
             var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
 
-            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "A test plugin.", "./skills/", "./agents/", pluginDir, dirName);
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "A test plugin.", ["./skills/"], ["./agents/"], pluginDir, dirName);
             var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
             Assert.Empty(result.Errors);
             Assert.Empty(result.Warnings);
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ public void ValidPluginProducesNoErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void MissingNameErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("", "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("name"));
     }
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ public void MissingNameErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void NameNotMatchingDirectoryErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("wrong-name", "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/my-plugin", "my-plugin");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("wrong-name", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/my-plugin", "my-plugin");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("does not match directory"));
     }
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ public void NameNotMatchingDirectoryErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void MissingVersionErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", null, "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", null, "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("version"));
     }
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ public void MissingVersionErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void MissingDescriptionErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", null, "./skills/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", null, ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("description"));
     }
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ public void MissingDescriptionErrors()
     public void DescriptionOverLimitErrors()
     {
         var desc = new string('a', 1025);
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", desc, "./skills/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", desc, ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("maximum"));
     }
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ public void DescriptionOverLimitErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void MissingSkillsPathErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", null, null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", [], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("skills"));
     }
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ public void MissingSkillsPathErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void NonexistentSkillsPathErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", "./nonexistent/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./nonexistent/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("does not exist"));
     }
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ public void NonexistentAgentsPathWarns()
             Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "skills"));
             var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
 
-            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", "./nonexistent/", pluginDir, dirName);
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], ["./nonexistent/"], pluginDir, dirName);
             var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
             Assert.Empty(result.Errors);
             Assert.Contains(result.Warnings, w => w.Contains("does not exist"));
@@ -269,10 +269,93 @@ public void NonexistentAgentsPathWarns()
         }
     }
 
+    [Fact]
+    public void NonexistentAgentPathInArrayWarns()
+    {
+        var pluginDir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "plugin-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(pluginDir);
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "skills"));
+            var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
+
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], ["./agents/"], pluginDir, dirName);
+            var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
+            Assert.Empty(result.Errors);
+            Assert.Contains(result.Warnings, w => w.Contains("does not exist"));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(pluginDir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ValidAgentPathsArrayProducesNoWarnings()
+    {
+        var pluginDir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "plugin-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(pluginDir);
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "skills"));
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "agents"));
+            File.WriteAllText(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "agents", "test.agent.md"), "---\nname: test\ndescription: test\n---\n# Test\n");
+            var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
+
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], ["./agents/"], pluginDir, dirName);
+            var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
+            Assert.Empty(result.Errors);
+            Assert.Empty(result.Warnings);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(pluginDir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ValidSkillPathsArrayProducesNoErrors()
+    {
+        var pluginDir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "plugin-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(pluginDir);
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(Path.Combine(pluginDir, "skills"));
+            var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
+
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], pluginDir, dirName);
+            var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
+            Assert.Empty(result.Errors);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(pluginDir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void NonexistentSkillPathInArrayErrors()
+    {
+        var pluginDir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "plugin-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(pluginDir);
+            var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
+
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["./nonexistent/"], [], pluginDir, dirName);
+            var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
+            Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("does not exist"));
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(pluginDir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
     [Fact]
     public void NameFormatErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("My_Plugin", "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/My_Plugin", "My_Plugin");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("My_Plugin", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/My_Plugin", "My_Plugin");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("invalid characters"));
     }
@@ -280,7 +363,7 @@ public void NameFormatErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void ErrorMessagesSayPluginNotSkill()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("My_Plugin", "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/My_Plugin", "My_Plugin");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("My_Plugin", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/My_Plugin", "My_Plugin");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.StartsWith("Plugin name"));
         Assert.DoesNotContain(result.Errors, e => e.StartsWith("Skill name"));
@@ -301,15 +384,60 @@ public void ParsePluginJsonParsesValidFile()
         {
             Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
             var jsonPath = Path.Combine(dir, "plugin.json");
-            File.WriteAllText(jsonPath, """{"name":"my-plugin","version":"0.1.0","description":"A plugin.","skills":"./skills/","agents":"./agents/"}""");
+            File.WriteAllText(jsonPath, """{"name":"my-plugin","version":"0.1.0","description":"A plugin.","skills":["./skills/"],"agents":["./agents/"]}""");
 
             var plugin = PluginValidator.ParsePluginJson(jsonPath);
             Assert.NotNull(plugin);
             Assert.Equal("my-plugin", plugin.Name);
             Assert.Equal("0.1.0", plugin.Version);
             Assert.Equal("A plugin.", plugin.Description);
-            Assert.Equal("./skills/", plugin.SkillsPath);
-            Assert.Equal("./agents/", plugin.AgentsPath);
+            Assert.Single(plugin.SkillPaths);
+            Assert.Equal("./skills/", plugin.SkillPaths[0]);
+            Assert.Single(plugin.AgentPaths);
+            Assert.Equal("./agents/", plugin.AgentPaths[0]);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(dir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ParsePluginJsonNormalizesStringToArray()
+    {
+        var dir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "parse-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
+            var jsonPath = Path.Combine(dir, "plugin.json");
+            File.WriteAllText(jsonPath, """{"name":"my-plugin","version":"0.1.0","description":"A plugin.","skills":"./skills/","agents":"./agents/"}""");
+
+            var plugin = PluginValidator.ParsePluginJson(jsonPath);
+            Assert.NotNull(plugin);
+            Assert.Single(plugin.SkillPaths);
+            Assert.Equal("./skills/", plugin.SkillPaths[0]);
+            Assert.Single(plugin.AgentPaths);
+            Assert.Equal("./agents/", plugin.AgentPaths[0]);
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            Directory.Delete(dir, true);
+        }
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void ParsePluginJsonNoAgentsField()
+    {
+        var dir = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "parse-test-" + Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N"));
+        try
+        {
+            Directory.CreateDirectory(dir);
+            var jsonPath = Path.Combine(dir, "plugin.json");
+            File.WriteAllText(jsonPath, """{"name":"my-plugin","version":"0.1.0","description":"A plugin.","skills":"./skills/"}""");
+
+            var plugin = PluginValidator.ParsePluginJson(jsonPath);
+            Assert.NotNull(plugin);
+            Assert.Empty(plugin.AgentPaths);
         }
         finally
         {
@@ -338,7 +466,7 @@ public void ParsePluginJsonThrowsOnMalformedJson()
     [Fact]
     public void AbsoluteSkillsPathErrors()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", "/etc/skills/", null, "/tmp/test", "test");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("test", "1.0.0", "desc", ["/etc/skills/"], [], "/tmp/test", "test");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("invalid") && e.Contains("absolute"));
     }
@@ -351,7 +479,7 @@ public void TraversalSkillsPathErrors()
         {
             Directory.CreateDirectory(pluginDir);
             var dirName = Path.GetFileName(pluginDir);
-            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", "../../../etc/", null, pluginDir, dirName);
+            var plugin = new PluginInfo(dirName, "1.0.0", "desc", ["../../../etc/"], [], pluginDir, dirName);
             var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
             Assert.Contains(result.Errors, e => e.Contains("invalid") && e.Contains("outside"));
         }
@@ -364,7 +492,7 @@ public void TraversalSkillsPathErrors()
     [Fact]
     public void MissingNameFallsBackToDirectoryName()
     {
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo("", "1.0.0", "desc", "./skills/", null, "/tmp/my-plugin", "my-plugin");
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo("", "1.0.0", "desc", ["./skills/"], [], "/tmp/my-plugin", "my-plugin");
         var result = PluginValidator.ValidatePlugin(plugin);
         Assert.Equal("my-plugin", result.Name);
     }
diff --git a/eng/skill-validator/tests/ExternalDependencyTests.cs b/eng/skill-validator/tests/ExternalDependencyTests.cs
index f6c2c86210..944496bf8d 100644
--- a/eng/skill-validator/tests/ExternalDependencyTests.cs
+++ b/eng/skill-validator/tests/ExternalDependencyTests.cs
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ private static (PluginInfo Plugin, string Dir) MakePlugin(string name = "test-pl
         var json = extraJson ?? $@"{{""name"":""{name}"",""version"":""0.1.0"",""description"":""Test."",""skills"":""./skills/""}}";
         File.WriteAllText(Path.Combine(dir, "plugin.json"), json);
 
-        var plugin = new PluginInfo(name, "0.1.0", "Test.", "./skills/", null, dir, Path.GetFileName(dir));
+        var plugin = new PluginInfo(name, "0.1.0", "Test.", ["./skills/"], [], dir, Path.GetFileName(dir));
         return (plugin, dir);
     }
 
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-ai/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-ai/plugin.json
index aca5815a18..20fbc8bec8 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-ai/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-ai/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-ai",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "AI and ML skills for .NET: technology selection, LLM integration, agentic workflows, RAG pipelines, MCP, and classic ML with ML.NET.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-data/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-data/plugin.json
index 87c64fdc2e..5fef08c1a6 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-data/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-data/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-data",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Skills for .NET data access and Entity Framework related tasks.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-diag/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-diag/plugin.json
index e77893ac21..3bd3deb6fb 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-diag/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-diag/plugin.json
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
   "name": "dotnet-diag",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Skills for .NET performance investigations, debugging, and incident analysis.",
-  "skills": "./skills/",
-  "agents": "./agents/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"],
+  "agents": ["./agents/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-maui/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-maui/plugin.json
index 0160aa99f8..c50869fac8 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-maui/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-maui/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-maui",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Skills for .NET MAUI development: environment setup, diagnostics, and troubleshooting.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/plugin.json
index 0dd1648e19..2aa5c87d15 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-msbuild/plugin.json
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
   "name": "dotnet-msbuild",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Comprehensive MSBuild and .NET build skills: failure diagnosis, performance optimization, code quality, and modernization.",
-  "skills": "./skills/",
-  "agents": "./agents/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"],
+  "agents": ["./agents/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-nuget/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-nuget/plugin.json
index 1d83c7b0fb..11b45202c2 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-nuget/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-nuget/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-nuget",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "NuGet and .NET package management skills: dependency management and modernization.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-template-engine/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-template-engine/plugin.json
index 8e7d722dce..902519bd2f 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-template-engine/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-template-engine/plugin.json
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
   "name": "dotnet-template-engine",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": ".NET Template Engine skills: template discovery, project scaffolding, and template authoring.",
-  "skills": "./skills/",
-  "agents": "./agents/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"],
+  "agents": ["./agents/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-test/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-test/plugin.json
index e270b4eea3..e7a3ebd8b1 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-test/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-test/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-test",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Skills for running, diagnosing, and migrating .NET tests: test execution, filtering, platform detection, and MSTest workflows.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet-upgrade/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet-upgrade/plugin.json
index 2773e2c277..0f3bc203bd 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet-upgrade/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet-upgrade/plugin.json
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
   "name": "dotnet-upgrade",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Skills for migrating and upgrading .NET projects across framework versions, language features, and compatibility targets.",
-  "skills": "./skills/"
+  "skills": ["./skills/"]
 }
diff --git a/plugins/dotnet/plugin.json b/plugins/dotnet/plugin.json
index b521a0fb87..c657ad54f2 100644
--- a/plugins/dotnet/plugin.json
+++ b/plugins/dotnet/plugin.json
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
   "name": "dotnet",
   "version": "0.1.0",
   "description": "Common everyday C#/.NET coding skills. Expected to be useful to all .NET developers.",
-  "skills": "./skills/",
+  "skills": ["./skills/"],
   "lspServers": "./lsp.json"
 }