diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b7b7fd9b..41875f16 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ Fastify command line interface, available commands are:
   * print-plugins         prints the representation of the internal plugin tree used by avvio, useful for debugging.
   * version               the current fastify-cli version
   * help                  help about commands
+  * install               install Fastify plugins
 
 Launch 'fastify help [command]' to know more about the commands.
 
diff --git a/cli.js b/cli.js
index 3d9962a3..70924993 100755
--- a/cli.js
+++ b/cli.js
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ const generateSwagger = require('./generate-swagger')
 const generateReadme = require('./generate-readme')
 const printRoutes = require('./print-routes')
 const printPlugins = require('./print-plugins')
+const installPlugins = require('./install-plugins')
 commist.register('start', start.cli)
 commist.register('eject', eject.cli)
 commist.register('generate', generate.cli)
@@ -29,16 +30,17 @@ commist.register('version', function () {
 })
 commist.register('print-routes', printRoutes.cli)
 commist.register('print-plugins', printPlugins.cli)
+commist.register('install', installPlugins.cli)
 
 if (argv.help) {
   const command = argv._.splice(2)[0]
 
   help.toStdout(command)
 } else {
-  const res = commist.parse(process.argv.splice(2))
-
-  if (res) {
-    // no command was recognized
-    help.toStdout(res)
-  }
+  commist.parseAsync(process.argv.splice(2)).then(res => {
+    if (res) {
+      // no command was recognized
+      help.toStdout(res)
+    }
+  })
 }
diff --git a/help/help.txt b/help/help.txt
index fc106f18..918f9cd6 100644
--- a/help/help.txt
+++ b/help/help.txt
@@ -11,5 +11,6 @@ Fastify command line interface available commands are:
   * print-plugins         prints the representation of the internal plugin tree used by avvio, useful for debugging.
   * version               the current fastify-cli version
   * help                  help about commands
+  * install               install Fastify plugins
 
 Launch 'fastify help [command]' to learn more about each command.
diff --git a/help/install.txt b/help/install.txt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2e99af21
--- /dev/null
+++ b/help/install.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+Usage: fastify install <FOLDER>
+
+Launches an interactive CLI application that allows you to browse and install Fastify plugins.
+Requires an existing `package.json` file in the specified folder.
+
+OPTS
+
+  --search, -s
+      search for plugins containing the given word
diff --git a/install-plugins.js b/install-plugins.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b640ea77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install-plugins.js
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+'use strict'
+
+const argv = require('yargs-parser')
+const { existsSync } = require('node:fs')
+const { join } = require('node:path')
+const log = require('./log')
+const { prompt } = require('inquirer')
+const { readFile, writeFile } = require('node:fs/promises')
+const cliPkg = require('./package')
+const chalk = require('chalk')
+
+const kTopics ='topics'
+
+const corePlugins = {
+  'authentication/authorization': {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "auth",
+      "jwt",
+      "session",
+      "passport",
+      "authentication",
+      "authorization"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/basic-auth': '@fastify/basic-auth: Basic auth plugin for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-basic-auth for more.',
+    '@fastify/bearer-auth': '@fastify/bearer-auth: Bearer auth plugin for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-bearer-auth for more.',
+    '@fastify/auth': '@fastify/auth: Run multiple auth functions in Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-auth for more.',
+    '@fastify/jwt': '@fastify/jwt: JWT utils for Fastify, internally uses fast-jwt. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-jwt for more.',
+    '@fastify/oauth2': '@fastify/oauth2: Wrap around simple-oauth2. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-oauth2 for more.',
+    '@fastify/passport': '@fastify/passport: Use Passport strategies to authenticate requests and protect route. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-passport for more.',
+    '@fastify/secure-session': '@fastify/secure-session: Create a secure stateless cookie session for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-secure-session for more.',
+    '@fastify/session': '@fastify/session: a session plugin for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/session for more.'
+  },
+  security: {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "security",
+      "helmet",
+      "rate-limit",
+      "csrf"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/csrf-protection': '@fastify/csrf-protection: A plugin for adding [CSRF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_request_forgery) protection to Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/csrf-protection for more.',
+    '@fastify/helmet': '@fastify/helmet: Important security headers for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-helmet for more.',
+    '@fastify/rate-limit': '@fastify/rate-limit: A low overhead rate limiter for your routes. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-rate-limit for more.',
+    '@fastify/cors': '@fastify/cors: Enables the use of CORS in a Fastify application. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-cors for more.',
+  },
+  'database connection': {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "sql",
+      "db",
+      "database",
+      "nosql"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/mongodb': '@fastify/mongodb: Fastify MongoDB connection plugin, with which you can share the same MongoDB connection pool across every part of your server. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-mongodb for more.',
+    '@fastify/leveldb': '@fastify/leveldb: Plugin to share a common LevelDB connection across Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-leveldb for more.',
+    '@fastify/elasticsearch': '@fastify/elasticsearch: Plugin to share the same ES client. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-elasticsearch for more.',
+    '@fastify/kafka': '@fastify/kafka: Plugin to interact with Apache Kafka. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-kafka for more.',
+    '@fastify/mysql': '@fastify/mysql: Fastify MySQL connection plugin. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-mysql for more.',
+    '@fastify/postgres': '@fastify/postgres: Fastify PostgreSQL connection plugin, with this you can share the same PostgreSQL connection pool in every part of your server. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-postgres for more.',
+    '@fastify/redis': '@fastify/redis: Fastify Redis connection plugin, with which you can share the same Redis connection across every part of your server. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-redis for more.'
+  },
+  'HTTP utility': {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "http",
+      "caching",
+      "etag",
+      "compress",
+      "proxy",
+      "forward"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/accepts': '@fastify/accepts: to have accepts in your request object. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-accepts for more.',
+    '@fastify/accepts-serializer': '@fastify/accepts-serializer: to serialize to output according to the Accept header. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-accepts-serializer for more.',
+    '@fastify/caching': '@fastify/caching: General server-side cache and ETag support. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-caching for more.',
+    '@fastify/circuit-breaker': '@fastify/circuit-breaker: A low overhead circuit breaker for your routes. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-circuit-breaker for more.',
+    '@fastify/compress': '@fastify/compress: Fastify compression utils. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-compress for more.',
+    '@fastify/cookie': '@fastify/cookie: Parse and set cookie headers. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-cookie for more.',
+    '@fastify/early-hints': '@fastify/early-hints: Plugin to add HTTP 103 feature based on RFC 8297. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-early-hints for more.',
+    '@fastify/etag': '@fastify/etag: Automatically generate ETags for HTTP responses. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-etag for more.',
+    '@fastify/flash': '@fastify/flash: Set and get flash messages using the session. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-flash for more.',
+    '@fastify/formbody': '@fastify/formbody: Plugin to parse x-www-form-urlencoded bodies. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-formbody for more.',
+    '@fastify/http-proxy': '@fastify/http-proxy: Proxy your HTTP requests to another server, with hooks. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-http-proxy for more.',
+    '@fastify/multipart': '@fastify/multipart: Multipart support for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-multipart for more.',
+    '@fastify/reply-from': '@fastify/reply-from: Plugin to forward the current HTTP request to another server. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-reply-from for more.',
+    '@fastify/sensible': '@fastify/sensible: Defaults for Fastify that everyone can agree on. It adds some useful decorators such as HTTP errors and assertions, but also more request and reply methods. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-sensible for more.'
+  },
+  utilities: {
+    '@fastify/any-schema': '@fastify/any-schema: Save multiple schemas and decide which one to use to serialize the payload See https://github.com/fastify/any-schema-you-like for more.',
+    '@fastify/autoload': '@fastify/autoload: Require all plugins in a directory. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-autoload for more.',
+    '@fastify/awilix': '@fastify/awilix: Dependency injection support for Fastify, based on awilix. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-awilix for more.',
+    '@fastify/diagnostics-channel': '@fastify/diagnostics-channel: Plugin to deal with diagnostics_channel on Fastify See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-diagnostics-channel for more.',
+    '@fastify/env': '@fastify/env: Load and check configuration. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-env for more.',
+    '@fastify/funky': '@fastify/funky: Makes functional programming in Fastify more convenient. Adds support for Fastify routes returning functional structures, such as Either, Task or plain parameterless function. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-funky for more.',
+    '@fastify/hotwire': '@fastify/hotwire: Use the Hotwire pattern with Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-hotwire for more.',
+    '@fastify/nextjs': '@fastify/nextjs: React server-side rendering support for Fastify with [Next](https://github.com/zeit/next.js/). See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-nextjs for more.',
+    '@fastify/one-line-logger': '@fastify/one-line-logger: Formats Fastify\'s logs into a nice one-line message. See https://github.com/fastify/one-line-logger for more.',
+    '@fastify/request-context': '@fastify/request-context: Request-scoped storage, based on AsyncLocalStorage (with fallback to cls-hooked), providing functionality similar to thread-local storages. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-request-context for more.',
+    '@fastify/response-validation': '@fastify/response-validation: A simple plugin that enables response validation for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-response-validation for more.',
+    '@fastify/routes': '@fastify/routes: Plugin that provides a Map of routes. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-routes for more.',
+    '@fastify/routes-stats': '@fastify/routes-stats: Provide stats for routes using node:perf_hooks. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-routes-stats for more.',
+    '@fastify/schedule': '@fastify/schedule: Plugin for scheduling periodic jobs, based on [toad-scheduler](https://github.com/kibertoad/toad-scheduler). See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-schedule for more.',
+    '@fastify/soap-client': '@fastify/soap-client: a SOAP client plugin for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-soap-client for more.',
+    '@fastify/static': '@fastify/static: Plugin for serving static files as fast as possible. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-static for more.',
+    '@fastify/swagger': '@fastify/swagger: Plugin for serving Swagger/OpenAPI documentation for Fastify, supporting dynamic generation. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-swagger for more.',
+    '@fastify/swagger-ui': '@fastify/swagger-ui: Plugin for serving Swagger UI. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-swagger-ui for more.',
+    '@fastify/throttle': '@fastify/throttle: Plugin for throttling the download speed of a request. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-throttle for more.',
+    '@fastify/under-pressure': '@fastify/under-pressure: Measure process load with automatic handling of _"Service Unavailable"_ plugin for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/under-pressure for more.',
+    '@fastify/url-data': '@fastify/url-data: Decorate the Request object with a method to access raw URL components. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-url-data for more.',
+    '@fastify/view': '@fastify/view: Templates rendering (ejs, pug, handlebars, marko) plugin support for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/point-of-view for more.',
+    '@fastify/vite': '@fastify/vite: Integration with Vite, allows for serving SPA/MPA/SSR Vite applications. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-vite for more.',
+    '@fastify/websocket': '@fastify/websocket: WebSocket support for Fastify. Built upon ws. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-websocket for more.'
+  },
+  serverless: {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "aws",
+      "serverless"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/aws-lambda': '@fastify/aws-lambda: allows you to easily build serverless web applications/services and RESTful APIs using Fastify on top of AWS Lambda and Amazon API Gateway. See https://github.com/fastify/aws-lambda-fastify for more.'
+  },
+  compatibility: {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "compatibility",
+      "express"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/middie': '@fastify/middie: Middleware engine for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/middie for more.',
+    '@fastify/express': '@fastify/express: Express compatibility layer for Fastify. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-express for more.'
+  },
+  TypeScript: {
+    [kTopics]: [
+      "types",
+      "typescript"
+    ],
+    '@fastify/type-provider-json-schema-to-ts': '@fastify/type-provider-json-schema-to-ts: Fastify type provider for json-schema-to-ts. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-type-provider-json-schema-to-ts for more.',
+    '@fastify/type-provider-typebox': '@fastify/type-provider-typebox: Fastify type provider for Typebox. See https://github.com/fastify/fastify-type-provider-typebox for more.'
+  }
+}
+
+const categories = Object.keys(corePlugins)
+
+async function generate (dir, plugins) {
+  process.chdir(dir)
+
+  const raw = await readFile('package.json', 'utf8')
+  const pkg = JSON.parse(raw)
+
+  const dependencies = {}
+  for (const p of plugins) {
+    dependencies[p] = cliPkg.devDependencies[p]
+  }
+
+  pkg.dependencies = Object.assign(pkg.dependencies || {}, dependencies)
+
+  log('debug', 'updated package.json, saving')
+
+  await writeFile('package.json', JSON.stringify(pkg, null, 2))
+
+  log('debug', `run '${chalk.bold('npm install')}' to install the dependencies`)
+}
+
+async function cli (args) {
+  const opts = argv(args)
+  const dir = opts._[0] || '.'
+  const searchFor = opts.s || opts.search
+
+  if (!existsSync(join(dir, 'package.json'))) {
+    log('error', 'a package.json file must already exist')
+    process.exit(1)
+  }
+
+  const pluginsToBeInstalled = []
+
+  if (searchFor) {
+    log('info', `Search for plugins that match '${searchFor}'...`)
+
+    const includePaths = []
+
+    for(const category of categories) {
+      if (corePlugins[category][kTopics]?.some(topic => topic.includes(searchFor))) {
+        for(const [name, _] of Object.entries(corePlugins[category])) {
+          if (name !== kTopics) {
+            includePaths.push([category, name])
+          }
+        }
+      } else {
+        for(const [name, desc] of Object.entries(corePlugins[category])) {
+          if (desc.includes(searchFor) && name !== kTopics) {
+            includePaths.push([category, name])
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (includePaths.length === 0) {
+      log('info', `No plugins were found.`)
+    } else {
+      const res = await prompt({
+        type: 'checkbox',
+        message: 'Select plugins',
+        name: 'plugins',
+        choices: includePaths.map(([category, name]) => { return { name: corePlugins[category][name], value: name } })
+      })
+
+      pluginsToBeInstalled.push(...res.plugins)
+    }
+
+  } else {
+    for (const category of categories) {
+      const res1 = await prompt({ message: `Install ${category} plugins?`, type: 'confirm', name: 'answer' })
+
+      if (res1.answer) {
+        const res2 = await prompt({
+          type: 'checkbox',
+          message: 'Select plugins',
+          name: 'plugins',
+          choices: Object.entries(corePlugins[category]).filter(([name, _]) => name !== kTopics).map(([name, desc]) => { return { name: desc, value: name } })
+        })
+
+        pluginsToBeInstalled.push(...res2.plugins)
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (pluginsToBeInstalled.length > 0) {
+    const res = await prompt({
+      type: 'confirm',
+      name: 'answer',
+      message: `Should ${pluginsToBeInstalled.join(', ')} be added as dependencies in '${join(dir, 'package.json')}'?`
+    })
+
+    if (res.answer) {
+      await generate(dir, pluginsToBeInstalled)
+    } else {
+      log('info', 'No plugins will be added.')
+    }
+  } else {
+    log('info', 'No plugins will be installed.')
+  }
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+  generate,
+  cli
+}
+
+if (require.main === module) {
+  cli(process.argv.slice(2))
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a3eeaa12..d225b182 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@
     "fastify-plugin": "^4.0.0",
     "generify": "^4.0.0",
     "help-me": "^4.0.1",
+    "inquirer": "^8.2.6",
     "is-docker": "^2.0.0",
     "make-promises-safe": "^5.1.0",
     "pino-pretty": "^10.1.0",
@@ -71,9 +72,69 @@
     "yargs-parser": "^21.1.1"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@fastify/autoload": "^5.0.0",
+    "@fastify/accepts": "^4.3.0",
+    "@fastify/accepts-serializer": "^5.2.0",
+    "@fastify/any-schema": "^3.1.0",
+    "@fastify/auth": "^4.4.0",
+    "@fastify/autoload": "^5.8.0",
+    "@fastify/awilix": "^4.0.0",
+    "@fastify/aws-lambda": "^3.5.0",
+    "@fastify/basic-auth": "^5.1.1",
+    "@fastify/bearer-auth": "^9.3.0",
+    "@fastify/caching": "^8.3.0",
+    "@fastify/circuit-breaker": "^3.2.0",
+    "@fastify/compress": "^6.5.0",
+    "@fastify/cookie": "^9.2.0",
+    "@fastify/cors": "^8.5.0",
+    "@fastify/csrf-protection": "^6.4.1",
+    "@fastify/diagnostics-channel": "^4.2.0",
+    "@fastify/early-hints": "^1.0.1",
+    "@fastify/elasticsearch": "^3.1.0",
+    "@fastify/env": "^4.3.0",
+    "@fastify/etag": "^5.1.0",
+    "@fastify/express": "^2.3.0",
+    "@fastify/flash": "^5.1.0",
+    "@fastify/formbody": "^7.4.0",
+    "@fastify/funky": "^3.1.0",
+    "@fastify/helmet": "^11.1.1",
+    "@fastify/hotwire": "^2.1.0",
+    "@fastify/http-proxy": "^9.3.0",
+    "@fastify/jwt": "^8.0.0",
+    "@fastify/kafka": "^2.2.1",
+    "@fastify/leveldb": "^5.1.0",
+    "@fastify/middie": "^8.3.0",
+    "@fastify/mongodb": "^8.0.0",
+    "@fastify/multipart": "^8.1.0",
+    "@fastify/mysql": "^4.2.0",
+    "@fastify/nextjs": "^10.0.1",
+    "@fastify/oauth2": "^7.8.0",
+    "@fastify/one-line-logger": "^1.2.0",
+    "@fastify/passport": "^2.4.0",
+    "@fastify/postgres": "^5.2.2",
     "@fastify/pre-commit": "^2.0.2",
-    "@fastify/sensible": "^5.0.0",
+    "@fastify/rate-limit": "^9.1.0",
+    "@fastify/redis": "^6.1.1",
+    "@fastify/reply-from": "^9.7.0",
+    "@fastify/request-context": "^5.1.0",
+    "@fastify/response-validation": "^2.5.1",
+    "@fastify/routes": "^5.1.0",
+    "@fastify/routes-stats": "^3.4.0",
+    "@fastify/schedule": "^4.1.1",
+    "@fastify/secure-session": "^7.1.0",
+    "@fastify/sensible": "^5.5.0",
+    "@fastify/session": "^10.7.0",
+    "@fastify/soap-client": "^2.2.0",
+    "@fastify/static": "^6.12.0",
+    "@fastify/swagger": "^8.13.0",
+    "@fastify/swagger-ui": "^2.0.1",
+    "@fastify/throttle": "^2.0.1",
+    "@fastify/type-provider-json-schema-to-ts": "^2.2.2",
+    "@fastify/type-provider-typebox": "^4.0.0",
+    "@fastify/under-pressure": "^8.3.0",
+    "@fastify/url-data": "^5.4.0",
+    "@fastify/view": "^8.2.0",
+    "@fastify/vite": "^5.0.6",
+    "@fastify/websocket": "^8.3.1",
     "@types/node": "^20.4.4",
     "@types/tap": "^15.0.5",
     "c8": "^9.0.0",