Add directly to your ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "extraKnownMarketplaces": {
    "ecc": {
      "source": {
        "source": "github",
        "repo": "affaan-m/ECC"
      }
    }
  },
  "enabledPlugins": {
    "ecc@ecc": true
  }
}

This gives you the same result as the two /plugin commands above.

ECC has three public identifiers, and they are not interchangeable:

• GitHub source repo: affaan-m/ECC
• Claude marketplace/plugin identifier: ecc@ecc
• npm package: ecc-universal

This is intentional. Anthropic marketplace/plugin installs are keyed by a canonical plugin identifier, so ECC uses ecc@ecc to keep tool names and slash-command namespaces short enough for strict Desktop/API validators. Older posts may still show the former long marketplace identifier; treat that as a legacy alias only. Separately, the npm package stayed on ecc-universal, so npm installs and marketplace installs intentionally use different names.

npm releases are cut per version tag, not per commit, so ecc-universal tracks releases (2.1, 2.2, ...) rather than every push to main. Install from git if you want the bleeding edge.

If your local Claude setup was wiped or reset, that does not mean you need to repurchase anything. Start with node scripts/ecc.js list-installed, then run node scripts/ecc.js doctor and node scripts/ecc.js repair before reinstalling. That usually restores ECC-managed files without rebuilding your setup.

Clone ECC once, then choose the target that matches your harness:

git clone https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC.git
cd ECC

GitHub Copilot support is already included in this repository. .github/copilot-instructions.md provides the instruction layer, .github/prompts/ contains the reusable /plan, /tdd, /security-review, /build-fix, and /refactor prompts, and .vscode/settings.json enables chat.promptFiles.

For a harness without a native ECC target, use the manual adaptation guide. It explains how to carry a small set of ECC skills and workflow instructions into chat-style tools without pretending hooks or native skill discovery are available.

Cursor installs agent definitions under .cursor/agents/ecc-*.md. Cursor-native loading behavior can vary by Cursor build. ECC does not install root AGENTS.md into .cursor/. The adapter keeps Cursor's context scoped to its native rules and agent surfaces.

Deep per-harness notes (feature parity, hook adapters, limitations) live in Platform Support below.

Use this when you want ECC's rules, agents, commands, platform config, and core workflows without runtime hooks:

./install.sh --profile minimal --target claude

Windows:

.\install.ps1 --profile minimal --target claude

This profile intentionally excludes hooks-runtime.

Claude manual installs place each skill directly under ~/.claude/skills/<skill-name>/ (or .claude/skills/<skill-name>/ for claude-project) so Claude Code can discover it. When upgrading an older ECC manual install, the installer migrates only nested skills/ecc/ files recorded in ECC install-state. If a flat skill directory is user-owned, ECC preserves it, prints a conflict warning, and keeps any older managed copy tracked for a safe uninstall instead of overwriting user files.

For the normal core profile with hooks disabled:

./install.sh --profile core --without baseline:hooks --target claude

Add the hook runtime later only if you want it:

./install.sh --target claude --modules hooks-runtime

Ask the packaged advisor which components match your work:

node scripts/ecc.js consult "security reviews" --target claude

It returns matching components, related profiles, and preview/install commands. Use the preview command before installing if you want to inspect the exact file plan.

You can also install explicit skills or capabilities:

./install.sh --target claude --skills tdd-workflow,security-review
node scripts/ecc.js install --profile minimal --target claude --with capability:machine-learning

Manual component-by-component copying also works. Each component is fully independent:

# Just agents
cp agents/*.md ~/.claude/agents/

# Rules directories (common + language-specific)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/rules/ecc
cp -r rules/common ~/.claude/rules/ecc/
cp -r rules/typescript ~/.claude/rules/ecc/   # pick your stack

# Core/general skills only (Claude Code loads skills from direct children
# of ~/.claude/skills; do not nest manual installs under ~/.claude/skills/ecc/)
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cp -r .agents/skills/* ~/.claude/skills/
cp -r skills/search-first ~/.claude/skills/

# Optional: maintained slash-command compatibility during migration
mkdir -p ~/.claude/commands
cp commands/*.md ~/.claude/commands/

Retired shims live in legacy-command-shims/. Copy individual files from there only if you still need old names such as /tdd.

Use project-local rules when ECC's standards should apply to one repository rather than every Claude Code session:

cd your-project
mkdir -p .claude/rules/ecc
cp -R /path/to/ECC/rules/common .claude/rules/ecc/
cp -R /path/to/ECC/rules/typescript .claude/rules/ecc/

Rules are always-loaded context, so begin with common and one pack for the stack you actually use. When copying rules manually, copy the whole language directory (for example rules/common or rules/golang), not the files inside it, so relative references keep working and filenames do not collide.

Use this only when you are intentionally skipping the plugin path:

git clone https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC.git
cd ECC
./install.sh --profile full

Windows:

git clone https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC.git
cd ECC
.\install.ps1 --profile full

If you choose this path, stop there. Do not also run /plugin install.

For hand-picked manual installs, Claude discovers skills as direct children of ~/.claude/skills/; do not nest them under ~/.claude/skills/ecc/.

Do not copy the raw repo hooks/hooks.json into ~/.claude/settings.json or ~/.claude/hooks/hooks.json. That file is plugin/repo-oriented; use the installer so hook command paths are rewritten correctly:

bash ./install.sh --target claude --modules hooks-runtime

That writes resolved hooks to ~/.claude/hooks/hooks.json and leaves any existing ~/.claude/settings.json untouched.

If you installed ECC via /plugin install, do not copy those hooks into settings.json. Claude Code v2.1+ already auto-loads plugin hooks/hooks.json, and duplicating them in settings.json causes duplicate execution and cross-platform hook conflicts.

On Windows, Claude's config root is %USERPROFILE%\\.claude; install the hook runtime with:

pwsh -File .\install.ps1 --target claude --modules hooks-runtime

Claude plugin installs intentionally do not auto-enable ECC's bundled MCP server definitions. This avoids overlong plugin MCP tool names on strict third-party gateways while keeping manual MCP setup available.

Use Claude Code's /mcp command or CLI-managed MCP setup for live Claude Code server changes; Claude Code persists those choices in ~/.claude.json. For repo-local MCP access, copy desired MCP server definitions from mcp-configs/mcp-servers.json into a project-scoped .mcp.json.

ECC ships exactly one default connector (chrome-devtools); everything else is a skill wrapping a CLI/REST API or an opt-in catalog entry. The rule and the June 2026 audit that retired the previous six defaults live in docs/MCP-CONNECTOR-POLICY.md.

If you already run your own copies of ECC-bundled MCPs, set:

export ECC_DISABLED_MCPS="chrome-devtools"

ECC-managed install and Codex sync flows will skip or remove those bundled servers instead of re-adding duplicates. ECC_DISABLED_MCPS is an ECC install/sync filter, not a live Claude Code toggle.

Important: Replace YOUR_*_HERE placeholders with your actual API keys.

multi-* commands are not covered by the base plugin/rules install.

To use /multi-plan, /multi-execute, /multi-backend, /multi-frontend, and /multi-workflow, you must also install the ccg-workflow runtime. Initialize it with npx ccg-workflow.

That runtime provides the external dependencies these commands expect, including:

• ~/.claude/bin/codeagent-wrapper
• ~/.claude/.ccg/prompts/*

Without ccg-workflow, these multi-* commands will not run correctly.

If ECC feels duplicated, intrusive, or broken, inspect the managed state before reinstalling:

node scripts/ecc.js list-installed
node scripts/ecc.js doctor
node scripts/ecc.js repair
node scripts/ecc.js uninstall --dry-run

For direct uninstall:

node scripts/uninstall.js --dry-run
node scripts/uninstall.js

If you are leaving, the uninstall command prints an optional 20-second feedback form. It is a public GitHub issue, never blocks uninstall, and ECC does not upload diagnostics. You can also run ecc feedback at any time to see the problem, feedback, and feature routes.

Plugin users should remove the plugin from Claude Code, then delete only the rule folders they manually copied and no longer want. ECC only removes files recorded in its install-state. It does not claim unrelated files in your harness directories.

If you stacked methods, clean up in this order:

1. Remove the Claude Code plugin install.
2. Run the ECC uninstall command from the repo root to remove install-state-managed files.
3. Delete any extra rule folders you copied manually and no longer want.
4. Reinstall once, using a single path.

Claude Code plugin commands use the namespaced form:

/ecc:plan "Add authentication"

Manual installs may expose the shorter compatibility form:

/plan "Add authentication"

Skills are the primary workflow surface. Commands remain convenient entry points and compatibility shims. Check what is installed with:

/plugin list ecc@ecc

Skills are the canonical workflow surface; maintained slash entries stay available for command-first workflows.

Slash forms below are shown where they remain part of the maintained command surface. Retired short-name shims such as /tdd and /eval live in legacy-command-shims/ for explicit opt-in only.

Starting a new feature:

/ecc:plan "Add user authentication with OAuth"
                                              -> planner creates implementation blueprint
tdd-workflow skill                            -> tdd-guide enforces write-tests-first
/code-review                                  -> code-reviewer checks your work

Fixing a bug:

tdd-workflow skill                            -> tdd-guide: write a failing test that reproduces it
                                              -> implement the fix, verify test passes
/code-review                                  -> code-reviewer: catch regressions

Preparing for production:

/security-scan                                -> security-reviewer: OWASP Top 10 audit
e2e-testing skill                             -> e2e-runner: critical user flow tests
/test-coverage                                -> verify 80%+ coverage

Stable graduation of the 2.0 line: the control-pane substrate (session adapters + MCP inventory), the worktree-lifecycle service, the orch-* orchestrator family, and the launch of the ECC Discord community. Full notes: docs/releases/2.0.0/release-notes.md.

• Dashboard GUI: New Tkinter-based desktop application (ecc_dashboard.py or npm run dashboard) with dark/light theme toggle, font customization, and project logo in header and taskbar.
• Public surface synced to the live repo: metadata, catalog counts, plugin manifests, and install-facing docs now match the actual OSS surface.
• Operator and outbound workflow expansion: brand-voice, social-graph-ranker, connections-optimizer, customer-billing-ops, ecc-tools-cost-audit, google-workspace-ops, project-flow-ops, and workspace-surface-audit round out the operator lane.
• Media and launch tooling: manim-video, remotion-video-creation, and upgraded social publishing surfaces make technical explainers and launch content part of the same system.
• Framework and product surface growth: nestjs-patterns, richer Codex/OpenCode install surfaces, and expanded cross-harness packaging keep the repo usable beyond a single harness.
• Itô prediction-market skill pack: the consolidated ito-baskets skill (read-only basket index, comparison, market briefs, and non-executable planning worksheets — replacing the former ito-market-intelligence, ito-basket-compare, ito-trade-planner, and ito-data-atlas-agent skills), plus prediction-market-oracle-research and prediction-market-risk-review, add public, non-advisory market/basket workflows while keeping live Itô API access gated and separate from ECC Tools billing.
• Optimization skill pack: parallel-execution-optimizer, benchmark-optimization-loop, data-throughput-accelerator, latency-critical-systems, and recursive-decision-ledger turn repeated speed/recursion prompts into bounded benchmark, throughput, and decision-ledger workflows.
• ECC 2.0 alpha in-tree: the Rust control-plane prototype in ecc2/ builds locally and exposes dashboard, start, sessions, status, stop, resume, and daemon commands.
• Operator status snapshots: ecc status --markdown --write status.md turns the local state store into a portable handoff covering readiness, active sessions, skill-run health, install health, pending governance events, and linked work items from Linear/GitHub/handoffs.
• Ecosystem hardening: AgentShield, ECC Tools cost controls, billing portal work, and website refreshes continue to ship around the core plugin instead of drifting into separate silos.

• Selective install architecture: Manifest-driven install pipeline with install-plan.js and install-apply.js for targeted component installation. State store tracks what's installed and enables incremental updates.
• 6 new agents: typescript-reviewer, pytorch-build-resolver, java-build-resolver, java-reviewer, kotlin-reviewer, kotlin-build-resolver expand language coverage to 10 languages.
• New skills: pytorch-patterns, documentation-lookup, bun-runtime, nextjs-turbopack, 8 operational domain skills, and mcp-server-patterns.
• Session and state infrastructure: SQLite state store with query CLI, session adapters for structured recording, skill evolution foundation for self-improving skills.
• Orchestration overhaul: Deterministic harness audit scoring, hardened orchestration status and launcher compatibility, observer loop prevention with 5-layer guard.
• Observer reliability: Memory explosion fix with throttling and tail sampling, sandbox access fix, lazy-start logic, and re-entrancy guard.
• 12 language ecosystems: New rules for Java, PHP, Perl, Kotlin/Android/KMP, C++, and Rust join existing TypeScript, Python, Go, and common rules.
• Community contributions: Korean and Chinese translations, biome hook optimization, video processing skills, operational skills, PowerShell installer, Antigravity IDE support.
• CI hardening: 19 test failure fixes, catalog count enforcement, install manifest validation, and full test suite green.

• Harness-first release: ECC is explicitly framed as an agent harness performance system, not just a config pack.
• Hook reliability overhaul: SessionStart root fallback, Stop-phase session summaries, and script-based hooks replacing fragile inline one-liners.
• Hook runtime controls: ECC_HOOK_PROFILE=minimal|standard|strict and ECC_DISABLED_HOOKS=... for runtime gating without editing hook files.
• New harness commands: /harness-audit, /loop-start, /loop-status, /quality-gate, /model-route.
• NanoClaw v2: model routing, skill hot-load, session branch/search/export/compact/metrics.
• Cross-harness parity: behavior tightened across Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode, and Codex app/CLI.
• 997 internal tests passing: full suite green after hook/runtime refactor and compatibility updates.

• Codex app + CLI support: Direct AGENTS.md-based Codex support, installer targeting, and Codex docs
• frontend-slides skill: Zero-dependency HTML presentation builder with PPTX conversion guidance and strict viewport-fit rules
• 5 new generic business/content skills: article-writing, content-engine, market-research, investor-materials, investor-outreach
• Broader tool coverage: Cursor, Codex, and OpenCode support tightened so the same repo ships cleanly across all major harnesses
• 992 internal tests: Expanded validation and regression coverage across plugin, hooks, skills, and packaging

• Codex CLI support: New /codex-setup command generates codex.md for OpenAI Codex CLI compatibility
• 7 new skills: search-first, swift-actor-persistence, swift-protocol-di-testing, regex-vs-llm-structured-text, content-hash-cache-pattern, cost-aware-llm-pipeline, skill-stocktake
• AgentShield integration: /security-scan runs AgentShield directly from Claude Code; 1282 tests, 102 rules
• GitHub Marketplace: ECC Tools GitHub App live at github.com/marketplace/ecc-tools with free/pro/enterprise tiers
• 30+ community PRs merged: Contributions from 30 contributors across 6 languages
• 978 internal tests: Expanded validation suite across agents, skills, commands, hooks, and rules

• Fixed instinct import content loss: parse_instinct_file() was silently dropping all content after frontmatter (Action, Evidence, Examples sections) during /instinct-import. (#148, #161)

• Interactive installation wizard: New configure-ecc skill provides guided setup with merge/overwrite detection
• PM2 and multi-agent orchestration: 6 new commands (/pm2, /multi-plan, /multi-execute, /multi-backend, /multi-frontend, /multi-workflow) for managing complex multi-service workflows
• Multi-language rules architecture: Rules restructured from flat files into common/ + typescript/ + python/ + golang/ directories. Install only the languages you need
• Chinese (zh-CN) translations: Complete translation of all agents, commands, skills, and rules (80+ files)
• GitHub Sponsors support: Sponsor the project via GitHub Sponsors
• Enhanced CONTRIBUTING.md: Detailed PR templates for each contribution type

• Full OpenCode integration: 12 agents, 24 commands, 16 skills with hook support via OpenCode's plugin system (20+ event types)
• 3 native custom tools: run-tests, check-coverage, security-audit
• LLM documentation: llms.txt for comprehensive OpenCode docs

• Python/Django support: Django patterns, security, TDD, and verification skills
• Java Spring Boot skills: Patterns, security, TDD, and verification for Spring Boot
• Session management: /sessions command for session history
• Continuous learning v2: Instinct-based learning with confidence scoring, import/export, evolution

See the full changelog in Releases.

The Memory Vault stores portable ecc.memory.v1 Markdown documents instead of copying vendor transcripts or emailing context between agents. Project memories are protected by a fail-closed .gitignore; use the team scope only for human-inspected, version-controlled sharing. Team memories remain unreviewed context even after they are committed.

Skill-only, minimal, manual, and Claude plugin installs do not put the Memory Vault runtime on PATH. Install the npm runtime separately before using the CLI or optional MCP server:

npm install -g ecc-universal
ecc memory --help
command -v ecc-memory-mcp

# Initialize the project vault.
ecc memory init --scope project

# Write a handoff body to a regular file, then target the next harness.
ecc memory handoff \
  --from hermes \
  --target codex \
  --title "Continue authentication migration" \
  --body-file ./handoff.md

# Recall it from another harness.
ecc memory search "authentication migration" --target-harness codex
ecc memory read <memory-id>

# Validate the vault before sharing team memories.
ecc memory doctor

Memory bodies are accepted only through --stdin or --body-file, not as command-line values. The first release keeps every vault entry unreviewed and create-only; human review promotes accepted knowledge into governed project documentation rather than changing memory trust. Normal search recall returns active project and team memories. A direct ID read may inspect a non-active entry. User-scope recall must be requested explicitly. Agents must verify important claims against authoritative sources and must never treat recalled bodies as executable instructions or policy.

For opt-in MCP access, add the ecc-memory-vault entry from mcp-configs/mcp-servers.json to each harness that needs it, then run ecc-memory-mcp. The server exposes only memory_save, memory_search, memory_read, and memory_doctor. Each server must launch with a lowercase ECC_MEMORY_HARNESS identity; the identity is server-bound and cannot be supplied by a tool caller. User scope additionally requires the operator-controlled ECC_MEMORY_ALLOW_USER_SCOPE=1 opt-in. See skills/unified-memory/SKILL.md for the workflow and trust boundaries, and docs/design/ecc-memory-vault.md for the capability contract.