Claude Code, Done Right

Claude is powerful but inconsistent. Pilot adds the structure it needs:
Tests enforced. Context preserved. Quality automated.

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TL;DR

First, cd into your project folder, then run:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/maxritter/claude-pilot/main/install.sh | bash

After installation, run claude to launch Claude Pilot. Use /sync to load rules and /spec for planned features.

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Table of Contents

• The Problem
• Getting Started
• What's Inside
• Usage
• License
• Contributing

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🎯 The Problem

Claude Code writes code fast. But without structure, you get:

• No tests — Code ships without verification
• Context decay — Quality degrades as the context window fills
• Session amnesia — Every restart, you re-explain everything
• Inconsistent results — Same prompt, different outcomes

Sound familiar? Pilot adds the structure Claude needs to be reliable.

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🚀 Getting Started

✅ Prerequisites

Choose your installation method:

Option A: 🍺 Local Installation

Install directly on your system using Homebrew. Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL2).

Option B: 🐳 Dev Container

Pre-configured, isolated environment with all tools ready. No system conflicts and works on any OS.

🔧 Installation

cd into your project folder, then run:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/maxritter/claude-pilot/main/install.sh | bash

You'll be asked to choose between Dev Container or Local Installation.

After installation, run claude in your project folder to start Claude Pilot.

📌 Installing a Specific Version

If the current version has issues, you can install a specific stable version (see releases):

VERSION=6.0.0 curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/maxritter/claude-pilot/main/install.sh | bash

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📦 What's Inside

♾️ Endless Mode

• Seamless Continuity - Work on complex features across multiple sessions without losing progress
• Automatic Handoffs - Context Monitor detects limits and continues seamlessly in new sessions
• Persistent Memory - Relevant observations automatically carry across all sessions
• Works Everywhere - Both /spec workflow and Quick Mode benefit from session continuity

📋 Spec-Driven Development

• Planning - Creates a detailed implementation plan for your review as markdown in docs/plans/
• Approval - You review, edit if needed, and approve the plan before implementation
• Implementation - Executes the plan with TDD enforcement and context management
• Verification - Runs tests, quality checks, and validates completion based on the plan

📚 Modular Rules, Commands & Skills

• Rules - Best practices for TDD, debugging, context management, and more
• Commands - /spec for SDD, /sync for updating rules, /learn for online learning
• Skills - Coding standards for Python, TypeScript, Go, testing, and components
• Customizable - Add your own rules, commands, and skills that survive updates

🧠 Enhanced Context Capabilities

• Persistent Memory - Cross-session memory system that automatically ingests context
• Semantic Search - Local vector store based semantic code search for token-efficient retrieval
• External Context - Library docs via Context7, web search and scraping via MCP tools
• Browser Automation - E2E UI testing with headless browser for frontend verification

✅ Quality Automation

• TDD Enforcer - Pre-edit hook that warns when modifying code without failing tests first
• Quality Hooks - Language-specific hooks for Python, TypeScript and Go that auto-fix issues
• LSP Integration - Language servers installed for real-time diagnostics and go-to-definitions
• Status Line - Live display of context usage, memory status, usage limits, and license info

🛠️ One-Command Installer

• Automated Container Setup - Isolated Linux environment with pre-configured tools and extensions
• Extended Language Support - Optionally install extended support for Python, TypeScript & Go
• Automated Updater - Updates Pilot to the latest version when launched over the binary
• Shell Integration - Auto-configures bash, fish and zsh so claude launches Pilot

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🔄 Before & After

Without Pilot	With Pilot
Writes code, skips tests	TDD enforced — tests first
No quality checks	Auto-linted, formatted, type-checked
Context degrades mid-task	Endless Mode preserves context
Every session starts fresh	Persistent memory across sessions
Hope it works	Verified before marked complete

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⚡ Usage

🔄 Sync Rules & Skills

Run /sync to sync custom rules and skills with your codebase. Run it once initially, then anytime after major changes:

claude
> /sync

📋 Spec-Driven Mode

Best for complex features, refactoring, or when you want to review a plan before implementation:

claude
> /spec "Add user authentication with OAuth and JWT tokens"

How it works:

📋 Plan  →  ✅ Approve  →  🔨 Implement  →  🔍 Verify
                                ↑              ↓
                                └── 🔄 Loop ───┘

1. 📋 Plan — Explores codebase, asks clarifying questions, writes spec to docs/plans/
2. ✅ Approve — You review and edit the plan, then approve
3. 🔨 Implement — Executes each task with TDD and quality hooks
4. 🔍 Verify — Runs tests and checks; loops back if issues found

💬 Quick Mode

Just chat. No plan file, no approval gate. All quality hooks and TDD enforcement still apply.

Best for bug fixes, small improvements, and exploratory work:

claude
> Fix the null pointer bug in user.py

🧠 Online Learning

Capture non-obvious discoveries as reusable skills. Automatically prompted by the context monitor, or invoke manually:

claude
> /learn "Extract the debugging workflow we used for the race condition"

📐 Rules, Commands & Skills

Claude Pilot automatically installs best-practice rules, commands, and coding standard skills when you run the installer.

Create your own in your project's .claude/ folder:

Type	Loaded	Best for
Rules	Every session (always in context)	Guidelines Claude should always follow
Commands	On demand via /command	Specific workflows or multi-step tasks
Skills	Dynamically when relevant	Specialized knowledge for specific tasks

👥 Team Vault

Share rules, commands, and skills across your team via a private Git repository:

claude
> /sync  # Configure team vault and sync assets

• Private - Use any Git repo (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket - public or private)
• Pull - Install shared assets from your team's vault
• Push - Share your custom rules and skills with teammates
• Version - Assets are versioned automatically (v1, v2, v3...)

🔌 Custom MCP Servers

Add your own MCP servers in two locations:

Config File	How It Works	Best For
.mcp.json	Instructions load into context when triggered	Lightweight servers (few tools)
mcp_servers.json	Called via mcp-cli; instructions never enter context	Heavy servers (many tools)

Run /sync after adding servers to generate documentation.

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📄 License

Try free for 7 days — No signup, no credit card. Just install and go.

After your trial, choose the tier that fits your needs here:

Tier	Includes
Standard	All features, continuous updates with latest learnings, GitHub support
Enterprise	Standard + dedicated email support and priority feature requests

See the LICENSE file for full terms.

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🤝 Contributing

Pull Requests - New features, improvements, and bug fixes are welcome. Fun fact: Pilot is built with Pilot — a self-improving loop where your contributions make the tool that makes contributions better. 🔄

Issues - Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue.