Setup

Setup

Set up the devline pipeline for a project. Two files are created:

1. CLAUDE.md in the project root — non-obvious project context + workflow orchestration for devline
2. .claude/devline.local.md — pipeline settings (only non-default values)

Assets:

• assets/claude-md-template.md — CLAUDE.md template with 4 sections (header, workflow orchestration, core principles, project context)
• assets/devline-local-template.md — All available pipeline settings organized in 4 batches with defaults

Process

0. Prerequisites

Check that required tools are installed by running which jq, which git, and which gh.

• All found → proceed silently.
• Any missing → list the missing tools and how to install them, then ask the user to install them before continuing. Do not proceed until all are available.

Missing prerequisites:
- jq: brew install jq / sudo apt install jq / sudo pacman -S jq
- git: brew install git / sudo apt install git / sudo pacman -S git
- gh: brew install gh / sudo apt install gh / sudo pacman -S github-cli
       After install: gh auth login

Only show the missing ones. If gh is missing, note that it's needed for PR creation, issue management, and GitHub API workflows.

1. CLAUDE.md

Read CLAUDE.md in the working directory root.

• Does not exist → create with the template.
• Exists without the content of the claude-md-template → ask the user: append (add new sections) or override (replace with template).
• Exists with all or part of the content of the claude-md-template → inform the user it already has the protocol and ask: skip, override, or optimize (integrate protocol, remove boilerplate after quick explore, confirm before writing).

Read the template from assets/claude-md-template.md. Present each section independently — show the default content and ask if the user wants to keep it as-is, modify it, or skip it. Assemble the final file from only the sections the user accepted or modified.

After presenting all sections, show the assembled preview using AskUserQuestion and write only after confirmation.

2. devline.local.md

Check if .claude/devline.local.md exists.

• Exists → inform the user, show current contents, ask: skip, override (replace), or merge (add missing settings from what they configure below).
• Does not exist → proceed with interactive setup.

Read the settings template from assets/devline-local-template.md. Walk through all 4 batches. For each batch:

1. Show the batch name, list every setting with its default value
2. Ask: "Do you want to change anything in this batch, or keep all defaults?"
3. If they want changes, ask what they want — do not ask for each setting individually
4. Record only the settings that differ from defaults

After all batches, collect only the non-default settings. If no settings were changed, inform the user that defaults will be used and no file is needed — do not create an empty or all-defaults file.

If there are non-default settings, assemble the file using the output format from the template. Show the preview using AskUserQuestion and write only after confirmation. Create .claude/ directory if needed.

3. Recommended additions (optional)

Three optional companions make devline leaner and more capable. Offer all three — the user can accept any subset. For each: check if it's already present (note it and skip if so), otherwise briefly explain it and ask whether to install. If a step fails, show the error and point to the tool's repo for manual install.

RTK (Rust Token Killer) — a CLI proxy that cuts token use 60-90% on common commands (git, ls, grep, test runners, builds) by filtering noise before it reaches context. devline runs many parallel agents issuing Bash commands, so the savings compound.

• Check: which rtk.
• If accepted:
  1. curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rtk-ai/rtk/refs/heads/master/install.sh | sh
  2. rtk init -g — registers the auto-rewrite hook in ~/.claude/settings.json
  3. Verify: rtk --version

Basic Memory — local-first, per-project memory stored as plain Markdown you commit to the repo, retrieved on demand so it never bloats context. Gives agents persistent, cross-session recall of project decisions and corrections. Works in any Claude Code session, not just devline.

• Check: which basic-memory.
• If accepted (multi-session-safe setup — each Claude session binds to its own repo's memory/ project via a per-session MCP wrapper, so parallel sessions never clobber a shared "active project"):
  1. uv tool install basic-memory
  2. Write the per-session MCP wrapper to ~/.claude/mcp/basic-memory-cwd.sh (create ~/.claude/mcp/ if needed) and chmod +x it, with exactly this content:

     #!/usr/bin/env bash
     # Per-session Basic Memory MCP server, bound to the current repo's project —
     # or, when not inside a git repo, to the current directory. One stdio server
     # per Claude session (in that session's cwd) pins to its own project via
     # --project, so parallel sessions never clobber a shared "active project",
     # and a non-git root (e.g. a container of nested repos) still gets its own
     # isolated project instead of dumping into the shared default.
     export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
     root=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)
     if [ -n "$root" ]; then
       name=$(basename "$root")
       if ! basic-memory project list 2>/dev/null | grep -qw "$name"; then
         mkdir -p "$root/memory"
         basic-memory project add "$name" "$root/memory" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
       fi
       exec basic-memory mcp --project "$name"
     fi
     exec basic-memory mcp
     

  3. claude mcp add --scope user basic-memory -- bash ~/.claude/mcp/basic-memory-cwd.sh
  4. Optionally add its official Claude Code plugin (basic-memory@basicmachines-co) for session-start recall + the memory-defrag/memory-reflect consolidation skills.
• For a full machine setup, the repo's install.sh does all of this plus devline + the other companions.

Ponytail — a separate Claude Code plugin that keeps generated code minimal (YAGNI, stdlib-first, shortest working diff). It composes with devline: devline enforces the process, ponytail keeps the code lean.

• Check: whether the ponytail plugin is already enabled (look in ~/.claude/plugins or the user's enabled plugins).
• If accepted: it's a plugin, so have the user run these interactive commands (this skill can't invoke /plugin itself):

  /plugin marketplace add DietrichGebert/ponytail
  /plugin install ponytail@ponytail
  

4. Closing Instructions

Show the following:

Setup complete. A few tips:

- Keep CLAUDE.md lean and accurate. Add clarifications when agents get stuck; remove stale entries.
- Do not add information that can easily be derived from code, tests, or git history.
- If you need to change agent or workflow behavior, consider cloning the devline plugin and editing agents/skills directly — CLAUDE.md should stay focused on project context.
- devline.local.md only needs non-default settings. Full settings reference is in the devline README.
- Restart Claude Code after editing devline.local.md.