Claude Kit Installation Guide: Optimizing Workflows with Claude Code

This article introduces the essence of Claude Kit and guides you through the technical installation steps to integrate it into your project.

1. Positioning Claude Kit

Before installation, it is important to understand two core principles:

  • It is an Extension: Claude Kit does not replace Claude Code. It is a framework that provides specialized workflows, agents, and skills to make Claude Code more effective in a production environment.
  • CLI Skills Required: Claude Kit operates entirely on the command-line interface (CLI). To use it proficiently, users must have a basic understanding of working with the terminal.

2. Why is Claude Kit Needed? (Technical Perspective)

The essence of every large language model (LLM) operates according to the mechanism: Input + Data/Algorithms ➡️ Output.

The quality of the output does not depend on "magic" but on how the model interpolates and processes information. Claude Kit intervenes in this process by:

  • Providing Standard Context: Instead of letting Claude guess, Claude Kit provides clear project structure and coding rules.
  • Guiding Thinking (Chain of Thought): Through specialized Agents (such as Planner, Debugger), Claude Kit forces the model to follow a logical process: Plan ➡️ Execute ➡️ Test ➡️ Review, instead of writing code immediately.

3. Installation Steps

Prerequisites

Ensure your system has the following installed:

  • Node.js: Version v18 or higher.
  • Git: For managing source code.
  • Claude Code CLI: Installed and logged in (requires Anthropic's Pro/Max plan).
  • Gemini API Key: Optional - Used for image analyze tasks. Newbies can skip this!

Step 1: Install ClaudeKit CLI

Run the following command in the terminal to install the management tool:

npm install -g claudekit-cli

Check successful installation:

ck --version

Step 2: Initialize in the Project

Navigate to your project directory and run the initialization command:

cd your-project-name
ck init --kit engineer

This command will create a .claude/ directory containing all the Agents, Commands, and Skills configurations.

Step 3: Configure Environment

Newbie please skip this step. Focus on your coding first!

To enable image processing (Vision), you need to configure the Gemini API Key. Copy the .claude/.env.example file to .claude/.env and enter your key into the GEMINI_API_KEY variable.

Step 4: Activate and Synchronize

Start Claude Code:

claude

Important: The first command to run is /docs:init. This command helps Claude Kit scan the entire codebase, create technical documentation, and understand the project architecture before starting work.

4. Basic Commands to Get Started

After installation, you can use the following slash commands to interact:

  • /plan: Create a detailed plan for a new feature.
  • /cook: Execute code writing based on the plan.
  • /fix: Analyze and fix bugs.
  • /git:cm: Create commit messages according to conventions.