Claude Code Starter

A production-ready starter template for Claude Code. Get a fully configured setup in minutes instead of hours.

Prerequisites

Required:

• Claude Code CLI installed and authenticated
• Bash 3.2+ (macOS default works)
• Git
• jq - JSON parsing in hooks (brew install jq / apt install jq)

Optional (for formatting hooks):

• Your language's formatter: prettier, black/ruff, gofmt, rustfmt, rubocop, mix format

Check your setup:

claude --version     # Should show Claude Code version
bash --version       # Should be 3.2+ (macOS default works)
jq --version         # Required for hooks

Compatibility

Stack-specific formatters (optional):

Why This Exists

Most developers install Claude Code and use maybe 10% of its capabilities. This repo gives you:

• Stack-specific presets - TypeScript, Python, Go, Rust, Ruby, Elixir configurations
• Security by default - Blocked sensitive files, dangerous command prevention
• Custom skills - Reusable commands like review, test, explain
• Specialized agents - Subagents for research, code review, test writing
• Pre-commit review - Forces you to understand what you're committing
• Auto-formatting - Runs your formatter after every edit
• Version detection - Reads from .tool-versions automatically

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Installation

Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap zbruhnke/claude-code-starter
brew install claude-code-starter

Update:

brew upgrade claude-code-starter

Shell script

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zbruhnke/claude-code-starter/main/install.sh | bash

This installs ccs (short alias) and claude-code-starter (full name) to your PATH.

The installer automatically verifies SHA256 checksums when available (v0.7.0+).

Update:

ccs update

Pin to a specific version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zbruhnke/claude-code-starter/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --version <version>

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5 Minute Tour

See it work end-to-end:

# 1. Install the CLI (if you haven't already)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zbruhnke/claude-code-starter/main/install.sh | bash
source ~/.zshrc  # or restart your terminal

# 2. Create your project and configure it
mkdir my-app && cd my-app
git init
ccs init    # Pick TypeScript, accept defaults

# 3. Create something to work with
mkdir -p src && echo "export const hello = () => 'world';" > src/utils.ts
git add -A

# 4. Start Claude Code
claude

Now in Claude Code:

> Review my staged changes
# → Claude runs code-review skill, analyzes src/utils.ts

> Add a helper function to validate emails in src/utils.ts
# → After edit, auto-format hook runs prettier automatically

> Stage and commit these changes
# → Pre-commit hook shows diff, Claude explains before committing

That's the core loop: edit → auto-format → review → commit with understanding.

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Quick Start

New Project

mkdir my-project && cd my-project
git init
ccs init

Existing Project

cd your-existing-project
ccs init

Add Components

ccs adopt              # Interactive mode - choose what to install
ccs adopt all          # Install core: skills, agents, hooks, rules, security
ccs adopt skills       # Just skills
ccs adopt agents       # Just agents
ccs adopt precommit    # Pre-commit review hook
ccs adopt security     # Security config only
ccs adopt stack        # Stack-specific preset

Note: adopt all installs core components but NOT stack presets or precommit hook (since those are project-specific choices). Use interactive mode or add them explicitly.

CLI Reference

ccs help              # Show all commands
ccs init              # Interactive setup
ccs adopt [component] # Add components
ccs update            # Update to latest version
ccs version           # Show version

**Note:

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