Turn Claude Code into a dev team with ECC: local setup and starter checklist

Here is a fast preview so you can taste it before the full setup. You will prep a clean workspace and confirm the tools that ECC expects. When you comment, I will DM the repo link and my full checklist so you can plug the agents in.

First, install GitHub CLI. It makes cloning and auth clean.

bash
brew install gh

Create a workspace folder for ECC and your app code.

bash
mkdir -p ~/code && cd ~/code

Verify GitHub CLI is ready.

bash
gh --version
# expect: gh version 2.52.0 (or newer)

Open Claude, switch to Claude Code, and open your repo folder. Ask for a small feature and watch how you normally bounce between steps. With ECC in place, you make the same ask and the planner, builder, tester, and reviewer line up the work. Stop here for now. In the full guide I cover the exact install per OS, how to point Claude Code at the ECC skills, and the config that keeps tests fast.

Here is a fast preview so you can taste it before the full setup. You will prep a clean workspace and confirm the tools that ECC expects. When you comment, I will DM the repo link and my full checklist so you can plug the agents in.

First, install GitHub CLI. It makes cloning and auth clean.

bash
brew install gh

Create a workspace folder for ECC and your app code.

bash
mkdir -p ~/code && cd ~/code

Verify GitHub CLI is ready.

bash
gh --version
# expect: gh version 2.52.0 (or newer)

Open Claude, switch to Claude Code, and open your repo folder. Ask for a small feature and watch how you normally bounce between steps. With ECC in place, you make the same ask and the planner, builder, tester, and reviewer line up the work. Stop here for now. In the full guide I cover the exact install per OS, how to point Claude Code at the ECC skills, and the config that keeps tests fast.

Setup

ECC (a free GitHub project that adds multi-agent workflows to Claude Code) runs locally with common dev tools. It ships 67 agents and 271 skills. Here is a clean install per platform.

macOS

1) Install core tools.

bash
# Homebrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Git, GitHub CLI, Python 3.11, Node LTS, Docker Desktop
brew install git gh [email protected] node@20
brew install --cask docker

2) Start Docker Desktop from Applications once. Leave it running.

3) Sign in to GitHub for gh.

bash
gh auth login

4) Make a workspace.

bash
mkdir -p ~/code && cd ~/code

5) Download the ECC repo from the DM link and put it at ~/code/ecc. If you prefer CLI, save the ZIP and unzip into ~/code.

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

1) Install packages.

bash
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git curl build-essential python3.11 python3.11-venv docker.io

2) Enable Docker for your user.

bash
sudo usermod -aG docker "$USER"
newgrp docker

3) Install Node LTS via nvm.

bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
nvm install --lts

4) Install GitHub CLI.

bash
type -p curl >/dev/null || sudo apt-get install -y curl
curl -fsSL https://cli.github.com/packages/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg | sudo dd of=/usr/share/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg
sudo chmod go+r /usr/share/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg] https://cli.github.com/packages stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/github-cli.list > /dev/null
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y gh

5) Auth and workspace.

bash
gh auth login
mkdir -p ~/code && cd ~/code

6) Download the ECC repo from the DM link and unpack to ~/code/ecc.

Windows 11

1) Install with winget.

bash
winget install Git.Git
winget install GitHub.cli
winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
winget install Python.Python.3.11
winget install Docker.DockerDesktop

2) Launch Docker Desktop and complete the first-run steps.

3) Auth and workspace in PowerShell.

bash
gh auth login
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "$HOME\code" | Out-Null
Set-Location "$HOME\code"

4) Download the ECC repo from the DM link and extract it to C:\Users\<you>\code\ecc.

Claude Code

• Install the Claude desktop app and enable Claude Code. Open your project folder in Claude Code.
• Open the ECC folder next to your app repo so the agents can see both code and skills.

Verify

Run these checks before you wire in agents.

bash
git --version
# expect: git version 2.x

gh --version
# expect: gh version 2.52.0 or newer

python3.11 --version
# expect: Python 3.11.x

node --version
# expect: v20.x or v22.x

npm --version
# expect: 10.x or newer

docker info --format '{{.ServerVersion}}'
# expect: a version string, not an error

Open Claude Code and confirm it can read files in your app repo and in the ecc folder. Ask Claude Code: "List the top-level folders in ./ecc and ./my-app". You should see the ECC agents and skills directories plus your app folders.

Configuration tips

• Create a top-level task file. Add a feature.md at your app root with a crisp ask. Example: "Add email login with password reset, backend FastAPI, frontend Next.js. Include unit tests and Playwright e2e for the happy path."
• Seed context with project maps. In Claude Code, first ask: "Read package.json, pyproject.toml, docker-compose.yml, and summarize build, run, and test entrypoints as a checklist." Paste that summary into feature.md under "Project facts".
• Kick off the team run. Ask: "Use ECC planner, builder, tester, reviewer to deliver the feature in feature.md. Plan first as a checklist with PR titles, then write code in branches, then run tests, then open a review." Keep this in one Claude Code thread.
• Keep runs short. Cap plans to 5-7 steps. Ask the planner to split big work into separate feature branches and PRs. This stops context bloat and keeps Claude focused.
• Lock tests. Put a clear test command at the top of feature.md like npm run test and pytest -q. Ask tester to run tests after each PR. If tests fail, loop on the smallest diff.

Troubleshooting

• Docker permission denied on Linux

- Symptom: Got permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket. - Fix: sudo usermod -aG docker "$USER", then newgrp docker, then docker info again.

• Claude Code cannot see ECC files

- Symptom: Claude lists only your app repo, not ecc. - Fix: Open a parent folder that contains both ecc and your app in one Claude Code workspace. Or symlink ecc into your repo root.

• Node or Python not found in Claude Code shell

- Symptom: node: command not found or python3.11: command not found when tasks try to run. - Fix macOS: add Homebrew paths to shell init. echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile && eval "$($(which brew) shellenv)". - Fix Linux: ensure nvm is loaded in non-login shells. Add to ~/.bashrc: export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"; [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh". - Fix Windows: reopen Claude after installing Node and Python so the PATH refreshes.

When it beats manual Claude Code

• One feature, many steps. You ask for email login once. Planner breaks it into backend route, DB migration, frontend form, tests, and a review pass. Manual prompting turns into five separate chats and more copy paste.
• Test-first workflows. You set a test command and required checks. Tester runs them after each change. Manual runs often skip tests until the end.
• Refactors that touch many files. Planner maps the impact, builder edits in small branches, reviewer checks diffs, tester runs suite. Manual edits tend to snowball into one risky change.
• Bug with a hard repro. You paste a failing test and logs. Planner triages, builder patches, tester proves green. Manual back-and-forth loses the exact repro.

Two hundred thousand plus GitHub stars says developers are saving it. You can keep your taste in the loop and still ship faster.

Sources