Skip to main content

Claude Code plugin

:::warning Beta The Claude Code plugin and marketplace are currently in beta. They work well for most users, but report any issues to GitHub Issues. For the most stable experience, use Homebrew or npm/npx. :::

:::tip Recommended if you'd rather not use a terminal This is the simplest way to add devcoach to Claude Code — one click, nothing to configure. (Prefer the terminal and want the devcoach CLI too? Use Homebrew instead.) :::

devcoach ships as a Claude Code plugin that bundles everything in one install:

  • the MCP server (13 tools, 9 resources, the devcoach_instructions prompt),
  • the two automatic-coaching Stop hooks (onboard-hook, lesson-ready), and
  • the coaching skill (SKILL.md).

With the plugin you do not need to run devcoach install — installing both would register the Stop hooks twice. Pick one.

Install​

A — straight from this repo​

/plugin marketplace add UltimaPhoenix/dev-coach
/plugin install devcoach@devcoach

B — from the marketplace (add once, install any plugin)​

/plugin marketplace add UltimaPhoenix/claude-plugins-marketplace
/plugin install devcoach@ultimaphoenix

Adding the marketplace once gives you every UltimaPhoenix plugin; update later with /plugin marketplace update.

About the personal marketplace​

The UltimaPhoenix marketplace (UltimaPhoenix/claude-plugins-marketplace) is a curated collection of plugins maintained by the devcoach author. It includes:

  • devcoach — the primary tool (what you're installing)
  • Other plugins — additional utilities and tools (available as they're added)

Why use it? If you plan to use multiple plugins from this source, add the marketplace once and you can install any of them without needing to add each repo individually. When a new plugin is released, it's immediately available in your Claude Code plugin menu.

How to update: If you've already added the marketplace, get the latest versions of all plugins:

/plugin marketplace update

This updates your local plugin registry without reinstalling — only new versions are fetched if they've been updated since you last added the marketplace.

Switching methods: If you added devcoach straight from the repo (UltimaPhoenix/dev-coach) and later want to switch to the marketplace, remove the old one and add the marketplace:

/plugin marketplace remove UltimaPhoenix/dev-coach
/plugin marketplace add UltimaPhoenix/claude-plugins-marketplace
/plugin install devcoach@ultimaphoenix

C — offline (download from a release)​

Download devcoach-plugin-<version>.zip from the GitHub Releases, unzip it, then point Claude Code at the unzipped folder:

/plugin marketplace add /path/to/unzipped-folder
/plugin install devcoach@devcoach

How it works​

When you enable the plugin, Claude Code wires in its component files. The plugin ships only config plus a small bootstrap (scripts/launch.mjs) — no bundled binary and no per-call npx. On first use the launcher installs the pinned devcoach version (from plugin/package.json) once into the plugin's persistent data dir, then runs it directly with node; later calls (every hook fire, every server start) skip straight to node — and it only re-installs when a plugin update bumps the pinned version.

  1. .mcp.json → Claude Code launches the MCP server as a local stdio process (node ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/launch.mjs mcp). It opens ~/.devcoach/coaching.db (SQLite), derived from your home directory.
  2. hooks/hooks.json → after every turn, Claude Code runs the two Stop hooks through the same launcher. They read the same database and either stay silent or nudge the agent to run onboarding / deliver a lesson. This is what makes coaching automatic — and with no npx per fire, it's snappy.
  3. skills/devcoach/SKILL.md → the coaching playbook, auto-loaded so the agent knows how to teach when a hook fires.

Running the CLI & web dashboard​

The plugin gives Claude Code everything it needs to coach you, but it keeps devcoach inside its own data dir — it does not put the devcoach CLI on your PATH. So to open the web dashboard or use any CLI command, prefix it with npx -y:

npx -y devcoach ui        # open the web dashboard
npx -y devcoach stats     # any other command works the same way

Prefer a bare devcoach command? Install the npm package globally (npm install -g devcoach) or via Homebrew — running it alongside the plugin is fine. The plugin owns the coaching hooks; the global binary just adds the CLI.

Runs locally only​

devcoach is a single-user, local-first tool. All three pieces are local processes that share one machine's home directory:

  • ✅ Claude Code (local, or running on a remote box where the CLI process itself runs) and Claude Desktop (bundled Node). The database lives on whatever machine the agent runs on.
  • ❌ claude.ai web / hosted "remote MCP" connectors — those require an HTTP/OAuth multi-tenant server. devcoach writes to a local home directory, so it cannot be a remote connector.
  • ⚠️ Ephemeral / cloud sandboxes — coaching works while the session runs, but ~/.devcoach is not persisted across runs. Use devcoach backup / restore to carry your profile between machines.

It needs Node.js ≥ 24 (for Node's embedded node:sqlite) and a one-time network connection on first use (to install the pinned devcoach package into the plugin's data dir); after that it runs offline.

→ Next: Coaching in your agent.