Getting Started

Installation

Install the ck CLI, authenticate with your license key, and install your first kit into Claude Code — globally or per project.

This guide takes you from nothing to a kit installed in Claude Code. It takes about two minutes.

Requirements

  • Node.js 18 or newer. Check with node -v.
  • Claude Code installed and working. ClaudeKit installs files into Claude Code's commands/, skills/, and agents/ directories; it does not replace Claude Code.
  • A ClaudeKit license key. You receive one by email after purchase. See Billing for plans, or buy a kit.

1. Install the CLI

Install the claudekits package globally from npm. It exposes two binaries — claudekit and the short alias ck (used throughout these docs):

npm i -g claudekits
bash

Verify the install:

ck --version
bash

2. Authenticate

Authenticate with your license key. This validates the key against theclaudekit.com/api/license/validate, registers this device as an activation, and caches your credentials in ~/.claudekit/config.json:

ck auth <license-key>
bash

To see who you are authenticated as and which kits your key unlocks:

ck whoami
bash

For the full validation and activation model, see License validation.

3. Install a kit

Install any kit your license unlocks. By default the kit installs globally into ~/.claude/, so it is available in every Claude Code session on this machine:

ck install seokit
bash

The CLI re-validates your license, downloads the versioned release zip from the ClaudeKit API, copies the files into commands/, skills/, and agents/, and then prints the token ledger — the measured cost of every file plus the total context budget impact.

Prefer Claude Code's native plugin system? Every kit also installs as a plugin:

ck install seokit

Global vs project install

Use the -l / --local flag to install into the current project at ./.claude/ instead, so the kit is only active in that project:

ck install seokit --local
bash
ScopeFlagInstall pathAvailable in
Global (default)none~/.claude/every project on this machine
Project-l, --local./.claude/the current project only

Project installs win when a kit is installed both globally and locally, which lets you pin a specific version per project. Use --force to overwrite an existing install of the same kit.

4. Verify

List everything your license owns and its installed state:

ck list
bash

You should see the kit you just installed marked as installed, with its version. Open a Claude Code session and run one of the kit's namespaced commands (for example /seo-audit) to confirm it is wired up. To audit what the install costs your context window at any time:

ck tokens seokit
bash

Troubleshooting

ck: command not found (PATH)

The global npm bin directory is not on your PATH. Find it with npm bin -g (or npm prefix -g, then append /bin) and add that directory to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.profile). Restart your shell and try again. Running ck doctor will also report a missing-PATH condition.

EACCES permission errors on npm i -g

Your global npm prefix is owned by root. The clean fix is to point npm at a user-owned prefix:

npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global
bash

Add ~/.npm-global/bin to your PATH, then reinstall. Avoid sudo npm i -g — it creates root-owned files that cause this same error later. A Node version manager such as nvm or fnm avoids the problem entirely.

Corporate proxy / firewall

If you are behind a proxy, point npm and the CLI at it:

npm config set proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080
npm config set https-proxy http://proxy.example.com:8080
bash

The ck CLI honours the standard HTTPS_PROXY, HTTP_PROXY, and NO_PROXY environment variables. License validation and kit downloads both need outbound HTTPS to theclaudekit.com. Allowlist that host if your network blocks it.

Anything else

Run ck doctor — it checks for Claude Code, ~/.claude permissions, a valid license, version drift, orphaned files, and token-budget warnings. Attach its output when you contact Support.