How to Install ECC in Claude Code (2026 Step-by-Step Guide)

To install ECC in Claude Code, run npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 setup in your terminal, choose “Global user” and “Standard” hooks, then open a new Claude Code session and confirm ecc@ecc appears in /plugin list. That’s it: one command, two choices, one check. The rest of this guide covers the prerequisites, the alternative in-app install, the one optional extra (rules), and a simple budget-tracker project that shows why ECC is worth having.

ECC turns Claude Code from a single helpful assistant into a disciplined workflow that plans first, tests, reviews its own work and remembers where you left off (GitHub).

What is ECC in Claude Code?

ECC is a free, MIT-licensed “agent harness” that plugs into Claude Code and gives it a repeatable engineering process: plan → test → implement → review → verify → remember → improve (GitHub).

It started life as Everything Claude Code, a collection built from creator Affaan Mustafa’s daily Claude Code habits, and took off after his shorthand guide spread on X in early 2026 (DataCamp). Today the repo sits at roughly 268,000 GitHub stars (GitHub).

What you get in one install (GitHub):

Component	Count	What it does for you
Agents	68	Specialists for planning, review, build repair, security
Skills	292	Reusable workflows (TDD, research, docs, frontend and more)
Commands	94	Slash shortcuts like /ecc:plan
Hooks and memory	Runtime	Session summaries, learning, context controls
AgentShield	Included	Scans prompts, hooks, MCP config and secrets

You won’t use most of this on day one, and you don’t need to. Skills load only when a task needs them (GitHub).

What you need before installing ECC

You need Claude Code 2.1 or newer, Node.js 18 or newer, and Git, all reachable from your terminal (GitHub).

1. A paid Claude plan. Claude Code requires a Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise or Console account; the free plan doesn’t include it (Claude Code docs).
2. Claude Code itself. On macOS, Linux or WSL run curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash; in Windows PowerShell run irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex (Claude Code docs).
3. Node.js 18+ and Git from their official sites.

Check all three at once:

node --version
git --version
claude --version

If any command says “not found,” fix that tool first. ECC’s own Windows walkthrough says the same (GitHub).

How to install ECC in Claude Code: two ways

Pick exactly one method. Installing ECC twice into Claude Code duplicates skills, commands and hooks (GitHub).

Option 1 (recommended): the guided setup

Run this in your terminal (PowerShell on Windows):

npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 setup

When the wizard asks:

• Scope: choose Global user so ECC works in every project.
• Hooks: choose Standard.
• Confirm.

That’s the setup ECC recommends for a typical personal machine (GitHub). The wizard checks what’s already installed before changing anything, and you can rerun the same command later to update ECC or change these choices.

Option 2: install from inside Claude Code

Prefer to stay in Claude? Start claude and type:

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC
/plugin install ecc@ecc

Both options install the same ecc@ecc plugin (GitHub).

Safety note: Only install from the official channels: the affaan-m/ECC repo, the ecc-universal npm package, the ecc@ecc plugin slug, or ecc.tools. The project warns that unofficial mirrors may contain malware (GitHub).

How to check that ECC installed correctly

Open a fresh Claude Code session and run /plugin list. If ecc@ecc shows as enabled, you’re done (GitHub).

Then type /ecc: and pause. Claude’s slash menu lists every ECC command. Plugin commands always carry the ecc: prefix (GitHub).

Should you add ECC rules? (Optional)

Rules are the one piece the plugin can’t install for you, and you should add only the packs you’ll actually use (GitHub).

Rules are always-on standards (coding style, testing, security) that Claude reads in every session. Because they’re always loaded, each extra pack costs context. Start with the common pack plus one language:

git clone https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC.git
cd ECC
mkdir -p ~/.claude/rules/ecc
cp -R rules/common ~/.claude/rules/ecc/
cp -R rules/typescript ~/.claude/rules/ecc/   # swap for python, golang, etc.

Don’t run ./install.sh --profile full after installing the plugin. That’s the “stacking” mistake (GitHub). Not a coder yet? Skip rules entirely for now.

A simple use case: build your own budget tracker

Almost everyone wants to know where their money goes, so a personal budget tracker is the perfect first ECC project: small, useful, and it shows off every stage of the workflow.

Most ECC tutorials demo login systems (DataCamp). This one you’ll actually open next month.

Step 1: Start a project folder

mkdir budget-tracker
cd budget-tracker
claude

Step 2: Plan before anything gets built

/ecc:plan "A simple web page where I log expenses with a date, amount and category (rent, food, transport, fun). Show this month's total per category and how much of my monthly budget is left. Save data locally. No login."

ECC’s planner agent writes a blueprint first (GitHub). Read it and edit it. Want a warning when you pass 80% of your budget? Add it now. Changing a plan costs nothing; changing code costs time.

Step 3: Build it test-first

Use the tdd-workflow skill to build this plan.

The TDD workflow writes a failing test first, then code until the test passes, then tidies up (GitHub). For a budget app that means “does $50 + $30 in Food show $80?” is checked automatically, not by eyeballing.

Step 4: Get a second opinion

Type /ecc: and pick the code-review command. It runs a reviewer with a fresh context, so the same “mind” that wrote the code isn’t grading it (GitHub). Ask Claude to fix anything it flags.

Step 5: Pick up tomorrow where you left off

End with the save-session command and next time start with resume-session (GitHub). Claude comes back knowing what’s built and what’s next, with no re-explaining.

The takeaway: the same five moves (plan, test, review, save, resume) work for a habit tracker, a recipe organizer, a small business invoice tool or a real work project.

How to update, repair or uninstall ECC

Rerun the setup command to update, and use doctor, repair and uninstall when something looks off (GitHub):

npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 doctor
npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 repair
npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 uninstall --dry-run

If you accidentally stacked installs and see duplicates, remove the Claude Code plugin first, run the ECC uninstall, delete extra rule folders, then reinstall once using a single method (GitHub).

Frequently asked questions

Is ECC free?

Yes. The open-source project is MIT-licensed and the maintainer says it will stay free. A paid “ECC Pro” GitHub App exists for private repos, but you don’t need it to use ECC in Claude Code (GitHub).

Is ECC the same as “Everything Claude Code”?

Yes. ECC grew out of Everything Claude Code (DataCamp). Older posts may show a long marketplace name; today the plugin is ecc@ecc, the repo is affaan-m/ECC, and the npm package is ecc-universal (GitHub).

Does ECC work on Windows?

Yes, with some limits. The core installer runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, but a few optional features such as continuous learning and memory-vault writes have open native-Windows issues. WSL follows the Linux path (GitHub).

Will ECC slow Claude down or eat my context?

Skills load only when needed, but rules are always loaded and the plugin advertises its catalog to the model (GitHub). Keep rules to one or two packs, and use /ecc:context-budget to check context pressure.

Should I use the guided setup or the /plugin commands?

Either works and both install the same plugin. The guided setup is recommended because it checks existing installs and handles updates and scope changes (GitHub).

Does ECC work with Cursor, Codex or other tools?

It works best with Claude Code. Codex has a supported native plugin; Cursor, OpenCode, Gemini, Zed and others get more limited adapters (GitHub).

Next step

Install ECC with the one-line setup, confirm ecc@ecc in /plugin list, and spend twenty minutes on the budget tracker. Once plan → test → review → save feels natural, explore the rest of the catalog one skill at a time.