AgentHub/INSTALL.md

# Installation

A step-by-step guide to get AgentHub — the local control surface for Claude Code agents — up and running on your machine, with optional sections for importing history and running in a container.

## Fastest path — install it as a Claude Code plugin

If all you want is a working dashboard, skip every step below. From Claude Code:

```
/plugin marketplace add https://git.smartgift.io.vn/Smartgift-AI/AgentHub.git
/plugin install agenthub@agenthub
```

The next session start installs the hooks, boots the server, puts the `agenthub` CLI
on PATH — no clone, no `npm run setup`, no
`npm run install-hooks`, no manual `npm start`. Run `/agenthub-doctor` to check the
result and `/agenthub-open` to build the UI and get the URL.

Requires Node **>= 22.5** (a plugin install has no native `better-sqlite3`, so
the server stores data through `node:sqlite`). Full behavior, including the
uninstall cleanup, is in [`docs/PLUGINS.md`](docs/PLUGINS.md).

Follow the steps below instead when you want a checkout — to develop the
dashboard, run it from source, or stay on Node 20.

## Requirements

| Requirement | Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Node.js | 20+ (22+ recommended) | Required for server and client |
| npm | 9+ | Comes with Node.js |
| Claude Code | 2.x+ | Required for hook integration |
| Python | 3.6+ | Optional — only for `scripts/expand-ts-module-docs.py` (doc generation) |
| Git | Any | For cloning the repository |
| `superpowers` plugin | Any | Optional — required only by `/agenthub:ship-feature` and `/agenthub:ship-feature-lane`, which drive its skills step by step (and which the built-in pipeline templates name as their per-node commands). Nothing else in AgentHub needs it; `/agenthub-doctor` reports it as `WARN` when absent. **Installed automatically** by the plugin's `SessionStart` bootstrap (opt out with `AGENTHUB_AUTO_INSTALL_PLUGINS=0`); by hand: `claude plugin install superpowers@claude-plugins-official` |

---

## Step 1 — Clone the repository

```bash
git clone https://git.smartgift.io.vn/Smartgift-AI/AgentHub.git
cd AgentHub
```

---

## Step 2 — Install dependencies

```bash
npm run setup
```

This installs all server and client dependencies, plus the VS Code extension, and links the `agenthub` CLI.

A plain root install already covers server **and** client — a `postinstall` hook installs the client dependencies automatically, so this alone is enough to build and run the dashboard:

```bash
npm install
```

`npm run setup` additionally installs the VS Code extension and links the `agenthub` CLI. (If you install with `--ignore-scripts`, the `postinstall` hook is skipped — run `cd client && npm install` manually in that case.)

Or via Makefile:

```bash
make setup
```

---

## Step 3 — Start the dashboard

```bash
npm run dev
```

This starts two processes concurrently:

| Process | URL | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Express server | http://localhost:4820 | API, WebSocket, SQLite |
| Vite dev server | http://localhost:5173 | React frontend with HMR |

Open **http://localhost:5173** in your browser.

> [!TIP]
> When you run the dashboard directly on the host with `npm run dev` or `npm start`, the server automatically writes the Claude Code hook configuration to `~/.claude/settings.json`. If you run the dashboard inside a container, install hooks from the host with `npm run install-hooks` instead — a hook path written from inside a container points at the container filesystem.

---

## Step 4 — Start a Claude Code session

Start a new Claude Code session from any directory **after** the dashboard server is running. The hooks will fire automatically and your sessions, agents, and events will appear in real-time.

```bash
# In a separate terminal, from any project directory:
claude
```

---

## Verification

After starting a Claude Code session, you should see:

- **Sessions page** — your session listed with status `Waiting` (a fresh CLI sitting at the prompt) or `Active` (mid-turn)
- **Agent Board** — a `Main Agent` card in the `Waiting` column until you type your first message; it flips to `Working` on `UserPromptSubmit` / `PreToolUse` and back to `Waiting` after each `Stop`
- **Activity Feed** — events streaming in as Claude Code uses tools
- **Dashboard** — stats updating in real-time
- **Settings page** — model pricing rules, hook configuration status, data export and cleanup tools

If nothing appears after 30 seconds, see [SETUP.md](./SETUP.md#troubleshooting).

### PWA install (optional)

The dashboard is a Progressive Web App. After opening it in a supported browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox), you can install it to your dock / home screen:

1. Look for the **install icon** (⊕) in the browser address bar, or open the browser menu → "Install app"
2. Once installed, the dashboard launches in its own window with no browser chrome
3. Offline support: previously visited pages and assets are served from the Service Worker cache when the network is unavailable

---

## Step 5 — (Optional) Import existing Claude Code history

The server **automatically imports** every session under
`~/.claude/projects/` on startup, so if you've used Claude Code on this
machine before, your historical sessions, agents, events, token counts,
and cost totals should already be visible in the Sessions list.

To bring in history from another machine, a backup, or a `.tar.gz`
archive a teammate sent you, use **Settings → Import History** in the
UI. It supports three modes:

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    UI["Settings →<br/>Import History"] --> M1["Rescan default folder<br/>~/.claude/projects"]
    UI --> M2["Scan a folder<br/>any absolute path"]
    UI --> M3["Upload files<br/>.jsonl / .zip / .tar.gz / .gz"]
    M1 --> P["Same parser as live<br/>hook ingestion"]
    M2 --> P
    M3 --> P
    P --> DB[("SQLite<br/>sessions + tokens + cost")]

    style UI fill:#a855f7,stroke:#c084fc,color:#fff
    style P fill:#f59e0b,stroke:#fbbf24,color:#000
    style DB fill:#10b981,stroke:#34d399,color:#fff
```

Re-imports are idempotent: sessions are deduplicated by UUID and
compaction baselines preserve pre-compaction token totals, so running
the importer twice never double-counts tokens or cost.

Verify it worked by opening the **Analytics** page and checking that
per-model token totals and estimated cost look correct. Full walkthrough
with per-OS archive commands in
[SETUP.md → Importing existing Claude Code history](./SETUP.md#importing-existing-claude-code-history).
### Optional: tune import limits

If you regularly import very large archives, these environment variables
can be raised (the defaults are generous for typical use):

| Variable                          | Default | Purpose                                                     |
| --------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- |
| `AGENTHUB_IMPORT_MAX_BYTES`           | 1 GB    | Maximum size per uploaded file                              |
| `AGENTHUB_IMPORT_MAX_FILES`           | 2000    | Maximum files per upload request                            |
| `AGENTHUB_IMPORT_MAX_EXTRACT_BYTES`   | 4 GB    | Ceiling on uncompressed bytes per archive (zip-bomb guard)  |

Set them before `npm run dev` or `npm start`:

```bash
AGENTHUB_IMPORT_MAX_EXTRACT_BYTES=17179869184 npm start   # allow 16 GB extraction
```

---

## Production mode

To run as a single process serving the built client:

```bash
npm run build   # Build the React client
npm start       # Start Express serving client/dist on port 4820
```

Open **http://localhost:4820** in your browser.

`npm start` (and `agenthub start`, its backgrounded form) only run while that
process is alive — a reboot loses it. On Linux, run the server as a systemd
`--user` service instead so it comes back on its own after every reboot, with
no manual step and no Claude Code (or any other tool) needed to trigger it:

```bash
agenthub service install       # writes + enables ~/.config/systemd/user/agenthub.service
agenthub service status        # systemctl --user status agenthub
agenthub service uninstall     # disable and remove it
```

See [`README.md` → Run as a service](./README.md#run-as-a-service-auto-start-on-boot)
and, for plugin installs, [`docs/PLUGINS.md` → Auto-start on boot](docs/PLUGINS.md#auto-start-on-boot).

---

## Optional: Agent extension packs

This repository includes extension packs for both Claude Code and Codex.

- Claude Code loads project extensions from:
  - `CLAUDE.md`
  - `.claude/rules/`
  - `skills/` (shipped as the `agenthub` plugin's skills)
  - `agents/` (shipped as the `agenthub` plugin's agents)
- Codex project packs live under `.codex/`:
  - `AGENTS.md`
  - `.codex/rules/`
  - `.codex/agents/`
  - `.codex/skills/`

See [`.codex/README.md`](./.codex/README.md) for Codex extension details.

---

## Troubleshooting

### `npm run setup` shows `better-sqlite3` errors

This is expected and **non-fatal**. `better-sqlite3` is a native C++ module listed as an optional dependency. If prebuilt binaries are not available for your Node version or platform, npm will print gyp/compilation errors but still complete successfully.

At runtime the server uses this fallback chain:

1. **`better-sqlite3`** — used when prebuilt binaries are available (Node 20/22/24 on Windows x64, macOS arm64/x64, Linux x64/arm64)
2. **`node:sqlite`** — Node.js built-in SQLite module, used automatically on Node 22+ when `better-sqlite3` is unavailable

If you see an error box at startup saying *"SQLite backend not available"*, either:

- **Upgrade to Node.js 22+** (recommended — zero native dependencies needed), or
- **Install build tools** so `better-sqlite3` can compile from source:
  - **Windows:** `npm install -g windows-build-tools` or install [Visual Studio Build Tools](https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/) with the C++ workload
  - **macOS:** `xcode-select --install`
  - **Linux:** `sudo apt install python3 make g++` (Debian/Ubuntu) or equivalent

  Then run: `npm rebuild better-sqlite3`

### `npm run dev` fails immediately

Ensure both server and client dependencies are installed:

```bash
npm run setup
```

If the error mentions a missing module like `express` or `react`, dependencies may be incomplete. Delete `node_modules` in both root and `client/`, then re-run setup:

```bash
rm -rf node_modules client/node_modules
npm run setup
```

### Server starts but client shows a blank page

The Vite dev server and Express server run on different ports. Make sure both are running (`npm run dev` starts both). Open **http://localhost:5173**, not `http://localhost:4820`, during development.

### No sessions appearing after starting Claude Code

See [SETUP.md — Troubleshooting](./SETUP.md#troubleshooting) for detailed hook debugging steps.

---

## Ports

| Service | Default | Override |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard server | `4820` | `DASHBOARD_PORT=xxxx npm run dev` |
| Client dev server | `5173` | Edit `client/vite.config.ts` |