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 (agenthub uninstall), is in 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
Git	Any	Cloning the repository, and every lane operation (worktrees, branch/status reads)
tmux	3.x (3.7+ for pane scrollbars)	Required for the run console — the browser terminal, agenthub workspace shell, and typing /reload-plugins into a live pane. See Step 0
Codex CLI	Any	Optional — only for lanes whose tool is codex
GitHub CLI (gh)	Any	Optional — only for agenthub workspace ci status
Python	3.6+	Optional — only for scripts/expand-ts-module-docs.py (doc generation)

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Step 0 — System packages

Node and npm are not enough: git backs every lane operation, and tmux backs the run console. The dashboard shells out to the tmux binary and has no bundled fallback, so without it Start Run and agenthub workspace shell fail while everything else keeps working.

sudo apt install git tmux        # Debian / Ubuntu
sudo dnf install git tmux        # Fedora / RHEL
brew install git tmux            # macOS
sudo pacman -S git tmux          # Arch

Windows has no native tmux. Run AgentHub under WSL2 and install it inside the WSL distro — a tmux from Git Bash or MSYS is not what the server executes. On a native Windows install, workspace terminals are unavailable, but Settings → Agents still detects each AI CLI through PATHEXT (claude.exe, codex.cmd) and runs a .cmd updater or npm through cmd.exe.

A terminal pane gets a draggable scrollbar only on tmux 3.7+ — older versions work, just without it, and /agenthub-doctor warns. Homebrew ships the latest (brew upgrade tmux); Ubuntu 24.04's apt has 3.4, so build the release:

sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libevent-dev libncurses-dev bison
curl -fsSL https://github.com/tmux/tmux/releases/download/3.7c/tmux-3.7c.tar.gz | tar xz
cd tmux-3.7c && ./configure && make && sudo make install   # into /usr/local/bin

A tmux server already running keeps its old version until every tmux session has closed (or the machine reboots) — only then do the scrollbars appear.

Check it:

tmux -V          # e.g. tmux 3.4
git --version
node -v          # v20.x / v22.x / v24.x

Once the server is up you can ask it directly — this is the same probe the dashboard uses:

curl -s localhost:4820/api/run/tmux      # {"available":true}

No configuration is needed. AgentHub creates its own session per lane, named agenthub-lane-<id>, and never reads your ~/.tmux.conf for anything it depends on (mouse mode, the hidden status bar and the scrollbar are set on the session explicitly). You can attach to the exact same pane from a normal terminal:

agenthub workspace shell             # from inside the lane's directory
tmux attach -t agenthub-lane-7   # or by name
tmux ls                          # every dashboard session is prefixed agenthub-lane-

Detaching is Ctrl-b d — it leaves the run alive, which is the whole point: the browser terminal and your local terminal are two clients on one pane, and restarting the dashboard never stops a run.

macOS

Status: code-audited, untested on a Mac. The Mac-specific paths below are covered by Linux-side unit tests only; the checklist at the end of this section is what a Mac user runs to confirm them.

brew install node git tmux       # Node >= 22.5 for the plugin install (nvm works too)
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc   # where the plugin puts `agenthub`

• Node: a plugin install needs >= 22.5 (it stores data through node:sqlite); a checkout still runs on Node 20. The agenthub launcher pins the node that installed it and falls back to node on PATH when a brew upgrade or nvm switch deletes that binary.
• Starts at login once you turn it on (LaunchAgent). Off by default; with Settings → About → Start AgentHub automatically on, the plugin bootstrap installs ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.smartgift.agenthub.plist (a checkout: the same switch, or agenthub service install), so the dashboard comes back after every login with no Claude Code session, and launchd restarts it if it dies. Lane panes survive a restart of the server. Its output goes to ~/Library/Logs/agenthub.log. A LaunchAgent needs a login at the Mac itself; over SSH only, or when launchctl fails, the server is a detached process started by the next Claude Code session (within about 10 s) or by agenthub start, as before. A discovery entry left over from before the reboot is ignored, so a recycled pid can never pass for a live dashboard.
• Started from a Claude Code session. The server drops the variables that describe that session (CLAUDECODE, CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID, CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT, …) before anything else runs, so lane panes do not inherit them. Your own configuration (CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK, ANTHROPIC_*) passes through. A tmux server that an older build started keeps its dirty global env until it exits (tmux kill-server once, with no run you care about open).
• Paths. A lane's directory is stored by its real path, so a typed /tmp/x becomes /private/tmp/x and a differently-cased path on a case-insensitive volume becomes the one on disk — that is what sessions report, so they bind. Lanes created before this change keep the string they were created with.
• Account switching uses the login Keychain item Claude Code-credentials; macOS may ask once for permission the first time.
• Option key in the browser terminal types special characters (it is not sent as Meta).

Mac checklist — please run it and report the result on issue #22:

1. Fresh plugin install from a Terminal claude session: the dashboard answers on http://localhost:4820, ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.smartgift.agenthub.plist exists, and /agenthub-doctor's launchd row says the LaunchAgent is current and running.
2. tmux show-environment -g | grep -i claude prints nothing.
3. Add a Repo lane by typing its path in a different case: sessions bind to it, and agenthub stage plan inside it moves the map.
4. Start Run in the browser: the terminal attaches, typing works, an image paste into claude works, and exit returns to the workspace home.
5. Changes panel: diff, stage and commit on a lane.
6. Switch profile and check claude /status shows the new account. Repeat with a non-default CLAUDE_HOME, which also checks the Keychain service name.
7. brew upgrade node && brew cleanup, then agenthub status still works.
8. Reboot and log in WITHOUT opening claude: the dashboard answers within about 10 s (agenthub service status shows state = running).
9. kill <server pid> (from agenthub status): it is back within a few seconds.
10. With a lane run open, /agenthub-update completes, the server restarts on the new version, the plist names the new cache directory, and the run's terminal is still alive.
11. agenthub service uninstall: the plist is gone and nothing restarts the server after a kill.

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Step 1 — Clone the repository

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

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Step 2 — Install dependencies

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:

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:

make setup

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Step 3 — Start the dashboard

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 — unless the agenthub plugin is enabled there, whose own hooks already run; then it removes any copies a checkout wrote instead, since two sets post every event twice. 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.

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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.

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

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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 — data export and cleanup tools on the Dashboard tab; Claude Code's model pricing rules, hook configuration status and CLAUDE_HOME on Settings → Claude Code → Overview

If nothing appears after 30 seconds, see SETUP.md.

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

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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:

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.

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:

AGENTHUB_IMPORT_MAX_EXTRACT_BYTES=17179869184 npm start   # allow 16 GB extraction

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Production mode

To run as a single process serving the built client:

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. Run the server as a systemd --user service (Linux) or a LaunchAgent (macOS) 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:

agenthub service install       # Linux: ~/.config/systemd/user/agenthub.service
                               # macOS: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/io.smartgift.agenthub.plist
agenthub service status        # systemctl --user status / launchctl print
agenthub service uninstall     # disable and remove it

See docs/OVERVIEW.md → Run as a service and, for plugin installs, docs/PLUGINS.md → Auto-start on boot.

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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)
• Codex project packs live under .codex/:
  • AGENTS.md
  • .codex/rules/
  • .codex/agents/
  • .codex/skills/

See .codex/README.md for Codex extension details.

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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 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:

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:

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.

"Start Run" fails, or the terminal never attaches

The run console is tmux-backed. Check, in this order:

tmux -V                                   # not installed → see Step 0
curl -s localhost:4820/api/run/tmux       # {"available":false} → the SERVER cannot see tmux
curl -s "localhost:4820/api/run/binary?tool=claude"   # {"found":true,"path":"…"}

{"available":false} while your own shell finds tmux means the server runs with a different PATH — most often a systemd --user service, which does not read your shell profile. Fix it by installing tmux system-wide (/usr/bin/tmux) rather than into a shell-managed prefix, then agenthub service uninstall && agenthub service install.

The same PATH rule applies to claude and codex: a run starts the binary by name, so a claude installed only through an interactive shell's profile is invisible to a service-managed server. {"found":false} for the lane's tool is that case.

No sessions appearing after starting Claude Code

See SETUP.md — Troubleshooting for detailed hook debugging steps.

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Ports

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