Claude Code Bootstrap (ccbootstrap)

A tiered setup template for Claude Code — from a minimal 2-file config to full multi-agent orchestration. Each tier is a self-contained deployment folder with everything you need.

Choose Your Tier

Tier	What You Get	Folder
Starter	Claude knows your project, safe permissions, builds/tests work	deployments/starter/
Standard	+ modular docs, workflows, conventions, agent teams	deployments/standard/

Each tier is fully self-contained — pick one folder and you have everything needed for that level.

Quick Start

# 1. Clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/liteman/cc-bootstrap.git
cd cc-bootstrap

# 2. Pick your tier and run the setup script
cd deployments/starter        # or standard
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh /path/to/your-project

# 3. Start Claude Code in your project
cd /path/to/your-project
claude

Each setup.sh script copies the deployment's files into your target project without overwriting existing files. Run it multiple times safely.

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Tier Overview

Starter — Get Productive Fast

Two files. Five minutes. Claude Code understands your project and runs your tools without asking every time.

What you get:

• CLAUDE.md — Project context (tech stack, commands, structure, rules)
• .claude/settings.local.json — Safe permission defaults

Best for: First-time Claude Code users, small projects, trying things out.

Go to Starter deployment →

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Standard — Structured Development with Agent Teams

Everything a working developer needs: modular documentation, repeatable workflows, coding conventions, and Claude Code's native agent teams for parallel work.

What you get:

• CLAUDE.md — Full project context with conventions and team guidance
• .claude/architecture.md — System design overview
• .claude/modules/ — On-demand component documentation
• .claude/workflows/ — Feature development, bug fixes, refactoring, agent-team-development
• .claude/conventions/ — Code style, testing, git workflow, philosophy, agent selection
• .claude/agents/ — Custom subagent definitions (researcher, implementer, reviewer)
• .claude/settings.json — Enables agent teams via CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1
• AGENTS.md — Agent teams coordination guide
• Agent teams hooks — TeammateIdle, TaskCompleted quality gates
• Delegate mode — Shift+Tab restricts lead to coordination only
• docs/agent-teams-guide.md — Comprehensive agent teams reference

Best for: Teams wanting consistent development practices, parallel agent workflows, and large features.

Go to Standard deployment →

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How It Works

Each deployment folder contains:

File	Purpose
README.md	Tier-specific setup guide with full instructions
setup.sh	Copies files to your target project (safe, non-destructive)
CLAUDE.md.template	Project context template (rename to CLAUDE.md and customize)
.claude/settings.local.json	Permission configuration (gitignored, personal)
.claude/**	Documentation, workflows, conventions (varies by tier)

The setup.sh script uses a copy-if-missing pattern — it will never overwrite files that already exist in your project. This means you can re-run setup.sh after updates without losing your customizations.

Progressive Disclosure

The CLAUDE.md templates use progressive disclosure — essential guidance is inline (always loaded into Claude's context), while detailed reference material lives in .claude/ files that get loaded on demand. This keeps context window usage low for most tasks while preserving access to the full detail when needed.

Always loaded (~80-100 lines): project overview, persona, philosophy summaries, critical rules, command table, file navigation map.

Loaded on demand (via .claude/ references): full philosophy descriptions, model selection matrix, setup guide, troubleshooting, common patterns, agent team configuration.

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Custom Commands Reference

Commands defined in CLAUDE.md for on-demand context loading (Standard tier):

Command	Description
/verify-context	Show what documentation Claude currently has loaded
/load-module <name>	Load a specific module doc from .claude/modules/
/load-workflow <name>	Load a workflow guide before starting a task
/audit	Run a documentation health audit
/team-status	Check agent team status, task list, mailbox
/define-agent <name>	Create a new custom subagent from template

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Design Workflows

For structured design sessions (architectural decisions, major feature planning), use cc-atelier — a companion tool with a full 6-phase design methodology (Exploration → Requirements → Options → Decision → Detail → Validation).

cc-bootstrap handles your day-to-day engineering workflow. cc-atelier handles the design sessions before you build.

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Extras

The extras/ directory contains optional add-ons that aren't part of either tier but can be cherry-picked:

Extra	What It Does
extras/audit/	Documentation audit skill with CI/CD workflow
extras/github-actions/	GitHub Actions for automated documentation auditing
extras/integrations/	Superpowers, Gas Town, Beads integration guides

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Companion Plugins

Superpowers

The superpowers plugin by Jesse Vincent adds disciplined development methodology on top of this template's project knowledge structure.

ccbootstrap provides	Superpowers provides
Project knowledge organization	Development methodology
Documentation structure & context loading	Behavioral workflows (TDD, verification)
/audit, /verify-context, /load-module	/brainstorm, /write-plan, /execute-plan

Install inside a Claude Code session:

/plugin marketplace add obra/superpowers-marketplace
/plugin install superpowers@superpowers-marketplace

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue or submit a pull request.

License

MIT License — use this template for any project.