Pilot Shell: A Structured Workflow Layer for Claude Code

Pilot Shell is an open-source layer installed on top of Claude Code that enforces structured workflows for planning, fixing, and brainstorming. It addresses common pain points like skipped tests, lost context, and inconsistent output while avoiding the overhead of frameworks that require dozens of agents or thousands of config lines.

Key Components

• /spec — Plans, implements, and verifies features end-to-end with TDD.
• /fix — Bugfix workflow with TDD; bails out when complexity exceeds the standard fix lane.
• /prd — Brainstorms ideas into clear requirements with optional deep research.
• Quality hooks — Enforce linting, formatting, type checking, and tests as quality gates.
• Context engineering — Preserves decisions and knowledge across sessions.
• Code intelligence — Semantic search (Probe) + code knowledge graph (CodeGraph).
• Token optimization — 60–90% cost reduction via RTK and context-mode.
• Extensions — Reusable rules, skills, and MCP servers with team sharing and customization.
• Console — Local web dashboard with real-time notifications and session management.
• Pilot Bot — Persistent automation agent with scheduled tasks and background jobs.

Installation

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL2). Installs globally with a single command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/maxritter/pilot-shell/main/install.sh | bash

All tools and rules go to ~/.pilot/ and ~/.claude/. After installation, run pilot or ccp in any project directory.

Who It's For

Developers who already use Claude Code and want structured, repeatable workflows without switching to a heavy agent framework.