setup git:20260906.e36fff6A

Immutable. This exact content is served forever at /api/v1/blob/7330c1abb035075d.

---
name: setup
description: First-run Eklavya setup — check prerequisites, create the knowledge database, and choose a mode.
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# /eklavya:setup

Get Eklavya working on this machine. Be brief; this should take one exchange.

**1. Check prerequisites.** Run `node --version`. That is the whole list — the server, the CLI and all four hooks are Node, so nothing else has to be on `PATH`. Node must be 22+; below that the SQLite driver has no prebuilt binary and would need a C++ toolchain to install. If it is older, say so and how to upgrade on this platform, and stop: the rest of setup will not work.

Optionally run `eklavya doctor`, which reports the same thing plus the runtime, the SQLite driver, the plugin's registration, the chat skill, the database and the effective config. It exits non-zero and names the repair — `eklavya install` — if any of those has broken. That is also the command to reach for later, whenever Eklavya has gone quiet: the hooks never fail loudly, so a broken install looks exactly like a quiet one.

**2. Confirm the database.** Call `get_config` and report `global_path`, then check the DB:

```bash
sqlite3 ~/.eklavya/knowledge.db 'select domain, count(*) from concepts group by domain'
```

The server creates and seeds it on first start, and `npx eklavya install` creates it up front, so this should already show `web-auth`, `react`, `node-backend` and `git`. If the file is missing, the MCP server is not running — check `/plugin` for errors, and check that the runtime is installed (`npx eklavya install` finishes it in one step).

**3. Choose a mode.** Ask which fits, and explain in one line each:

- **ambient** (default) — questions after tasks, always skippable
- **enforced** — the session quiz must pass before a commit goes through; for interns and onboarding
- **off** — installed but dormant

Then `set_config` with their choice. Use `scope: "repo"` if they want it to apply to this project only — that writes `.eklavya.json` at the repo root, which is how a lead pins enforced mode for one codebase. Otherwise global.

**3b. Choose a focus.** One more question, because it changes every quiz. Mode is how hard Eklavya pushes; focus is what it teaches.

- **concept** (default) — asks the transferable version of the same ideas. Best when learning a stack.
- **project** — asks about the code just written. Best when learning a codebase.
- **learn** — you name a topic and it teaches that, using your real code as the example where the work touches it.

`set_config` with `focus`, plus `focus_topic` if they chose `learn` — that combination is useless without one. If they have no preference, say concept is the default and move on; this should not become an interview. `/eklavya:mode` changes it later.

**4. If they chose enforced, install the git hook.** The `PreToolUse` hook only covers commits made inside Claude Code. The git `pre-commit` hook covers every other path — a bare terminal, VS Code, Cursor:

```bash
"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/scripts/install-git-hook.sh
```

It chains to any existing `pre-commit` hook rather than replacing it, and only acts on repos whose `.eklavya.json` sets `"mode": "enforced"` — so installing it is safe even if they later switch to ambient. Mention `--uninstall` restores the previous hook.

Skip this step for ambient or off.

**5. Say what happens next.** In ambient mode: build something, and questions will follow. Point at `/eklavya:progress` and `/eklavya:quiz`. In enforced mode, add that commits are held until the session quiz passes, and `/eklavya:gate` shows what is outstanding.