ECC (Everything Claude Code)

1. What is ECC?

ECC is an add-on toolkit for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code and Codex. Those assistants can already write code; ECC gives them a disciplined way of working: plan before building, write tests, review their own changes, and remember what matters between sessions. The project's README currently lists 68 agents (helpers that each specialise in one job), close to 300 skills (ready-made workflows) and 94 shortcut commands, plus a security scanner called AgentShield.

To be plain about it: this is a tool for people who already code with an AI assistant, not an app with a window you click around in. After installing, no new icon appears on your desktop. What changes is that your assistant gains new commands and works more methodically.

On cost: the open-source part of ECC is free under the MIT licence. There is a separate paid product called ECC Pro (a GitHub App for private repositories, listed in the README as starting at 19 USD per seat per month). You do not need it for anything in this guide. You do still need an account for the AI assistant itself, for example Claude Code, and that usually costs money.

A good fit if:

• You already use Claude Code (or Codex) to write code and want it to be more careful.
• You want ready-made commands for planning a feature, reviewing code or fixing a broken build, instead of writing long prompts yourself.
• You are fine typing a few commands.

Not a fit yet if:

• You have never used an AI coding assistant. Get comfortable with Claude Code first, then come back.
• You are looking for a general chat app. ECC is not that.
• You use Cursor, Gemini or Copilot and expect the same features as on Claude Code. The project says clearly that those are supported only at an experimental or limited level.

2. What do you need?

• A computer running Windows, macOS or Linux. ECC does not run on a phone. On native Windows the project describes support as "with limitations": the core works, while some optional features need Git Bash or WSL.
• Node.js 18 or newer. This is the runtime that JavaScript-based tools need; installing it also gives you the npx command used below. Download it from https://nodejs.org (pick the LTS build).
• Git. A version-control tool; the project lists it as required for the Claude Code plugin setup. Download it from https://git-scm.com
• Claude Code 2.1 or newer, installed and signed in. This is Anthropic's coding assistant that runs in a terminal, and it is where ECC works best. Installation steps and paid plans are on the official site: https://code.claude.com
• An internet connection during installation.

ECC does not need an API key of its own, and you do not have to download the project's source code.

Note: Install ECC only from official sources: the GitHub repository https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC, the npm package ecc-universal, the plugin named ecc@ecc, and the site https://ecc.tools. The project warns that re-uploads elsewhere may contain malware.

3. Step-by-step installation

ECC has no .exe or .dmg installer. The easiest route, and the one the project recommends, is a guided installer that asks you a couple of questions.

Step 1: Check the three prerequisites

Open PowerShell (Windows) or Terminal (macOS, Linux) and run these one at a time:

node --version
git --version
claude --version

You are good when each command prints a version number: Node 18 or higher, Claude Code 2.1 or higher. If any of them says "not found" or "is not recognized", go back to section 2, install that program, close the terminal window, open a new one and try again. The ECC installer will not install these for you.

Step 2: Run the guided installer

npx ecc-universal setup

The first time, npx may ask whether to download the ecc-universal package. Type y and press Enter.

Note: The newest README on GitHub writes this command with a version number, as npx ecc-universal@2.2.2 setup. On the day this guide was written (30 September 2026) the newest version actually published on npm was 2.2.1, so the command pinned to 2.2.2 may fail with a "version not found" error. The unpinned command above always fetches the latest published release. To see which version that is, run npm view ecc-universal version.

Step 3: Answer the installer's questions

The installer first checks whether ECC is already present anywhere on your machine, then asks two main things. For a typical personal setup the project suggests:

• Install scope: choose Global user (available in every project folder on your computer).
• Hook level: choose Standard. Hooks are small automations that run while the assistant works, for example blocking a dangerous delete command.

Then confirm. It worked if the installer reports completion and shows no red error lines.

Step 4: Verify inside Claude Code

Close any Claude Code session that is already open, start a new one and type:

/plugin list

You should see ecc@ecc in the list, marked as enabled.

Alternative: install from inside Claude Code

If you would rather not use npx, type these two commands inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC
/plugin install ecc@ecc

Both routes install the same plugin. Pick one only. The project stresses that stacking several install methods on the same assistant duplicates commands and hooks.

Using Codex or another tool

For Codex, the README gives two commands:

codex plugin marketplace add affaan-m/ECC
codex plugin add ecc@ecc

For Cursor, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, Zed and others, installation means downloading the source and running a script specific to each tool. That path is for people comfortable with the command line; see the table in the README at https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC

4. First use

The project's advice is not to try to learn hundreds of skills. Start from the job in front of you.

1. Open a terminal in your code project's folder and type claude to start Claude Code.
2. Try the planning command. Replace the text in quotes with what you want to build:

/ecc:plan "Add an email sign-in page"

A correct result: Claude Code does not start writing code straight away. It returns a step-by-step plan that names the files it would change and what needs testing. You read it, adjust it, and only then let it proceed.

3. Once there is new code, ask for a review:

/code-review

You get back a list of comments on the code that was just written.

Other commonly used commands, taken from the README's table:

What you are doing	Command
The build is failing	/build-fix
Cleaning out dead code	/refactor-clean
A long session, and you want to see how much context is left	/context-budget
Saving progress to continue tomorrow	/save-session
Picking up yesterday's session	/resume-session
Scanning your assistant's configuration for security risks	/security-scan

To see what ECC has installed, type /plugin list ecc@ecc.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
node, git or claude says "not found" / "is not recognized"	That program is not installed, or the terminal was not reopened after installing	Install it from the link in section 2, close and reopen the terminal, repeat Step 1
npx reports a version or cache error (for example, version 2.2.2 not found)	The command pins a version that is not on npm yet	Run npm view ecc-universal version to see what is published, then run npx ecc-universal setup without a version number
Installation finished but /plugin list does not show ecc@ecc	The old Claude Code session has not loaded the new plugin	Quit Claude Code completely, start a new session, check again
/plugin install says the plugin already exists or reports a scope conflict	ECC was installed earlier in a different scope	Run npx ecc-universal setup; the installer moves ecc@ecc to the scope you choose
ECC shows up twice, or every hook fires twice	The plugin was installed and then a manual install was layered on top	Remove the plugin from Claude Code, run the uninstall command in section 6, then reinstall using one method only
"Duplicate hooks file detected"	Hooks are declared twice	Do not copy hooks/hooks.json into settings.json; Claude Code 2.1 and later loads plugin hooks automatically
With Yarn 1, yarn dlx is not a known command	Yarn Classic has no dlx	Use npx as in Step 2

If you are still stuck, the repository has an install-problem form under Issues and a detailed guide at https://github.com/affaan-m/ECC/blob/main/TROUBLESHOOTING.md. ECC never uploads diagnostics on its own.

6. Uninstalling / updating

Updating

Run the install command again:

npx ecc-universal setup

The installer detects the existing version and updates it. Use the same command whenever you want to change the install scope or the hook level.

Checking and repairing

If ECC misbehaves, diagnose before removing anything. Run these from the same folder you used when installing:

npx ecc-universal doctor
npx ecc-universal repair

Uninstalling

Preview what would be removed, then remove it for real:

npx ecc-universal uninstall --dry-run
npx ecc-universal uninstall

If you installed with the two /plugin commands inside Claude Code, remove the ecc@ecc plugin from within Claude Code as well (type /plugin to open plugin management). ECC only deletes files it recorded as its own; any rule folders you copied by hand are yours to delete.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does ECC cost money? The open-source part does not; it is MIT-licensed. ECC Pro is a separate paid service for private GitHub repositories and is optional. The AI assistant ECC runs inside (Claude Code, Codex) has its own costs.

Does it need an internet connection? Yes for installing and updating. During use, your AI assistant already needs one.

Does ECC send my data anywhere? The README states that ECC does not upload diagnostics automatically; the feedback form offered on uninstall is optional and is a public GitHub issue. The code you give to your AI assistant is governed by that assistant's policies, not by ECC.

Does it work with Cursor or Copilot? In a limited way. The project's support table rates Claude Code as stable, Codex as supported, Cursor and OpenCode as beta, Copilot as instructions only, and the remaining tools as experimental.

Will it slow my assistant down? The plugin adds its skill catalogue to the model's context, so it does use extra tokens. The project offers /context-budget to check this, and a lean install without hooks (npx ecc-universal install --profile minimal --target claude) for machines or models with a small context window.