Prerequisites

Complete guide to all dependencies required for Claude Craft.

Required Dependencies

1. Node.js (20+)

Required for NPX installation and CLI tools.

OS	Installation Command
macOS	`brew install node`
Ubuntu/Debian	`curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x \| sudo -E bash - && sudo apt-get install -y nodejs`
Windows WSL	Same as Ubuntu
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S nodejs npm`

Verify:

bash

node --version   # Should be v18.x or higher
npm --version    # Should be v9.x or higher

2. Bash Shell

Required for installation scripts.

OS	Status
macOS	Pre-installed
Linux	Pre-installed
Windows	Use WSL or Git Bash

Verify:

bash

bash --version

3. yq - YAML Processor

Required for YAML configuration and multi-project setups.

OS	Installation Command
macOS	`brew install yq`
Ubuntu/Debian	`sudo apt install yq` or `snap install yq`
Windows WSL	`sudo apt install yq`
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S yq`
Docker	`docker run --rm -v "${PWD}":/workdir mikefarah/yq`

Alternative - Download Binary:

bash

# Linux amd64
wget https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest/download/yq_linux_amd64 -O /usr/local/bin/yq
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq

# macOS arm64
wget https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest/download/yq_darwin_arm64 -O /usr/local/bin/yq
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq

Verify:

bash

yq --version   # Should be v4.x or higher

4. Git

Required for version control and installation from repository.

OS	Installation Command
macOS	`xcode-select --install` or `brew install git`
Ubuntu/Debian	`sudo apt install git`
Windows WSL	`sudo apt install git`
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S git`

Verify:

bash

git --version   # Should be v2.x or higher

Recommended Dependencies

5. Docker

Strongly recommended for running commands in isolated environments.

OS	Installation
macOS	Docker Desktop
Ubuntu/Debian	See Docker Install Guide
Windows WSL	Docker Desktop with WSL2

Quick Install (Ubuntu):

bash

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in

Verify:

bash

docker --version
docker compose version

6. jq - JSON Processor

Required for StatusLine tool and some advanced features.

OS	Installation Command
macOS	`brew install jq`
Ubuntu/Debian	`sudo apt install jq`
Windows WSL	`sudo apt install jq`
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S jq`

Verify:

bash

jq --version

7. Make

Required for Makefile-based installation (most common method).

OS	Status/Installation
macOS	Pre-installed with Xcode tools: `xcode-select --install`
Ubuntu/Debian	`sudo apt install make`
Windows WSL	`sudo apt install make`
Arch Linux	`sudo pacman -S make`

Verify:

bash

make --version

Claude Code

Claude Craft is designed to work with Claude Code, Anthropic's official CLI.

Installation:

bash

# Install Claude Code CLI
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Or use npx
npx @anthropic-ai/claude-code

First-time setup:

bash

# Authenticate with your Anthropic account
claude login

Automatic Prerequisites Check

Run this script to verify all prerequisites:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# Save as check-prerequisites.sh and run: bash check-prerequisites.sh

echo "Checking Claude Craft prerequisites..."
echo ""

check() {
    if command -v "$1" &> /dev/null; then
        echo "  [OK] $1: $($1 --version 2>&1 | head -n1)"
        return 0
    else
        echo "  [MISSING] $1 - $2"
        return 1
    fi
}

ERRORS=0

echo "Required:"
check "node" "Install: brew install node (macOS) or apt install nodejs (Linux)" || ((ERRORS++))
check "npm" "Comes with Node.js" || ((ERRORS++))
check "bash" "Pre-installed on most systems" || ((ERRORS++))
check "yq" "Install: brew install yq (macOS) or apt install yq (Linux)" || ((ERRORS++))
check "git" "Install: brew install git (macOS) or apt install git (Linux)" || ((ERRORS++))

echo ""
echo "Recommended:"
check "docker" "Install Docker Desktop from docker.com" || true
check "jq" "Install: brew install jq (macOS) or apt install jq (Linux)" || true
check "make" "Install: xcode-select --install (macOS) or apt install make (Linux)" || true

echo ""
if [ $ERRORS -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "All required prerequisites are installed!"
else
    echo "Missing $ERRORS required prerequisite(s). Please install them before continuing."
    exit 1
fi

Optional: LSP Plugins

LSP (Language Server Protocol) plugins give Claude Code structural code understanding — automatic diagnostics, go-to-definition, find references, and type information. Install the language server for your stack:

Stack	Language Server	Installation
PHP / Symfony / Laravel	Intelephense	`npm install -g intelephense`
Python	Pyright	`pip install pyright`
TypeScript / React / Angular / Vue / RN	vtsls	`npm install -g @vtsls/language-server typescript`
Flutter / Dart	Dart SDK Analyzer	Included with Flutter SDK
C# / .NET	csharp-ls	`dotnet tool install -g csharp-ls`

Then install the Claude Code plugin:

bash

# Official plugins
/plugins install php-lsp@claude-plugins-official
/plugins install pyright-lsp@claude-plugins-official
/plugins install typescript-lsp@claude-plugins-official
/plugins install csharp-lsp@claude-plugins-official

# Community plugin (Flutter/Dart)
/plugins install dart-analyzer@claude-code-lsps

Version Requirements Summary

Tool	Minimum Version	Recommended
Node.js	20.0	20.x LTS
npm	9.0	10.x
yq	4.0	4.40+
Git	2.0	2.40+
Docker	20.0	24.x
Docker Compose	2.0	2.24+
jq	1.5	1.7+
Make	3.0	4.x
Claude Code	2.1.47	2.1.47+

Operating System Support

OS	Support Level	Notes
macOS 12+	Full	Recommended for development
Ubuntu 22.04+	Full	Primary Linux target
Debian 12+	Full
Windows 11 + WSL2	Full	Use Ubuntu in WSL
Arch Linux	Full	Community tested
Windows (native)	Partial	Some features require WSL
Other Linux	Should work	Not officially tested

Troubleshooting

yq: command not found

The most common issue. Make sure you install the correct yq (Mike Farah's version):

bash

# Check if you have the wrong yq
which yq

# If it points to /usr/bin/yq, you might have the Python version
# Install the correct one:
sudo wget https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest/download/yq_linux_amd64 -O /usr/local/bin/yq
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/yq

Permission denied on scripts

bash

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x Dev/scripts/*.sh

# Or use make
make fix-permissions

Docker permission denied

bash

# Add your user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Log out and back in, or run:
newgrp docker

Node.js version too old

bash

# Use nvm to manage Node versions
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install 20
nvm use 20

Next Steps

Once all prerequisites are installed:

Follow the Quickstart Guide
Or go directly to Installation Guide

Prerequisites ​

Required Dependencies ​

1. Node.js (20+) ​

2. Bash Shell ​

3. yq - YAML Processor ​

4. Git ​

Recommended Dependencies ​

5. Docker ​

6. jq - JSON Processor ​

7. Make ​

Claude Code ​

Automatic Prerequisites Check ​

Optional: LSP Plugins ​

Version Requirements Summary ​

Operating System Support ​

Troubleshooting ​

yq: command not found ​

Permission denied on scripts ​

Docker permission denied ​

Node.js version too old ​

Next Steps ​

Prerequisites

Required Dependencies

1. Node.js (20+)

2. Bash Shell

3. yq - YAML Processor

4. Git

Recommended Dependencies

5. Docker

6. jq - JSON Processor

7. Make

Claude Code

Automatic Prerequisites Check

Optional: LSP Plugins

Version Requirements Summary

Operating System Support

Troubleshooting

yq: command not found

Permission denied on scripts

Docker permission denied

Node.js version too old

Next Steps