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Getting Started

Install techne and run your first skill in minutes.

Prerequisites

You'll need:

  • Claude Code: The IDE plugin (visit the marketplace to install if you haven't already)
  • GitHub CLI (gh): Several skills use this to interact with GitHub. Install: github.com/cli/cli
  • A git repository: All skills work within git repos. Initialize one if needed: git init

Installation

From inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add ajbarea/techne
/plugin install techne@techne

Verify the install:

/help techne:audit

This should display the help text for the audit skill. If you see "Command not found", refresh Claude Code and try again.

First Workflow

Let's walk through a typical use case: validating your local build before pushing.

1. Pick Your First Skill

Choose based on what you're trying to do:

Want to... Use Time
Validate your local build is clean (lint, test, etc.) techne:audit 2-5 min
Organize your pending changes into logical commits techne:auto-commit 3-10 min
Check GitHub Actions for warnings and failures techne:ci-audit 2-5 min
Clean up AI-generated slop in your code techne:deslop 5-15 min
Verify documentation claims match the code techne:docsync 5-10 min
Maintain your Zensical docs site techne:docs-site 2-5 min
Audit sister repos for consistency techne:sisters 5-10 min

2. Run Your First Skill

Example: techne:audit to validate the build.

techne:audit

Expected output:

Running techne:audit on <your-repo>

Target: setup ... OK (log matches)
Target: lint  ... OK (log matches)
Target: test  ... OK (log matches)

All targets passed. Your build is clean.

If any target fails or drifts, the skill will highlight it clearly and suggest fixes.

3. Review & Approve

All skills write a plan, report, or diff to disk before making changes. Review it carefully, then approve:

# You see a report or diff
# Review it: does it look right?
# If yes, say "go" or "apply" to execute
# If no, edit manually or ask for refinements

4. Next: Multi-Skill Workflows

Once you're comfortable with one skill, combine them:

# Validate locally
techne:audit

# Organize your changes
techne:auto-commit
# Review COMMITS.md, then say "go"

# Check GitHub Actions output
techne:ci-audit

# Clean up prose before merging
techne:deslop src/

See Examples for real-world workflows.

Configuration

Per-Repo Configuration

Some skills accept repo-specific overrides in .claude/skill-context.md. Example:

audit:
  skip_targets:
    - docker-build

auto-commit:
  create_pr: true
  target_branch: main

docsync:
  check_code_blocks: true

See Configuration for all options.

Multi-Repo Configuration

If you manage multiple repositories (sister repos), create ~/.claude/techne.toml:

github_user = "your-github-username"
workspace_root = "/path/to/your/workspace"

[[sisters]]
name = "repo-one"
status = "active"

[[sisters]]
name = "repo-two"
status = "active"

[[sisters]]
name = "repo-three"
status = "active"

Then use techne:sisters to audit cross-repo consistency. See Configuration for details.

Common Questions

Q: Can I use only one skill?
A: Yes! Each skill is independent. You can use audit without ci-audit, or docsync without any others.

Q: What if a skill tries to modify my code and I disagree?
A: All skills write a plan or diff first. Review it, edit manually if needed, and approve before execution. You're always in control.

Q: Can I customize skill behavior?
A: Yes. Use .claude/skill-context.md for per-repo overrides, and ~/.claude/techne.toml for multi-repo config. See Configuration.

Q: Does techne modify my git history?
A: Only if you approve. Skills like auto-commit stage and commit, but they ask for your permission first. Skills like audit and docsync are read-only by default; they surface issues, you decide whether to fix them.

Q: What's the difference between deslop and reslop?
A: deslop finds and trims AI-slop (verbose, redundant prose). reslop rewrites docstrings grounded in the actual code. Use deslop for triage; use reslop when you want replacement prose, not deletion. See Examples for a real workflow.

Q: How do I debug issues?
A: Run the skill again with increased verbosity (most skills support --verbose or --debug). If a skill gets stuck, you can always cancel and try a different approach.

Troubleshooting

"Command not found: techne:audit"
- Ensure you ran /plugin install techne@techne inside Claude Code. - Refresh Claude Code and try again. - Check that you're in a git repository (git status should work).

"gh: command not found"
- Install GitHub CLI: github.com/cli/cli - Authenticate: gh auth login

"Skill runs but output looks wrong"
- Increase verbosity: techne:audit --verbose - Check .claude/skill-context.md for any overrides that might affect behavior. - Ask Claude to explain what the skill is doing.

"Sister repo config not working"
- Verify ~/.claude/techne.toml exists and is readable. - Check the repo names match your actual directories. - Run techne:sisters --debug to see which repos are detected.

Next Steps