Prerequisites
What you need before installing Pilot Shell.
Claude Code
Install Claude Code using the native installer before setting up Pilot Shell. If you have the npm or brew version installed, uninstall it first. If no Claude Code installation is detected, the Pilot installer will attempt to set it up for you.
Claude Subscription
Pilot enhances Claude Code — it doesn't replace it. You need an active Claude subscription. Solo developers, teams, and enterprise organizations are all supported.
| Plan | Audience | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Max 5x | Solo — moderate usage | Good for part-time or focused coding sessions |
| Max 20x | Solo — heavy usage | Recommended for full-time AI-assisted development |
| Team Premium | Teams | 6.25x usage per member + SSO, admin tools, billing management |
| Enterprise | Companies | For organizations with compliance, procurement, or security requirements |
Codex Plugin (Included)
The Codex plugin is installed automatically with Pilot. It provides adversarial code review powered by OpenAI Codex — an independent second opinion during /spec planning and verification phases.
Setup: Run /codex:setup once to authenticate with your OpenAI account, then enable the reviewers in Console Settings → Reviewers. Pilot auto-detects the plugin — Codex reviewer toggles appear grayed out until setup is complete.
A ChatGPT Plus subscription ($20/mo) covers the Codex API usage needed for code reviews.
System Requirements
Pilot installs once and works across all your projects. Each project can have its own .claude/ rules and skills.
| Platform | Notes |
|---|---|
| macOS | 10.15 Catalina or later, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Linux | Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL-based distros, and most others |
| Windows | WSL2 required — native Windows not supported |
Install WSL2 first (wsl --install -d Ubuntu), then run the installer inside Ubuntu.