Do I need a separate AI agent subscription to use Pilot Shell?

Yes. Pilot Shell enhances Claude Code and Codex CLI — it doesn't replace them. You need at least one active subscription: Claude (Max 5x or 20x for solo developers, or Team Premium for teams) or OpenAI Codex (Plus or Pro for solo developers, Business or Enterprise for teams). Pilot Shell adds quality automation on top of whichever agent you use.

Is Pilot Shell enterprise-compliant for data privacy?

Pilot Shell's installed local services keep your source code, project files, and development context on your machine. Semble and CodeGraph process code locally, and Pilot disables CodeGraph's optional telemetry. Pilot's required service calls are daily license validation (license key only) and one-time activation or trial start (machine fingerprint only); they do not include source code, OS information, or version strings. Your overall compliance posture also depends on how your organization configures Claude Code or Codex and its AI provider.

Does Pilot Shell work with other AI coding tools?

Pilot Shell supports Claude Code and Codex CLI through agent-specific integrations. Claude Code provides slash-command workflows, edit-time quality hooks, and LSP integrations. Codex compatibility uses the interfaces Pilot supports for that agent. The installer detects supported agents and configures the relevant assets.

Does Pilot Shell work with existing projects?

Yes — that's the primary use case. Pilot Shell doesn't scaffold or restructure your code. Install it, work directly or choose a native or Pilot workflow, and run /setup-rules only when you want repository-specific shared guidance.

Which programming languages does Pilot Shell support?

Pilot Shell's quality hooks (auto-formatting, linting, type checking) currently support Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, and Go out of the box, plus a single-file dotnet format whitespace check for C#. Pilot workflows, persistent memory, and all rules and standards work with any language Claude Code or Codex CLI supports.

Can I use one Pilot Shell license on multiple machines?

Yes. A Solo license covers you across all your personal devices — workstation, laptop, VPS, cloud instances. One subscription, one key, multiple machines. Team licenses are for multiple people, not multiple machines.

Can I use Pilot Shell on multiple projects?

Yes. Pilot Shell installs once globally and works across all your projects. All tools, rules, commands, and hooks live in ~/.pilot/ and ~/.claude/. Each project can optionally have its own .claude/ rules, custom skills, and MCP servers.

Can I add my own rules, commands, skills, and agents?

Yes. Create your own in your project's .claude/ folder — rules, commands, skills, and agents are plain markdown files. Project-level assets load alongside Pilot Shell's defaults and take precedence when they overlap. Team plans also support sharing extensions via a connected git repository.

Pilot Shell — How real engineers run Claude Code and Codex

Professional context and harness engineering around the coding agents you already use. Direct requests, native Plan and Goal tools, and Pilot workflows are equal paths through persistent knowledge, enforced quality, and runtime proof.

What Pilot Shell adds to Claude Code and Codex

Engineering Harness - Persistent context, quality enforcement, professional tools, and runtime proof around the way you already work.
Goal-and-Loop Development - Build and judge against a named quality bar with /build.
TDD Enforcement — Tests first, then implementation.
Quality Checks - Linting, type checking, tests, builds, and execution verification.
Persistent Memory — Context carries across sessions automatically.
Semantic Code Search — Find code by meaning, not just keywords.
MCP Servers - Preconfigured for Claude Code and Codex.
LSP Integrations - Claude Code only.
Conditional UI Design Expertise - Path-gated principles, progressively disclosed skills, and on-demand Claude Design access for current Codex.
Worktree Isolation — Safe parallel work via git worktrees.

Install

Run the installer in your terminal:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/maxritter/pilot-shell/main/install.sh | bash

Work directly, use native Plan/Goal tools, or choose a Pilot workflow. Run /setup-rules or $setup-rules when you want repository-specific shared guidance.