Kodelyth Quickstart — Getting Started with Kodelyth ECC

Welcome. This guide explains Kodelyth ECC (ECC) in plain language so you can start using it confidently in the first 10 minutes.

> Powered by Kodelyth — making AI tooling friendly from the first interaction.

What Is This?

Kodelyth ECC is a plugin that makes Claude Code smarter. It adds:

Agents — specialists you delegate tasks to (like hiring a contractor for a specific job)
Skills — domain knowledge loaded into Claude's context (like giving Claude a textbook to reference)
Commands — shortcuts to trigger common workflows (like macros)
Hooks — automatic actions that run before/after Claude does things (like background safety checks)

You don't need to use all of them. Start with what solves your current problem.

The 4 Things You Need to Know

1. Agents — Specialists for Specific Jobs

Agents are like calling a specialist instead of doing it yourself. You delegate a task to an agent and it handles it end-to-end.

When to use an agent: when you have a specific, defined task that matches an expert's domain.

# To use an agent, just say:
"use code-reviewer"
"use planner"
"use debug-detective"

Kodelyth agents added to this repo:

| Agent | What it does | |---|---| | kodelyth-advisor | Not sure what to use? Ask this agent — it guides you to the right tool | | debug-detective | Traces bugs to their root cause step by step — never guesses | | ux-reviewer | Reviews frontend code for UX and accessibility issues |

Other useful built-in agents:

| Agent | When to use it | |---|---| | planner | Before starting a complex feature | | code-reviewer | After writing or changing code | | security-reviewer | When code touches auth, payments, or user data | | refactor-cleaner | When code has grown messy | | build-error-resolver | When a build or compile is failing | | tdd-guide | When you want to write tests properly | | performance-optimizer | When something is slow |

2. Skills — Domain Knowledge on Demand

Skills load expert knowledge into Claude's context for a specific topic. They're not agents — they don't do a task for you. They give Claude the right context to do it well.

When to use a skill: when you're working in a specific language, framework, or domain and want Claude to follow best practices for it.

# To use a skill, type the skill name as a command:
/python-patterns
/golang-patterns
/postgres-patterns
/docker-patterns
/coding-standards

Kodelyth skills added to this repo:

| Skill | What it covers | |---|---| | /kodelyth-quickstart | This guide — plain-language intro to ECC | | /smart-debug | Systematic debugging framework for any language |

Other useful built-in skills:

| Skill | When to use it | |---|---| | /coding-standards | General code quality rules (naming, structure, etc.) | | /python-patterns | Python best practices | | /golang-patterns | Go best practices | | /typescript-patterns | TypeScript/React best practices | | /postgres-patterns | Database query and schema patterns | | /docker-patterns | Container and Docker Compose patterns | | /security-review | Security audit guidance | | /api-design | REST API design conventions |

3. Commands — Workflow Shortcuts

Commands trigger multi-step workflows with a single slash command.

When to use commands: for repeatable workflows you do often.

/tdd          → Start test-driven development workflow
/plan         → Create an implementation plan
/code-review  → Trigger a quality review
/build-fix    → Fix a broken build
/e2e          → Generate and run E2E tests
/learn        → Extract reusable patterns from this session

4. Hooks — Automatic Background Protection

Hooks run automatically — you don't invoke them. They silently protect you from common mistakes.

What's running in the background right now:

| Hook | What it does | |---|---| | Session start | Loads context from your last session | | Pre-commit check | Catches console.log, secrets, and bad commit messages | | Quality gate | Runs type checks and formatting after you edit files | | Git push reminder | Prompts you to review before pushing | | Cost tracker | Logs token usage per session | | Desktop notify | Sends a macOS notification when Claude finishes a long task |

You don't need to do anything — hooks are already active.

Your First 5 Minutes — A Practical Path

Step 1: Get guidance on what to use

use kodelyth-advisor

Tell it what you're building. It will recommend the right agents and skills.

Step 2: Load the right skill for your stack

/python-patterns          # if you're working in Python
/typescript-patterns      # if you're working in TypeScript/React
/golang-patterns          # if you're working in Go
/coding-standards         # if you want general best practices

Step 3: Plan your feature before coding

use planner

Describe what you want to build. The planner will produce a phased implementation plan.

Step 4: After you write code, review it

use code-reviewer

This catches security issues, code quality problems, and missing tests before they become problems.

Step 5: If something breaks, debug it systematically

use debug-detective
/smart-debug

Tell the agent the symptom. It will trace the bug to its root cause.

Bonus: See your AI workspace at a glance

npx kodelyth-ecc dashboard

Opens the local observability dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:5747. Inspect memory captures, BM25 search across past solutions, evolve proposals, the full skill and agent catalog, swarm sessions, and token-budget snapshots — all local, zero telemetry.

Common Questions

Q: What's the difference between an agent and a skill? An agent *does* something (takes actions, reads files, writes code). A skill *informs* Claude (loads reference knowledge into context). Use agents for tasks, skills for expertise.

Q: How do I know which agent to use? When in doubt: use kodelyth-advisor — it will recommend the right one for your situation.

Q: Can I use multiple skills at once? Yes. Load any combination of skills and Claude will use all of them.

Q: Do hooks cost me tokens? Minimal. Most hooks are fast shell scripts that run outside Claude's context window.

Q: The command didn't do anything obvious — is it working? Commands load context into the conversation. Claude will then follow the skill's guidance in its next response. Try asking a question related to the skill topic.

Quick Reference Card

NOT SURE WHERE TO START?    →  use kodelyth-advisor
PLANNING A FEATURE?         →  use planner  or  /plan
REVIEWING CODE?             →  use code-reviewer  or  /code-review
DEBUGGING?                  →  use debug-detective  or  /smart-debug
SECURITY CONCERN?           →  use security-reviewer
TESTS NEEDED?               →  use tdd-guide  or  /tdd
BUILD BROKEN?               →  use build-error-resolver  or  /build-fix
UX REVIEW?                  →  use ux-reviewer
LOAD LANGUAGE PATTERNS?     →  /python-patterns, /golang-patterns, etc.
GENERAL CODE STANDARDS?     →  /coding-standards
OBSERVABILITY DASHBOARD?    →  npx kodelyth-ecc dashboard  (localhost:5747)