Pilot Shell

How real engineers run Claude Code and Codex

Professional context and harness engineering around the coding agents you already use. Persistent knowledge. Enforced quality. Runtime proof.

Install • Features • Docs • Blog • Website • Changelog

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

macOS · Linux · Windows (WSL2) — installs in under 2 minutes.

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[!TIP] Pilot's open design companion: Open Claude Design connects Claude Design to the coding agent you already use, with codebase-grounded creation and conflict-aware synchronization. Pilot installs it together with Impeccable, so product context, visual iteration, deterministic checks, and engineering verification work as one design layer.

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Why Pilot Shell

Claude Code and Codex CLI write code fast — but production-grade software still needs durable context, disciplined implementation, quality control, and proof that the finished system works.

Pilot Shell is a professional context and harness engineering system—not a collection of rules and skills. It coordinates the complete engineering process around the model:

• Quality on every layer — hooks, stop guards, independent reviews, full test/build gates, and browser or device verification prevent “looks done” handoffs
• Persistent context — relevant source, architecture, project standards, prior decisions, and session state survive long work and compaction, with useful findings remembered automatically across Claude Code and Codex
• Professional toolchain — Semble, CodeGraph, ast-grep, language servers, browser automation, and MCP integrations support discovery, structural search, impact analysis, implementation, and runtime proof
• Runtime verification — tests, builds, real CLI/API execution, browser automation, and device checks turn completion claims into evidence
• Human control plane — the Console connects plan and diff review, annotations, progress, evidence, session recovery, shared project knowledge, and usage
• Workflow neutrality — direct requests, native Plan/Goal tools, and Pilot workflows are peer ways to work inside the same harness
• Structured delivery when wanted — /spec, /build, /fix, and /prd add durable artifacts and explicit lifecycle contracts without becoming routing rules for ordinary requests
• One system for Claude Code and Codex — platform-specific adapters preserve one engineering standard while the underlying models continue to improve

Rules, skills, and persistent memory are coordinated parts of this harness. They supply context; they are not the product by themselves. For a longer practitioner’s explanation, read How to build production-ready software assisted with AI tools.

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

At least one AI agent: Pilot Shell supports Claude Code (primary — full feature coverage) and Codex through Codex CLI or the ChatGPT desktop app (all workflows, fewer platform features). Install at least one before running the Pilot installer: