Installation Guide - Mini-CoderBrain v2.0

Complete installation guide for Universal AI Context Awareness System with Intelligent Setup & Validation.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Version 2.0 requires MANDATORY initialization after installation. Follow all steps carefully!

📋 Prerequisites

Required

  • Claude Code - Get it from claude.ai
  • Bash shell - macOS/Linux/WSL on Windows
  • Git repository - Recommended for full features (optional for basic use)
  • jq - Enables enhanced features
    • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install jq
    • macOS: brew install jq
    • Windows WSL: sudo apt-get install jq
  • Project Documentation - SRS, Architecture docs for optimal context quality

🚀 Installation Methods

Step 1: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/kunwar-shah/mini-coder-brain.git
cd mini-coder-brain

Step 2: Run Installer

# Make installer executable (first time only)
chmod +x install.sh

# Interactive mode (prompts for project path)
./install.sh

# Or provide path directly
./install.sh /path/to/your/project

What the installer does:

  • ✅ Detects project type (React, Python, Rust, etc.)
  • ✅ Backs up existing .claude folder (if any)
  • ✅ Copies .claude/ system folder with all hooks
  • ✅ Copies CLAUDE.md controller
  • ✅ Creates required directories (tmp, cache, archive)
  • ✅ Makes hooks executable
  • ✅ Copies templates to memory bank (DO NOT edit templates directly!)
  • ✅ Customizes with your project name
  • ✅ Verifies installation
  • ⚠️ Shows mandatory /init-memory-bank requirement

💡 After installation, you MUST run /init-memory-bank - See “Mandatory Initialization” section below.

🔴 MANDATORY: Initialize Context

⚠️ CRITICAL: This step is REQUIRED for mini-coder-brain to work!

After running the installer, open your project in Claude Code and run:

/init-memory-bank --docs-path ./docs

Best for: Projects with SRS, ARCHITECTURE.md, API.md, or technical documentation

What it does:

  • 🔍 Auto-detects your project type
  • 📚 Reads all documentation files
  • 🎯 Extracts features, architecture, tech stack
  • ✅ Populates memory bank with real data
  • 📊 Shows context quality score (aim for 80%+)

Option B: Auto-Detection (Existing Projects)

/init-memory-bank

Best for: Existing projects with code but no documentation

What it does:

  • 🔍 Scans package.json, README.md, code structure
  • 🎯 Auto-detects tech stack and patterns
  • ✅ Generates project-structure.json
  • 📊 Confirms detected info with you

Option C: Interactive Wizard (New Projects)

/init-memory-bank

Best for: Brand new projects starting from scratch

What it does:

  • 💬 Asks about project name, tech stack, features
  • 🎯 Guides you through all required info
  • ✅ Creates complete memory bank from your answers
  • 📊 Validates minimum requirements met

Verify Initialization

After initialization, check your context quality:

/validate-context

Expected output:

📊 Context Quality: 85% (Recommended) ✅

✅ Project name: your-project
✅ Tech stack: 5 technologies
✅ Core features: 4 features
✅ Architecture: Defined

✅ Ready for development!

If quality < 60%: Run /validate-context --fix for guided improvements.

Method 2: Manual Installation (Fallback)

If the automatic installer fails, use these manual steps:

Step 1: Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/kunwar-shah/mini-coder-brain.git
cd mini-coder-brain

Step 2: Copy System Files

# Copy .claude folder to your project
cp -r .claude /path/to/your/project/

# Copy CLAUDE.md controller to your project
cp CLAUDE.md /path/to/your/project/

Step 3: Initialize Memory Bank from Templates

# Navigate to your project
cd /path/to/your/project

# Copy templates to actual memory files
cp .claude/memory/templates/productContext-template.md .claude/memory/productContext.md
cp .claude/memory/templates/activeContext-template.md .claude/memory/activeContext.md
cp .claude/memory/templates/progress-template.md .claude/memory/progress.md
cp .claude/memory/templates/decisionLog-template.md .claude/memory/decisionLog.md
cp .claude/memory/templates/systemPatterns-template.md .claude/memory/systemPatterns.md

Step 4: Make Hooks Executable

chmod +x .claude/hooks/*.sh

Step 5: Create Required Directories

mkdir -p .claude/tmp .claude/cache .claude/archive

Step 6: Customize Your Memory Bank

# Edit productContext.md with your project details
nano .claude/memory/productContext.md

# Replace [PROJECT_NAME] with your project name
# Update technology stack, features, and architecture

Method 3: One-Liner (Advanced)

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunwar-shah/mini-coder-brain/main/install.sh | bash -s /path/to/your/project

⚠️ Security Note: Always review scripts before piping to bash!

✅ Verify Installation

Step 1: Check Files

Verify these files exist in your project:

your-project/
├── .claude/
│   ├── hooks/
│   │   ├── session-start.sh ✅
│   │   ├── conversation-capture-user-prompt.sh ✅
│   │   ├── optimized-intelligent-stop.sh ✅
│   │   ├── intelligent-status-notification.sh ✅
│   │   └── memory-cleanup.sh ✅
│   ├── commands/
│   │   ├── memory-cleanup.md ✅
│   │   └── ... (other commands) ✅
│   ├── memory/
│   │   ├── productContext.md ✅
│   │   ├── activeContext.md ✅
│   │   └── ... (other memory files) ✅
│   └── settings.json ✅
└── CLAUDE.md ✅

Step 2: Test Claude Code

  1. Open your project in Claude Code
  2. Start a new conversation
  3. You should see:
🧠 [CODERBRAIN: ACTIVE] - YourProjectName
🎯 Focus: [Current focus]
📂 Context: .claude/memory/ (loaded)
⚡ Ready for development

Step 3: Initialize Context (MANDATORY)

Run the mandatory initialization:

/init-memory-bank

Or with documentation:

/init-memory-bank --docs-path ./docs

Step 4: Test Commands

Try these commands:

/validate-context              # Check context quality
/update-memory-bank            # Update memory (renamed from /umb)
/memory-cleanup --dry-run      # Test cleanup
/import-docs ./path/to/docs    # Import documentation (if you have it)

If commands work and context quality >= 60%, installation is successful! ✅

🔧 Configuration

Customize Memory Bank

Edit these files for your project:

1. productContext.md - Project overview

nano .claude/memory/productContext.md

Update:

  • Project name
  • Technology stack
  • Architecture overview
  • Key features

2. systemPatterns.md - Coding standards

nano .claude/memory/systemPatterns.md

Add your:

  • Code style preferences
  • Error handling patterns
  • Testing approach
  • Security requirements

3. activeContext.md - Current focus

nano .claude/memory/activeContext.md

Set your:

  • Current development phase
  • Active priorities
  • Known blockers

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Issue 1: “context-loaded.flag not created”

Symptoms: Hooks report flag missing

Solution:

# Verify session-start.sh has flag creation
grep "context-loaded.flag" .claude/hooks/session-start.sh

# Should show: echo "$(date +%s)" > "$CLAUDE_TMP/context-loaded.flag"

Issue 2: “Hooks not executable”

Symptoms: Permission denied errors

Solution:

chmod +x .claude/hooks/*.sh

Issue 3: “jq command not found”

Symptoms: Hooks show jq errors

Solution: Install jq (optional but recommended)

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install jq

# macOS
brew install jq

Note: System works without jq, but some features disabled.

Issue 4: “Prompt is too long” still appears

Symptoms: Error after long conversation

Solution:

  1. Check if cleanup notification appeared
  2. Run /memory-cleanup
  3. Verify activeContext.md reduced from 200+ → ~80 lines

Issue 5: “Context not loading”

Symptoms: Claude doesn’t have project context

Solution:

  1. Verify CLAUDE.md exists in project root
  2. Check .claude/memory/ files exist
  3. Restart Claude Code
  4. Look for boot status message

🔄 Upgrading from v1.0

Backup First

# Backup existing .claude folder
cp -r .claude .claude.v1.backup

Install v2.0

# Run new installer (will backup automatically)
cd mini-coder-brain
./install.sh /path/to/your/project

Key Changes in v2.0

  • ✨ Hooks completely rewritten (zero duplication)
  • ✨ Memory cleanup system added
  • ✨ Context loading strategy changed
  • ✨ 79.9% token reduction achieved

Migration Notes

  • Memory files compatible (no changes needed)
  • Commands compatible (new ones added)
  • Hooks incompatible (replaced automatically)

🗑️ Uninstallation

Remove Mini-CoderBrain

cd your-project

# Backup memory files (optional)
cp -r .claude/memory .claude-memory-backup

# Remove system
rm -rf .claude
rm CLAUDE.md

Restore Backup (if needed)

# If you backed up before installing
mv .claude.backup .claude
mv CLAUDE.md.backup CLAUDE.md

🎯 Post-Installation

  1. Initialize Context (MANDATORY) 
    /init-memory-bank --docs-path ./docs  # With documentation
# OR
/init-memory-bank                     # Auto-detect
  2. Validate Quality 
    /validate-context                     # Check score (aim for 80%+)
  3. Import Additional Docs (If Needed) 
    /import-docs ./additional-docs        # Add more documentation
  4. Enable Codebase Mapping 
    /map-codebase --rebuild              # One-time setup
/map-codebase                        # Instant loading
  5. Work on Your Project
    • Claude now has full context
    • Perfect continuity across sessions
    • Auto-cleanup prevents bloat
    • Context quality monitored automatically
  6. Update Memory After Major Work 
    /update-memory-bank "Completed feature X"  # After milestones

📚 Next Steps

  • 📖 Setup Guide: SETUP.md - Comprehensive setup guide for all scenarios
  • 📋 README: README.md - Feature overview and quick start
  • 🔧 Commands: Available commands and usage
  • 📘 Examples: examples/ - Reference projects (empty/existing/complex)

🆘 Support

Installation Complete! 🎉

Mini-CoderBrain v2.0 is now active in your project.

⚠️ REMEMBER: Run /init-memory-bank to complete setup!

After initialization, Claude will have:

  • ✅ Perfect context awareness
  • ✅ Memory continuity across sessions
  • ✅ Measurable quality scores (60-95%)
  • ✅ Intelligent validation and warnings