Claude Code Guide

A comprehensive setup guide and toolkit for Claude Code CLI. Includes configuration fixes, custom MCPs, skills, agents, and commands to supercharge your Claude Code experience.

Quick Install

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ajjucoder/claude-code-guide/main/install.sh | bash

What's Included

Directory	Contents
config/	Configuration fixes and templates (compaction fix, settings, CLAUDE.md template)
mcps/	Custom MCP servers for enhanced functionality
skills/	Custom skills for specialized tasks
agents/	Custom agent personas
commands/	Custom slash commands

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Featured MCPs

Document Loader MCP

Read PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image files directly in Claude Code.

# Install
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-document-loader

# Usage
mcp-cli call document-loader-mcp/read_document '{"file_path": "/path/to/file.pdf", "file_type": "pdf"}'

Full Documentation →

Exa MCP

AI-powered web search and code context search.

# Install
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-exa

# Usage
mcp-cli call exa/web_search_exa '{"query": "Next.js 15 best practices"}'

Full Documentation →

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MCP-First Configuration

Make Claude Code automatically use your MCPs instead of built-in tools.

Step 1: Install MCPs

# Document Loader
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-document-loader

# Exa (requires API key from exa.ai)
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-exa

Step 2: Configure settings.json

Copy the settings template:

cp config/settings.json ~/.claude/settings.json

Or manually add to your ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "document-loader-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-document-loader"],
      "env": {}
    },
    "exa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-exa"],
      "env": {
        "EXA_API_KEY": "your-exa-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Configure CLAUDE.md

Copy the CLAUDE.md template to make Claude automatically use MCPs:

cp config/CLAUDE.md.template ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

This template includes:

• MCP-First Policy: Claude will use document-loader-mcp for documents, exa for web search
• Auto-detection rules: No need to tell Claude to "use MCP" - it does it automatically
• Compaction fix: Preserves important context during auto-compaction
• Coding preferences: TypeScript defaults, no comments, etc.

Step 4: Verify Installation

# List MCPs
mcp-cli servers

# Expected output:
# document-loader-mcp
# exa

# Test document reading
mcp-cli call document-loader-mcp/read_document '{"file_path": "/path/to/test.pdf", "file_type": "pdf"}'

# Test web search
mcp-cli call exa/web_search_exa '{"query": "test query"}'

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Features

Compaction Fix

Fixes the issue where Claude Code auto-compacts conversations too aggressively, losing important context.

Learn more →

Custom MCPs

MCP servers that extend Claude Code's capabilities.

MCP	Description	Documentation
document-loader-mcp	Read PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images	Docs
exa-mcp	AI-powered web and code search	Docs

Browse all MCPs →

Custom Skills

Specialized skills for common workflows.

Browse Skills →

Custom Agents

Agent personas for different tasks.

Browse Agents →

Custom Commands

Slash commands for quick actions.

Browse Commands →

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Manual Installation

1. Compaction Fix Only

# Append compaction instructions to your CLAUDE.md
cat config/compaction-fix.md >> ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

2. Full Setup

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/ajjucoder/claude-code-guide.git
cd claude-code-guide

# Run installer
./install.sh

3. Individual Components

# Install specific MCP
cp -r mcps/your-mcp ~/.claude/mcps/

# Install specific skill
cp -r skills/your-skill ~/.claude/commands/

# Install specific agent
cp agents/your-agent.md ~/.claude/commands/

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For New Machines

When setting up Claude Code on a new machine:

# 1. Clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/ajjucoder/claude-code-guide.git
cd claude-code-guide

# 2. Run the installer
./install.sh

# 3. Add your API keys
# Edit ~/.claude/settings.json and add your Exa API key

# 4. Verify
mcp-cli servers
mcp-cli tools

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Configuration Files

File	Location	Purpose
settings.json	~/.claude/settings.json	MCP server configuration
CLAUDE.md	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md	Global instructions for Claude
Project CLAUDE.md	./CLAUDE.md	Project-specific instructions

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Troubleshooting

MCPs not showing up

# Check if MCPs are configured
cat ~/.claude/settings.json

# Reinstall MCPs
npm install -g @anthropic/mcp-document-loader @anthropic/mcp-exa

# Restart Claude Code

"Permission denied" errors

# Fix permissions
chmod +x install.sh

API key errors (Exa)

1. Get your key from exa.ai
2. Add it to ~/.claude/settings.json:

   "env": {
     "EXA_API_KEY": "your-actual-key"
   }

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Contributing

Found something useful? Add it!

1. Fork this repo
2. Add your MCP/skill/agent/command
3. Update the relevant README
4. Open a PR

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License

MIT - Use freely, modify as needed.