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Quick Start

Get up and running with SwissArmyHammer in just a few minutes.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • SwissArmyHammer installed (see Installation)
  • Claude Code (or another MCP-compatible client)

Step 1: Verify Installation

First, check that SwissArmyHammer is properly installed:

swissarmyhammer --version

Run the doctor command to check your setup:

swissarmyhammer doctor

This will check your system and provide recommendations if anything needs attention.

Step 2: Configure Claude Code

Add SwissArmyHammer to your Claude Code MCP configuration:

Find Your Config File

The Claude Code configuration file is located at:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
  • Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the Configuration

Create or edit the configuration file with the following content:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "swissarmyhammer": {
      "command": "swissarmyhammer",
      "args": ["serve"]
    }
  }
}

If you already have other MCP servers configured, just add the swissarmyhammer entry to your existing mcpServers object.

Step 3: Create Your Prompt Directory

Create a directory for your prompts:

mkdir -p ~/.swissarmyhammer/prompts

This is where you’ll store your custom prompts. SwissArmyHammer will automatically watch this directory for changes.

Step 4: Create Your First Prompt

Create a simple prompt file:

cat > ~/.swissarmyhammer/prompts/helper.md << 'EOF'
---
title: General Helper
description: A helpful assistant for various tasks
arguments:
  - name: task
    description: What you need help with
    required: true
  - name: style
    description: How to approach the task
    required: false
    default: "friendly and concise"
---

# Task Helper

Please help me with: {{task}}

Approach this in a {{style}} manner. Provide clear, actionable advice.
EOF

Step 5: Test the Setup

  1. Restart Claude Code to pick up the new MCP server configuration.

  2. Open Claude Code and start a new conversation.

  3. Try using your prompt: In Claude Code, you should now see SwissArmyHammer prompts available in the prompt picker.

  4. Use the built-in prompts: SwissArmyHammer comes with several built-in prompts you can try right away:

    • help - Get help with using SwissArmyHammer
    • debug-error - Debug error messages
    • code-review - Review code for issues
    • docs-readme - Generate README files

Step 6: Verify Everything Works

Test that SwissArmyHammer is working correctly:

# Check if Claude Code can connect (this will show server info)
swissarmyhammer serve --help

# Run diagnostics again to see the updated status
swissarmyhammer doctor

The doctor command should now show that Claude Code configuration is found and prompts are loading correctly.

What’s Next?

Now that you have SwissArmyHammer set up, you can:

  1. Explore built-in prompts - See what’s available out of the box
  2. Create more prompts - Build your own prompt library
  3. Learn advanced features - Template variables, prompt organization, etc.

Troubleshooting

If something isn’t working:

  1. Run the doctor: swissarmyhammer doctor
  2. Check Claude Code logs: Look for any error messages
  3. Verify file permissions: Make sure SwissArmyHammer can read your prompt files
  4. Restart Claude Code: Sometimes a restart is needed after configuration changes

For more detailed troubleshooting, see the Troubleshooting guide.

Getting Help

If you need help: