Thank you.
Now let's set it up.

Find your download

Polar emailed you a receipt with a download link on it, to the address you paid with. Two files are there, one for each kind of rig. Download Agent Kickstart for Mac.dmg and ignore the Windows one.

Polar emailed you a receipt with a download link on it, to the address you paid with. Two files are there, one for each kind of rig. Download Agent Kickstart for Windows.zip and ignore the Mac one.

No email arrived

Check spam and promotions first. It comes from Polar, not from me.

Still nothing? Reply to this page's purchase in Polar's buyer portal, or use the "Contact seller" option on your receipt. I will send you a fresh download link. You are not stuck, and you have not lost anything.

What I cannot do is email you the file itself. Gmail blocks the Windows installer even zipped up, so the file will not travel by email for anyone. A link always works, so a link is what you get.

Run the wizard

Double-click Agent Kickstart for Mac.dmg, then double-click the Agent Kickstart icon in the window that opens. Click Continue on each screen. If it finds something missing it installs it, and your Mac may ask for your password for Node.

Right-click Agent Kickstart for Windows.zip in your Downloads folder and choose Extract All, then Extract. A folder opens with two files in it. Double-click Start Agent Kickstart. A black window appears for a second, then the wizard. Click Continue on each screen.

Why two files. Windows will not run a downloaded installer script on its own unless the script has been bought a certificate. Start Agent Kickstart is a small launcher that starts the other one for you. You never open the other file yourself.

When it says Done, skip straight to Log in to Claude below. Every step between here and there is what the wizard just did for you, written out in case it cannot finish on your rig. If that happens, email dempsey@agentkickstart.tech and I will send you the same product as a plain zip, which is what those steps install. The ones that only apply to it are marked zip only.

Unzip it zip only

Double-click the downloaded file. macOS unzips it into a folder called agent-kickstart, usually in your Downloads. Leave it there. Do not move the files out of the folder or the installer cannot find its own pieces.

Right-click the downloaded file, choose Extract All, then click Extract. Windows makes a folder called agent-kickstart, usually in your Downloads. Leave it there. Do not move the files out of the folder or the installer cannot find its own pieces.

Do not skip the extracting. Windows lets you open a zip and look inside as though it were a normal folder, but nothing in there can actually run. If you did not see an Extract step, you have not extracted it.

I got loose files instead of a folder

Some browsers unzip automatically on download. If your Downloads folder now has install.sh, README.md and a skills folder loose among your other downloads, make a new folder, name it agent-kickstart, and drag those items into it.

I got loose files instead of a folder

Some browsers unzip automatically on download. If your Downloads folder now has install.ps1, README.md and a skills folder loose among your other downloads, make a new folder, name it agent-kickstart, and drag those items into it.

Open Terminal zip only

Open PowerShell zip only

This is the black window where you type instructions to your Mac. It comes with every Mac. You already have it.

This is the blue window where you type instructions to your PC. It comes with every copy of Windows. You already have it.

Press ⌘ Space, type Terminal, press Return.

Press Win, type PowerShell, press Enter.

A window opens with a line of text ending in % and a blinking block. That block is the cursor waiting for you. It looks unfriendly. It cannot do anything you do not tell it to.

A window opens with a line of text ending in > and a blinking block. That block is the cursor waiting for you. It looks unfriendly. It cannot do anything you do not tell it to.

For the rest of this page: "paste this and press Return" always means click into the Terminal window first, paste, then press Return.

For the rest of this page: "paste this and press Enter" always means click into the PowerShell window first, paste, then press Enter. Paste with Ctrl V, or just right-click, which also pastes here.

Some steps below say Return, which is what Apple calls it. Your keyboard says Enter. Same key.

My Terminal looks different / I have iTerm or Warp

Any of them work. If you already use a different terminal app, use it. Only the window looks different; every command below behaves the same.

I see Windows PowerShell, PowerShell 7, and Terminal

Any of them work. Windows PowerShell is the one every PC has and it is fine. Only the window looks different; every command below behaves the same.

What you must not use is Command Prompt (cmd). It looks similar and it will not run these commands. If the title bar says Command Prompt, close it and search for PowerShell instead.

Do I need to "Run as administrator"?

No. Everything here installs into your own user account. If something later tells you it needs administrator rights, that is a sign it is not one of our steps.

Install Claude Code zip only

Paste this and press Return.

Paste this and press Enter.

It prints a few lines and finishes in under a minute. Then check it worked:

You should see a version number, something like 2.1.211 (Claude Code).

It says command not found: claude

Almost always the same cause: your Terminal was already open before the install finished, so it does not know the new command exists yet.

Quit Terminal completely with ⌘ Q, open it again, and retry claude --version. This one fix solves most problems on this page.

Still not found? Agent Kickstart's installer repairs this for you at step 10 of the zip path (the wizard already did it), so you can carry on. It knows where Claude Code puts itself and fixes the setting that finds it.

It says claude is not recognized

Almost always the same cause: your PowerShell window was already open before the install finished, so it does not know the new command exists yet.

Close the window completely, open PowerShell again, and retry claude --version. This one fix solves most problems on this page.

Still not recognised? Agent Kickstart's installer repairs this for you at step 10 of the zip path (the wizard already did it), so you can carry on. It knows where Claude Code puts itself and fixes the setting that finds it.

The install command itself failed

If you saw 403 or syntax error near unexpected token, the download was blocked, usually by a work laptop's network or a VPN. Try on a normal home connection.

If you have Homebrew already, this works too: brew install --cask claude-code

The install command itself failed

If you saw 403, or the command hung and gave up, the download was blocked, usually by a work laptop's network or a VPN. Try on a normal home connection.

If it mentioned running scripts is disabled on this system, that is Windows' Execution Policy. Paste this, answer Y, then try the install again. It only ever affects your own account, never the whole PC:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSignedCopy

Log in to Claude

Came from the wizard? Open Terminal first: press ⌘ Space, type Terminal, press Return. A window with a blinking block appears; click into it.

Came from the wizard? Open PowerShell first: press Win, type PowerShell, press Enter. A window with a blinking block appears; click into it.

Type this and press Return.

Your browser opens and asks you to sign in to your Claude account. Do that, then come back to your terminal window. You are now inside Claude Code: the prompt has changed and it is waiting for you to talk to it.

Type /exit and press Return to come back out. You will go back in at the end.

It says my plan does not include Claude Code

This is the paid plan requirement from the top of the page. Claude Code needs Pro, Max, Team or Enterprise; the free plan cannot run it.

Upgrade at claude.ai/upgrade and type claude again. If you would rather not, take the refund within 14 days. Nothing you have installed so far is wasted or harmful.

Install Node zip only

Two of the free tools in the bundle need it. Claude Code itself does not, so this step is easy to miss and then the installer stops on it.

First check whether you already have it:

If you see a number like v22.11.0, you are done, skip to step 8.

If it says command not found, go to nodejs.org, download the big green LTS button, open the downloaded file and click through the installer. It will ask for your Mac login password. That is macOS asking, not us, and it is normal for any installer. Then quit Terminal with ⌘ Q, reopen it, and check node --version again.

If it says not recognized, go to nodejs.org, download the big green LTS button, open the downloaded .msi file and click through the installer, accepting everything it suggests. Windows will show a box asking whether to allow it to make changes. That is Windows asking, not us, and it is normal for any installer. Then close PowerShell, open it again, and check node --version again.

I installed it but it still says command not found

You need a fresh Terminal window. Quit with ⌘ Q, not just close the window, then open it again. A terminal only reads its settings when it starts.

I installed it but it still says not recognized

You need a fresh PowerShell window, because a terminal only reads its settings when it starts. Close every PowerShell window you have open, then open a new one.

If it is still missing after that, sign out of Windows and back in. That is heavy handed and it always works.

Check for git zip only optional

Most Macs already have it. Thirty seconds to check.

Most PCs do not have it. Two minutes if you need it.

A version number means you are set. If macOS pops up a box offering to install developer tools, click Install and wait for it to finish. If nothing happens and it says command not found, paste this and follow the prompt:

A version number means you are set, skip to step 9. If it says not recognized, download it from git-scm.com/download/win and click through the installer, accepting every default. Then close PowerShell and open it again.

This step is genuinely optional. Git is what /ship-it uses to put your work online. Everything else in the bundle works without it, so if the download stalls, carry on and come back to it.

Point Terminal at the folder zip only

Point PowerShell at the folder zip only

This is the step people get wrong, so it is designed so you never type a folder path.

In Terminal, type cd and then one space. Do not press Return yet.

Now open Finder, find your agent-kickstart folder, and drag it onto the Terminal window. The path fills itself in. Now press Return.

Dragging is not a shortcut, it is the reliable way. Typing the path by hand fails the moment the folder is somewhere you did not expect.

Open File Explorer and find your agent-kickstart folder. Do not open it. Right-click the folder itself and choose Copy as path. If you do not see that option, hold Shift while you right-click and it appears.

Now in PowerShell type cd and one space, then paste with Ctrl V and press Enter. It will look something like cd "C:\Users\you\Downloads\agent-kickstart", quote marks and all. Leave the quote marks in.

Copying the path is not a shortcut, it is the reliable way. Typing it by hand fails the moment the folder is somewhere you did not expect.

It says no such file or directory

The path is wrong, which means it was typed rather than dragged, or the drag missed.

Start again: type cd, one space, then drag the folder from Finder onto the Terminal window and check you can see the path appear before you press Return.

It says Cannot find path

The path is wrong, which usually means it was typed rather than copied, or you copied the path of a file inside the folder instead of the folder itself.

Start again: type cd, one space, right-click the agent-kickstart folder, Copy as path, paste, and check you can see the path appear before you press Enter.

If the path has .zip in it, you pointed at the zip file rather than the extracted folder. Go back to step 3.

How do I know it worked?

lsCopy

Paste that and press Return. You should see install.sh, README.md, skills and templates listed. If you see something else, you are in the wrong folder.

How do I know it worked?

dirCopy

Paste that and press Enter. You should see install.ps1, README.md, skills and templates listed. If you see something else, you are in the wrong folder.

Run the installer zip only

Paste this and press Return.

Paste this and press Enter. The .\ at the front is required, and it is a backslash.

It takes two or three minutes and prints its progress as it goes. What you should see:

If it asks "You already have settings.json. Replace it?", that means you had Claude Code set up before. Your old file is already backed up. Answer y to use the Agent Kickstart setup, or n to keep yours and merge by hand later.

It stopped and said something is not installed

The installer checks before it changes anything, so nothing is half-done. It names exactly what is missing.

Claude Code is not installed → back to step 5. Node is not installed → back to step 7. Git is not installed → back to step 8. Then run the installer again.

It says permission denied

You most likely ran ./install.sh instead of bash install.sh. Use the bash version, which does not need any permission changes.

It says running scripts is disabled on this system

That is Windows' Execution Policy, and it is the single most common thing to hit here. Paste this, answer Y, then run .\install.ps1 again:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser RemoteSignedCopy

This changes the setting for your account only, never for the whole PC, and it is the setting Microsoft recommends rather than a way around security.

It says the file is not digitally signed, or is blocked

Windows marks files that came from the internet. Paste this to clear that mark on the folder you are already in, then run the installer again:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Unblock-FileCopy

An orange ! appeared next to something

That is a warning, not a failure, and the installer carries on deliberately. It means one of the free tools could not be reached right now, usually because its source is temporarily down.

Everything else installed. The line tells you the one command to run later to pick up the missing piece. Nothing is broken.

Can I run it twice?

Yes, as often as you like. It backs up your settings every single time, it never overwrites memory you have already written, and it asks before replacing anything. Re-running is the safe move if you are unsure.

Open a fresh Terminal and meet it

Open a fresh PowerShell and meet it

Quit Terminal with ⌘ Q and open it again. This matters: the new settings only load in a new window.

Close PowerShell and open it again. This matters: the new settings only load in a new window.

Then type this and press Return:

Once it starts, type this and press Return:

It will interview you for about five minutes: who you are, what you are working on, how you like to be spoken to. Answer honestly and in your own words, there are no wrong answers. When it finishes it writes everything down as notes it keeps for good.

Do not skip this. Everything that makes this setup worth having starts here. Skip it and you have an ordinary Claude Code install.

When the interview finishes, type this:

That walks you through the other eight skills one at a time, using your own projects as the examples, and stops the moment you have had enough. Another five minutes, and it is the difference between owning nine of these and remembering one.

One of them works on its own from here: about once a week, a note will appear when you start Claude offering a tune-up. That is /self-improvement reading what it learned from working with you and offering to make the other skills better. Say yes when you have a few minutes; you approve every change it suggests.

/onboard is not in the list of commands

You are in a Terminal window that was open before the installer ran. Quit with ⌘ Q, open a new one, type claude and press Return again.

You are in a PowerShell window that was open before the installer ran. Close it, open a new one, type claude and press Return again.

If it is still missing, run the installer once more from the folder and watch for a line saying /onboard.

Still stuck on any step

Reply through Polar's buyer messaging, on the receipt they emailed you (Polar is the store you bought from). Tell me which step number you are on and paste what your terminal printed. That is genuinely enough for me to fix it.

If it is not for you, the refund is 14 days, no questions and no form. Ask and it is done.