Dev Essentials

A tech pack that provides foundational settings, plugins, and git workflows for Claude Code.

Built for the mcs configuration engine.

identifier: dev
requires:   mcs >= 2026.2.28

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What Is This?

This pack sets up the baseline Claude Code experience — plan mode by default, extended thinking, structured git workflows, and a curated set of plugins.

On session start, the pack reports git status, branch protection warnings, ahead/behind tracking, and open PRs.

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What's Included

Plugins

Plugin	Description
explanatory-output-style	Structured, educational response formatting with insight callouts
ralph-loop	Iterative refinement loop for complex multi-step tasks
claude-md-management	Audit and improve CLAUDE.md files across repositories
claude-hud	On-screen display showing context usage, active tools, and agent status
pr-review-toolkit	Specialized review agents for comprehensive PR analysis

Session Hooks

Hook	Event	What It Does
session_start.sh	SessionStart	Injects git status, branch protection warnings, ahead/behind tracking, open PRs

Slash Commands

Command	Description
/commit	Stage, commit, push — analyzes the actual diff, writes structured commit messages
/pr	Full pipeline: commit > push > create PR via gh with ticket extraction
/review-pr	Context-aware PR review using specialized agents (code quality, tests, errors, simplification)

Templates (CLAUDE.local.md)

Section	Instructions
git	Branch naming conventions, read-only PR reviews, commit message format

Settings

Setting	Value	Purpose
defaultMode	plan	Claude asks for approval before making changes
alwaysThinkingEnabled	true	Extended thinking on every response
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL	claude-sonnet-4-6	Upgrades lightweight model tasks to Sonnet
ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH	1	Enables deferred tool search for MCP servers
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC	1	Disables non-essential telemetry traffic
attribution.commit	""	Suppresses Claude Code attribution in commit messages
attribution.pr	""	Suppresses Claude Code attribution in PR descriptions

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Installation

Prerequisites

• macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
• Claude Code CLI

Setup

# 1. Install mcs
brew install mcs-cli/tap/mcs

# 2. Register this tech pack
mcs pack add mcs-cli/dev

# 3. Sync your project
cd ~/Developer/my-project
mcs sync

# 4. Verify everything is healthy
mcs doctor

During mcs sync, you'll be prompted for:

Prompt	What It Does	Default
Branch prefix	Sets git branch naming convention (e.g. feature/ABC-123-login)	feature

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Directory Structure

dev/
├── techpack.yaml                  # Manifest — defines all components
├── config/
│   └── settings.json              # Claude Code settings (plan mode, env vars)
├── hooks/
│   └── session_start.sh           # Git status + branch protection
├── commands/
│   ├── commit.md                  # /commit slash command
│   ├── pr.md                      # /pr slash command
│   └── review-pr.md               # /review-pr slash command
└── templates/
    └── git.md                     # Branch naming + commit conventions

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You Might Also Be Interested In

Pack	Description
memory	Persistent memory and knowledge management — gives Claude long-term recall across sessions
ios	Xcode integration, simulator management, and Apple documentation

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Links

• MCS — the configuration engine
• Creating Tech Packs — guide for building your own
• Tech Pack Schema — full YAML reference

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License

MIT