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Felipe Marzochi edited this page Jul 27, 2026 · 3 revisions

Installation

Via npm (recommended)

Requires Node.js 20 or later.

npm install -g @egchq/egc
egc install

The installer detects which AI tools you have installed and configures all of them automatically.

If you use a Node.js version manager (mise, nvm, asdf, fnm), install EGC under your default Node version, the one active outside any project directory. Installing it under multiple Node versions causes version conflicts.

VS Code + GitHub Copilot

Install the GitHub Copilot Chat extension first, then:

npm install -g @egchq/egc
egc install --target copilot

This installs EGC skills under ~/.github/skills/, which VS Code Copilot discovers automatically. Memory is shared across targets: context saved while using Copilot is the same state used by Claude Code, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, and the rest of the supported tools.

Zed

npm install -g @egchq/egc
egc install --target zed

EGC registers egc-guardian and egc-memory directly into Zed's context_servers config, writing to ~/.config/zed/settings.json.

Continue.dev

npm install -g @egchq/egc
egc install

No --target flag needed: Continue.dev is auto-detected during install. EGC registers both MCP servers as standalone YAML block files in ~/.continue/mcpServers/.

Linux / macOS (from source)

git clone https://github.com/Fmarzochi/EGC.git
cd EGC
sh scripts/install.sh

What the installer does

  1. Compiles the MCP servers (egc-guardian, egc-memory)
  2. Initializes the local SQLite database
  3. Runs the cognitive bootstrap: writes the memory protocol into ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md, and equivalent files for each detected tool
  4. Registers both MCP servers in every detected tool's config file
  5. Asks interactively whether to install the prompt library (agents, skills, commands): skipped automatically in CI

Gemini CLI's free tier was discontinued for individual users in mid-2026. The ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md target still works for paid Google accounts. For free-tier users, Antigravity CLI is the recommended alternative: egc install --target antigravity.

Windows

git clone https://github.com/Fmarzochi/EGC.git
cd EGC
.\scripts\install.ps1

Notes:

  • Install Node.js from nodejs.org. Confirmed working with Node.js v24 plus PowerShell 5.1 and WSL2.
  • If the Antigravity CLI install script hangs silently, use the direct binary download: Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://antigravity.dev/install/agy.exe -OutFile agy.exe
  • Antigravity's free tier has a limited starter quota; expect it to run out within a few exchanges. Use Claude Code or Cursor for longer sessions.
  • Gemini CLI free tier is discontinued; use Antigravity CLI as a replacement on Windows.

Verify the install

egc doctor

This checks that both MCP servers are built, registered, and reachable in every detected tool.

Telemetry

EGC can send anonymous usage data to help improve the project. This is opt-in: you are asked once on the first run of egc install, egc init, or egc doctor.

What is sent: EGC version and OS platform only. No project data, no file contents, no identifiers.

egc telemetry off      # disable at any time
egc telemetry status   # check current setting

Or delete ~/.egc/telemetry.json.

Dashboard

After install, EGC can start a local dashboard server at http://localhost:7890 that streams tool calls, file edits, shell commands, token usage, cost per session, and agent status across every IDE you have running. It starts automatically when you run egc init.

egc dashboard          # start the dashboard server
egc dashboard stop     # stop it
egc dashboard status   # check if it is running

Cost tracking requires the Claude provider; other tools show token usage where available.

Enforcement

Validation does not depend on the AI choosing to cooperate. EGC installs harness hooks that run on every tool call: each shell command and file write is validated before it executes, and destructive commands, credential paths, and force pushes are blocked, including inside compound commands. If the dispatcher itself errors, hooks fail closed rather than silently letting the command through (fixed in v1.1.16, previously a fail-open bug).

With a provider API key (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, or OPENROUTER_API_KEY), EGC also understands session intent semantically, in any language, with no predefined phrases. Without a key, these LLM-dependent features do nothing, and the lifecycle hooks still guarantee your state is saved.

Troubleshooting

See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md in the repository for common issues including permission errors, Node.js version mismatches, and manual MCP registration steps.

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