# Set up your agent (/docs/agent-setup)



Your coding agent needs the warden skill to know the claim, drive, release rules. Run `warden install`, or paste the prompt below into the agent.

```bash
warden install    # skill + rule + SessionEnd hook for every detected agent; shows a diff, asks first
```

## Paste this into your agent [#paste-this-into-your-agent]

```text
Set up warden for mobile device work in this repo.
1. Run `npm i -g @delacour/warden && warden install` (or `bunx @delacour/warden install`). Approve the diff.
2. Run `warden doctor` and fix anything it reports.
3. Run `warden skill show` and read it. Follow its rules from now on:
   claim a device with `warden claim ios --json`, pass the returned udid on every call,
   drive it with `warden ui`, never touch a device you did not claim,
   and release with `warden ui close --release`.
4. In an Expo app, run `warden init --bundle-id <id>` and install the packages it names.
```

## What gets installed [#what-gets-installed]

| Piece           | Where                                                                                                    | Agents                                                                           |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Skill           | `skills/warden/`: `SKILL.md` + `references/{ui,specs,suites,troubleshooting}.md`, embedded in the binary | anything the [`skills`](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills) CLI installs into |
| Rule            | `~/.claude/rules/warden.md`, written directly                                                            | Claude Code                                                                      |
| SessionEnd hook | `warden hook session-end`                                                                                | Claude Code, Codex                                                               |

The skill loads into Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf, Zed and the other agents the `skills` CLI supports. Hooks exist only for Claude Code and Codex.

Agents are detected from `~/.claude` / `claude` on `PATH` and `$CODEX_HOME` (`~/.codex`) / `codex` on `PATH`; with none found, only the binary is installed. The skill is placed by the `skills` CLI, which may prompt (`--yes` is passed through).

## Per agent [#per-agent]

```bash
warden install --claude   # Claude Code only: skill (via `skills add`) + rule + SessionEnd hook
warden install --codex    # Codex only: hooks in $CODEX_HOME/hooks.json
warden skill install      # the skill, into any agent the skills CLI offers
```

Every agent-config change shows a diff and asks first. `--yes` skips the prompt, `--dry-run` only prints, and a non-TTY without `--yes` skips.

<Tabs items="[&#x22;Claude Code&#x22;, &#x22;Codex&#x22;, &#x22;Other agents&#x22;]">
  <Tab value="Claude Code">
    `warden install --claude` installs the skill, the rule and the SessionEnd hook. It also removes the `PreToolUse` hook (`warden hook pretool`) that older versions installed. Details: [Agent rules](/docs/agents/rules#claude-code).
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Codex">
    `warden install --codex` merges the SessionEnd hook into `$CODEX_HOME/hooks.json`. Run `/hooks` in Codex once to trust it. Codex does not set a session id, so set `WARDEN_SESSION_ID`, or leases count as your shell's user leases. Details: [Agent rules](/docs/agents/rules#codex).
  </Tab>

  <Tab value="Other agents">
    ```bash
    warden skill install                               # global, this binary's copy
    warden skill install --from github                 # delacournz/warden, updatable via `skills update`
    warden skill install --project -a cursor -y        # into the current project, one agent
    warden skill show | pbcopy                         # raw SKILL.md to paste by hand
    ```

    There is no session hook for these agents. Their leases expire by TTL (5 min for a bare claim) and `warden gc` reclaims them, so tell the agent to run `warden ui close --release` when it is done.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Verify [#verify]

```bash
warden doctor
```

`doctor` checks hooks, the skill and the rule among other things. Then ask the agent to run `warden claim ios --json` and `warden ui snapshot -i`.

<Cards>
  <Card title="Agents drive devices" href="/docs/agents" />

  <Card title="Agent rules" href="/docs/agents/rules" />
</Cards>