Install the coding plugin

Install Ask The W in Claude Code

These are the same setup steps shown on /plugin. The website cannot install the plugin for you; Claude Code asks you to confirm the install from its plugin UI or REPL.

1. Session or terminal

In the Claude Code session:

/plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/claude-plugins
/plugin install askthew-paid@askthew

From the terminal (user scope):

claude plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/claude-plugins
claude plugin install askthew-paid@askthew --scope user

Prefer project scope from the terminal? Run claude plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/claude-plugins --scope project, then claude plugin install askthew-paid@askthew --scope project.

In the Claude Code session, add the marketplace and install askthew-paid@askthew. From the terminal, the same steps are claude plugin marketplace add and claude plugin install. Confirm the trust prompt when Claude Code asks; this is not a silent install.

If Claude Code already has an older askthew MCP server, run claude mcp remove askthew (add --scope project if it was project-scoped) before installing, since both use the same MCP server key.

2. Connect your project

When Claude Code first uses Ask The W, it may ask you to complete setup. You need a paid Ask The W project. Confirm it in the browser while you are signed in. The agent should not ask for your email or a six-digit code:

1. Open the browser confirmation URL.
2. Confirm the displayed code.
3. Choose the paid project.
4. Wait until Claude Code reports that the project connection completed.

After connection, compact signals stay on that paid project for the folder you opened (scopeKey). The coding agent itself is not the project.

Recovery

If install fails or Claude Code still shows an old Ask The W card, run /plugin marketplace update askthew, then /plugin install askthew-paid@askthew. From the terminal, the same steps are claude plugin marketplace update askthew and claude plugin install askthew-paid@askthew --scope user.

Install Ask The W in Codex

These are the same setup steps shown on /plugin. The website cannot install the plugin for you; Codex asks you to confirm the install from its plugin UI or REPL.

1. Add the marketplace from the terminal

codex plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/codex-plugin --ref main

2. Install in the session or terminal

In the Codex session, open /plugins and install Ask The W from the askthew marketplace.

From the terminal:

codex plugin add askthew

In the Codex session, open /plugins and install Ask The W from the askthew marketplace. From the terminal, run the marketplace add command, then codex plugin add askthew.

The marketplace package exposes the installable plugin from its plugins/askthew entry. You should not need to edit Codex config files or plugin cache directories.

3. Connect your project

When Codex first uses Ask The W, it may ask you to complete setup. You need a paid Ask The W project. Confirm it in the browser while you are signed in. The agent should not ask for your email or a six-digit code:

1. Open the browser confirmation URL.
2. Confirm the displayed code.
3. Choose the paid project.
4. Wait until Codex reports that the project connection completed.

After connection, compact signals stay on that paid project for the folder you opened (scopeKey). The coding agent itself is not the project.

Recovery

If Ask The W does not appear after adding the marketplace, run codex plugin marketplace upgrade askthew, reopen /plugins, then install Ask The W from the askthew marketplace. If Codex still shows an old Ask The W card, uninstall Ask The W and install it again from that marketplace.

The setup steps above are generated from the same source as /plugin. Use that page if you want copy-paste commands for your host.

The plugin lets a coding agent keep compact signals and decisions attached to the project, so context survives the current session.

Cursor

There is no Ask The W Cursor marketplace plugin yet. Add the MCP server from Customize, or save this to .cursor/mcp.json in the project or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects. Cursor CLI uses the same file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "askthew": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "--package", "@askthew/mcp-plugin", "askthew-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ASKTHEW_API_URL": "https://my.askthew.com",
        "ASKTHEW_HOST_TYPE": "cursor",
        "ASKTHEW_REQUIRE_PAID": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then enable it:

agent mcp enable askthew

agent mcp list shows whether it loaded. agent mcp login is Cursor's OAuth helper for MCP servers that use OAuth; Ask The W still connects a paid project in the browser.

After install

You need a paid Ask The W project. Sign in, open the confirmation link, choose that project, and confirm the code from your coding agent.

The plugin stores local identity under ~/.askthew. Uninstalling the plugin from Claude Code, Codex, or Cursor does not delete those files.

After connection, compact signals stay on that paid project for the folder you opened (scopeKey). The coding agent itself is not the project.

What it can do

• Read the project context pack: the current W Card, the North Star, outcomes, open decisions, current moves, and current artifacts, in one compact cited view
• Read next moves
• List and claim approved work, then progress or finish it
• File a request
• List, read, and write Workspace docs
• Draft a Wire message (draft only; never send)
• Request a World competitive analysis or a Whiteboard map, when you ask for one
• List outcomes
• Capture a compact Way session signal after consent; create a decision only when asked
• Recap and coach
• If no local token exists, connect a paid Ask The W project in the browser

Keep payloads small. Do not send transcripts, secrets, credentials, or large copied content. The plugin redacts known credential patterns before queue is sent.

Limits

A connected install uses your Ask The W plan. If a limit response includes retry_at, wait until then before retrying.

If the install looks stale

Use the recovery steps on /plugin for your host, then close and reopen the coding agent so the new tools load. In Claude Code, /reload-plugins can load them in an already-open session.

Claude Code and Codex pin a plugin version, so an older install keeps that version until you update the marketplace. If the tools do not appear at all, update the marketplace first, then reinstall. Cursor reads the current published version, so it picks up changes on its own.