Install it

Install is one command, run from the project directory you want Forge in.

curl -fsSL https://get.brightstack.ai/forge/install.sh | sh

curl -fsSL https://get.brightstack.ai/forge/install.sh | FORGE_TOOLS=claude sh

The variable goes on the sh, not on the curl. A shell applies a prefixed assignment to the command it is attached to, and the installer reads it from its own environment, so putting it on the left of the pipe silently installs the default host instead.

That downloads a checksummed binary for your platform, writes it to ~/.local/bin/forge, and then runs forge setup in the current directory, which pulls the latest skill pack from GitHub into the project.

macOS and Linux, on x64 and arm64. Windows and an npm package are not in this release.

Where it puts thingsCopy Anchor Link

The host directory follows the agent you use. Cursor and Codex both read .agents/skills/, Claude Code reads .claude/skills/, and a project that wants Cursor's own directory can have .cursor/skills/. Picking the directory is the only thing FORGE_TOOLS and --tools do.

forge setup                          # .agents — the default
forge setup --tools claude           # .claude
forge setup --tools cursor           # .cursor
forge setup --tools agents,claude    # both

Setup writes only the names Forge owns — skills/forge, skills/forge-code-review, agents/ and OKF.md — so your other skills stay where they are. It merges into those directories rather than emptying them first. An unknown tool name fails rather than guessing.

First useCopy Anchor Link

The installer already ran forge setup for you, so there is nothing left to do in a shell. Start your agent in the project directory and say this:

Read .agents/skills/forge/SKILL.md and use it as the Forge workflow.
Forge explore what this repository is and what state it's in.

On Claude Code that first path is .claude/skills/forge/SKILL.md. You only need that line once, to point the agent at the pack; after it has read the skill, Forge explore, Forge build and the rest work on their own.

You should get back evidence, options and open questions, and no edits to your repository. Exploration creates no delivery authority at all, which makes it the cheapest way to see whether you like how Forge thinks.

Installing from a checkoutCopy Anchor Link

--pack skips the network and copies from a local package tree, which is what you want in CI or when you're working on Forge itself:

forge setup --pack /path/to/forge

That path must be the package root, with skills/forge, skills/forge-code-review, agents/ and OKF.md directly under it. It is not the directory holding the binary, and copying skills next to the binary does nothing: templates are compiled in, skills never are.

What Forge reads from your repositoryCopy Anchor Link

Forge takes its languages, frameworks, package manager, architecture conventions, test commands and deployment rules from your AGENTS.md files, manifests and existing code. When the evidence isn't there, it names the gap instead of inventing a house style for you.

Next, pick the thing you're actually trying to do from How to, or read the CLI for the full command surface.