Quick Start All Tiers

Get up and running with PairCoder in 5 minutes.

What is PairCoder?

PairCoder is a toolkit for pairing with AI coding agents. It provides:

  • Structured context - Project memory that AI agents can read and update
  • Planning workflows - Plans, sprints, and tasks in simple YAML/Markdown
  • Autonomous sprints - Run full sprint cycles with bpsai-pair engage
  • Skills - Reusable workflow templates
  • Enforcement gates - AC verification, strict mode, bypass auditing
  • Integrations - Trello, GitHub, MCP (Pro tier)

Prerequisites

Windows user?

If you're setting up on Windows for the first time, follow our Windows Setup Guide instead. It walks through installing Git, Python, VS Code, and Claude Code from scratch with Windows-specific instructions.

Tip

The PairCoder setup wizard checks for these prerequisites automatically. Make sure all three are in place before installing PairCoder.

1. Install an IDE

PairCoder works with any IDE that supports Claude Code. Popular choices:

Any editor with terminal access will work.

2. Install Claude Code

Claude Code is the AI agent that PairCoder pairs you with. Use the native installer:

macOS, Linux, WSL:

bash 
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows PowerShell:

powershell 
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify the installation:

bash 
claude --version
# or run doctor to check setup
claude doctor
Note

The native installer auto-updates in the background. Alternative install methods (Homebrew, WinGet) are available but require manual updates.

For full setup instructions (authentication, API keys, cloud providers), see Anthropic's Claude Code documentation.

3. Prepare a project folder

Have a project directory ready - either an existing codebase or a new empty folder. PairCoder will initialize its configuration inside this directory.

Install

bash 
pip install bpsai-pair

Verify it works:

bash 
bpsai-pair --version
# Should show 2.20.0

Activate Your License

After purchasing, you'll receive a license file. Install it:

bash 
bpsai-pair license install ~/Downloads/license.json

Or use the setup wizard:

bash 
bpsai-pair wizard

Verify your license is active:

bash 
bpsai-pair license status
Note

A valid license is required to use PairCoder. See Licensing for tier details.

Initialize Your Project

New project:

bash 
bpsai-pair init my-project
cd my-project

Existing project:

bash 
cd your-project
bpsai-pair init .

This creates a .paircoder/ directory with your project configuration.

Your First Workflow

1. Run the health check

Verify your setup is correct with the doctor command:

bash 
bpsai-pair doctor

Doctor checks your license, configuration, dependencies, and integrations, then reports any issues that need attention.

2. Check status

bash 
bpsai-pair status

3. Create a plan

bash 
bpsai-pair plan new add-login --type feature --title "Add User Login"

4. Add a task

bash 
bpsai-pair plan add-task plan-*-add-login \
  --id TASK-001 \
  --title "Create login form"

5. Work on the task

bash 
# Start working
bpsai-pair task update TASK-001 --status in_progress

# ... do your work ...

# Mark complete
bpsai-pair task update TASK-001 --status done

6. Check progress

bash 
bpsai-pair plan status

Autonomous Sprints with Engage

Once you have a plan with tasks, you can let PairCoder run an entire sprint autonomously with the engage command:

bash 
bpsai-pair engage backlog.md

Engage picks up pending tasks, runs them through the full lifecycle (planning, implementation, testing, review), and commits the results. It is the fastest way to move from a backlog to working code. See the Engage Guide for details.

Working with Claude Code

Once initialized, open your project in Claude Code. Claude will automatically read:

  • CLAUDE.md - Project-specific instructions
  • .paircoder/context/state.md - Current status and tasks
  • .claude/skills/ - Available workflows

Ask Claude to:

  • "What tasks are pending?"
  • "Start working on TASK-001"
  • "Create a plan for adding user authentication"

What's Next?

Goal Guide
Full installation steps Installation
Understand pricing tiers Licensing
Learn the complete workflow User Guide
Run autonomous sprints Engage Guide
Diagnose setup issues Doctor Guide
AI-powered code review Review Guide
Connect to Trello/GitHub Integrations
CLI command reference CLI Reference
Need help? Support Portal or run bpsai-pair support