scout

Save your Claude Code setup once. Apply it anywhere in one command.

npm install -g scout-cc

The scout command is available after install.

Scout snapshots your CLAUDE.md, rules, skills, and settings.json into a named preset — then lets you stamp that exact setup into any new project instantly.

Why

Every new project means the same manual setup: copy CLAUDE.md, drop in your favourite skills, wire up settings.json. Scout turns that into a single command.

# Save your current setup
scout save backend-ts

# Apply it to a new project
cd ~/projects/new-api && scout use backend-ts

What gets saved

Scout manages the Claude Code files in your project:

| File | What it does | |---|---| | CLAUDE.md | Main instructions for Claude | | .claude/rules/ | Path-scoped rules | | .claude/skills/ | On-demand skills | | .claude/settings.json | MCP servers, hooks, permissions |

Everything is stored as plain files in ~/.scout/presets/ — inspect them, back them up, or share them like any other directory.

Quick start

# 1. Go to a project with a setup you like
cd ~/projects/my-api

# 2. Save it
scout save backend-ts --description "Node/TypeScript backend"

# 3. Apply it to a new project
cd ~/projects/new-api
scout use backend-ts

That's it. All your Claude config is now in the new project.

Commands

scout save <name>

Snapshot the current project's Claude setup as a named preset.

scout save <name> [options]

| Option | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | -d, --description <text> | — | Short description shown in scout list | | -t, --tags <list> | — | Comma-separated tags (e.g. typescript,backend) | | --overwrite | false | Replace an existing preset with the same name |

scout save backend-ts
scout save fullstack --description "Next.js + tRPC + Postgres" --tags typescript,web
scout save backend-ts --overwrite          # refresh after refining your setup

Requires a CLAUDE.md in the current directory. Nothing in your project is modified.

scout use <preset>

Apply a saved preset to the current directory.

scout use <preset> [options]

| Option | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | --merge | false | Only copy files that don't exist yet — never overwrite | | --dry-run | false | Preview what would be written without touching anything | | --force | false | Skip the confirmation prompt |

scout use backend-ts                       # full apply
scout use backend-ts --merge              # safe: only fills in missing files
scout use backend-ts --dry-run            # preview before committing
scout use backend-ts --merge --dry-run    # preview + safe mode

After applying, scout writes a .scout-applied marker file. Add it to .gitignore if you don't want to commit it.

scout list

Show all available presets.

scout list [--json]

name            skills  description
backend-ts           2  Node/TypeScript backend with PostgreSQL
fullstack            4  Next.js + tRPC + Postgres
data-science         1  Python data science setup

Use --json for scripting or CI pipelines.

scout clean

Remove presets or cached data you no longer need.

scout clean [options]

| Option | Description | |---|---| | --preset <name> | Delete one preset and its registry entry | | --orphans | Fix broken links — removes dirs with no registry entry and vice versa | | --cache | Delete ~/.scout/scan-cache.json | | --all | Wipe everything under ~/.scout | | --dry-run | Show what would be deleted without deleting |

scout clean --preset old-preset            # remove one preset
scout clean --orphans                      # tidy up broken references
scout clean --all --dry-run               # preview a full wipe
scout clean --all                         # start fresh

Data layout

~/.scout/
├── presets/
│   └── backend-ts/
│       ├── CLAUDE.md
│       └── .claude/
│           ├── rules/
│           ├── skills/
│           └── settings.json
├── registry.json        ← index of all presets + metadata
└── scan-cache.json      ← optional cache (deletable anytime)

Each preset is a plain directory. You can open it in your editor, copy it to another machine, or commit it to a repo.

Workflows

Update a preset after refining your setup

cd ~/projects/my-api
# tweak CLAUDE.md, add a skill, adjust settings...
scout save backend-ts --overwrite

Apply to a project that already has Claude config

# Preview first
scout use design-system --merge --dry-run

# Apply only what's missing — never overwrites existing files
scout use design-system --merge

Share presets with your team

# Send
cp -r ~/.scout/presets/backend-ts ./shared/

# Receive (on another machine)
mkdir -p ~/.scout/presets
cp -r ./shared/backend-ts ~/.scout/presets/

scout export / scout import commands are on the roadmap.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or later
• A CLAUDE.md file in your project (required for scout save)

License

Business Source License 1.1 — free for personal and non-commercial use. Commercial use requires a separate license. Converts to Apache 2.0 four years after each release. See LICENSE for full terms.