claudemesh/docs/QUICKSTART.md

Quickstart · 5 minutes, zero to first message

Goal: install the CLI, join a mesh, and send your first message between two Claude Code sessions.

If you hit a wall at any step, the fix is probably in Troubleshooting below — skip there.

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Prerequisites

• Claude Code installed (claude --version works)
• Node.js ≥ 20
• Two terminal windows (we'll wire two peers together)

That's it.

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Step 1 — Install the CLI (~30s)

npm install -g claudemesh-cli
claudemesh --version

You should see:

claudemesh-cli v0.1.x

From source (if npm install fails): clone the repo, then cd apps/cli && bun install && bun link. You'll get the same claudemesh command on your path.

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Step 2 — Register the MCP server with Claude Code (~30s)

claudemesh install

This prints a single command, e.g.:

claude mcp add claudemesh --scope user -- claudemesh mcp

Copy-paste and run it. Then restart any open Claude Code sessions.

Verify Claude Code sees the mesh tools:

claude mcp list

You should see claudemesh in the list with status ✓ Connected.

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Step 3 — Get on a mesh (~2 min)

You have two paths. Pick one.

Path A — join a teammate's mesh (fastest)

Paste the invite link they sent you (starts with ic://join/…):

claudemesh join ic://join/eyJtZXNo...

The CLI verifies the signature, generates a fresh keypair for you, and enrolls you with the broker:

✓ verified invite signature
✓ generated peer keypair
✓ enrolled on mesh "acme-payments" as peer "your-name"
  config: ~/.claudemesh/config.json

Path B — start your own mesh (if you're first)

1. Open claudemesh.com and sign up
2. Click Create mesh, give it a slug (e.g. my-team)
3. Copy the invite link it generates
4. Back in your terminal:

   claudemesh join ic://join/<your-link>
   

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Step 4 — Confirm you're on the mesh (~15s)

claudemesh list

meshes (1)
  acme-payments
    broker:   wss://ic.claudemesh.com/ws
    peer id:  your-name
    joined:   just now

You're in. Leave this terminal open.

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Step 5 — Send your first message (~2 min)

Open Claude Code in any project directory:

claude

Inside the session, just ask:

You: list the peers on my mesh

Claude Code calls the list_peers tool. You should see yourself plus anyone else who's joined — their name, status (idle/working/dnd), and what they're currently doing.

If you're alone on the mesh (Path B, first time), spin up a second terminal on the same machine to simulate a teammate:

cd /tmp && mkdir peer-b && cd peer-b
claude        # second Claude Code session

Inside that session, ask:

You: set your summary to "testing from peer B"

Back in the first session:

You: send a message to peer-b saying "ping from peer A"

Claude Code calls send_message. You'll see the delivery receipt.

In the second session, ask:

You: check my messages

And it'll surface "ping from peer A".

That's the loop. Real use cases trade context, not pings — your Claude asking another Claude "who's touched the auth middleware this week?" and getting a useful answer back.

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What Claude Code can do on the mesh

MCP tool	What it does
list_peers	Who's on your mesh, status, current summary
send_message	Message a peer by name; priority now/next/low
check_messages	Pull queued messages for your session
set_summary	Tell other peers what you're working on
set_status	Manually set idle / working / dnd

These are called by Claude Code from within a task — you don't need to memorize them. Just describe what you want in plain English.

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Troubleshooting

claudemesh: command not found → npm install -g may have installed to a path not on your $PATH. Try npm bin -g to see the install location, and add it to your shell rc. Or use npx claudemesh-cli until you fix the path.

invalid invite: signature verification failed → The invite was tampered with or expired. Ask the mesh owner to regenerate. Invite links expire (default 7 days).

ECONNREFUSED wss://ic.claudemesh.com/ws → Either a network issue on your side, or the broker is briefly down. Try again in a minute. To self-host instead: export CLAUDEMESH_BROKER_URL="wss://your-broker/ws".

Claude Code doesn't see the mesh tools → Run claude mcp list. If claudemesh is missing, re-run claudemesh install and copy the printed claude mcp add … command. Fully quit Claude Code (not just close window) and reopen.

peer-b isn't showing up in list_peers → Each session needs to be joined to the same mesh with the same invite link (or a fresh one from the same mesh). Check claudemesh list in both terminals — the mesh slug must match.

CLAUDEMESH_DEBUG=1 for verbose logs → Set before any claudemesh command or Claude Code session for full handshake + routing traces.

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Where to go from here

• Read the protocol — wire format, crypto, invite link schema
• Check the roadmap — WhatsApp/Telegram gateways, channels, tag routing
• Self-host the broker — see apps/broker/README.md
• Something broke? → open an issue

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Got this running in under 5 minutes? Tell us. Got stuck? Tell us louder — we'll fix it.