Installation

Cadre 3.0 installs as a native user plugin for OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, or both. The published package and executable are named cadre-ai.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer
• Git
• OpenAI Codex, Claude Code, or both

Install The CLI And Plugin

npm install -g cadre-ai
cadre-ai doctor
cadre-ai install

With no target, installation auto-detects available clients. Select a client explicitly when needed:

cadre-ai install --target codex
cadre-ai install --target claude
cadre-ai install --target all

The installer supports user scope only. It:

1. Packages the installed skills, worker definitions, manifests, MCP runtime, and immutable templates into a local dual-client marketplace.
2. Registers that marketplace and installs cadre@cadre.
3. Verifies that each selected client reports the plugin installed and enabled.
4. Adds narrow Cadre-only MCP approval settings unless --prompt-mcp-tools is supplied.

The generated marketplace lives at ~/.cadre/marketplaces/cadre. Replacing an existing owned marketplace retains its prior payload as a timestamped backup.

Reload The Client

After installing or updating:

• Start a new Codex conversation.
• In Claude Code, run /reload-plugins or start a new session.

Confirm installation with the native clients:

codex plugin list --json
claude plugin list --json

Both should report cadre@cadre installed and enabled.

MCP Permission Behavior

The default installer changes only Cadre-specific client settings:

• Codex receives default_tools_approval_mode = "approve" under plugins."cadre@cadre".mcp_servers.cadre.
• Claude receives cadre in enabledMcpjsonServers and mcp__cadre__* in permissions.allow.

Existing comments and unrelated settings are preserved. The installer never removes or overrides a Claude deny rule; a deny rule that blocks Cadre stops installation with a corrective error.

These client settings suppress repetitive prompts for Cadre's own MCP calls. They do not approve Cadre lifecycle proposals or unrelated shell, network, filesystem, container, dependency, or server operations.

Cadre uses MCP form elicitation for concise clarifications and bound human decisions when the client supports it. Claude Code displays these forms without additional configuration. Codex displays them under an interactive approval policy. Codex Full Access reports the non-interactive never policy, so Cadre does not attempt a form there and asks the same short question once in chat. Other unsupported or policy-rejected form requests use the same fallback. Tool pre-approval and form elicitation policy are separate.

To retain per-call MCP prompts:

cadre-ai install --prompt-mcp-tools

Installer Options

--force aliases --replace-marketplace; --agent aliases --target for compatibility. There is no current installer --check mode.

Update

npm install -g cadre-ai@latest
cadre-ai doctor
cadre-ai install

Use --replace-marketplace only when a marketplace already named cadre points at a different location that you have reviewed and intend to replace.

Uninstall

cadre-ai uninstall --target all

Uninstall removes the selected native plugin registrations. With target all, it also removes owned Cadre marketplace payloads and backups. A single-client uninstall retains the shared marketplace for the other client. Client approval settings are preserved rather than broadly rewriting user configuration.

Install From A Source Checkout

From the repository root:

pnpm install
pnpm --filter cadre-ai build
node harness/dist/cadre-cli.mjs doctor
node harness/dist/cadre-cli.mjs install --target all

Use this path for harness development and release validation, not for normal package upgrades.