marr

Getting Started with MARR

This guide walks you through installing and setting up MARR for the first time.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18.0.0 or higher
• npm (comes with Node.js)

Installation

Install MARR globally:

npm install -g @virtualian/marr

Verify the installation:

marr --version

Troubleshooting Installation

If you see a permission error (EACCES), you have three options:

1. Use npx (no global install needed):

   npx @virtualian/marr init --user
   

2. Use nvm (recommended for developers):

   curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
   # Restart terminal
   nvm install node
   npm install -g @virtualian/marr
   

3. Change npm’s default directory:

   mkdir ~/.npm-global
   npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
   echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   npm install -g @virtualian/marr
   

First-Time Setup

MARR uses a two-layer configuration system. You need to set up both layers:

Step 1: User-Level Setup (Once Per Machine)

Run this once on each machine where you use MARR:

marr init --user

This creates:

• ~/.claude/marr/MARR-USER-CLAUDE.md — Your personal preferences

Step 2: Project-Level Setup (Once Per Project)

Navigate to your project and run:

marr init --project

This creates:

• CLAUDE.md — Project root config (or updates existing)
• .claude/marr/MARR-PROJECT-CLAUDE.md — Project AI agent configuration
• .claude/marr/standards/ — Project-specific standards

You’ll be prompted to select which standards to install. Choose the ones relevant to your project.

Combined Setup (New Machine + New Project)

For a brand new setup, you can do both at once:

marr init --all

Validating Your Setup

After setup, validate that everything is configured correctly:

marr validate

This checks:

• Required files exist
• Configuration structure is correct
• File references are valid
• Naming conventions are followed

What Happens Next

Once MARR is set up, AI agents (like Claude Code) will:

1. Load your user preferences from ~/.claude/marr/MARR-USER-CLAUDE.md
2. Load project configuration from .claude/marr/MARR-PROJECT-CLAUDE.md
3. Follow triggered standards from .claude/marr/standards/ based on what task they’re doing

The agent reads standards on-demand based on trigger conditions. For example, when working with git, the workflow standard is triggered and read.

Next Steps

• Configuration Guide — Understand the two-layer system in depth
• Customization Guide — Modify standards for your needs
• Standards Reference — Learn what each standard does

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