# Set up by hand

> Install droost yourself: its own folder, init, the map of your code, the level, and the tools the checks use.

## What you need

- A Drupal site managed with Composer.
- **PHP 8.3 or newer** with `pdo_sqlite`, where droost will run (inside the
  container on DDEV).
- **Claude Code** for the full experience. Other agents work too, without the
  guard.
- **Node**, for the browser tests.

This page installs the `droost` command (the brain and the workflow). For
the module, which lets the agent ask the live site about itself, see
[The module](https://droost.org/docs/module.md#install): two commands, and the command's
`droost init` then installs the module's skill too.

## 1. Install droost in its own folder

```bash
mkdir -p tools/droost
composer init -d tools/droost -n --name=local/droost-tools
composer config -d tools/droost platform.php 8.3.0
composer require -d tools/droost 'droost/workflow:^1.0'
```

droost gets its own Composer project, so it never loads Drupal and never
clashes with the site's packages. Set `platform.php` to the PHP the site runs,
not your laptop's. Add `tools/droost/vendor/` to `.gitignore`.

## 2. Install it into the project

```bash
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost init
```

This writes `droost/droost.yml` (your settings), `AGENTS.md` and `CLAUDE.md`
(how every agent uses droost from now on), and the `.claude/` skills and
hooks. Running it again later refreshes droost's own files and never touches
your `droost/droost.yml`.

## 3. Build the map of your code

```bash
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost code:index
```

This is the [Droost Brain](https://droost.org/docs/how-it-works.md#droost-brain): an index of your
modules, custom code and docs, read from your files. Run it again after a big
change or an upgrade.

## 4. Check it

```bash
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost doctor
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost brief
```

## 5. Pick the level

```bash
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost workflow:effort high
```

Run it in your own terminal; it refuses to run from the agent. It changes the
`preset:` line only, and the file `init` wrote spells out some settings that
beat the level, such as `enforcement: soft`. [Settings](https://droost.org/docs/settings.md#levels)
says which lines to delete so the level decides them.

## 6. Install the tools the checks use

```bash
composer require --dev drupal/core-dev     # phpcs with the Drupal standard, phpstan, phpunit
npm i -D @playwright/test                  # browser tests
npx playwright install chromium
```

phpunit also needs a `phpunit.xml` or `phpunit.xml.dist` at the project root.

## 7. Commit, and start a new session

```bash
git add tools/droost/composer.json tools/droost/composer.lock droost/ AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md .claude/ .gitignore
git commit -m "Add droost"
```

Start a new Claude Code session in the project so it loads the hooks. Then
add [the Claude Code plugin](https://droost.org/docs/claude-plugin.md) if you want the run panel.

## On DDEV

Run Composer and droost in the DDEV container so dependency resolution uses
the project's PHP environment. Prefix the installation commands above with
`ddev composer` in place of `composer`. Add the
[`ddev droost` command](https://droost.org/docs/commands.md#on-ddev-ddev-droost) (one small file in
`.ddev/commands/web/`), then:

```bash
ddev droost init
ddev droost code:index
```

If your DDEV setup uses Mutagen and you change files on the host, run
`ddev mutagen sync` before the next droost command.

## On a site that already has code

Before the first run, record the old code's problems in a baseline, so runs
are judged only on what they add. [On an existing site](https://droost.org/docs/existing-site.md)
walks through it.

## Upgrading

```bash
composer update -d tools/droost droost/workflow
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost init
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost code:index
```

Do it between runs, not during one.

## Removing it

```bash
tools/droost/vendor/bin/droost workflow:uninstall
```

takes out what `init` installed: the `.claude/` skills, the guard's hooks and
droost's blocks in `AGENTS.md`. Then delete `tools/droost/` and, if you do not
want to keep your settings and notes, `droost/`. Your site's database is
untouched: the command never writes to it.