Installation

Install Smithers via Claude Code plugin or npm package

Installation

Smithers can be installed as a Claude Code plugin (recommended) or as an npm package for programmatic use.

Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

The plugin gives Claude Code the ability to generate Smithers orchestration workflows.

1. Add the Smithers marketplace

   /plugin marketplace add evmts/smithers
   
2. Install the plugin

   /plugin install smithers@smithers
   

Now you can ask Claude to create orchestration workflows:

You: "Create a workflow that reviews PRs and posts comments"
Claude: *generates pr-review-workflow.tsx*

npm Package

For programmatic use in your own scripts:

bun (recommended)

bun add smithers

Dependencies

Required

Dependency	Version	Purpose
Bun	1.0+	JavaScript runtime
Claude Code	latest	Agent execution

Included

These are bundled with Smithers:

• solid-js - Reactive primitives for state management
• @electric-sql/pglite - Embedded PostgreSQL for persistence
• zod - Schema validation for structured output

Optional

Dependency	Purpose
jj (Jujutsu)	Alternative VCS with better snapshot support

Project Setup

TypeScript Configuration

Add JSX support to your tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "jsx": "preserve",
    "jsxImportSource": "solid-js",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "target": "ESNext",
    "module": "ESNext"
  }
}

Bun Configuration

Create a bunfig.toml for Solid JSX:

[dev]
jsx = "solid"

Verify Installation

Create a test file test.tsx:

#!/usr/bin/env bun

import { createSmithersRoot } from "smithers";
import { createSmithersDB } from "smithers/smithers-orchestrator/src/db";
import { SmithersProvider } from "smithers/smithers-orchestrator/src/components/SmithersProvider";
import { Claude } from "smithers/smithers-orchestrator/src/components/Claude";

const db = await createSmithersDB({ path: ".smithers/test" });
const executionId = await db.execution.start("Test", "test.tsx");

async function Test() {
  return (
    <SmithersProvider db={db} executionId={executionId}>
      <Claude model="haiku" maxTurns={1} onFinished={(r) => console.log("Success!", r.output)}>
        Say "Hello from Smithers!"
      </Claude>
    </SmithersProvider>
  );
}

const root = createSmithersRoot();
await root.mount(Test);
await db.close();

Run it:

bun test.tsx

You should see Claude respond with “Hello from Smithers!”

Troubleshooting

Claude Code not found

Make sure Claude Code is installed globally:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Verify it’s in your PATH:

which claude

JSX compilation errors

Ensure your bunfig.toml has the Solid JSX configuration:

[dev]
jsx = "solid"

Database permission errors

The PGlite database needs write access to the directory. Check permissions:

mkdir -p .smithers
chmod 755 .smithers

Next Steps

Quick Start

Create your first workflow

Core Concepts

Understand how Smithers works