ArcKit Plugin for Claude Code

The Enterprise Architecture Governance Harness — a Claude Code plugin providing 75 slash commands across strategy, architecture, delivery, assurance, and interoperability.

Installation

Step 0: Make sure Claude Code is up to date

ArcKit needs Claude Code v2.1.219 or later (see Prerequisites below). The simplest way to land on a supported version — even if you've never installed Claude Code before — is:

claude install latest

If you don't yet have the claude CLI on your PATH, follow the official Claude Code install guide first, then run claude install latest. To check what you're on:

claude --version

Step 1: Add the marketplace

In Claude Code, run:

/plugin marketplace add tractorjuice/arckit-claude

Step 2: Install the plugin

/plugin

Go to the Discover tab, find arckit, and install it. Or via CLI:

claude plugin install arckit@arckit-claude

Installing with ArcKit overlay plugins

The same marketplace hosts the core plugin plus regional, sector, and tooling overlays. Install only the plugins you need:

claude plugin install arckit arckit-uae
claude plugin install arckit arckit-au arckit-au-energy
claude plugin install arckit arckit-uk-finance

The arckit-uk-gcloud overlay is public for installation and inspection, but remains proprietary and is not MIT licensed.

Alternative: Load for a single session

claude --plugin-dir /path/to/arckit-claude

Prerequisites

Claude Code v2.1.219 or later (recommended minimum)
Bash shell (for helper scripts)
For /arckit:aws-research: AWS Knowledge MCP server (included)
For /arckit:azure-research: Microsoft Learn MCP server (included)
For /arckit:gcp-research: Google Developer Knowledge MCP (requires GOOGLE_API_KEY — see MCP Servers)

Why v2.1.219? v2.1.219 adds Claude Opus 5 (claude-opus-5), the current default Opus model, with 1M context and fast mode support — earlier clients cannot select it. The floor also carries v2.1.200's fix for project-scoped plugin loading from git worktrees and claude agents --plugin-dir <dir> visibility for plugin agents/skills, which makes ArcKit branch and test-repo workflows reliable. It also carries the v2.1.198-v2.1.199 background-subagent reliability, parent error-propagation, and hook stderr-visibility fixes that matter to /arckit:build, reader/writer handoffs, and hook diagnosis. v2.1.197 makes Claude Sonnet 5 the default Claude Code model with native 1M context, while v2.1.172 fixed wildcard-domain WebFetch permission rules (WebFetch(domain:*.gov.uk)) that never matched subdomains on earlier clients. The floor also carries forward the older MCP alwaysLoad, provenance hook, release validation, telemetry, /context, Auto mode, plugin update, MCP leak, retry, and subagent working-directory fixes ArcKit relies on.

Quick Start

After installing the plugin:

Initialize a project (optional - commands will create structure automatically):
```
/arckit:init
```
Create architecture principles:
```
/arckit:principles
```

Create requirements for a project:

/arckit:requirements NHS appointment booking system

What's Included

Component	Count	Description
Commands	75	Slash commands for architecture artifacts and OKF interoperability
Skills	1	Conversational Wardley Mapping with interactive guidance
Agents	20	Autonomous research agents and subagent definitions
Templates	68	Document templates with UK Government compliance
Scripts	15	Helper bash, Python, and Node scripts
Hooks	17	Automation hooks across 7 event types
Guides	167	Command and reference documentation

Hooks

Automation hooks run automatically to provide context and enforce standards. See the Hooks Guide for full details.

Event	Hooks	Purpose
SessionStart	arckit-session, version-check	Inject version/context, check for updates
Stop / StopFailure	session-learner	Record session activity for future context
UserPromptSubmit	arckit-context, secret-detection, + 6 command-specific	Project context, secret scanning, pre-processing
PreToolUse	validate-arc-filename, score-validator, file-protection, secret-file-scanner	Filename enforcement, security, validation
PostToolUse	update-manifest	Keep manifest.json in sync
PermissionRequest	allow-mcp-tools	Auto-allow bundled MCP servers

OKF Interoperability

/arckit:export-okf exports ArcKit ARC-*.md artifacts as copied Markdown with OKF-compatible frontmatter.
/arckit:import-okf scans OKF Markdown bundles, writes .arckit/tmp/okf-import-report.json, and materializes safe imports as RSCH review notes.
Source ARC frontmatter stamping is opt-in via ARCKIT_OKF_FRONTMATTER=1 or .arckit/config.json with { "okfFrontmatter": true }.

Template Customization

ArcKit templates can be customized per-project to match your organization's requirements, branding, or compliance frameworks.

How It Works

User templates override plugin templates: If a template exists in .arckit/templates/, it takes precedence over the plugin's default template.
Copy and customize: Use /arckit:customize to copy templates to your project for editing.

Quick Start

# List available templates
/arckit:customize list

# Copy a template to customize
/arckit:customize requirements

# Copy all templates
/arckit:customize all

Common Customizations

For non-UK Government projects:

Remove "UK Government Alignment" sections
Change classification scheme from OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE to your organization's scheme
Remove TCoP, GDS Service Standard references

For your organization:

Add custom Document Control fields (Cost Centre, Programme, Department)
Change requirement ID prefixes (BR/FR/NFR → your taxonomy)
Add organization branding and headers
Modify compliance frameworks (ISO27001, SOX, HIPAA instead of UK Gov)

Template Location

project-root/
├── .arckit/
│   └── templates/              # Your customized templates
│       ├── requirements-template.md
│       ├── risk-register-template.md
│       └── ...
└── projects/
    └── ...

Keeping Templates Updated

When ArcKit plugin updates with new features:

Your customized templates are not automatically updated
Compare your templates with plugin versions periodically
Merge new sections you want to adopt

Skills

The plugin includes conversational skills that activate automatically when you ask relevant questions:

Wardley Mapping — Ask about evolution stages, doctrine maturity, build vs. buy decisions, gameplay patterns, or create interactive maps. For formal documents, use /arckit:wardley instead.

Commands Overview

Core Governance

/arckit:principles - Create architecture principles
/arckit:stakeholders - Analyze stakeholders and goals
/arckit:requirements - Generate comprehensive requirements
/arckit:risk - Create risk register (Orange Book)
/arckit:sobc - Strategic Outline Business Case (Green Book)

Technical Design

/arckit:data-model - Data model with GDPR compliance
/arckit:diagram - Architecture diagrams (Mermaid)
/arckit:wardley - Wardley Maps for strategy
/arckit:adr - Architecture Decision Records

Research & Procurement

/arckit:research - Technology market research
/arckit:aws-research - AWS service research (MCP)
/arckit:azure-research - Azure service research (MCP)
/arckit:datascout - External data source discovery
/arckit:evaluate - Vendor evaluation framework
/arckit:sow - Statement of Work / RFP
/arckit:gcloud-search - G-Cloud marketplace search
/arckit:dos - Digital Outcomes & Specialists

UK Government Compliance

/arckit:tcop - Technology Code of Practice review
/arckit:secure - Secure by Design assessment
/arckit:dpia - Data Protection Impact Assessment
/arckit:ai-playbook - AI Playbook compliance
/arckit:service-assessment - GDS Service Standard

Operations & Delivery

/arckit:devops - DevOps strategy
/arckit:finops - FinOps cloud cost management
/arckit:mlops - MLOps strategy
/arckit:operationalize - Operational readiness
/arckit:backlog - Product backlog generation
/arckit:roadmap - Architecture roadmap

See the full command list with /help arckit.

Project Structure

ArcKit creates this structure in your project:

projects/
├── 000-global/           # Cross-project artifacts
│   ├── policies/         # Organization policies
│   └── ARC-000-PRIN-*.md # Architecture principles
└── 001-project-name/     # Project artifacts
    ├── ARC-001-REQ-*.md  # Requirements
    ├── ARC-001-STKE-*.md # Stakeholders
    ├── vendors/          # Vendor evaluations
    └── external/         # External documents

MCP Servers

The plugin includes 5 MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers for cloud and government research:

MCP Server	API Key Required	Used By
AWS Knowledge	No	`/arckit:aws-research`
Microsoft Learn	No	`/arckit:azure-research`
Google Developer Knowledge	Yes (`GOOGLE_API_KEY`)	`/arckit:gcp-research`
Data Commons	Yes (`DATA_COMMONS_API_KEY`)	Data statistics lookups
govreposcrape	No	`/arckit:gov-reuse`, `/arckit:gov-code-search`, `/arckit:gov-landscape`

AWS Knowledge and Microsoft Learn work out of the box with no configuration. The Google and Data Commons servers require API keys — if you don't set them, you'll see errors in the plugin UI, but all other commands work normally.

Setting up optional API keys

Google Developer Knowledge (for /arckit:gcp-research):

Get a free API key from Google AI Studio
Set the environment variable: export GOOGLE_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Data Commons (for data statistics lookups):

Get an API key from datacommons.org
Set the environment variable: export DATA_COMMONS_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Migration from CLI

If you previously used arckit init --ai claude:

# Remove CLI-generated files (plugin replaces them)
rm -rf .claude/commands/arckit.*.md
rm -rf .claude/agents/arckit-*.md
rm -rf .arckit/templates/
rm -rf .arckit/scripts/

# Keep your project data
# projects/ directory stays (user data)

Note: The ArcKit CLI no longer distributes Claude Code commands. Claude Code users should use this plugin instead.

For Gemini/Codex Users

This plugin is for Claude Code. For other AI assistants:

Gemini CLI: Install the ArcKit Gemini extension (gemini extensions install https://github.com/tractorjuice/arckit-gemini)
Codex CLI: Install the ArcKit CLI (pip install arckit-cli && arckit init --ai codex)

Links

License

MIT

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 21 Commits
.claude-plugin		.claude-plugin
agents		agents
commands-standalone		commands-standalone
commands		commands
config		config
docs		docs
hooks		hooks
plugins		plugins
references		references
schemas		schemas
scripts		scripts
skills		skills
templates		templates
.mcp.json		.mcp.json
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
VERSION		VERSION

Folders and files

Latest commit

History

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ArcKit Plugin for Claude Code

Installation

Step 0: Make sure Claude Code is up to date

Step 1: Add the marketplace

Step 2: Install the plugin

Installing with ArcKit overlay plugins

Alternative: Load for a single session

Prerequisites

Quick Start

What's Included

Hooks

OKF Interoperability

Template Customization

How It Works

Quick Start

Common Customizations

Template Location

Keeping Templates Updated

Skills

Commands Overview

Core Governance

Technical Design

Research & Procurement

UK Government Compliance

Operations & Delivery

Project Structure

MCP Servers

Setting up optional API keys

Migration from CLI

For Gemini/Codex Users

Links

License

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