Installation

Drydock is an open-source plugin for Claude Code. It installs from a plugin marketplace in two commands — no local clone required. This page covers the prerequisites, the install commands, what gets registered, how updates work, and how to run an unreleased checkout for local development.

:::info Current version This page documents Drydock 2.5.0. The repository lives at github.com/sundarshahi/drydock. :::

Prerequisites

Claude Code is the only thing you need to install Drydock and route work to its agents.

Tool	Required for	When you need it
Claude Code	Installing and running Drydock	Always
Git	Worktree isolation during builds	The BUILD / SHIP phases
Docker	Container builds	The HARDEN / SHIP phases
Docker Compose	Local multi-service orchestration	The HARDEN / SHIP phases

Git, Docker, and Docker Compose are used by the build and ship phases for git-worktree isolation, container builds, and infrastructure-as-code. Install them if you plan to run a full build; they are not needed just to install the plugin or route requests.

tip

If you only want to try Drydock's planning and routing — for example a code review or an architecture pass — Claude Code alone is enough. You can add Git and Docker later when you reach a phase that needs them.

Install

Run both commands from inside Claude Code. The first registers the Drydock marketplace; the second installs the plugin from it.

/plugin marketplace add sundarshahi/drydock

/plugin install drydock@drydock

The drydock@drydock syntax is <plugin-name>@<marketplace-name> — both happen to be named drydock.

That's it. Describe what you want in plain English and Drydock takes over:

Build a SaaS for booking dog walkers — auth, payments, and a dashboard.

Drydock picks an execution mode to match your request, asks you to choose an autonomy level, then runs the pipeline — pausing only at the three approval gates.

What the marketplace install registers

Installing drydock@drydock registers the full plugin into your Claude Code environment:

• 19 agents, each invocable as drydock:<skill>. Fifteen run as isolated subagents; the orchestrator (drydock) plus three planning agents — product-manager, solution-architect, and polymath — run in-context as skills.
• Hooks, including the secret-guard hook that blocks secret writes and commits and scans staged diffs.
• Shared protocols that enforce architecture boundaries, security defaults, grounding, and the gate logic.

No files are cloned into your project at install time. Drydock scaffolds a drydock/ workspace directory inside a project only when you actually start a run.

Verify the install

Confirm the plugin is installed and enabled from your shell:

claude plugin list

Look for drydock@drydock with Status: ✔ enabled. If it says disabled, run claude plugin enable drydock@drydock.

To see exactly what got registered — and what it costs you in context — ask for the plugin's details:

claude plugin details drydock@drydock

This is the fastest way to confirm all 19 skills and 15 subagents loaded. The always-on figure is what Drydock adds to every session just by being installed; the per-component on-invoke cost (shown further down the real output) is paid only when a skill or agent actually fires.

:::tip Check from inside Claude Code instead Type /plugin in a Claude Code session for the same information in an interactive menu, or start typing /drydock: — if the agent list autocompletes, the skills are loaded. :::

How updates work

The marketplace entry is version-pinned — marketplace.json records the plugin version (currently 2.5.0), so you always install a known, reproducible build rather than whatever is on the tip of the default branch.

To move to a newer release, refresh the marketplace and reinstall:

/plugin marketplace update drydock

/plugin install drydock@drydock

The update pulls the latest pinned version from the marketplace; reinstalling activates it.

The same thing works from your shell, without opening Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace update drydock
claude plugin update drydock@drydock

note

Because the version is pinned in the marketplace entry, an install is deterministic: two people who add the marketplace and install the plugin at the same time get the same Drydock build.

:::warning Restart to apply A plugin update takes effect on the next Claude Code session — restart Claude Code after updating, then re-run claude plugin list to confirm the new version. :::

Disable, enable, or uninstall

Drydock adds roughly 3,365 tokens to every session just by being installed. If you want that context back on a project where you aren't using it, disable it rather than uninstalling — disabling is reversible and keeps the download:

claude plugin disable drydock@drydock
claude plugin enable drydock@drydock

To remove it entirely:

claude plugin uninstall drydock@drydock

Both commands default to the user scope. If you installed Drydock into a project or a local scope, pass it explicitly — --scope project or --scope local — or the command will look in the wrong place and report nothing to remove.

:::note What uninstalling does not touch Uninstalling removes the plugin, not your work. Any drydock/ workspace directory already scaffolded inside a project — receipts, BRDs, review reports, findings — stays exactly where it is. Delete it yourself if you want it gone. :::

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
/plugin install drydock@drydock says the plugin can't be found	The marketplace was never added, or was added under a different name	Run claude plugin marketplace list and confirm drydock is there; if not, re-run /plugin marketplace add sundarshahi/drydock
/drydock: doesn't autocomplete any agents	The plugin is installed but disabled, or the session started before the install	Check Status in claude plugin list, run claude plugin enable drydock@drydock if needed, then restart Claude Code
claude plugin list shows an older version after an update	The update was fetched but the session is still running the old build	Restart Claude Code — updates apply on the next session
claude plugin uninstall reports nothing to remove	Wrong scope	Re-run with --scope project or --scope local
A run stops at a phase that needs Git or Docker	Optional prerequisites aren't installed	Install the tool from the prerequisites table and re-run the phase

Local development (unreleased checkout)

To run an unreleased checkout — for example a feature branch, or the tip of main — instead of the marketplace build, clone the repository into Claude Code's plugins directory and launch Claude Code with that plugin directory:

git clone https://github.com/sundarshahi/drydock ~/.claude/plugins/drydock
claude --plugin-dir ~/.claude/plugins/drydock

This loads the plugin straight from your working tree, so any local edits take effect immediately. Use it for contributing or testing changes; for everyday use, prefer the marketplace install above so you stay on a pinned, reproducible version.

warning

A local checkout tracks whatever is in your working tree, not a pinned release. Pull changes yourself to stay current, and expect unreleased behavior to differ from the marketplace build.

Next steps

• Learn the pipeline and the three approval gates in How it works.
• Run your first build with the Quick start guide.