CLI Installation¶

Install PAW agents and skills to your GitHub Copilot CLI configuration.

Prerequisites¶

GitHub Copilot CLI installed and configured

Plugin Installation (Recommended)¶

Install PAW as a native Copilot CLI plugin from the PAW marketplace:

copilot plugin marketplace add lossyrob/phased-agent-workflow
copilot plugin marketplace browse paw-workflow
copilot plugin install paw-workflow@paw-workflow

This installs PAW agents and skills as a managed plugin, with native update and uninstall support. If you previously installed PAW directly from the repository, uninstall that copy first with copilot plugin uninstall paw-workflow.

Plugin Commands¶

Command	Description
`copilot plugin marketplace add lossyrob/phased-agent-workflow`	Register the PAW marketplace
`copilot plugin marketplace browse paw-workflow`	Confirm the marketplace exposes the PAW plugin
`copilot plugin install paw-workflow@paw-workflow`	Install PAW plugin from the marketplace
`copilot plugin marketplace update paw-workflow`	Refresh the PAW marketplace catalog
`copilot plugin list`	Show installed plugins
`copilot plugin update paw-workflow`	Update to latest version
`copilot plugin uninstall paw-workflow`	Remove PAW plugin

NPM CLI Installation (Alternative)¶

If you prefer the npm-based installer, or need to install to Claude Code:

Prerequisites¶

Node.js 18.0.0 or later
GitHub Copilot CLI and/or Claude Code CLI

Quick Start¶

npx @paw-workflow/cli install copilot   # Copilot CLI
npx @paw-workflow/cli install claude    # Claude Code

This installs PAW agents and skills to ~/.copilot/ or ~/.claude/, making them available in your CLI sessions.

NPM CLI Commands¶

Command	Description
`paw install copilot`	Install PAW to GitHub Copilot CLI
`paw list`	Show installed version and components
`paw upgrade`	Check for and apply updates
`paw uninstall`	Remove all PAW files

Use --force or -f to skip confirmation prompts.

What Gets Installed¶

The marketplace plugin is managed by Copilot CLI and exposes PAW agents and skills from the plugin. The NPM CLI alternative writes the same agents and skills into ~/.copilot/ or ~/.claude/.

Agents¶

Two agent files are provided:

PAW.agent.md - The main PAW workflow orchestrator for implementation workflows
PAW-Review.agent.md - The PAW Review workflow orchestrator for code review

Skills¶

Activity and utility skills are provided, including:

Specification skills: paw-spec, paw-spec-research, paw-spec-review
Planning skills: paw-planning, paw-plan-review, paw-code-research
Implementation skills: paw-implement, paw-impl-review, paw-git-operations
Review skills: paw-review-* (9 skills for the review workflow)
Utility skills: paw-status, paw-workflow, paw-docs-guidance, paw-rewind, paw-work-shaping, paw-transition

Using PAW After Installation¶

After installation, start a Copilot CLI session and invoke PAW:

# Start implementation workflow
copilot --agent PAW

# Start review workflow  
copilot --agent PAW-Review

Or use /agent inside an existing session to select a PAW agent.

See Two Workflows for detailed usage instructions.

Updating¶

For marketplace plugin installs:

copilot plugin marketplace update paw-workflow
copilot plugin update paw-workflow

For NPM CLI installs:

npx @paw-workflow/cli upgrade

Or reinstall the NPM CLI copy to get the latest version:

npx @paw-workflow/cli install copilot --force

Uninstalling¶

For marketplace plugin installs:

copilot plugin uninstall paw-workflow

For NPM CLI installs:

npx @paw-workflow/cli uninstall

The NPM uninstall removes installed agents, skills, and the manifest file.

Switching from NPM CLI or Direct Repository Install to Plugin¶

If you previously installed PAW via the NPM CLI and want to switch to the plugin:

Uninstall the NPM version first:
```
npx @paw-workflow/cli uninstall
```

Install as a plugin:

copilot plugin marketplace add lossyrob/phased-agent-workflow
copilot plugin install paw-workflow@paw-workflow

If you previously installed PAW directly with copilot plugin install lossyrob/phased-agent-workflow, uninstall it first with copilot plugin uninstall paw-workflow, then reinstall from the marketplace.

Warning

If both installations are active, the NPM-installed files at ~/.copilot/agents/ take precedence over plugin-provided agents (Copilot CLI uses first-found-wins for agents and skills).

Troubleshooting¶

NPM CLI: "Distribution files not found"¶

The package may be corrupted. Try reinstalling:

npm cache clean --force
npx @paw-workflow/cli install copilot

Files not showing in Copilot CLI¶

For marketplace plugin installs, verify the marketplace and plugin are registered:

copilot plugin marketplace browse paw-workflow
copilot plugin list

For NPM CLI installs, verify the files were installed:

ls ~/.copilot/agents/
ls ~/.copilot/skills/

Restart your Copilot CLI session after installation.

Permission errors¶

For NPM CLI installs, ensure you have write access to: - ~/.copilot/ — where agents and skills are installed - ~/.paw/copilot-cli/ — where the manifest file is stored