Install

notabene is two installable pieces: the Claude Code plugin (turnkey setup + the review loop) and the renderer (an npm package + CLI). They install independently — the plugin does not need the npm package: it fetches the renderer on its own.

The Claude Code plugin — setup + review

In Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add z29k/notabene
/plugin install notabene@z29k

That’s the whole install — no npm install required. The plugin fetches and runs a pinned version of the renderer itself via npx (the first run downloads it, ~30 s); nothing is scaffolded into your repo, and your repo doesn’t even need a package.json. The only prerequisite is Node (see requirements below).

Then just say “set up notabene” (fresh repo) or “address the doc comments” (already set up) — the right skill triggers on its own.

Prefer manual install? Copy packages/claude-plugin/skills/notabene/ into your project’s .claude/skills/. Using another agent entirely? You don’t need the plugin at all: notabene init writes the same protocol to <store>/protocol.md and points at it from AGENTS.md (see using it from any agent).

The renderer — npm package (without Claude)

To drive the CLI yourself — by hand, in CI, or from another tool — install the npm package:

npm install -D @z29k/notabene   # or: pnpm add -D @z29k/notabene · bun add -d @z29k/notabene
npx notabene init               # writes notabene.config.mjs + creates the .notabene store
npx notabene dev                # → http://localhost:3009

The npm package is scoped (@z29k/notabene); the CLI command it installs is just notabene, so npx notabene … works as-is.

init is the only thing that touches your repo — it writes notabene.config.mjs and creates the .notabene/ store (init --detect prefills roots[] from the doc folders it finds). The renderer itself runs from the package: nothing is scaffolded or copied into your repo, and upgrading is just npm update.

The full command surface (build, pdf, status, migrate, comments, journal…) is in the CLI reference.

Installing both is fine: the plugin always runs its own pinned renderer version (matched to the plugin’s version), independent of the one in your package.json — the two never conflict.

Requirements

Both routes share the same prerequisites:

• Node ≥ 22.12 and npx on your PATH (both ship with Node).
• Any repo with Markdown or MDX files — see MDX and CommonMark for how the two formats are handled.

Next: your first review.