Installing PRIMA Bookkeeper

You install PRIMA Bookkeeper once on each computer that keeps the books. The install puts two programs on your computer, prima-bookkeeper and prima-bookkeeper-mcp, and the Claude Code plugin then adds the commands and skills.

Before You Start

Check each item below before you install.

• Node.js 20 or later. Run node --version in a terminal to see which version you have.
• macOS or Windows. PRIMA Bookkeeper keeps your credentials in the macOS Keychain or the Windows Credential Manager, so a computer with neither cannot run it.
• One Node.js. Use the same Node.js for every PRIMA Bookkeeper command. On macOS, the Keychain trusts the program that saved each credential, so a second Node.js on the same Mac brings up a fresh permission dialog.
• A terminal you can use. Setup asks you to type a few commands in your own terminal. In VS Code, the terminal is the panel at the bottom of the window.

Get Access

The PRIMA Bookkeeper repository on GitHub is private. Ask for access through Getting Help and include your GitHub username. You receive an invitation to the repository by email.

Install With Claude Code

1. Accept the GitHub invitation from the link in the email.
2. Open your workspace folder in VS Code and start Claude Code there.
3. Give Claude Code the repository link https://github.com/larrygmaguire-hash/prima-bookkeeper and ask it to install PRIMA Bookkeeper.
4. Approve the steps Claude asks you to approve. Claude follows the README. It clones the repository, builds the tool and links it.
5. Run prima-bookkeeper --help in a terminal when Claude reports that the install is complete. The list of commands it prints confirms the install.

The install puts prima-bookkeeper and prima-bookkeeper-mcp on your PATH, so any terminal can run them.

Add the Plugin to Claude Code

Start Claude Code from your workspace with the plugin folder named, as the example below shows.

claude --plugin-dir /path/to/prima-bookkeeper

The plugin registers the prima-bookkeeper MCP server and adds four commands.

Command	What it starts
/bookkeeper-setup	The setup wizard, from a fresh install to your first completed month
/bookkeep	The bookkeeping cycle for a date range or a bank CSV
/invoice-chase	Work through the missing invoices and receipts, one supplier at a time
/vat-prep	The VAT return review pack for a period

The plugin also installs a safety hook that stops your agent reading the credential store, as Credentials and Security explains.

Using It With Another Agent

Any agent that speaks MCP can run prima-bookkeeper-mcp from your workspace folder. The tools mirror the command-line tool, and Commands and Tools Reference lists them. The commands and skills come with the Claude Code plugin only, so another agent works from the tools alone.

Where Your Books Live

PRIMA Bookkeeper keeps the settings and records for one business in a .prima-bookkeeper folder inside your workspace. A bookkeeper who keeps several businesses uses one workspace folder for each business. Setup creates the folder, and Configuration describes what it holds.

Caution

Add .prima-bookkeeper/ to the .gitignore file in your workspace. The folder holds your transactions, suppliers and posting history, and it should never reach a shared repository.

Install by Hand

For developers

This route is for developers who hold a copy of the PRIMA Bookkeeper source.

Run these commands from the folder that will hold the source.

git clone https://github.com/larrygmaguire-hash/prima-bookkeeper
cd prima-bookkeeper
npm install
npm run build
npm link

npm link puts prima-bookkeeper and prima-bookkeeper-mcp on your PATH.

Run npm test for the test suite and npm run lint for the type check. Every command takes --json for machine-readable output and -c <path> to point at a different business.json.