Quick Summary
  • Method A (Recommended): Download the Agency Agents desktop app → browse catalog → click Deploy for Claude Code.
  • Method B (CLI): Clone the repo, copy folders to ~/.claude/agents/. 3 commands, 90 seconds.
  • Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux with WSL.
  • No API keys, no accounts, no cost. MIT license.

How to Install Agency Agents in Claude Code (2026)

📅 Updated July 2026⏱️ 6 min read🛠️ Difficulty: Easy

Prerequisites

Before installing Agency Agents, you need Claude Code installed. If you don't have it yet:

# Install Claude Code (macOS / Linux / WSL)
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
Note: Agency Agents works with any version of Claude Code. There's no minimum version requirement.

Method A: Desktop App (Recommended)

The Agency Agents desktop app (agencyagents.app) is the easiest way to install, update, and manage agents across multiple tools. It's built with Tauri 2 (Rust + Svelte), is fully local-first, and has no telemetry.

1
Download the app

Go to agencyagents.app and download for your platform:

  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4): Agency_Agents_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg
  • Intel Mac: Agency_Agents_x.x.x_x64.dmg
  • Windows: .exe installer (click More Info → Run anyway on SmartScreen)
  • Linux: .deb, .rpm, or .AppImage

Or via Homebrew (macOS):

brew tap msitarzewski/agency-agents
brew install --cask agency-agents
2
Open the app and browse the catalog

Launch Agency Agents. In the Agents Workspace, browse by division (Engineering, Design, Marketing...). Click any agent to preview the full persona definition before installing.

3
Set Claude Code as your target tool

In the Tools Panel, confirm Claude Code is detected. The app auto-discovers it at ~/.claude/agents/. If not found, set the path manually.

4
Deploy your agents

Select individual agents or a full team preset (e.g., “Full Stack Team”, “Security Squad”) and click Deploy. The app copies the correctly rendered files to Claude Code's agents directory.

Method B: Manual CLI Installation

Prefer the command line? Here's the manual 3-command approach:

1
Create the Claude Code agents directory
# Creates ~/.claude/agents/ if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.claude/agents/
2
Clone the agency-agents repository
# ~10MB download
git clone https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents cd agency-agents
3
Copy agents to Claude Code
# Option A: Install all divisions cp -r engineering design marketing product security \ project-management testing support spatial-computing \ specialized ~/.claude/agents/. # Option B: Install just engineering (recommended to start) cp -r engineering ~/.claude/agents/.

Verify Your Installation

Run this to confirm the agents are installed:

# List installed agents
ls
~/.claude/agents/

# Expected output (if you installed engineering):
engineering/

# Or within a division:
ls
~/.claude/agents/engineering/
backend-architect.md devops-automator.md frontend-developer.md
security-engineer.md data-engineer.md ...

How to Use Agency Agents in Claude Code

Once installed, activate any agent in your Claude Code session by name:

Security Engineer agent

Activate Security Engineer mode and audit this authentication code for vulnerabilities.

Frontend Developer agent

Use the Frontend Developer agent to refactor this React component for better performance.

Data Engineer agent

Act as the Data Engineer agent and help me design a PostgreSQL schema for this use case.

Pro tip: You can also use the native /agents command in Claude Code to list all available agents and invoke them from the CLI directly.

Project-Level Installation (Per Repo)

Instead of global installation, you can scope agents to a specific project. This is useful for monorepos with specialized roles:

# From your project root
mkdir -p .claude/agents/
cp -r ~/agency-agents/engineering .claude/agents/

Claude Code checks project-level agents first, then falls back to global. This means project agents override global ones with the same name.

FAQ

Where does Claude Code look for agent files?

Claude Code looks for agent Markdown files in ~/.claude/agents/ at the global level. For project-specific agents, place them in .claude/agents/ at the root of your project directory. Project-level agents take precedence over global ones.

Do I need to restart Claude Code after installing agents?

Typically no — Claude Code reads agent files dynamically. However, if you've just installed a large batch, starting a fresh session ensures everything is loaded correctly.

How do I use an agent once it's installed?

Simply invoke it by name in your Claude Code session. For example: 'Hey Claude, I need you to act as the Security Engineer agent and review this authentication code.' You can also use /agents in Claude Code to list all available agents.

Can I install only specific agents instead of everything?

Yes. You don't need to copy all 16 division folders. Just copy the specific agent .md files or entire division folders you want. Many developers start with just the engineering/ folder.

What's the difference between global and project-level installation?

Global agents (~/.claude/agents/) are available in all your Claude Code sessions. Project-level agents (.claude/agents/ in your repo) are only active when you're working in that project. Use project-level for specialized roles specific to one codebase.