Setup guide · updated 11 Nov 2026

Four add-ons that help Claude Code remember more and waste less

Four free, open-source add-ons for Claude Code: Claude-Mem for memory between sessions, Headroom to send fewer tokens, Claude Code Setup to get automation ideas for your project, and Task Observer to improve your skills over time. This guide installs each one, step by step. Each section links to its GitHub page, so you can read the project directly if a step is unclear.

Read this first These are four separate projects by different authors. Only Claude Code Setup is made by Anthropic. The commands below come from each project's own docs on 11 Nov 2026 and can change, so check the GitHub page if one fails. Try them on a test project first. Headroom claims about 15 to 20 percent savings on code and 60 to 95 percent on JSON, so your result depends on your work. Claude-Mem may be more than you need for short, one-session tasks.

01What you need

Claude Code installed and working.
Node.js 18 or newer (for Claude-Mem and Task Observer).
Python 3.10 or newer (for Headroom).
A small test project to try them on.

02Claude-Mem: memory between sessions

Claude-Mem saves what Claude does in a session and brings the useful parts back in the next one, so you explain less each time. Inside Claude Code, run:

/plugin marketplace add thedotmack/claude-mem
/plugin install claude-mem

Then close and reopen Claude Code. Work for a while, start a new session and ask about something from before.

GitHub: github.com/thedotmack/claude-mem

03Headroom: fewer tokens

Headroom is a tool, not a plugin. It sits between Claude Code and the model and compresses what is sent, such as long logs and JSON. In your terminal:

pip install "headroom-ai[all]"
headroom wrap claude

The second command starts Claude Code through Headroom. Run it the same way each time you want the savings.

GitHub: github.com/headroomlabs-ai/headroom

04Claude Code Setup: ideas for your project

This is Anthropic's official plugin. It reads your project and recommends hooks, skills, subagents and MCP servers that fit it. It only recommends; it does not change your files. Inside Claude Code, run:

/plugin install claude-code-setup@claude-plugins-official

Then ask:

recommend automations for this project

GitHub: github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official

05Task Observer: better skills over time

Task Observer is a skill that watches how you work and helps improve your other skills. Install it from your terminal:

npx skills add https://github.com/rebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all --skill task-observer

Read the user guide to see how it works. It is made by Eoghan Henn and shared under CC BY 4.0.

GitHub: github.com/rebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all

06Add a SKILL.md skill yourself

Task Observer is a skill, and so is anything with a SKILL.md file in a folder. Where you put the folder depends on the app.

Claude desktop app (and claude.ai)

Open Settings, then Capabilities, and turn on Code execution and file creation. Skills need it. In newer versions the skills list can also appear under Customize, Skills.
Download the skill from GitHub and make sure it is one folder with SKILL.md inside, at the top level of that folder.
ZIP that folder.
In Skills, click Upload skill and choose the ZIP.
Switch the skill on, then start a new chat and ask for something the skill's description covers.

If the upload fails, check that the file is named exactly SKILL.md and that its top has a name and a description.

Claude Code (terminal)

No ZIP needed. Put the folder in your personal skills folder and it works in every project:

~/.claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md

On Windows that is C:\Users\YourName\.claude\skills\my-skill\SKILL.md. For one project only, use .claude/skills/my-skill/SKILL.md inside that project.

Docs: Using skills in Claude · Claude Code skills

07If something goes wrong

New plugin not showing: restart Claude Code after installing.
/plugin not found: update Claude Code to the latest version.
pip or Headroom errors: run python --version and make sure it is 3.10 or higher.
npx not found: install Node.js first.
Skill not showing in Claude desktop: check that Code execution and file creation is on and the skill is switched on in Skills.
Something behaves oddly: install one add-on at a time so you know which one caused it.

Good use, honest limitsGreat for learning, side projects and long coding sessions. Savings and memory quality depend on your project, so test before you rely on them for paid client work.