Claude Code setup

Claude Code is Anthropic’s CLI for engineers. Installing InPolicy takes one command.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code or equivalent).
• An InPolicy API key.

One-user setup

Run this once on each machine:

claude mcp add inpolicy -- env INPOLICY_API_KEY=inp_live_REPLACE_ME npx -y @inpolicy/mcp-server

Replace the key and you’re done. Verify with:

claude mcp list

You should see inpolicy listed. Open any project with claude and the tools are available.

Next, apply the system prompt template by adding it to either:

• User-level: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (applies to all Claude Code sessions on your machine), or
• Project-level: a CLAUDE.md in the repo root (applies to anyone running Claude Code there).

Fleet deployment (IT)

Option A: Corporate Claude Code install script

Add the MCP config + system prompt to your standard Claude Code install script.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Install Claude Code if missing
command -v claude >/dev/null 2>&1 || npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Register InPolicy MCP
claude mcp add inpolicy -- env INPOLICY_API_KEY="$INPOLICY_API_KEY" npx -y @inpolicy/mcp-server

# Drop the company CLAUDE.md
mkdir -p "$HOME/.claude"
curl -fsSL https://your-internal-host/company-CLAUDE.md -o "$HOME/.claude/CLAUDE.md"

echo "Claude Code + InPolicy ready."

Option B: Project-level CLAUDE.md in a shared template

If your engineering org uses a standard repo template, check in the system prompt as a CLAUDE.md in the repo root. Every engineer who runs Claude Code in that repo picks it up automatically.

Option C: Managed devcontainer / codespace

Bake the MCP registration + CLAUDE.md into your devcontainer definition. Claude Code running inside the container gets InPolicy for free.

Verify it’s working

In any Claude Code session, ask:

“List the InPolicy MCP tools you have available.”

Claude Code should list record_turn, check_output, get_conversation_state, end_conversation, and (if enabled on the API key) check_tool_call.

Notes for engineering teams

• Engineers will notice Claude Code surfaces policy citations in code reviews and commit-message drafts when relevant policies exist (e.g. “naming conventions,” “security review required for X,” “don’t commit .env”).
• If you want to scope policies so engineering doesn’t see non-engineering policies (HR, legal), use Policy Areas and scope the API key accordingly.
• Claude Code’s /mcp command shows the live tool list and lets engineers toggle servers. If an engineer turns off InPolicy, they’ll see a note about it; that’s a legitimate per-session decision (e.g. they’re debugging an InPolicy integration).