Getting Started with Babysitter

**Welcome to Babysitter!** This guide will help you go from zero to running your first AI-orchestrated development workflow in just a few minutes.

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30-Second Overview

**Babysitter = Claude Code + autopilot + quality control**

Instead of:

You: "Build me a login page"
Claude: *builds something*
You: "Make it better"
Claude: *tweaks it*
You: "Run the tests"
Claude: *tests fail*
You: "Fix the tests"
... (repeat for hours)

You just say:

/babysitter:call build a login page with 90% quality target

Babysitter handles the iteration, testing, and quality checks automatically. Come back later, it's still working (or waiting for your approval).

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Choose Your Path

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What is Babysitter?

Babysitter is an **orchestration framework** for Claude Code that transforms how you work with AI-assisted development. Instead of manually iterating with Claude until your code is "good enough," Babysitter automates the entire process with:

• **Automatic quality convergence** - Set a quality target (like 85%), and Babysitter iterates until it's achieved
• **Session persistence** - Close your laptop, come back tomorrow, and pick up exactly where you left off
• **Human-in-the-loop approval** - Add approval gates (breakpoints) for critical decisions before they execute
• **Complete audit trails** - Every decision, iteration, and change is recorded in an event journal

Think of Babysitter as a project manager for your AI coding sessions - it keeps track of progress, ensures quality standards are met, and never loses context.

Why You Will Love Babysitter

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Key Benefits

1. Quality Convergence

Stop manually asking Claude to "make it better." Define your quality target (test coverage, code standards, etc.) and Babysitter iterates until it's achieved.

# Example: Iterate until 85% quality score
claude "/babysitter:call implement user auth with TDD, 85% quality target"

2. Never Lose Progress

Every action is recorded in an event-sourced journal. Session interrupted? No problem.

# Resume exactly where you left off
claude "Resume the babysitter run for the auth feature"

3. Human-in-the-Loop Control

Add approval gates for critical decisions. Review context, approve or reject, and only then does execution continue.

# Babysitter will pause for approval before deploying
claude "/babysitter:call deploy to production with breakpoint approval"

4. Structured Workflows

Choose from built-in methodologies (TDD, Spec-Kit, GSD) or create your own. Consistent, repeatable processes across your team.

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Quick Navigation

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Required Software

Recommended (for best experience)

Knowledge Prerequisites

Verify Your Environment

Run these commands to confirm you're ready:

# Check Node.js (need 20.0.0+)
node --version
# Expected: v20.x.x or v22.x.x

# Check npm
npm --version
# Expected: 8.x.x or higher

# Check Claude Code
claude --version
# Expected: Claude Code version info

If any command fails, install the missing software before continuing.

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Installation Overview

Getting Babysitter running involves three steps:

1. **Install the Babysitter plugin** (via Claude Code's plugin system) 2. **Install the CLI packages** (npm global install for orchestration commands) **Estimated time:** 5-10 minutes

Ready? Head to the Installation Guide for step-by-step instructions.

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Your Learning Path

Day 1: Get Started (Today!)

1. [x] Read this introduction (you are here) 2. [ ] Install Babysitter (5 min) 3. [ ] Complete the Quickstart (10 min) 4. [ ] Understand your first run (10 min)

Week 1: Build Confidence

5. [ ] Try different quality targets (80%, 90%, 95%) 6. [ ] Experience session resumption (close and resume a run) 7. [ ] Use breakpoints for approval workflows 8. [ ] Explore the TDD methodology

Week 2+: Level Up

9. [ ] Compare methodologies (TDD, GSD, Spec-Kit) 10. [ ] Customize quality targets and iteration limits 11. [ ] Learn about parallel execution 12. [ ] Create your first custom process (advanced)

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How Babysitter Works (The Big Picture)

You: "Build a todo API with TDD"
         |
         v
+------------------+
|  Babysitter      |
|  Orchestration   |
|                  |
|  1. Research     |---> Analyze codebase
|  2. Plan         |---> Create specifications
|  3. Implement    |---> TDD iterations
|  4. Quality      |---> Score and improve
|  5. Approve      |---> Human checkpoint
|  6. Complete     |---> Deliver result
+------------------+
         |
         v
Everything logged to .a5c/runs/<runId>/journal/

The Magic: Event-Sourced Persistence

Every action Babysitter takes is recorded as an event in a journal:

{"type":"RUN_STARTED","runId":"01KFFTSF8TK8C9GT3YM9QYQ6WG","timestamp":"2026-01-25T10:30:00Z"}
{"type":"TASK_STARTED","taskId":"research-001","timestamp":"2026-01-25T10:30:01Z"}
{"type":"TASK_COMPLETED","taskId":"research-001","result":{...},"timestamp":"2026-01-25T10:30:45Z"}

This means:

• **Crash recovery:** Replay the journal to restore exact state
• **Audit trail:** Complete history of every decision
• **Debugging:** Trace exactly what happened and when

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What You Will Build

In this getting started guide, you will:

Quickstart Tutorial (10 minutes)

Build a simple calculator module with TDD:

• Write tests first
• Implement code to pass tests
• Achieve 80% quality score
• See automatic iteration in action

Expected Outcome

calculator/
  calculator.js      # Implementation
  calculator.test.js # Test suite
  README.md         # Generated documentation

Quality Score: 85/100
Tests: 12 passing
Coverage: 92%

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Getting Help

Stuck? Try These Resources

Common First-Time Issues

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Ready to Begin?

Your journey starts with installation. Let's get Babysitter running on your machine.

**Next Step:** Installation Guide

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Quick Reference Card

Keep these commands handy:

# Start a new run
claude "/babysitter:call <your request>"

# Resume an existing run
claude "/babysitter:call resume the babysitter run"
# Check available skills
/skills

# View run history
ls .a5c/runs/

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**Ready to transform your AI-assisted development?**

Start Installation

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