How to Install and Configure the Council Skill for Claude Code vs. Codex

Run ./install.sh --claude to deploy the Council skill to ~/.claude/skills/council/ for Claude Code, or ./install.sh --codex to install the Codex-compatible variant to ~/.codex/skills/council/, including all 18 persona agents and optional routing configurations.

The Council of High Intelligence repository provides a multi-agent deliberation framework distributed as Markdown skill files. To install and configure the council skill for Claude Code vs. Codex, you use the unified install.sh script, which handles runtime-specific directory structures, copies the appropriate SKILL.md or SKILL.codex.md definition, and sets up the 18 council agent personas referenced during deliberation rounds.

Installing for Claude Code

Claude Code reads skills from the ~/.claude/skills/ directory. The installation process copies the canonical skill definition and supporting assets to a council/ subdirectory.

Default Installation

From the repository root, execute the installer with the --claude flag (or run without flags, as Claude is the default target):

git clone https://github.com/0xNyk/council-of-high-intelligence.git
cd council-of-high-intelligence

./install.sh --claude

The script creates ~/.claude/skills/council/ and populates it with:

• SKILL.md – The full skill definition containing the /council command, flag parsing, panel selection logic, and three-round deliberation protocol
• agents/ – 18 council persona files (council-*.md) defining each member's identity and grounding protocol
• scripts/ – Helper utilities including detect-providers.sh for auto-routing
• configs/ – Optional routing defaults (only when --copy-configs is supplied)

Optional Flags

The installer supports two critical flags for Claude deployments:

• --copy-configs – Copies the configs/ directory containing auto-route-defaults.yaml, which maps council members to model families (e.g., opus for Anthropic endpoints)
• --dry-run – Prints the exact mkdir and install commands without writing files, allowing you to verify target paths before deployment

Installing for Codex

Codex expects skills in ~/.codex/skills/ and uses a slightly different execution model based on spawn_agent and send_input workflows.

Codex-Specific Setup

Execute the installer with the --codex flag to target the Codex skill directory:

./install.sh --codex

This creates ~/.codex/skills/council/ containing:

• SKILL.codex.md – The Codex-compatible skill definition marked with name: council in the header, containing Codex-specific invocation patterns and the execution protocol
• agents/ – The same 18 persona files shared between runtimes
• scripts/ – Detection scripts used during provider routing
• configs/ – Optional configuration directory (when --copy-configs is used)

Asset Resolution Order

According to the source code in SKILL.codex.md, the Codex coordinator locates agent files in the following order:

1. ~/.codex/skills/council/agents/
2. ./agents/ (fallback if running from a local checkout)

If neither location resolves, the coordinator prints an error prompting you to run ./install.sh --codex.

Configuration and Routing

Both skill variants support identical runtime flags and configuration patterns, enabling seamless switching between Claude Code and Codex clients.

Provider Auto-Routing

When you include --copy-configs during installation, the script copies configs/auto-route-defaults.yaml. This file maps individual council members to appropriate provider-model combinations (e.g., routing specific personas to Anthropic's Claude 3 Opus or OpenAI-compatible endpoints). The scripts/detect-providers.sh utility assists this process by identifying available API endpoints on the host system.

Deliberation Modes

Both SKILL.md and SKILL.codex.md parse the following flags identically:

• --full – Complete three-round deliberation with all 18 agents
• --quick – Expedited single-round consultation
• --duo – Two-agent debate mode
• --triad <domain> – Three-agent panel focused on a specific domain
• --profile <name> – Load a custom configuration profile

Verification and Dry-Run Mode

Before committing changes to your skill directories, use the --dry-run flag to preview operations:

# Preview Claude installation

./install.sh --claude --dry-run

# Preview Codex installation with configurations

./install.sh --codex --copy-configs --dry-run

The script outputs the exact file copy operations and directory creation commands without modifying the filesystem, confirming that paths like ~/.claude/skills/council/SKILL.md or ~/.codex/skills/council/SKILL.codex.md are targeted correctly.

Summary

• Use ./install.sh --claude to install for Claude Code (default) or ./install.sh --codex for Codex, creating the appropriate skill directories under ~/.claude/skills/council/ or ~/.codex/skills/council/
• Claude Code consumes SKILL.md while Codex consumes SKILL.codex.md; both reference the same 18 agent files in agents/council-*.md
• Codex resolves assets first in the installed skill directory, falling back to ./agents/ if not found
• Include --copy-configs to deploy configs/auto-route-defaults.yaml for provider-specific routing
• Use --dry-run to verify file operations before writing to disk

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I install the Council skill for both Claude Code and Codex simultaneously?

Yes. Run ./install.sh --claude followed by ./install.sh --codex. The script maintains separate directories for each runtime (~/.claude/skills/council/ and ~/.codex/skills/council/), allowing both skill definitions to coexist without conflict. Both installations share the same agent personas but use runtime-specific skill files (SKILL.md vs. SKILL.codex.md).

What happens if Codex cannot locate the agent files?

The Codex skill coordinator first checks ~/.codex/skills/council/agents/ for the council-*.md persona files. If this directory is missing, it falls back to ./agents/ relative to the current working directory. If neither location contains the agent files, the coordinator outputs an error message instructing you to run ./install.sh --codex to deploy the missing assets.

How do I update the Council skill to the latest version?

Navigate to your local repository clone and pull the latest changes, then re-run the appropriate installation command. The install.sh script overwrites existing files in the target skill directory (~/.claude/skills/council/ or ~/.codex/skills/council/) with the updated versions from the repository, ensuring you receive the latest protocol definitions and agent personas.

What is the purpose of the configs/ directory?

The configs/ directory contains auto-route-defaults.yaml, which defines provider-to-model mappings for the council's auto-routing feature. When you install with --copy-configs, this file is copied to the skill directory, allowing the coordinator to automatically dispatch specific council members to designated model families (such as routing complex reasoning tasks to high-capability models while delegating routine tasks to lighter endpoints).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}