How to Set Up the Corsair Development Environment: Complete Monorepo Guide

Set up the Corsair development environment by installing Node.js 22+ and pnpm 10, cloning the repository, running pnpm install, and verifying with pnpm typecheck, pnpm lint, and pnpm test.

The corsairdev/corsair repository is a TypeScript monorepo containing a core integration framework and dozens of plugin packages. This guide walks through the complete environment setup based on the official source code in CONTRIBUTING.md and repository structure.

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Prerequisites for the Corsair Development Environment

Before cloning, ensure your system meets these requirements:

• Node.js 22+ — The plugin generator relies on --experimental-strip-types for TypeScript execution
• pnpm 10 — The exclusive package manager for workspace dependency resolution

Verify versions with:

node --version  # v22.x.x or higher

pnpm --version  # 10.x.x

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Clone and Install the Corsair Repository

The corsairdev/corsair workflow requires a fresh fork for each integration to avoid stale code conflicts.

Fork and Clone

# 1. Delete any existing fork on GitHub (if returning for a new integration)

# 2. Fork via https://github.com/corsairdev/corsair

# 3. Clone into a dedicated directory

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/corsair.git corsair-<integration-slug>
cd corsair-<integration-slug>

Install Workspace Dependencies

pnpm install

This command resolves all workspace dependencies, builds type declarations across packages, and populates node_modules/.pnpm with the shared store.

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Verify Your Corsair Development Environment

Run the repository's standard health checks to confirm everything works:

pnpm typecheck   # Static TypeScript validation

pnpm lint        # Biome linting across all packages

pnpm test        # Unit and integration test suite

pnpm build       # Compile all packages in dependency order

All four commands must pass before proceeding with plugin development.

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Generate a Plugin with the Corsair CLI

The CLI package at packages/cli/ provides scaffolding commands to bootstrap new integrations.

Create a New Plugin

pnpm run generate:plugin MyNewPlugin

This generates:

• A new package at packages/my-new-plugin/
• Standardized source structure following existing plugin conventions
• Registration hooks in the test harness at demo/testing/src/server/corsair.ts

Develop in Watch Mode

Keep your plugin compiling automatically during development:

pnpm --filter my-new-plugin dev

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Run the Corsair Studio Locally

The Studio package (packages/studio/) provides a web UI for inspecting running Corsair instances.

Start Core and Studio

Terminal 1 — Core server:

pnpm --filter @corsair-dev/corsair dev

Terminal 2 — Studio UI:

pnpm --filter @corsair-dev/studio dev

The Studio launches at http://localhost:3000 and connects to the in-process core server for real-time inspection.

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Key Architecture Locations in corsairdev/corsair

Understanding the monorepo structure accelerates development:

Component	Location	Purpose
Core framework	packages/corsair/	Runtime, database adapters, authentication plumbing
CLI tooling	packages/cli/	Plugin generation, credential storage, OAuth flows
Studio UI	packages/studio/	Local development and debugging interface
MCP SDK	packages/mcp/	Agent-facing server adapters
Test harness	demo/testing/	E2E testing sandbox for plugins

Reference the authoritative documentation:

• README.md — Project overview and demo video
• CONTRIBUTING.md — Branch policy and commit conventions
• docs/plugins/README.md — Plugin architecture deep-dive

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Complete Development Workflow Example

# Initial setup

git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/corsair.git corsair-slack
cd corsair-slack
pnpm install

# Verification

pnpm typecheck && pnpm lint && pnpm test

# Create and develop plugin

pnpm run generate:plugin Slack
pnpm --filter slack dev

# Test via Studio

pnpm --filter @corsair-dev/corsair dev  # terminal 1

pnpm --filter @corsair-dev/studio dev    # terminal 2

# Final validation

cd demo/testing
pnpm test

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Summary

Setting up the Corsair development environment requires:

• Node.js 22+ and pnpm 10 as non-negotiable prerequisites
• Fresh fork and clone for each integration to prevent state conflicts
• pnpm install to bootstrap the entire workspace dependency graph
• Four verification commands (typecheck, lint, test, build) to validate health
• CLI generator at packages/cli/ for consistent plugin scaffolding
• Studio UI at packages/studio/ for interactive development and debugging

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Node.js version does Corsair require?

Corsair requires Node.js 22 or higher because the plugin generator uses the --experimental-strip-types flag for native TypeScript execution without transpilation.

Why does Corsair use pnpm instead of npm or yarn?

The corsairdev/corsair monorepo relies on pnpm 10 for its workspace-aware dependency resolution, content-addressable store in node_modules/.pnpm, and deterministic lockfile behavior across the core framework and plugin packages.

How do I test my plugin without publishing it?

Use the local Studio (pnpm --filter @corsair-dev/studio dev) connected to the core server, or run the demo testing suite at demo/testing/ via pnpm test to exercise endpoints in an isolated environment.

Where are generated plugin files created?

The CLI writes new plugins to packages/<plugin-name>/ following the scaffold defined in packages/cli/, and automatically registers them in demo/testing/src/server/corsair.ts for immediate testability.

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