Ruflo Dependencies: What You Need to Install and Why

Ruflo requires only one production dependency—the @claude-flow/cli package (version 3.0.0-alpha.1 or higher) and Node.js 20 or above to run.

Ruflo is a lightweight orchestration layer built on top of the Claude-Flow ecosystem. Understanding the dependencies for Ruflo is essential before deployment, as the entire framework relies on a single external CLI package to manage agents, swarms, and MCP (Model-Context-Protocol) interactions.

Production Dependencies in ruflo/package.json

Ruflo’s runtime requirements are defined in ruflo/package.json. The package declares exactly one production dependency, keeping the installation footprint minimal.

Dependency	Version constraint	Purpose
@claude-flow/cli	>=3.0.0-alpha.1	Provides the core CLI and orchestration engine that Ruflo uses to spin up agents, manage swarms, and interact with the MCP layer.

@claude-flow/cli Version Requirements

The @claude-flow/cli package must be version 3.0.0-alpha.1 or higher. This constraint ensures access to the MCP protocol support and orchestration primitives required by Ruflo’s architecture. Earlier versions lack the swarm initialization and memory-store APIs that Ruflo depends on for agent management.

Node.js Engine Requirements

In addition to the npm package, Ruflo specifies a minimum Node.js runtime version. The engines field in ruflo/package.json declares:

• Node ≥ 20.0.0

This requirement ensures compatibility with the modern JavaScript features and node:child_process APIs used to spawn the underlying CLI processes.

How Ruflo Uses Its Dependencies

Ruflo functions as a thin wrapper around the Claude-Flow ecosystem. Rather than implementing orchestration logic directly, it invokes the @claude-flow/cli package to handle heavy lifting.

The CLI supplies the ruflo binary (bin/ruflo.js) that starts the MCP bridge (src/mcp-bridge/index.js). It implements the commands defined in Ruflo’s scripts section—such as dev, start, and docker:*—and handles the orchestration of agents, swarms, and memory-based learning.

MCP Bridge Initialization

The entry point at src/mcp-bridge/index.js demonstrates how Ruflo initializes its sole dependency to launch the orchestration layer:

// src/mcp-bridge/index.js
import { exec } from 'node:child_process';

// The CLI entry point from @claude-flow/cli is invoked to launch the orchestration layer.
exec('npx claude-flow swarm init --topology hierarchical', (err, stdout) => {
  if (err) { console.error('Failed to start swarm:', err); return; }
  console.log('Swarm initialized:', stdout);
});

This snippet shows Ruflo spawning the Claude-Flow CLI to initialize a hierarchical swarm topology, delegating all orchestration complexity to the dependency.

Programmatic CLI Access

For more control over the CLI process, Ruflo can spawn the dependency programmatically using Node.js child_process APIs:

import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';

// Example: run a CLI command from within Ruflo code.
const cli = spawn('npx', ['claude-flow', 'memory', 'store', '--key', 'example', '--value', 'test']);

cli.stdout.on('data', data => console.log(`CLI output → ${data}`));
cli.stderr.on('data', data => console.error(`CLI error → ${data}`));
cli.on('close', code => console.log(`CLI exited with code ${code}`));

This approach allows Ruflo to interact with the memory store and other CLI features while capturing stdout and stderr streams for logging or error handling.

Key Files Managing Dependencies

Several files in the repository coordinate how Ruflo declares and consumes its dependencies:

• ruflo/package.json — Declares the production dependency @claude-flow/cli and the Node engine version constraint.
• src/mcp-bridge/index.js — Entry point that boots the MCP bridge by invoking CLI commands from the dependency.
• bin/cli.js — The generated executable that runs Ruflo’s CLI commands (produced by the monorepo build process).
• scripts/generate-config.js — Helper script that creates configuration files for the CLI, ensuring proper integration with the dependency.

Summary

• Ruflo maintains a minimal dependency footprint with only one production requirement: @claude-flow/cli (version 3.0.0-alpha.1 or higher).
• The runtime requires Node.js 20 or above to support modern JavaScript features and process management APIs.
• All orchestration, agent management, and MCP protocol handling is delegated to the Claude-Flow CLI, making Ruflo a thin wrapper rather than a standalone implementation.
• Key integration points include src/mcp-bridge/index.js for initialization and ruflo/package.json for version constraints.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum Node.js version for Ruflo?

Ruflo requires Node.js 20.0.0 or higher, as specified in the engines field of ruflo/package.json. This version ensures compatibility with the node:child_process APIs and modern JavaScript features used to spawn the underlying CLI processes.

Does Ruflo require any database dependencies?

No, Ruflo does not declare any database dependencies in its package.json. All data persistence and memory storage functionality is handled by the @claude-flow/cli dependency, which manages its own storage mechanisms internally.

Can I use a different version of @claude-flow/cli with Ruflo?

No, Ruflo strictly requires @claude-flow/cli version 3.0.0-alpha.1 or higher. Earlier versions lack the necessary MCP protocol support, swarm initialization APIs, and memory-store primitives that Ruflo depends on for agent orchestration.

Is Ruflo a standalone CLI tool?

While Ruflo provides its own entry points such as bin/ruflo.js, it functions as a thin wrapper around the @claude-flow/cli package. The core CLI functionality, agent orchestration, swarm management, and MCP protocol handling are all implemented by the underlying Claude-Flow dependency, not by Ruflo itself.

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