Operator OS
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Install

Fifteen minutes from download to a working setup.

Quick start

  1. Install Claude Code if you haven't: docs.claude.com/claude-code. macOS only.
  2. Get the kit at theonitstudio.com/operator-os, or download it with your invite code (form below). You get operator-os.zip.
  3. Unzip it where you keep your work, for example your home folder. It makes one folder: operator-os.
  4. Open Claude Code inside it:
    cd operator-os && claude
  5. Type /onboard and answer the popups.

Get the kit — $149

Zip, about 100 KB. Reading the docs needs no code.

What /onboard does

/onboard interviews you with multiple-choice popups (your role, projects, sacred time blocks, which layers you want), backs up anything you already have, then writes your rules, memory, skills, integrations and scheduled jobs. You click answers. Claude does the typing.

  1. Preflight

    Check and report in one table.

  2. Interview
    • Round 1: who and where
    • Round 2: projects and people
    • Round 3: layers to install
    • Round 4: conventions check
  3. Write the system
    • Rules
    • Memory
    • Settings
    • Skills
    • Integrations
    • Automation
    • Multi-account
  4. Verify
  5. Hand over
    • Your first week

Ground rules it follows

  • Ask every decision with AskUserQuestion (2-4 options, recommended first, up to 4 independent questions per popup). Never ask in paragraphs.
  • Look up facts yourself (OS version, installed CLIs, existing files). Don't ask what ls or which can tell you.
  • Never overwrite without a backup. Before writing anything under ~/.claude or ~/, copy existing files to ~/.claude/backups/operator-os-<YYYYMMDD-HHMM>/.
  • Tool limits: your Bash tool has no stdin, so scripts that ask [y/N] cannot be answered there. Get the yes in a popup first, then pass the script's --yes flag (only after that popup).
  • If a file already exists (e.g. they already have a ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md), merge: keep their content, add the Operator OS sections, show the diff.
  • Show the person each file you write in one short summary line. At the end, give the full list.
  • Don't install anything that runs on a schedule, or anything that touches external accounts, without a yes in a popup.

Permissions: read this first

The kit's default settings run Claude without permission prompts (fast, and how the original setup works). That only works because the rules also hard-code safety rails:

  • outgoing email and messages are drafts until you send them;
  • anything involving money is created paused and only proposed;
  • you press Submit on applications, payments and production changes;
  • a deny-list blocks destructive commands.

If you remove the rails, turn the prompts back on. Read templates/settings/README.md before your first run. /onboard will ask you to confirm.

The settings template

Copy settings.json to ~/.claude/settings.json (user level). Back up your old one first.

cp ~/.claude/settings.json ~/.claude/settings.json.bak 2>/dev/null
cp templates/settings/settings.json ~/.claude/settings.json

What each key does

Key Meaning
permissions.defaultMode bypassPermissions = Claude runs tools without asking.
skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt Hides the one-time "are you sure?" warning for that mode.
permissions.allow Commands that never need a prompt (matters in safer modes).
permissions.deny Commands that are blocked, even in bypass mode.
autoMemoryEnabled Claude saves useful facts to its memory folder on its own.

WARNING: this skips permission prompts

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|  bypassPermissions = Claude does NOT ask before it acts.     |
|  It can edit or delete files, run commands, call connected   |
|  tools (email, ads, calendar, hosting) with your accounts.   |
|  Only use it on a machine and folders you can afford to      |
|  lose, and ONLY together with the rails below.               |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

Why use it anyway: constant prompts train you to click "yes" without reading. A few hard rails beat 200 blind clicks.

Safety rails that must come with it

  1. Draft-only email. Claude creates drafts; you press Send. Write this rule in your CLAUDE.md.
  2. Money actions start PAUSED. Ads, spend, purchases: Claude proposes and creates things paused. You switch them on.
  3. Human Submit gate. Applications, forms, filings: Claude fills them in, you click Submit.
  4. The deny-list in this file. It blocks rm -rf /, force-pushes, curl | sh and similar. Deny rules win over bypass mode.
  5. A git-guardrails hook. A PreToolUse hook that blocks git push --force, reset --hard, clean -f. See docs/advanced/harness-settings.md for an example.
  6. Commit often. Git is your undo button.
  7. Work data stays in its own folder and account. See docs/07-multi-account.md.

Dialing back

Change defaultMode to one of:

Mode Behavior
default Asks for each new kind of action. Safest.
acceptEdits Auto-approves file edits, asks for commands. Good middle ground.
plan Read-only planning. Claude changes nothing until you approve the plan.
bypassPermissions No prompts (this template).

Also remove skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt to get the warning back. You can switch mode inside a session with Shift+Tab.

Not sure which to pick? Start with acceptEdits. Move to bypass after a few weeks, when you trust your rails.

Project-level override

A repo can tighten things with .claude/settings.json (shared) or .claude/settings.local.json (yours only, not committed). Stricter deny rules in a project are a good way to protect one sensitive folder.

Next: read the philosophy, then the layer you need most.