| name | buddy |
| description | Show, pet, or manage your coding companion. Use when the user types /buddy or mentions their companion by name. |
| argument-hint | [show|pet|stats|help|off|on|rename <name>|personality <text>|achievements|summon [slot]|save [slot]|list|dismiss <slot>|pick|frequency [seconds]|style [classic|round]|position [top|left]|rarity [on|off]|rainbow [#hex ...]|statusline [on|off]|uninstall] |
| allowed-tools | mcp__claude_buddy__*, Bash |
Buddy — Your Coding Companion
Handle the user's /buddy command using the coding-buddy MCP tools.
Fallback: MCP Tools Unavailable
Before routing any command, check whether mcp__claude_buddy__* tools are registered in this session. If they are NOT — Claude Code was unable to start the coding-buddy MCP server — do not attempt to call any buddy tool. The tool calls will fail with an unhelpful "tool not found" error. Instead, run this diagnostic and report the result to the user so they can fix the underlying cause:
-
Check bun availability:
command -v bun && bun --version
The MCP launcher (server/mcp-launcher.sh) requires bun on PATH. If this command prints nothing, bun is missing — tell the user to install it (curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash), open a new terminal so PATH picks it up, and restart Claude Code. That is almost always the fix.
-
If bun IS present, run the launcher directly to capture whatever error it emits. The launcher path depends on which marketplace installed the plugin; locate it first:
find ~/.claude/plugins/cache -name mcp-launcher.sh -path '*coding-buddy*' 2>/dev/null
Then execute the first result with stdin closed so it exits cleanly:
<launcher-path> < /dev/null; echo "exit=$?"
Common causes: missing bun, corrupted plugin cache (suggest claude plugin uninstall coding-buddy@coding-buddy && claude plugin install coding-buddy@coding-buddy), or a bun-level error loading server/index.ts.
-
If $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR is set in the environment, use that directory instead of ~/.claude when searching for the launcher.
-
Do not proceed with any buddy command in this session. Tell the user: the MCP server is not running, here is what the diagnostic found, here is the recommended fix, and Claude Code must be restarted after the fix before buddy tools will be available.
Command Routing
Based on $ARGUMENTS:
| Input | Action |
|---|
(empty) or show | Call buddy_show |
help | Call buddy_help |
pet | Call buddy_pet |
stats | Call buddy_stats |
off | Call buddy_mute |
on | Call buddy_unmute |
rename <name> | Call buddy_rename with the given name |
personality <text> | Call buddy_set_personality with the given text |
achievements | Call buddy_achievements |
summon | Call buddy_summon with no args — picks a random saved buddy |
summon <slot> | Call buddy_summon with the given slot name |
save [slot] | Call buddy_save with optional slot name |
list | Call buddy_list |
dismiss <slot> | Call buddy_dismiss with the slot name |
pick | Tell user to run ! bun run pick from the coding-buddy directory (launches interactive TUI) |
frequency | Call buddy_frequency with no args (show current) |
frequency <seconds> | Call buddy_frequency with cooldown=seconds |
style | Call buddy_style with no args (show current) |
style <classic|round> | Call buddy_style with style arg |
position | Call buddy_style with no args (show current) |
position <top|left> | Call buddy_style with position arg |
rarity on | Call buddy_style with showRarity=true |
rarity off | Call buddy_style with showRarity=false |
rainbow | Call buddy_style with no args (show current rainbow) |
rainbow <#hex> ... | Call buddy_style with rainbow=[...hex colors] to set shiny gradient |
rainbow reset | Call buddy_style with rainbow=[] to restore default ROYGBIV |
statusline | Call buddy_statusline with no args (show current) |
statusline on | Call buddy_statusline with enabled=true |
statusline off | Call buddy_statusline with enabled=false |
statusline combined | Call buddy_statusline with combined=true (adds rate-limit usage bars, needs python3) |
statusline basic | Call buddy_statusline with combined=false (buddy only, no rate-limit bars) |
uninstall | Run the uninstall sequence (see Uninstall Orchestration below) |
CRITICAL OUTPUT RULES
The MCP tools return pre-formatted ASCII art with ANSI colors, box-drawing characters, stat bars, and species art. This is the companion's visual identity.
You MUST output the tool result text EXACTLY as returned — character for character, line for line. Do NOT:
- Summarize or paraphrase the ASCII art
- Describe what the companion looks like in prose
- Add commentary before or after the card
- Reformat, rephrase, or interpret the output
- Strip ANSI escape codes
Just output the raw text content from the tool result. Nothing else. The ASCII art IS the response.
If the user mentions the buddy's name in normal conversation, call buddy_react with reason "turn". Do NOT echo or quote the tool result — the reaction reaches the user only via the statusline speech bubble.
Uninstall Orchestration
When the user invokes /buddy uninstall, run this sequence in order — do not skip steps, do not ask for confirmation between steps:
- Call the MCP tool
buddy_uninstall. Display its output verbatim.
- Run via Bash tool:
claude plugin uninstall coding-buddy@coding-buddy
- Run via Bash tool:
claude plugin marketplace remove coding-buddy
- Run via Bash tool:
rm -rf ~/.claude/plugins/cache/coding-buddy
- Tell the user: uninstall is complete; companion data is kept at
~/.claude-buddy/; restart Claude Code to release the plugin.
If any Bash step fails (non-zero exit), report the error but continue with the remaining steps — each step is independent and always-safe to run.
Do not call buddy_uninstall for any other command than /buddy uninstall. Never call it proactively.
