Awl - Claude Code Workspace
Threading Needles' development workflow for Claude Code, open sourced and packaged as a Claude Code plugin marketplace.
Awl is the workflow we use daily at Threading Needles for AI-assisted development. It's battle-tested on real projects and optimized for efficient, context-aware AI collaboration.
Tech Stack & Integrations
Awl integrates with your development tools through MCP servers and CLI tools:
Project Management & Issue Tracking
- Linear - Issue tracking, sprint planning, ticket lifecycle (MCP bundled with
awl-dev, automatic OAuth)
awl-dev: Core research agents and workflow commandsawl-pm: Advanced PM workflows (cycle analysis, milestone tracking, backlog grooming)
Version Control & Code Hosting
- GitHub - Pull requests, code review, repository management (CLI via
gh)
awl-dev: PR creation, branch management, worktree workflows
Error Monitoring & Debugging
- PostHog - Error tracking, session replay, stack traces, HogQL queries (MCP)
awl-debugging: PostHog error tracking MCP integration
Product Analytics
- PostHog - User behavior, conversion funnels, feature analytics (MCP)
awl-analytics: PostHog MCP integration (~40k tokens when enabled)
Documentation & Code Search
- Context7 - Library documentation lookup (MCP, ~2k tokens)
awl-dev: Built-in, always available
- DeepWiki - GitHub repository documentation (MCP, ~1.5k tokens)
awl-dev: Built-in, always available
- Exa - Web research and external documentation (API)
awl-dev: External research agent
Token Efficiency Strategy
Why CLI + lightweight MCP? Most development sessions don't need heavy integrations:
- Start with
awl-dev (~3.5k tokens): Core workflow + Linear + GitHub
- Enable
awl-analytics when analyzing user behavior (~+40k tokens)
- Enable
awl-debugging when investigating production errors (~+20k tokens)
- Disable when done to free context for code and conversation
This keeps your typical session lean while having powerful tools available when needed.
What's Inside
Awl is a 5-plugin system for Claude Code focused on token efficiency, session-aware
MCP management, and persistent context through parallel agent research, structured handoffs,
and shared memory systems.
awl-dev (Core - Always enabled)
- 11 research agents (codebase + infrastructure)
- 18 commands covering full dev lifecycle
- Linear MCP bundled (OAuth, no API tokens needed)
- Handoff system for context persistence
- ~3.5k context (lightweight MCPs: DeepWiki, Context7)
awl-pm (Optional - Enable for project management)
- Linear-focused project management workflows
- 5 commands: analyze-cycle, analyze-milestone, report-daily, groom-backlog, sync-prs
- Research-first architecture (Haiku for data, Sonnet for analysis)
- 5 specialized agents: linear-research, cycle-analyzer, milestone-analyzer, backlog-analyzer, github-linear-analyzer
- Cycle management and milestone tracking with target date feasibility
- Actionable insights and recommendations (not just data dumps)
awl-analytics (Optional - Enable when needed)
- PostHog MCP integration (~40k context)
- Product analytics and user behavior analysis
- Conversion funnels and cohort analysis
- 3 specialized analytics commands
awl-debugging (Optional - Enable when needed)
- PostHog error tracking, session replay, and HogQL
- Production error monitoring and debugging
- Stack trace analysis and session replay context
- 3 specialized debugging commands
awl-meta (Optional - For advanced users)
- Discover workflows from community repos
- Import and adapt patterns
- Create new workflows
Quick Setup (5 Minutes)
Get started in 5 minutes with the unified setup script:
# Download the setup script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Threading-Needles/awl/main/setup-awl.sh
chmod +x setup-awl.sh
# Run it (requires interactive input)
./setup-awl.sh
This script will guide you through:
- Prerequisites check and installation (jq, etc.)
- Project configuration (ticket prefix, project name)
- Integration setup (Linear, PostHog, Exa)
Then install the plugins:
# In Claude Code:
/plugin marketplace add Threading-Needles/awl
/plugin install awl-dev
# Restart Claude Code
You're ready! Try /awl-dev:research-codebase in your next session.
Recommended: Add the Awl workflow snippet to your project's CLAUDE.md. See
CLAUDE.md Setup for the copy-paste snippet.
See QUICKSTART.md for detailed setup instructions.
Installation
Alternatively, install plugins manually via Claude Code plugin system:
# Add the marketplace repository
/plugin marketplace add Threading-Needles/awl
# Install core workflow (required)
/plugin install awl-dev
# Optional: Install PM plugin (Linear project management)
/plugin install awl-pm