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Getting started

Install the binary, enable shell hooks, and create your first isolated Claude Code environment.

1. Install

One-line installer

curl -fsSL https://getcvm.com/install.sh | bash

Downloads the platform binary to ~/.cvm/bin and can append PATH + hook lines to your shell rc.

From a GitHub Release

Download the archive for your OS from the Releases page, extract it, and put cvm on your PATH.

From source

git clone https://github.com/acwoss/cvm.git
cd cvm
cargo install --path . --locked

Update later

cvm update

Pulls the latest release asset and replaces the running binary in place (needs curl and tar). Cargo installs should re-run cargo install instead.

2. Enable shell integration

Add the line for your shell, then restart or source the file:

Shell	File	Line
Bash	`~/.bashrc`	`eval "$(cvm init bash)"`
Zsh	`~/.zshrc`	`eval "$(cvm init zsh)"`
Fish	`~/.config/fish/config.fish`	`cvm init fish \| source`
PowerShell	`$PROFILE`	`cvm init powershell \| Out-String \| Invoke-Expression`

After upgrading cvm, re-run cvm init so you pick up prompt, PATH, and .cvm auto-activation hooks.

3. Create and activate an environment

cvm create work
cvm use work
claude

While active you should see a (work) prompt prefix. claude and skills resolve through ~/.cvm/envs/work/bin shims.

cvm current   # work
cvm list      # * work (active)
cvm deactivate

Skip activation for one shot: cvm open work or cvm create work --open launches Claude without changing the parent shell.