Install and set up

Review Bridge is a command-line tool on npm. Start right in your project with npx review-bridge init; it retrieves the latest release and sets things up, much like npm create vite.

Requirements

• Node.js 22.8 or newer, with npm.
• Git for work proof. Bridge can run without Git, but the result will state that no work proof is available. With Git, it records the starting commit and reads actual file changes.
• The CLI needed for each role, installed and signed in: claude (Claude Code), codex, or both.
• Local storage for Bridge state. Synchronized and network locations, including OneDrive, Dropbox, iCloud Drive, UNC, NFS, and SMB, aren't supported.

Initialize a project

cd your-project
npx review-bridge init

npx checks npm for the latest release, so it needs network access. To avoid that lookup, install globally with npm i -g review-bridge; npx review-bridge will then use that copy. With pnpm, Yarn, or Bun, use pnpm dlx review-bridge init, yarn dlx review-bridge init, or bun x review-bridge init. Bridge prints subsequent commands in the same form. See Package managers.

Like create-vite, init asks its questions before making changes. Each has a default you can accept with Enter:

1. Writer: claude or codex. Uses your saved default, or claude if none is set.
2. Reviewer: uses your saved default, or codex.
3. Project type: uses the detected type, or none. This selects the test command Bridge runs after each writer round, such as npm test. Choosing none or having no matching command doesn't prevent execution; the card, records, and result say tests aren't configured.
4. VS Code tasks: whether to write the project's .vscode/tasks.json. The default is N. See In VS Code.

Setup then starts, with one progress line per step. There's no additional plan preview or confirmation.

You can also supply --writer, --reviewer, --profile <type|none>, and --target <folder> directly. Without an interactive terminal, or with --yes, unspecified settings use their defaults and no questions are asked.

What init does

• Creates .review-bridge/ with bridge.json, policy.override.json, rules.md, and the work-order templates work-packages/TEMPLATE.md (English) and TEMPLATE.zh-TW.md (Traditional Chinese).
• Adds a .gitignore containing * inside that directory, keeping everything, including results, out of Git even if you initialize Git later. Your project's own .gitignore isn't edited.
• Runs four self-tests with fake CLIs, without model calls: PASS, FAIL_THEN_PASS, HARD_STOP, and RATE_LIMIT.
• Starts the local page on 127.0.0.1. The database is created and started on first use.
• Builds a graph of the project's code in the database, without writing graph files to the project. See The project graph.
• Installs agent entry points outside the project, shared across projects: ~/.claude/commands/review-bridge.md for /review-bridge in Claude Code, respecting CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR, and ~/.agents/skills/review-bridge/SKILL.md for $review-bridge in Codex. Existing user files at those paths are preserved.

Setup leaves application files, .gitignore, AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and .claude/ unchanged. If your working tree was clean and you did not opt into .vscode/tasks.json, git status will still show no changes afterward.

Output

Example output for a small Git project containing package.json and index.js. This walkthrough uses rc3's fake CLI, which doesn't call models. Ports and password-file locations vary by machine; <data home> stands for your user data directory:

Setting up .review-bridge/...
Checking the setup...
Running the four fake self-tests...
Starting the local page...
Mapping the project...
Mapped 1 file(s): 0 definition(s), 1 reference(s), 0 import(s).

Done. Now:

  put a work order .md in .review-bridge/work-packages/, then in Claude Code type:
    /review-bridge start .review-bridge/work-packages/<file>.md
    (in Codex: $review-bridge start .review-bridge/work-packages/<file>.md)
  at a terminal, for advanced use and CI:
    npx review-bridge start .review-bridge/work-packages/<file>.md
  page: http://localhost:53559/

  database in VS Code: install Microsoft's PostgreSQL extension and add a connection with
    Server 127.0.0.1  Port 53558  User bridge  Database bridge
    Password: copy it from <data home>\postgres\secret

init detects your system language and saves locale in bridge.json. The card, status, up, down, ps, and result files use that setting. CLI messages currently support English and Traditional Chinese. The line after project parsing summarizes the graph; files that couldn't be parsed are listed individually below it.

After initialization, git status --short has no output. .review-bridge/.gitignore contains:

# Created by Review Bridge automatically.
*

Connection details appear at the end of setup and are also available from npx review-bridge status. See Database in VS Code.

Next step

Write your first work order, then start a run.