Supported coding agents
Supported coding agents
Section titled “Supported coding agents”Most Shipper users arrive here with access to a coding agent already in place. This page is for setting up the agent you have, not for choosing a winner between agents.
Use shipper setup as the recommended path for preparing a repository for
Claude Code, Codex CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, or OpenCode. If you are not running shipper setup, use
Repository setup for agents as the manual fallback.
How Shipper selects an agent
Section titled “How Shipper selects an agent”Shipper uses commands.default.agent as the default coding agent for prompt-running commands.
Per-stage commands.<stage>.agent overrides can select a different agent for individual workflow
stages.
Shipper owns the per-agent launch command shapes in its bundled invocation matrix. Select agents through settings or one-run flags rather than wrapping the underlying agent CLI for Shipper runs.
See Reference > Settings for the settings schema and Switch coding agents for the switching workflow. Agent selection does not configure the MCP client itself; when you enable Shipper MCP tools in a client, follow the Shipper MCP client setup guide for client-specific timeout guidance.
Claude Code
Section titled “Claude Code”| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| CLI prerequisite | Install Claude Code, authenticate it, and make sure the claude command is available before Shipper can drive it. |
| Repository config file | Shipper expects CLAUDE.md for Claude Code. shipper setup should create or update that file and discover repository verification commands; the manual setup guide covers the fallback path. |
| Default Shipper behavior | Fresh Shipper settings default commands.default.agent to "claude" unless you select another agent. MCP loading is normal for prompt-running stages unless disableMcp settings or a one-run flag disable it, and commands.groom.disableMcp still defaults to true regardless of agent choice. |
| Practical implications | Claude Code is the only supported agent that uses CLAUDE.md. If a repository needs to support multiple agents, keep both CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md current. The current Shipper MCP client setup guide includes Claude Code. |
Codex CLI
Section titled “Codex CLI”| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| CLI prerequisite | Install Codex CLI, authenticate it, and make sure the codex command is available before Shipper can drive it. |
| Repository config file | Shipper expects AGENTS.md for Codex CLI. shipper setup should create or update that file and discover repository verification commands; the manual setup guide covers the fallback path. |
| Default Shipper behavior | Fresh Shipper settings default to Claude, so select Codex with commands.default.agent, a per-stage override, or a one-run --agent codex flag. MCP loading is normal for prompt-running stages unless disableMcp settings or a one-run flag disable it, and commands.groom.disableMcp still defaults to true regardless of agent choice. |
| Practical implications | Codex shares AGENTS.md with Copilot and OpenCode. Shipper handles the Codex command shape for Shipper runs, including worktree-specific behavior, so configure Shipper settings rather than wrapping the CLI yourself. The current Shipper MCP client setup guide includes Codex. |
GitHub Copilot CLI
Section titled “GitHub Copilot CLI”| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| CLI prerequisite | Install GitHub Copilot CLI, authenticate it, and make sure the copilot command is available before Shipper can drive it. |
| Repository config file | Shipper expects AGENTS.md for GitHub Copilot CLI. shipper setup should create or update that file and discover repository verification commands; the manual setup guide covers the fallback path. |
| Default Shipper behavior | Fresh Shipper settings default to Claude, so select Copilot with commands.default.agent, a per-stage override, or a one-run --agent copilot flag. MCP loading is normal for prompt-running stages unless disableMcp settings or a one-run flag disable it, and commands.groom.disableMcp still defaults to true regardless of agent choice. |
| Practical implications | Copilot shares AGENTS.md with Codex and OpenCode. Shipper fails early with a missing-binary message if copilot is not on PATH. The current Shipper MCP client setup guide covers Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode. |
OpenCode
Section titled “OpenCode”| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| CLI prerequisite | Install OpenCode, make sure the opencode command is available, and authenticate with opencode auth login or provider API keys before Shipper can drive it. |
| Repository config file | Shipper expects AGENTS.md for OpenCode. shipper setup should create or update that file and discover repository verification commands; the manual setup guide covers the fallback path. |
| Default Shipper behavior | Fresh Shipper settings default to Claude, so select OpenCode with commands.default.agent, a per-stage override, or a one-run --agent opencode flag. MCP loading is normal unless disabled; when disabled for OpenCode, Shipper passes runtime OpenCode config overrides instead of rewriting user config files. |
| Practical implications | OpenCode shares AGENTS.md with Codex and Copilot. Shipper runs headless stages with opencode run --format json --dangerously-skip-permissions, passes new-issue images with --file, and treats token usage as best-effort: usage is reported when OpenCode emits the expected token record and omitted without failing the run otherwise. |