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PlanDrop

Installation

PlanDrop has two parts: a server-side watcher that runs Claude Code, and a Chrome extension that you use to send tasks.

Prerequisites

Before installing PlanDrop, make sure you have:

  • Node.js 18+ on your server
  • Claude Code installed and authenticated
  • SSH access with key-based authentication
  • Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Arc browser

Server Setup

  1. Run the setup script

    Terminal window
    curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/genecell/PlanDrop/master/server/setup.sh | bash

    This installs plandrop-watch and plandrop-history to ~/.local/bin/.

  2. Initialize your project

    Terminal window
    cd ~/your-project
    plandrop-watch --init

    This creates the .plandrop/ directory structure.

  3. Start the watcher

    Terminal window
    plandrop-watch

    Or run in the background with tmux:

    Terminal window
    tmux new -s plandrop
    plandrop-watch

Browser Setup

  1. Install the Chrome extension

    Visit the Chrome Web Store and search for “PlanDrop”, or install from source:

    Terminal window
    git clone https://github.com/genecell/PlanDrop.git

    Then load the extension/ folder as an unpacked extension in chrome://extensions.

  2. Install the native messaging host

    Terminal window
    cd PlanDrop/native-host
    ./install.sh YOUR_EXTENSION_ID

    Find your extension ID in chrome://extensions (enable Developer Mode to see it).

  3. Configure your server

    Click the PlanDrop extension icon to open the side panel, then click the gear icon to add your server:

    • Server name: A friendly name (e.g., “Lab Server”)
    • SSH target: user@hostname or user@ip
    • SSH key: Path to your private key (optional if using ssh-agent)
    • SSH port: Usually 22

  4. Add your project

    Add the path to your project directory on the server (e.g., /home/user/my-project).

Verify Installation

  1. Make sure plandrop-watch is running on your server
  2. Open the PlanDrop side panel in Chrome
  3. Select your server and project
  4. You should see a green “Connected” status

If you see “Not connected”, check that:

  • The watcher is running (plandrop-watch --status)
  • SSH connection works (ssh user@server)
  • The project path is correct

Next Steps