Spartan AI Toolkit (Claude Skill) — Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Hard-gated TDD: refuses to write code without a failing test first
Quality gates: type-check, lint, test before commit
Agile workflow primitives (story → spike → done)
Pre-baked configs for ESLint, Prettier, vitest
Multi-language (TS/Python/Go)

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

spartan-ai-toolkit-skill.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
        "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
        "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
        "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
        "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
        "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "spartan-ai-toolkit-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit",
          "~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add spartan-ai-toolkit-skill -- git clone https://github.com/spartan-stratos/spartan-ai-toolkit ~/.claude/skills/spartan-ai-toolkit

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Spartan AI Toolkit

Force a coding agent into actual TDD discipline

👤 Teams whose agents skip tests ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: Your agent keeps writing code first and tests later (or never).

Prerequisites

Server/skill installed and authenticated — See repo README

Flow

Enable the gate

Activate spartan-ai-toolkit. Set the TDD gate to strict.✓ Copied

→ Gate registered
Try to skip

Add a new feature without a test first.✓ Copied

→ Gate refuses; demands a failing test

Outcome: Real TDD instead of theater.

Pitfalls

Hard gates can frustrate exploratory work. Toggle to 'soft' during spikes; 'strict' on main branches. — Hard gates can frustrate exploratory work. Toggle to 'soft' during spikes; 'strict' on main branches.

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: See provider docs for rate limits
Tokens per call: Varies by tool
Monetary: See repo README for pricing details
Tip: Cache tool results and avoid repeated identical calls.

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: Use environment variables; never commit secrets

Data egress: Tool calls go to the provider's API as documented

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

gate flags an unrelated change as missing tests

Tune gate scope in spartan.config — exclude refactors with no semantic change.

Verify: Re-run with scope changes

quality gate too slow

Profile which step is slow (usually type-check on big repos). Cache or skip locally.

Verify: Per-step timings printed

Alternatives

Spartan AI Toolkit vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
agent-skill-tdd	You want a lighter touch	Advisory, not enforcing

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills