Prerequisites

This step is a one-time thing. Skip anything you already have.

book-studio barely depends on external APIs. Writing a book needs no payment account and no API key. So the prerequisites are lighter than other bases. It guides a key separately, in place, only when external search or illustration is needed.

OS-by-OS differences

Item	macOS	Windows	Linux
Terminal you use	Terminal.app or iTerm2	Ubuntu on WSL2 recommended	the shell your distro ships
Verified state	verified	install WSL2 first, then run every command inside it	verified

On Windows, finish the WSL2 install guide first, then come back here.

1) git

git is needed because version is managed with per-chapter commits.

macOS

xcode-select --install

A small dialog pops up, takes your agreement, and starts installing. If git is already installed, it just prints one notice and ends.

Linux and WSL2

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git

Verify and register your info once

git --version    # git version 2.x.x
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

This name and email get planted as the author of chapter commits.

2) A markdown viewer is optional

Chapters pile up as markdown files. If you want a preview while you work, a markdown viewer is handy. VS Code or Typora is fine. It isn’t strictly necessary. Since AI writes and saves to chapter files, you can open them with any text editor.

3) Claude Code

The official install guide is at docs.claude.com/en/docs/claude-code/quickstart. After installing, run claude once to log in or register an API key.

claude --version    # a version number means you're ready

You can use the OpenAI Codex CLI instead of Claude Code. In that case the entry point is the repository root AGENTS.md, and the same flow applies. If this is your first time, Claude Code is recommended.

4) Optional — external search and illustration

The research skill (external search) and the illustration skill (illustration generation) don’t turn on in the default flow. They turn on only when you explicitly request it — say, a technical book that needs fact-checking, or a novel that needs a cover — and you’re guided to a key in place then. You need neither to write your first book.

Next

Once git and Claude Code are in place, go to clone-and-install.