Quickstart

Audience: Customer — this page documents how to get started with Rulecatch.

Get Rulecatch tracking your AI development sessions in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or later
Claude Code installed and running

Try It First (No Account Required)

Want to see what Rulecatch does before creating an account? Use monitor-only mode:

npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler init --monitor-only

Then start the live monitor:

npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler monitor

This shows real-time AI activity (tool calls, tokens, cost estimates) in your terminal. No data is sent anywhere — everything stays local. When you're ready for the full dashboard experience, continue with the steps below.

Step 1: Sign Up

Visit the Rulecatch website
Click Get Started
Select your data region (US or EU)
Create your account with email and password
Verify your email address

Step 2: Choose a Plan

During onboarding, select your plan:

Plan	Price	Best For
Starter	$49/seat/mo	Individual developers
Pro	$199/seat/mo	Teams needing full analytics
Enterprise	$499/seat/mo	Organizations with compliance needs

All plans include a 7-day free trial.

Step 3: Select Your Stack

Choose your technologies (React, TypeScript, MongoDB, etc.) to auto-activate relevant rule templates. You can skip this and configure later.

Step 4: Get Your API Key

After onboarding, find your API key in Dashboard → Settings. It starts with dc_.

Step 5: Install the CLI

Open Claude Code and paste this prompt (replace with your actual API key):

Install the Rulecatch AI Pooler. Run: npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler init --api-key=dc_your_key_here --region=us

Claude Code will run the init command which:

Validates your API key
Creates config at ~/.claude/rulecatch/config.json
Installs hook scripts at ~/.claude/hooks/
Generates an encryption key for zero-knowledge privacy
Registers hooks in ~/.claude/settings.json

Step 6: Restart Claude Code

Type /exit and start a new Claude Code session. Hooks activate on the next session start.

Step 7: Start Coding

That's it. Every Claude Code session is now tracked automatically:

Zero token overhead — hooks run outside the AI context window
Zero-knowledge encryption — personal data (emails, file paths) is encrypted on your machine
Automatic buffering — events are batched and sent efficiently

Verify Installation

Run this in your terminal:

npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler status

You should see:

Collection:    + Active
Config:        + Found
Hook script:   + Installed
Flush script:  + Installed
Hooks config:  + Registered

See Data in the Dashboard

Open your Rulecatch dashboard
The Overview page shows AI Sessions, Violations, Cost, and Tokens
Start a Claude Code session and make some tool calls
Data appears in the dashboard within seconds

What Gets Tracked

Event	Data Captured
Session Start	Model, git context, account info
Tool Call	Tool name, file path, I/O size, language, lines changed
Tool Failure	Tool name, error message
Session End	Token totals, cost, model breakdown, git diff stats

All personal data (emails, usernames, file paths) is encrypted before leaving your machine.

Next Steps

Configure rules — Go to Dashboard → Rules and select your tech stack
Set up alerts — Go to Dashboard → Alerts to get notified of violations
Add team members — Share your API key with team members; they'll appear automatically
Enter your encryption key — Go to Dashboard → Settings to decrypt personal data in the browser
Set hourly rates — Go to Dashboard → Team to enable True Cost calculations

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
`status` shows hooks not registered	Re-run `npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler init`
No data appearing	Check `npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler logs` for errors
"Invalid API key"	Verify key matches Dashboard → Settings
Events stuck in buffer	Run `npx @rulecatch/ai-pooler flush` to force send