Skip to content

Claude Code

This page is written for an agent that needs to install NBER-CLI into Claude Code without guessing.

What to Install

Use the NBER-CLI Claude Code plugin.

Repository:

https://github.com/sepinetam/nber-cli

Marketplace name:

nber-cli

Plugin name:

nber-cli

MCP server name:

nber-cli-mcp

The Claude Code marketplace file is:

.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

The Claude Code plugin manifest is:

plugins/nber-cli/.claude-plugin/plugin.json

The plugin includes:

  • the NBER-CLI skill
  • the .mcp.json MCP server configuration
  • the uvx nber-cli mcp-server command used to start the MCP server

Install from GitHub

Use this path when Claude Code can reach GitHub.

In a Claude Code Session

Run these slash commands inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add sepinetam/nber-cli
/plugin install nber-cli@nber-cli
/reload-plugins

What each command means:

  • /plugin marketplace add sepinetam/nber-cli adds this GitHub repository as a plugin marketplace.
  • /plugin install nber-cli@nber-cli installs the nber-cli plugin from the nber-cli marketplace.
  • /reload-plugins reloads plugins in the current session so the newly installed skill and MCP server are available without restarting Claude Code.

From a Terminal

Run these commands in a normal shell:

claude plugin marketplace add sepinetam/nber-cli
claude plugin install nber-cli@nber-cli --scope user

Then open or return to Claude Code and run:

/reload-plugins

Scope choices:

  • --scope user installs for the current user across projects.
  • --scope project installs for everyone using the current repository settings.
  • --scope local installs only for the current user in the current repository.

Use --scope user unless the user explicitly asks for project-shared or local-only installation.

Verify the Plugin

Inside Claude Code:

/plugin

Then check:

  • the nber-cli marketplace is present
  • the nber-cli plugin is installed
  • the plugin is enabled
  • the plugin details show the NBER-CLI skill
  • the plugin details show an MCP server named nber-cli-mcp

You can also inspect installed plugins from a terminal:

claude plugin list --json
claude plugin details nber-cli

Verify the MCP Server

Inside Claude Code:

/mcp

Check that nber-cli-mcp exists. If Claude Code asks whether to approve a project-scoped MCP server, approve it only after confirming that the command is:

uvx nber-cli mcp-server

From a terminal, you can also run:

claude mcp list
claude mcp get nber-cli-mcp

If the server fails to start, run:

uvx nber-cli --help
uvx nber-cli mcp-server

If uvx nber-cli --help fails, install uv first or fix PATH. If uvx nber-cli mcp-server fails, report the exact error.

Verify NBER-CLI Behavior

Run direct CLI checks:

uvx nber-cli --help
uvx nber-cli info w25000 --format json
uvx nber-cli search "labor economics" --format json

Then ask Claude Code:

Use NBER-CLI to show the abstract for NBER paper w25000.

Expected behavior:

  • Claude Code should use the NBER-CLI skill or MCP server.
  • It should not ask the user to clone the repository.
  • It should not assume that nber-cli is already installed.
  • It may use uvx nber-cli ....

If Plugin Installation Fails

Use this fallback only when the plugin path above is unavailable.

Add the MCP server manually:

claude mcp add nber-cli-mcp -- uvx nber-cli mcp-server

Then provide Claude Code with the skill content from:

plugins/nber-cli/skills/NBER-CLI/SKILL.md

If the user does not have this repository checked out, tell them to read the skill from:

https://github.com/sepinetam/nber-cli/blob/master/plugins/nber-cli/skills/NBER-CLI/SKILL.md

Manual MCP JSON equivalent:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nber-cli-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["nber-cli", "mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Common Mistakes

Use these exact values:

Setting Value
Repository https://github.com/sepinetam/nber-cli
Marketplace nber-cli
Plugin nber-cli
MCP server nber-cli-mcp

Order matters: add the sepinetam/nber-cli marketplace before installing the plugin. Do not clone the repository just to run the CLI; use uvx nber-cli ....

Access Policy

NBER-CLI does not bypass NBER access controls. If NBER returns 403, 404, an access-denied page, or a download-limit response, report that result to the user. Do not rotate proxies, share credentials, bypass CAPTCHA, or disguise traffic.