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Using Claude Code with Convex

Claude Code, Anthropic's agentic coding tool, makes it easy to write and maintain apps built with Convex. Let's walk through how to set up Claude Code for the best possible results with Convex.

Install the Convex plugin in Claude Code​

The official Convex plugin makes Claude Code work better with your Convex project. It includes:

  • Tools that let your agent securely interact with your dev deployment (e.g. read the data/logs/insights or run functions).
  • Hooks and monitors that help your agent automatically identify issues in your code.
  • Skills and specialized agents that teach your agent how to use Convex the most effectively.

To install the plugin, run the following command in Claude Code:

/plugin install convex@claude-plugins-official

Starting a new project​

From an empty directory, launch Claude Code with what you want to build:

claude "build me a todo app with Convex" --permission-mode auto

Claude Code handles the rest. It runs npm create convex@latest and npx convex dev --once, which auto-provisions a local backend without prompting for login because the agent's shell is non-interactive.

After the initial setup, leave npx convex dev running in a separate terminal so Claude Code always sees up-to-date generated types. Without it the agent can get stuck in a linting loop.

If you'd rather scaffold the project yourself first and then bring in Claude Code, the manual sequence is:

npm create convex@latest my-app
cd my-app
claude

Adding to an existing project​

If your project already has Convex set up, install the Convex plugin to make Claude Code Convex-aware.

Now start asking Claude Code questions like:

  • Evaluate my convex schema and suggest improvements
  • What are this app's public endpoints?
  • Run the my_convex_function query

Running Claude Code with Convex in the cloud​

When running Claude Code in a remote environment (e.g. Claude Code on a CI runner or a cloud VM), use Convex's Agent Mode so the agent can iterate on code, run tests, and call one-off functions without needing full deployment permissions.

A good setup script:

npm i
npx convex dev --once

In non-interactive shells (the typical case for an agent's setup script), npx convex won't prompt the agent to log in. It provisions a local deployment automatically. See Agent Mode → Local backend for details.

This command requires "full" internet access to download the Convex binary.

For per-agent cloud dev deployments scoped to a single throwaway deploy key, see Cloud dev deployments per agent.