ZCF: one config for Claude Code, Codex and other AI coding tools

npx zcf with no arguments opens a menu, not a setup script

The README's quick start is written for ZCF v5, a rewrite that is not published yet; until it is, `npx zcf` still installs v3. Once v5 is published, the quick start lists these commands:

npx zcf            # edit the config in the terminal
npx zcf ui         # or in the browser
npx zcf plan       # see every command and a diff of each file ZCF would edit
npx zcf apply -y   # install missing tools and write their settings
npx zcf update     # update the tools with their own updaters

The README says nothing changes before you apply, and that ZCF edits only the keys it manages, keeps your comments and formatting, backs up each file before changing it, and never prints your keys. zcf.ufomiao.com still describes v3, and Chinese and Japanese READMEs sit beside the English one.

The i verb runs install, workflows, API/CCR and MCP in one pass

The `i` initialization verb and the silent preset form belonged to the v3 quick start and are no longer in the README. The v5 quick start splits the work into `npx zcf plan`, which shows every command and a diff of each file ZCF would edit, and `npx zcf apply -y`, which installs missing tools and writes their settings. 302.AI appears in the README only as a sponsor, described as a pay-as-you-go enterprise AI resource hub.

u rewrites workflows only, and nothing puts the old files back

Update has its own verb and a narrower scope than initialization. Workflows are what `u` touches; install, API/CCR and MCP are not part of it, so it is not the inverse of `i`:

npx zcf u

That asymmetry is the first thing to know before running anything here. The quick start documents no undo flag, no dry run, no diff preview and no backup copy, and it never names the files any of these verbs write. If a full initialization leaves settings you did not want, the printed surface gives you no route back to the previous state short of editing those config files by hand or reinstalling the underlying tools yourself. Check what your existing settings look like first, because the update path will not restore them for you.

The silent form hands an API key to the shell as an argument

The README says ZCF never prints your keys, and that you keep one ZCF config holding your provider, your MCP servers and your skills. The supported tools it lists are Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Cursor CLI, Pi and DeepSeek Harness.

The npm tarball carries bin, dist and templates and nothing else

The root package.json is now a private pnpm monorepo named `zcf-monorepo`: its dev script runs `tsx packages/cli/src/cli.ts`, and its build runs `pnpm -F @zcf/web build && pnpm -F zcf build`. The repository keeps `.zcf/` and `.claude/` at its root alongside `packages/`, `presets/` and `docs/`.

The maintainer commits zcf's own output and cuts releases with changesets

The repository uses the tool on itself: `.zcf/` and `.claude/` are committed at the root next to AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md. Development runs on pnpm 12.15.0, pinned in the packageManager field, and the workspace carries a docs package built on its own:

"dev": "tsx packages/cli/src/cli.ts",
"build": "pnpm -F @zcf/web build && pnpm -F zcf build",
"test": "vitest",
"test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage",
"typecheck": "tsc --noEmit",
"release": "pnpm build && changeset publish",
"prepare": "husky"

Husky installs on prepare, commitlint checks messages, and changesets produces the version. That matches the npm history: zcf 3.7.1 on 2026-07-20, 3.7.2 on 2026-08-04, 3.7.3 on 2026-08-31; the most recent push was on 2026-10-29. Badge rows for codecov and JSDocs sit above the quick start.

Editorial conclusion

Who should reach for it: someone setting up Claude Code or Codex on a fresh machine who would rather answer a menu than hand-edit config files, and who notes that the README describes an unpublished v5 while `npx zcf` still installs v3. Who should wait: anyone who wants the v5 plan diffs and per-file backups, since v5 is not published yet. Before the first run, copy whatever config already exists and read zcf.ufomiao.com, which describes the v3 that `npx zcf` installs today.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. License: MIT
2. Project website
3. README
4. Releases
5. UfoMiao/zcf on GitHub