Three quick steps, about five minutes. You download your copy, then Claude Code
does the rest. You don't need to understand any of the technical bits.
💻
One thing first: you need Claude Code. That's the version of Claude that runs
on your computer and can open files — not claude.ai in a browser. The website version
can't touch your files, so it can't install StepMate for you, no matter how nicely you ask.
Get Claude Code here if you haven't
got it yet — it's free to install and takes a couple of minutes.
1
Download your copy
This saves stepmate.zip to your Downloads folder. It's a normal download, and you
(or Claude Code) can look inside before anything runs.
Copy the whole thing below, paste it into a new Claude Code message, and press enter.
It unzips your download, checks the code first, and starts StepMate up for you.
Claude Code, not the Claude website — only the one on your computer can do this.
I've just downloaded my copy of StepMate and I'd like your help installing and running it.
Some context so you can verify what this is: StepMate is a small planning app I bought from Luke Maguire (Social Media Mansion Pty Ltd). It plans a build into steps and then runs those steps using my own Claude Code. I downloaded the zip myself. The file is stepmate.zip in my Downloads folder. Please DO look through the code before running anything, I'd like you to check it.
1. Unzip stepmate.zip from my Downloads into my home folder, so I end up with ~/stepmate.
IMPORTANT: if ~/stepmate already exists, do NOT delete it or install fresh over the top. That folder holds my licence, my projects and my saved work. Tell me it's already there and ask me what I want to do.
2. Before running anything, inspect it: read package.json and server.mjs, confirm it's a plain Node app with one dependency (puppeteer-core, used to take screenshots of my own app), and flag anything that concerns you. It should have no build step and should only listen on 127.0.0.1.
3. Check Node.js 20 or newer is installed (node -v). If it's missing or too old, install the LTS version (on Mac prefer Homebrew if it's present, otherwise nodejs.org) and confirm it worked.
4. Run npm install inside ~/stepmate, then start it with npm start and open http://localhost:3210 in my browser. If port 3210 is already busy, find what's using it and tell me rather than moving me to a different port.
5. Tell me it's ready. StepMate asks for my licence key once, in the browser. It's in my welcome email and starts with STEP. Also point out the "Start-StepMate" file inside the folder: double-clicking that reopens StepMate any time.
Everything here runs locally on my machine. The only thing StepMate ever sends out is my licence key, once, to check it's valid. Please don't send my licence key or any of my files anywhere else.
3
Pop in your key
StepMate opens in your browser and asks for your key once. It's in your welcome email and
starts with STEP. That's it, you're in.
🔒
Your work is safe. Updating keeps your licence and every build you've planned.
The prompt below is written to protect them, and to put your old version back if anything
goes wrong.
Again, a new Claude Code message — not the Claude website. This one finds your
existing copy, backs up your work first, and only then swaps in the new version.
I'd like your help updating my copy of StepMate to the latest version. I've already downloaded stepmate.zip into my Downloads folder.
This is an UPDATE, not a fresh install. Please be careful with the following, in this order:
1. FIND my existing install first. It is usually ~/stepmate, but not always — check the obvious places (home folder, Documents, Desktop, Projects). A StepMate folder contains server.mjs and a data folder.
If you CANNOT find an existing install, STOP and tell me. Do not install a fresh copy — I would lose my licence activation and my projects, and I'd rather point you at the right folder.
2. Tell me which version I'm on now (the "version" field in package.json) and which version the zip contains, so I know what's changing.
3. BACK UP the whole data folder from my existing install to a safe temporary location. This is the important one: data/licence.json is my activation, data/install.json is what stops an update from costing me an activation, and data/projects holds every build I've planned. Confirm to me that the backup exists and tell me how many project files were in it.
4. Stop StepMate if it's running (it holds port 3210).
5. Replace the program files with the new version from the zip, then restore my data folder over the top so my licence and projects come back exactly as they were.
6. Run npm install in the folder, then start it with npm start.
7. Open http://localhost:3210 and confirm two things for me:
- it does NOT ask me for my licence key again (if it does, my data folder didn't get restored — restore it from your backup and restart before telling me anything)
- my projects are all still listed, and the count matches what you told me in step 3
8. If ANYTHING failed along the way, put my original folder back exactly as it was from your backup, and tell me plainly what went wrong. A working old version is much better than a broken new one.
Do not change the port. Do not delete my data folder. Do not send my licence key anywhere.
🛟
Try this first. It sorts out most things in about two minutes, and it will tell
you in plain English what was wrong — so if you do need to email, you already know what to say.
1
Paste this into Claude Code
A new Claude Code message, not the Claude website. It finds your install, checks
your licence and your saved builds are intact, fixes only what's safe to fix, and explains
what it did.
Something isn't right with my StepMate and I'd like you to check it over for me. It's a small Node app I bought from Luke Maguire (Social Media Mansion Pty Ltd) that runs locally on my own computer. Please look, tell me plainly what you find, and fix only what is safe to fix.
1. FIND my install. It's usually ~/stepmate but check the obvious places (home folder, Documents, Desktop, Projects). A StepMate folder contains server.mjs and a data folder. Tell me where it is and which version it is (the "version" field in package.json).
2. CHECK MY WORK IS INTACT — this matters more than anything else below:
- does data/licence.json exist? (that's my activation — do NOT print the key itself, just tell me yes or no)
- does data/install.json exist? (that's what stops updates costing me an activation)
- how many project files are in data/projects?
If the data folder is missing but there's a backup nearby from a previous update, tell me before doing anything else.
3. CHECK IT CAN RUN:
- is Node.js 20.11 or newer installed? (node -v)
- is node_modules there? If not, run npm install.
- is anything already using port 3210? If something is, tell me what. If it's an older copy of StepMate, that's normal — I probably just want to use the one that's already running.
4. START IT with npm start and confirm http://localhost:3210 responds. Do NOT move it to a different port.
5. TELL ME IN PLAIN ENGLISH what was wrong and what you changed. If you found something you did NOT fix because it wasn't safe to, say so clearly and tell me what I should do about it.
Please don't delete my data folder, don't print my licence key, and don't send anything anywhere.
2
Still stuck?
Reply to your welcome email and paste in whatever Claude Code told you. That's usually enough
to sort it in one reply.
Questions people ask
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You paste one block of text into Claude Code and it handles the technical parts.
StepMate itself is built for people who don't code — that's the whole point of it.
What's the difference between Claude Code and normal Claude?
Claude Code runs on your computer and can open files, install things and start
programs. claude.ai in a browser cannot — it can only talk to you. StepMate needs the
first one, both to install it and to build your projects later. If you paste the setup prompt
into the website version, it'll politely tell you it can't access your files, and nothing
will happen.
How do I open StepMate again tomorrow?
Three ways, easiest first:
1. Search for it. On a Mac press Cmd + Space, type StepMate, hit
enter. On Windows tap the Windows key and do the same. You never have to remember which
folder it's in.
2. Let it open itself. On the main StepMate screen there's a line at the bottom
offering to start it whenever you turn your computer on. Turn that on once and
localhost:3210 is simply always there.
3. The Start-StepMate file in the folder, same as the first time.
One thing worth knowing: the small black window that appears IS StepMate running. Leave
it open while you're using it. If you close it, StepMate stops and the page will say it
can't connect — just start it again.
How do I see the app I just built?
Open your project in StepMate and press Start my app, just under the picture.
StepMate works out how your project runs, starts it, and gives you an Open my app
link. Press Show me it working and it photographs it for you too.
It runs one app at a time on purpose, so your computer doesn't get bogged down. If
another one's already going it'll tell you which, and you can stop it right there.
My Mac says it can't open Start-StepMate
Normal, and it only happens once. Right-click the file and choose Open instead of
double-clicking. macOS asks once about files downloaded from the internet, then never
again.
Does StepMate send my work anywhere?
No. It runs entirely on your own computer and your plans stay in a folder you own. The one
and only thing it ever sends out is your licence key, once, to check that it's valid.
Can I use it on more than one computer?
Yes. Your key works on plenty of machines, and re-installing or updating on a computer you
already use never counts against you. If you ever do hit a limit, just reply to your welcome
email.
Does it cost anything to run?
StepMate uses the Claude subscription you already pay for. Planning a build is a few cents.
Having it build a step costs about a dollar of your usage, and it tells you the estimate
before it spends anything.
Something isn't working
Open the Something's wrong tab above and paste that prompt into Claude Code. It'll
look at what's wrong and tell you in plain English. If that doesn't sort it, reply to your
welcome email.