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Set Up a COMcheck API Project with an AI Assistant

This guide is for people who don't write code. You'll use an AI coding assistant — Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or OpenAI Codex — to do all the technical work for you. Your job is just to:

  1. Open your AI assistant.
  2. Copy the prompt below and paste it in.
  3. Answer a couple of simple questions when the assistant asks.

The AI will create a fresh project folder, install the COMcheck API library, and set up the "Skill" that teaches the AI how to use the library correctly.

Before you start

You need two things:

1. A COMcheck API Key (free)

  1. Go to https://comcheck.energycode.pnl.gov and log in (or register).
  2. Click your username in the left-side menu.
  3. Choose Settings → Developer Setting.
  4. Click Generate, then copy the token immediately.

⚠️ The token is shown only once. Paste it somewhere safe (a password manager or a note) before leaving the page. If you lose it, just generate a new one.

2. An AI coding assistant, already open

  • Claude Code — in your terminal, or the VS Code / JetBrains extension.
  • GitHub Copilot — the Chat/Agent panel in VS Code.
  • OpenAI Codex — the Codex CLI or extension.

Have the AI assistant open and ready to chat. Then continue below.

Step 1 — Copy this prompt to your AI assistant

Select everything inside the box and paste it into your AI assistant's chat.

Please set up a brand-new Python project for me that uses the COMcheck API library. I am not a programmer, so do every step for me and explain what's happening in plain language. Specifically:

  1. Create a new project folder called comcheck-project and open it.
  2. Make sure Python 3.12 or newer is available. If a tool called uv is installed, use it; otherwise use plain pip and a virtual environment. Pick whichever works and tell me what you chose.
  3. Install the library from PyPI: the package name is comcheck-api.
  4. After it's installed, run the command comcheck-api install-skill inside the project folder. This installs the bundled AI "Skill" so you (the assistant) know how to use the library correctly. Confirm that it created a .claude/skills/comcheck-api/ folder (and/or .agents/skills/comcheck-api/).
  5. Create a file named .env in the project folder with this line, and pause to let me paste in my real key: COM_API_KEY=<I will paste my key here>
  6. Add .env to a .gitignore file so my key never gets shared.
  7. Write a small test script called check_setup.py that loads the key from .env, creates a COMcheckClient, and prints a friendly message confirming the library is installed and the key was read. Run it and show me the output.

Go one step at a time. Stop and ask me whenever you need my API key or a decision from me.

Step 2 — Paste your API key when asked

When the assistant pauses at the .env step, paste the key you copied earlier so the line looks like:

COM_API_KEY=abc123yourrealtokenhere

Save the file (the assistant can do this for you).

Step 3 — Confirm it worked

When the assistant runs check_setup.py, you should see a message like "COMcheck API is installed and your key was loaded." If you see an error instead, paste the error back to the assistant and ask it to fix it — that's exactly what these tools are good at.

What you end up with

A folder named comcheck-project containing:

  • The comcheck-api library, installed and ready.
  • A Skill folder (.claude/skills/comcheck-api/ and/or .agents/skills/comcheck-api/) that makes your AI assistant an expert on this library.
  • A .env file holding your API key (kept private by .gitignore).
  • A working check_setup.py test script.

From here you can ask your AI assistant things like "Run a COMcheck compliance simulation for a small office building" and it will use the installed Skill to write the right code for you.

Reference (for the curious)

The whole setup boils down to these commands, which the AI runs for you:

# Install the library
pip install comcheck-api          # or: uv add comcheck-api

# Install the AI Skill into this project
comcheck-api install-skill        # both Claude & Codex
# comcheck-api install-skill --claude   # Claude Code only
# comcheck-api install-skill --codex    # OpenAI Codex only