⚡ Cold-start bootstrap (read this first)

New clone, or deft / directive won't run? Directive runs from an npm-installed engine — there is no committed shell shim, so you (agent or human) are the interpreter. Work the global-first ladder below top-down and stop at the first rung that yields a working directive. The version to install is always the one pinned in the project's committed package.json.

1. Already installed? Run directive doctor (or the deft alias). If it runs, you're bootstrapped — skip the rest and follow its Next command:.
2. Local engine. If .deft/.cli/<platform> holds an intact engine at or above the package.json pin, use it.
3. Global install (canonical). npm i -g @deftai/directive (Node ≥ 20), then re-run directive doctor. Using pnpm? pnpm add -g @deftai/directive (same package, same registry) — make sure PNPM_HOME is on your PATH (pnpm setup if not).
4. Sandbox install. If the global npm prefix isn't writable (sandboxed environment), install into the project instead: npm install --prefix .deft/.cli/<platform> @deftai/directive@<pinned>. (This internal .deft/.cli/ layout is always npm-shaped, regardless of your project's package manager.)
5. Corporate mirror symptoms. If install returns E404 / ETARGET, or @latest silently stays behind the public release, follow the corporate or mirrored npm registry recovery.
6. Offline. If the npm registry is unreachable, install from a staged tarball / vendored payload. If none exists, stage one — recovery cannot proceed without a payload.

This block is always committed (never gitignored) and does not depend on the .deft/core/ payload being present, so it is reachable on a fresh clone even when the vendored framework is missing. Once directive runs, continue with the guidance below and in AGENTS.md.

Stuck? Support hub — symptom index to directive doctor or this cold-start. First project: getting-started.

Deft

One-shot, anti-slop — a layered framework for AI-assisted development.

What it is: Directive is a repo practice layer (standards + durable work state + gates), not a coding host or an app orchestrator. Capability index: content/docs/capabilities.md. Category map: docs/CATEGORY.md.

Deft is the company; Directive is the product. The published package is @deftai/directive; deft is the CLI alias.

📚 Public docs: https://deftai.github.io/directive/ — What, Install, Concepts, Gates, Upgrade, License.

📝 Notation Legend

• ! = MUST · ~ = SHOULD · ≉ = SHOULD NOT · ⊗ = MUST NOT · ? = MAY

🚀 Getting Started

Directive is three commands — init, update, and doctor. After install, walk the first-project tutorial.

Your situation	Run this one command	What it does
New, empty project directory	directive init	Scaffolds a fresh Directive deposit (.deft/core/, the AGENTS.md managed section, the xbrief/ layout, and a committed package.json pin).
Existing codebase (app code, no Directive yet)	directive init	Installs Directive support beside your code without disturbing it, then points you at brownfield spec extraction.
Existing Directive project (already initialized)	directive update	Refreshes the vendored payload and self-heals the engine. (init detects this state and delegates to update with a disclosure line — it never re-scaffolds an existing install.)
Not sure, or something looks broken	directive doctor	Read-only diagnosis that prints exactly one recommended next step.
Legacy / pre-v0.20 layout	directive init (or directive doctor)	Classifies the layout and routes you to the specific migration path (see UPGRADING.md).

directive init is the universal entrypoint. directive (the deft alias also works) runs any verb; npx @deftai/directive <verb> or pnpm dlx @deftai/directive <verb> runs one without a global install.

1. Install and initialize

npm i -g @deftai/directive

Using pnpm? Same package, same registry:

pnpm add -g @deftai/directive

Make sure pnpm's global bin directory is on your PATH (run pnpm setup once to configure PNPM_HOME). Then:

directive init      # classify this directory and set up (or route) accordingly
directive doctor    # confirm the install and print your one next step
directive toolchain:check --consumer

Node runtime (required): Install Node 20+, Git, GitHub CLI (gh), and the package manager you use (npm is bundled with Node; pnpm is an alternative). After directive init, confirm with directive doctor and directive toolchain:check --consumer. That consumer probe always checks Node, git, gh, and the selected manager (npm or pnpm). It does not require Python, uv, Go, or Task. Framework maintainers building this repository use a separate Node 24 pin plus pnpm, Go, and Task; see CONTRIBUTING.md. See UPGRADING.md § Node runtime for details.

What gets tracked vs ignored: init and update add Directive's local-only artifacts to your .gitignore — the reconstitutable deposit .deft/core/, the per-platform engine cache .deft/.cli/, session/ritual state such as .deft/ritual-state.json, and the .deft-cache/ content cache. Your committed package.json pin is never ignored: it is the anchor that lets directive init / directive update reconstitute .deft/core/ on a fresh clone, so it stays tracked in version control.

🔄 Upgrading an existing Directive project? The ordinary path is directive update from your project root (after npm i -g @deftai/directive@latest, or pnpm add -g @deftai/directive@latest on pnpm). See UPGRADING.md for the canonical steps and the advanced/big-jump detail. On npm v12, install scripts and non-registry sources are opt-in — UPGRADING.md § npm v12 install-time security defaults (Directive packages need no allowlist; app trees may). Agents: ! Read UPGRADING.md on the first session after a framework update.

📦 Brownfield adoption: Adding Deft to an existing project with pre-v0.20 SPECIFICATION.md / PROJECT.md? See docs/BROWNFIELD.md and UPGRADING.md § Frozen pre-v0.20 document-model migration (#2068).

📢 Cloned manually (no installer)? Tell your agent: Read deft/QUICK-START.md and follow it. It creates your project's AGENTS.md and starts the setup flow automatically.

Legacy and offline install (Go installer, #1912)

Node is always required to run Deft. The Go installer is a legacy bridge, not the first-start installer — npm is canonical (above). Reach for it only when npm isn't an option: an offline / air-gapped deposit, or migrating an existing old on-disk layout.

⬇️ Legacy binaries — from the latest GitHub Release:

• Windows: install-windows-amd64.exe | install-windows-arm64.exe
• macOS: install-macos-universal
• Linux: install-linux-amd64 | install-linux-arm64

Windows: Download install-windows-amd64.exe (or install-windows-arm64.exe) and run it — SmartScreen may warn; click "More info" then "Run anyway".

macOS: Download install-macos-universal, then chmod +x install-macos-universal && ./install-macos-universal. If Gatekeeper blocks it: right-click then Open, or xattr -d com.apple.quarantine install-macos-universal.

Linux: Download install-linux-amd64 (or install-linux-arm64), then chmod +x install-linux-amd64 && ./install-linux-amd64.

Agent / headless install

npm i -g @deftai/directive

Node 20+ is required. For offline / air-gapped deposits or migrating a legacy on-disk layout, the Go-installer binaries remain at GitHub Releases (see Legacy and offline install).

Framework maintainers (this repository)

Building from source requires Go 1.22+. Use go run ./cmd/deft-install/ or deft-install --yes --upgrade --maintainer --repo-root /path/to/directive --json. Maintainer setup: CONTRIBUTING.md.

2. Set Up Your Preferences

Tell your agent read AGENTS.md and follow it, or run directive bootstrap. Output is USER.md + xbrief/PROJECT-DEFINITION.xbrief.json + scope xBRIEFs. Unix / macOS: ~/.config/deft/USER.md. Windows: %APPDATA%\deft\USER.md. Override: DEFT_USER_PATH. Full walkthrough: getting-started.

3. Generate a Scope xBRIEF

directive bootstrap walks user preferences → project definition → scope interview. The interview writes a scope xBRIEF to xbrief/proposed/. xbrief/*.xbrief.json files are the source of truth; .md files (PRD.md, SPECIFICATION.md, ROADMAP.md) are rendered views generated on demand via task *:render. Direct edits to the rendered .md files are overwritten on the next render — edit the underlying .xbrief.json instead.

directive bootstrap --strategy interview   # Phase 3 — scope xBRIEF interview
directive bootstrap --project              # Phase 2 — project configuration only
directive doctor                           # Check install integrity
directive agents:refresh                   # Refresh AGENTS.md managed section

4. Build With AI

Read xbrief/PROJECT-DEFINITION.xbrief.json and the scope xBRIEFs in
xbrief/active/ (or xbrief/pending/ if none are active yet) and implement
the project following deft/main.md standards.

Owners

Extra roles live with their owners — this README does not re-author them.

Role	Owner
First project / tutorial	content/docs/getting-started.md
Support	content/docs/SUPPORT.md
Capabilities	content/docs/capabilities.md
Maintainer	CONTRIBUTING.md
Architecture (maintainer-tier)	docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
Vocabulary	glossary.md

Backlog triage, slicing, and swarming are in the getting-started tutorial and CONTRIBUTING. Content packs: task packs:slice -- --list-packs.

Rule Hierarchy

Rules cascade with precedence (highest first):

1. USER.md (highest) — your personal overrides (~/.config/deft/USER.md on Unix/macOS, %APPDATA%\deft\USER.md on Windows)
2. xbrief/PROJECT-DEFINITION.xbrief.json — project-specific rules and identity gestalt
3. Language files (languages/python.md, languages/go.md, ...) — language standards
4. Tool files (tools/taskfile.md, ...) — tool guidelines
5. main.md (lowest) — general AI behavior

Note: project requirements (xbrief/specification.xbrief.json + scope xBRIEFs in xbrief/{proposed,pending,active,completed,cancelled}/) describe what to build and are deliberately kept on a separate ladder from the rule cascade above. ROADMAP.md is the rendered backlog view of those requirements.

🌲 Branch policy

Deft enforces a feature-branch policy by default (#746, #747): direct commits to master/main are blocked and PRs whose head_ref equals base_ref are refused at the CI gate. The policy is governed by a typed flag on xbrief/PROJECT-DEFINITION.xbrief.json:

{
  "plan": {
    "policy": { "allowDirectCommitsToMaster": false }
  }
}

Three enforcement surfaces back the rule:

1. Git hooks — .githooks/pre-commit and .githooks/pre-push. Activate them with task setup; verify with task verify:hooks-installed.
2. Pre-commit gate — task verify:branch is wired into the task check aggregate.
3. CI — .github/workflows/branch-gate.yml refuses PRs whose head_ref equals base_ref.

Reconfigure via deterministic tasks (audited to meta/policy-changes.log):

• task policy:show — display the resolved policy and its source.
• task policy:enforce-branches — set allowDirectCommitsToMaster=false.
• task policy:allow-direct-commits -- --confirm — set the typed flag to true after the capability-cost disclosure.

Emergency bypass: set DEFT_ALLOW_DEFAULT_BRANCH_COMMIT=1 for the current shell.

GitHub is the primary supported SCM. Core features work without it. vBRIEF is legacy — see UPGRADING.md — xBRIEF rename.

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Next Steps: Read main.md for comprehensive AI guidelines, then run npm i -g @deftai/directive (Node ≥ 20) to get started.

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Copyright © 2025-2026 Jonathan "visionik" Taylor — https://deft.md License: MIT