devt

devt (short for development team) — a lightweight multi-agent development workflow plugin for Claude Code.

What It Does

devt orchestrates a coordinated multi-agent development workflow: implement, test, review, document, learn. Instead of relying on a single monolithic prompt, it decomposes work across specialized agents -- a programmer writes code, a tester verifies it, a code-reviewer audits it, a docs-writer updates documentation, and a retro agent extracts lessons for future sessions. Each agent is focused, stateless, and replaceable.

The plugin adapts to any project -- Python, Go, TypeScript, or anything else -- via the .devt/rules/ convention. Project-specific coding standards, testing patterns, quality gates, and architecture decisions live in your repository, not baked into the plugin. Templates for common stacks are included; a blank template covers everything else.

The execution model follows a Command -> Workflow -> Agent architecture with anti-rationalization guardrails and gate functions. Commands are thin entry points, workflows handle orchestration and tier selection, agents do the actual work, and hooks manage lifecycle events.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/emrecdr/devt.git ~/.devt

Then start Claude Code with devt loaded:

claude --plugin-dir ~/.devt

To avoid typing --plugin-dir every time, add a shell alias:

echo 'alias devt="claude --plugin-dir ~/.devt"' >> ~/.zshrc  # or ~/.bashrc

On first session start, devt registers commands under ~/.claude/commands/devt/ for autocomplete. All commands are available as /devt:command-name.

Quick Start

# Initialize for your project (one-time)
/devt:init

# Build anything — devt figures out the right approach
/devt:workflow "add a health check endpoint"

# Define a feature before building
/devt:specify "user notification preferences"

# Fix a bug
/devt:debug "tests failing on user service"

# Create PR when ready
/devt:ship

/devt:workflow auto-detects complexity and runs the right pipeline:

• Trivial (typo, config) → executes inline, no subagents
• Simple (one file, known pattern) → implement → test → review
• Standard (multiple files) → scan → implement → test → simplify → review → verify → docs → retro → autoskill
• Complex (new patterns, multi-service) → auto-research → auto-plan → scan → architect → implement → test → simplify → full pipeline

Task format: Use imperative verb + specific outcome:

• Good: "add health check endpoint at GET /health returning 200 with status ok"
• Good: "fix login validation that accepts empty passwords"
• Bad: "make it better" (too vague)
• Bad: "refactor everything" (too broad)

Architecture

User -> Command (thin) -> Workflow (orchestration) -> Agent (worker)
                                                    |
                                              .devt/state/ (results)

The execution model has three layers:

• Commands (28): Thin entry points. Parse arguments, delegate to a workflow. No business logic.
• Workflows (26): Orchestration files. Determine tier, coordinate agents, manage state transitions.
• Agents (10): Focused workers. Each owns one concern -- programmer, tester, code-reviewer, docs-writer, architect, retro, curator, verifier, researcher, debugger.
• Skills (15): Technique libraries injected into agents. Codebase scanning, complexity assessment, semantic search, API docs fetching, and more.
• Hooks (7 lifecycle events): SessionStart, Stop, SubagentStart, SubagentStop, PostToolUse, PreToolUse, UserPromptSubmit. Managed via Node.js runner with profile control (DEVT_HOOK_PROFILE=minimal|standard|full).

The .devt/rules/ Convention

Every project configured with devt gets a .devt/rules/ directory containing project-specific rules that agents read at execution time. This keeps the plugin generic while giving agents deep project knowledge.

Required files:

File	Purpose
coding-standards.md	Language conventions, naming, formatting, import rules
testing-patterns.md	Test framework, patterns, coverage expectations
quality-gates.md	Lint, typecheck, test commands and pass criteria
architecture.md	Layer structure, dependency rules, module boundaries

Optional files:

File	Purpose
review-checklist.md	Language-specific review priorities and security patterns
api-changelog.md	API changelog format, before/after rules, migration checklist
documentation.md	Doc style, MODULE.md conventions, what to update
git-workflow.md	Branch naming, commit conventions, PR process
golden-rules.md	Non-negotiable rules: scan first, no duplicates, verify before done
patterns/common-smells.md	Anti-patterns to detect and fix during development

Run /devt:init to generate these from a template matched to your stack. Files are placed in .devt/rules/.

Available templates: python-fastapi, go, typescript-node, vue-bootstrap, blank

Configuration (.devt/config.json)

The optional .devt/config.json file at your project root configures plugin behavior:

{
  "model_profile": "quality",
  "model_overrides": {
    "tester": "opus"
  },
  "git": {
    "provider": "github",
    "workspace": "my-team",
    "slug": "my-repo",
    "primary_branch": "main",
    "contributors": ["alice", "bob"]
  },
  "agent_skills": {
    "programmer": ["codebase-scan", "scratchpad", "api-docs-fetcher"],
    "tester": ["scratchpad"],
    "code-reviewer": ["code-review-guide", "codebase-scan"]
  },
  "arch_scanner": {
    "command": "make arch-scan",
    "report_dir": "docs/reports"
  }
}

Key	Values	Default
model_profile	quality, balanced, budget, inherit	quality
model_overrides	Per-agent model tier overrides (opus, sonnet, haiku, inherit). Valid agents: programmer, tester, code-reviewer, docs-writer, architect, retro, curator, debugger, verifier, researcher. Invalid keys produce a warning and are ignored.	From model_profile
git.provider	github, bitbucket, gitlab	auto-detect
git.workspace	Organization or workspace name	null
git.slug	Repository slug	null
git.primary_branch	Default branch name	main
git.contributors	List of contributor usernames	[]
agent_skills	Per-agent skill list overrides	See skill-index.yaml
arch_scanner	Object with command and report_dir	built-in scanner
workflow.docs	true / false — toggle documentation step	true
workflow.retro	true / false — toggle retrospective step	true
workflow.verification	true / false — toggle verification step	true
workflow.autoskill	true / false — toggle autoskill step	true
workflow.regression_baseline	true / false — run quality gates before implementation	true

Commands

Primary (start here)

Command	Description
/devt:do	Don't know which command? Describe what you want — devt routes to the right one
/devt:workflow	Build, fix, or improve anything — auto-detects complexity and runs the right pipeline. Supports --autonomous flag.
/devt:specify	Define a feature through interview and codebase analysis — produces a validated PRD
/devt:debug	Investigate and fix a bug with 4-phase systematic debugging
/devt:ship	Create PR with auto-generated description from workflow artifacts
/devt:next	Auto-detect where you are and run the next logical step

Setup & Help

Command	Description
/devt:init	Interactive project setup wizard — scaffolds .devt/rules/ and .devt/config.json
/devt:help	Show all commands with use cases — basics to advanced

Utilities

Command	Description
/devt:status	Show current workflow progress and suggest next action
/devt:pause	Pause workflow and create structured handoff for resumption
/devt:forensics	Post-mortem investigation of failed or stuck workflows
/devt:cancel-workflow	Abort the currently active workflow and reset state
/devt:note	Zero-friction idea capture — save, list, or promote to task
/devt:health	Diagnose plugin health — checks config, state, hooks. Supports --repair
/devt:session-report	Post-session summary — commits, files changed, decisions, outcomes
/devt:update	Check for and install plugin updates from GitHub

Internal (called by workflows, available for power users)

Command	Description
/devt:plan	Create a validated implementation plan (auto-triggered by workflow for COMPLEX tasks)
/devt:research	Research implementation approaches (auto-triggered by plan for COMPLEX tasks)
/devt:clarify	Discuss choices and capture decisions (supports --assumptions mode)
/devt:implement	Quick implementation — workflow with SIMPLE tier
/devt:fast	Execute trivial tasks inline — workflow with TRIVIAL tier
/devt:review	Standalone code review
/devt:quality	Run quality gates — lint, typecheck, and tests
/devt:retro	Extract lessons learned into persistent memory
/devt:arch-health	Architecture health scan
/devt:autoskill	Propose skill and agent updates based on observed patterns
/devt:weekly-report	Generate a weekly contribution report from git history
/devt:thread	Persistent context threads for cross-session investigations

Workflow Tiers

The /devt:workflow command auto-selects a tier based on task complexity:

Tier	Steps	Auto-detected when
TRIVIAL	execute inline -> validate gates	<=3 files, no decisions needed
SIMPLE	implement -> test -> review	Single file, known pattern
STANDARD	scan -> implement -> test -> review -> verify -> docs -> retro -> autoskill	Multiple files, existing patterns
COMPLEX	auto-research -> auto-plan -> scan -> [arch-health?] -> architect -> ... -> retro -> curate -> autoskill	New patterns, architectural decisions

You never need to choose a tier — /devt:workflow detects it automatically. You can override if the assessment is wrong.

Learning Loop

devt includes a closed feedback loop that captures and reuses knowledge across sessions:

1. Extract -- After a workflow completes, the retro agent extracts lessons (what worked, what failed, patterns discovered) with a 4-filter quality gate.
2. Curate -- The curator agent evaluates lessons (accept, merge, edit, reject, archive) and writes them to .devt/learning-playbook.md in a documented format.
3. Index -- The semantic module syncs the playbook to a SQLite FTS5 database (node:sqlite built-in, zero dependencies).
4. Query -- At the start of each workflow, context_init queries the FTS5 database for lessons relevant to the current task.
5. Inject -- Matching lessons are formatted and injected as <learning_context> into programmer, tester, and code-reviewer dispatches.

The loop is fully closed: lessons flow from completed work back into future agents. Early sessions produce raw lessons; later sessions benefit from accumulated project knowledge.

Guardrails

devt includes protective guardrails that prevent common AI-assisted development pitfalls:

• Contamination guidelines -- Prevent AI-generated patterns from degrading codebase quality
• Generative debt checklist -- Catch over-engineering, dead code, and unnecessary abstractions
• Golden rules -- Core principles that agents must never violate
• Incident runbook -- Recovery procedures when things go wrong
• Skill update guidelines -- Safe patterns for evolving the plugin itself

Directory Structure

devt/
  .claude-plugin/
    plugin.json           # Plugin manifest
  bin/
    devt-tools.cjs        # CLI entry point
    modules/              # init, state, config, model-profiles, setup, semantic, security, health, weekly-report, update
  commands/               # 28 thin command entry points
  workflows/              # 26 orchestration files
  agents/                 # 10 agent definitions
  skills/                 # 15 technique skill directories
  hooks/                  # Lifecycle hooks (hooks.json + scripts)
  guardrails/             # Protective guidelines
  protocols/              # Interaction protocols
  standards/              # Development pattern standards
  references/             # Technique libraries for agent workflows (questioning guide, domain probes)
  scripts/                # Utility scripts (quality gates, prompt injection scanning)
  templates/              # Project templates (python-fastapi, go, typescript-node, vue-bootstrap, blank)
  memory/                 # Memory schemas and semantic index
  skill-index.yaml        # Agent-to-skill mapping

Updating

# Check for updates and install
/devt:update

devt checks for new versions on GitHub at each session start. When an update is available, you'll see a notification. The /devt:update command handles the update automatically — it detects how devt was installed (plugin system or git clone) and runs the right update command.

Manual update methods:

# Pull latest from GitHub
cd ~/.devt && git pull origin main

Restart your Claude Code session after updating.

Troubleshooting

Workflow fails or gets stuck:

• Run /devt:status to see current state
• Run /devt:cancel-workflow to reset and start over
• Check .devt/state/ for artifact details

Missing .devt/rules/:

• Run /devt:init to set up project conventions

Agent returns BLOCKED:

• Read the agent's output in .devt/state/ for details
• The task may need to be broken down or clarified

License

MIT