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corpus
setup / first workspace

Get started

Pick a path. Either way you write specs and tasks in plain markdown — the agent gets a clear brief, and the review gets evidence.

New repo

Use the GitHub template to create a fresh corpus workspace with the folder structure, templates, and agent guides already in place.

Use the starter kit template

Existing project

Copy the starter kit into a workspace folder inside your existing repo. Add specs and tasks alongside your code without changing the project structure.

Read ADOPTING.md
or scaffold it with the cli

Prefer the command line?

corpus init scaffolds the same workspace into a new or existing repo — conflict-safe, so it never clobbers files you already have. The CLI is not on npm under that name yet (the name is taken), so install it from source.

pwrcheckevidence
terminal

# install the CLI from source — the binary it provides is called corpus

$git clone https://github.com/jcosta33/corpus-cli.git && cd corpus-cli && npm install && npm run build && npm link

# then, in a new or existing repo

$ corpus init # scaffold the workspace, conflict-safe

$ corpus check # confirm it is well-formed; exit 0/1/2

What the CLI does (and deliberately does not): the CLI page.

What the starter kit gives you

starter kit contents

workspace / committed artifacts

note

AGENTS.md sets the local contract. Templates shape the records. Status and findings keep the work legible after the session ends.

  • AGENTS.md — the bootloader your agent reads on every task.
  • Core guides — write-spec, implement-task, review-output, save-findings, and more.
  • Eight templates — spec, task, review, finding, status, intake, inventory, change-plan.
  • Flow folders — specs/, tasks/, reviews/, findings/, and the rest, each with a one-line README.
  • status.md — a hand-edited workboard for tracking what is in flight.
  • decisions/ — an ADR ledger, seeded with why you adopted corpus.

Need more depth?

Install optional skills for specific stances and change shapes — persona-skeptic, write-feature, write-fix, and others.

Browse skills

On Claude Code?

Copy a worker definition — an independent reviewer, a read-only explorer, a bounded spec author — each running a role in a fresh, isolated context.

Browse agents

Not sure which path fits? Read docs/ADOPTING.md for a decision checklist.