SDTK

Docs

Install and use the SDTK suite, step by step

Start with what you're trying to do: install once, set up your Claude or Codex runtime, and run your first workflow. Then dive into any of the six toolkits for its dedicated command reference.

Looking for the full reference?

This page is the quick start. Complete documentation — every concept, workflow, and command — lives at docs.sdtk.dev.

Open docs.sdtk.dev

Start by intent

Pick the job you came for — each path has the one command that matters and a link to the right guide.

I want to install

One command installs all six CLIs; one more sets up your AI runtime.

Install the suite

npm install -g sdtk-kit
Full install steps →

I want to generate project docs

Scaffold a 17-file traceable SDLC document set — or rebuild docs from an existing codebase with Pro Project Intelligence.

Scaffold SDLC docs

sdtk-spec generate --key SHOPEASE --name "ShopEase MVP"
First workflow guide →

I want to run governed code work

Open Claude Code or Codex in your project and describe the work — the orchestrator routes it through the governed workflow.

In Claude Code or Codex

/orchestrator
SDTK-CODE guide →

I want to use SDTK-Agent

Chain multi-step agent workflows into one durable, resumable run with human approval gates and a file ledger.

Start a durable run

sdtk-agent run start --workflow workflow.json --runtime-map runtime-map.json --feature-key KEY --goal "..."
SDTK-AGENT guide →

I want to inspect examples

Four reference scenario packs show the scaffold and governed phase structure on realistic feature work.

Browse the examples →

1. Install & Set Up

Install the whole suite with one command, then set up your AI runtime. The flow is identical whether you use Claude Code or Codex.

  • Prerequisites: Node.js 18.13+ and PowerShell (Windows PowerShell 5.1+, or pwsh on macOS/Linux).
  • Install once with the sdtk-kit umbrella package — all six CLIs (sdtk-spec, sdtk-design, sdtk-code, sdtk-ops, sdtk-wiki, sdtk-agent) land on your PATH together.
  • Run sdtk init --runtime claude (or codex) once to set up the whole suite in one step — it installs runtime skills for the toolkits that use them (spec, design, code, ops) and runs a plain init for sdtk-wiki and sdtk-agent, which are CLI-driven and not runtime-aware.
  • Claude installs skills at project scope (.claude/skills/) by default; Codex defaults to user scope (~/.codex/skills).
  • Prefer just one toolkit? Each kit is also published standalone (e.g. npm install -g sdtk-wiki-kit) with its own init.

Install the suite

npm install -g sdtk-kit

Set up your runtime (Claude)

sdtk init --runtime claude

Set up your runtime (Codex)

sdtk init --runtime codex

Verify the install

sdtk -v

2. Your First Workflow

With the suite installed, open your AI assistant and let the orchestrator route your request — or scaffold a full SDLC document set directly.

  • Open Claude Code or Codex in your project and run /orchestrator — describe what you want, and it classifies the request and runs the right SDTK workflow (PM → BA → ARCH → DEV → QA).
  • Or scaffold directly: sdtk-spec generate creates a 17-file traceable SDLC document set for a product or feature, ready for the /pm phase.
  • Working on an existing codebase with little or no docs? Activate Pro and use Project Intelligence to rebuild docs from source — see Pro Features below.
  • Every toolkit has its own commands and guide — see The Toolkits below to go deeper on any one.

Scaffold an SDLC document set

sdtk-spec generate --key SHOPEASE --name "ShopEase MVP"

Activate Pro (optional)

sdtk activate --license SDTK-XXXX-YYYY

Suite Command Reference

Cross-toolkit commands use the sdtk umbrella binary (from sdtk-kit). For commands specific to one tool, open that toolkit's page under The Toolkits.

  • sdtk -v (or --version): show the sdtk-kit version and all six resolved sub-kit versions.
  • sdtk init --runtime <claude|codex>: initialize all six toolkits in one step.
  • sdtk init --runtime <claude|codex> --force: refresh SDTK-managed files after an update (your own content is never touched).
  • sdtk update: update all six CLIs to the latest published versions; add --check-only to preview first.
  • sdtk activate --license SDTK-XXXX-YYYY: activate Pro across all kits; add --json for machine-readable output.
  • sdtk --help: view the full umbrella command contract. Each tool also has its own <tool> --help.

Check installed versions

sdtk -v

Initialize all toolkits

sdtk init --runtime claude

Update all CLIs

sdtk update

Activate Pro

sdtk activate --license SDTK-XXXX-YYYY

Updating an Existing Install

Already have an older SDTK suite installed? Update the six CLIs, then refresh SDTK-managed files in each project with --force.

  • sdtk update upgrades all six toolkit CLIs to the latest published versions (it runs npm install -g sdtk-kit@latest under the hood).
  • Run sdtk update --check-only first to preview the update without installing anything.
  • After updating, run sdtk init --runtime <claude|codex> --force in each project to refresh managed skills and project files.
  • --force overwrites only SDTK-managed files; your own specs, code, notes, and wiki pages are never touched.
  • Need just one CLI? npm install -g <kit>@latest, then run that toolkit's init --force.

Update all six CLIs (suite)

sdtk update

Preview the update first

sdtk update --check-only

Refresh a project after updating (Claude)

sdtk init --runtime claude --force

Refresh a project after updating (Codex)

sdtk init --runtime codex --force

Troubleshooting

Common setup errors and the fastest fix.

  • Command not found after install: confirm your npm global bin directory is on PATH, then run sdtk -v.
  • Unknown command or flag: run sdtk --help (or <tool> --help) and compare option names.
  • Activation fails: rerun sdtk activate --license <KEY> and verify the key is still valid for this machine (each key allows up to 5 machines).
  • PowerShell dependency error: ensure powershell.exe or pwsh is available in PATH.
  • Claude skills missing: rerun sdtk init --runtime claude --force and verify .claude/skills/ exists.
  • Codex skills unavailable: rerun sdtk init --runtime codex and verify $CODEX_HOME/skills/ or ~/.codex/skills/.
  • Stale global install: npm uninstall -g sdtk-kit then reinstall. Per-tool removal uses each kit's runtime uninstall plus npm uninstall -g <kit>.

Verify install + versions

sdtk -v

Verify Claude skills installation

ls .claude/skills/

Re-run setup with detailed output (Claude)

sdtk init --runtime claude --force --verbose

Reinstall the suite cleanly

npm uninstall -g sdtk-kit
npm install -g sdtk-kit

Pro Features

PRO

Activate once — all five premium capabilities (project ingest, audit, refresh + Local Wiki Ask + Sleep Execute) unlock across every kit on that machine.

Activate Pro

sdtk activate --license SDTK-XXXX-YYYY
⚙

Project Intelligence

sdtk-spec project ingest · audit · refresh · promote

Rebuild a full documentation baseline from any existing codebase — with native support for Django, Laravel, React, FastAPI, Flask, and more. Even with zero existing docs.

  • Supported stacks (auto-detected): Django/DRF, Laravel (Eloquent + routes), FastAPI, Flask, React (components + Router), Livewire, Blade, and Filament. Multi-stack projects (e.g. Laravel API + React frontend) are detected and processed together. Unknown frameworks use Tier-3 AI augmentation with source-line verification.
  • Extracts API surface with full absolute paths and HTTP methods, database tables/models with column types, UI component inventory, all dependencies, and every required environment variable — each entry includes a file:line source reference so you can verify anything.
  • Output is 9 staged docs in .sdtk/project/DOC_SYNTHESIS_BASELINE/. Your live /docs/ folder is never touched until you explicitly promote them.
  • audit reports doc coverage and per-doc confidence. Read-only — safe to run at any time.
  • refresh re-ingests when source changes and computes a changed-files diff against the prior state.
  • promote --apply publishes reviewed staged docs to /docs/ so sdtk-wiki can index them for graph view and Ask.

Ingest source → staged docs

sdtk-spec project ingest --project-path .

Audit coverage report

sdtk-spec project audit --project-path . --json

Refresh after source changes

sdtk-spec project refresh --project-path .

Promote staged docs → live /docs/

sdtk-spec project promote --project-path . --apply
◉

Local Wiki Ask

sdtk-wiki ask

Like Google NotebookLM — but grounded in your own repo and driven by your own AI CLI. No separate upload service, no third-party cloud.

  • Ask in natural language, get answers grounded in your actual project docs — every answer cites the exact source files it drew from.
  • Local-first: your docs, graph, and index stay in your repo. Questions are answered through your existing Claude or Codex CLI session — the same provider account you already use for development; no additional service sees your code.
  • Works on any docs in /docs/: manually written, generated by project ingest, or a mix of both. Requires a built wiki graph (sdtk-wiki atlas build) as the knowledge index.
  • Supports --runtime claude and --runtime codex to match your active AI session.

Build the wiki graph (index your docs)

sdtk-wiki atlas build --project-path .

Ask a question (Claude)

sdtk-wiki ask "how does the auth flow work?"

Ask a question (Codex)

sdtk-wiki ask "what tables does the billing module use?" --runtime codex
◐

Sleep Mode / Sleep Execute

sdtk-code sleep plan · report · authorize · execute

A free dry-run readiness gate (plan · report — nothing is executed) plus the Pro Sleep Execute capability: after one attended authorization, run a bounded doc-class agent session unattended.

  • sleep plan assembles an ordered, dependency-aware execution plan for a feature key. Dry-run only — it never executes steps or mutates your repo.
  • sleep report projects a READY_TO_SLEEP or NOT_READY verdict with a full blocker and warning list so you know exactly what to fix first.
  • sleep plan and sleep report are the free dry-run readiness gate. Sleep Execute (Pro) adds real unattended execution: one attended `sleep authorize` writes a bounded, integrity-bound authorization, then `sleep execute` runs a doc-class agent session headless within hard ceilings (10 iterations / $10 / 24h TTL), with a per-iteration readiness re-check, pinned scope, and worktree isolation. It uses your own provider API key (not SDTK-hosted).

Assemble an execution plan (dry-run, free)

sdtk-code sleep plan --feature-key ORDER_TRACKING --allowed 'docs/**'

Score readiness (dry-run preflight, free)

sdtk-code sleep report --feature-key ORDER_TRACKING

Authorize once, attended (Pro)

sdtk-code sleep authorize --feature-key ORDER_TRACKING

Run the session unattended (Pro)

sdtk-code sleep execute --feature-key ORDER_TRACKING

Explore the Toolkits

Six toolkits: SPEC, DESIGN, CODE, and OPS each own one phase of the idea-to-ship pipeline, while SDTK-WIKI (memory) and SDTK-AGENT (orchestration) are cross-cutting capabilities every phase can call on. Open any one for its full command reference and workflow guide.

SDTK-SPECDiscovery, specs, PM → BA → ARCH → DEV → QA planning, the 17-file SDLC scaffold, and the free Atlas graph.View commands & guide →SDTK-DESIGNScreen flow-action specs, UI layout wireframes, and design handoff artifacts.View commands & guide →SDTK-CODEImplementation, refactoring, the Trust Layer guardrails, ship-readiness scoring, and Sleep Mode.View commands & guide →SDTK-OPSDeploy, infra, CI/CD, local Docker validation, and operational verification.View commands & guide →SDTK-WIKIThe project memory layer: your repo's own docs indexed in place into a local knowledge graph, a docs + graph viewer, the Agent Kanban board, and Pro Ask (grounded Q&A). Cross-cutting — every phase reads from it.View commands & guide →SDTK-AGENTDurable, file-driven DAG orchestration for multi-step agent workflows with human approval gates. Cross-cutting: the orchestration layer every phase can call on.View commands & guide →