Getting started

The toolkit is a set of gate-shaped CLIs published under the @adlc npm scope. One install gives you every gate in that release behind the stable adlc <tool> dispatcher. Use release 1.4.2 or newer for the project initializer and the Codex MCP server entrypoint.

1. Install the CLI

npm install -g @adlc/cli@latest
adlc --help          # lists every tool, grouped by lifecycle phase

# or run without installing
npx @adlc/cli spec-lint <spec.md>

2. Run your first gate

spec-lint is the P1 gate: every acceptance criterion in a spec must name how it will be verified.

adlc spec-lint spec.md

Exit code 0 means the gate passes, 2 means it fails (wishes found, with line numbers printed), 1 means an operational error. Every gate in the toolkit follows this exit-code convention, so they compose in scripts and CI without special-casing.

The core checks need no API keys. Gates with an LLM-assisted pass accept --prompt-only, which prints the exact prompt and exits 0, so you can paste it into whatever harness you already have.

3. Bootstrap a repo

Check the workspace is ready before any fan-out. This is the P0 gate:

adlc preflight        # environment & permissions table, pass/fail verdict

Gates that need shared state (tickets, frozen rails, evidence) read it from a committable .adlc/ directory. Bootstrap it with:

adlc init --root /absolute/path/to/project
# Cursor-only runtime (skips Codex agents):
# adlc init --root /absolute/path/to/project --harness cursor

Codex users can also invoke $adlc-init; other harnesses expose equivalent initialization commands through their native integrations. See integrations. The .adlc runtime reference documents every file the gates read and write.

4. Wire it into your harness

The lifecycle is meant to run where your agent runs. Native integrations ship for six harnesses. Each guide uses that harness's own extension mechanism; there is no universal install syntax:

npx plugins add voodootikigod/adlc   # vendor-neutral installer, Claude Code today
codex plugin marketplace add voodootikigod/adlc --ref main
codex plugin add adlc-codex@adlc

Install @adlc/cli globally before using any integration. The plugins installer covers Claude Code; Codex uses its native Git marketplace. Every guide documents its tested install path.

Then initialize once per repo. See the per-harness guides: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, opencode, pi, and Antigravity.

Where to go next

• The Lifecycle: which gate guards each phase, end to end.
• Toolkit: every tool's flags, exit codes, and examples.
• Theory: the eight failure modes the gates defend against.