KitTools (2.9.1)
A framework for AI-assisted development. Structured documentation, autonomous execution, and guided workflows.
On this page
- What is KitTools?
- Installation
- Claude Code
- GitHub Copilot CLI
- Claude Code vs. Copilot CLI
- Quick Start
- Skills Reference
- Hooks Reference
- Project Structure
- Templates Reference
- Core (Always included)
- API (For backend services)
- Ops (For deployed services)
- UI (For frontend applications)
- Patterns (Optional deep-dives)
- Project Types
- Session Workflow
- SESSION_SCRATCH.md
- Feature Validation
- Feature Planning
- Story Refinement
- Scope & Precision
- Epic Decomposition
- Feature Spec Lifecycle
- Feature Spec Structure
- Autonomous Execution
- Key Files Explained
- AGENT_README.md
- SYNOPSIS.md
- GOTCHAS.md
- AUDIT_FINDINGS.md
- Template Versioning
- Template vs Instance
- Philosophy
- Core Principles
- Links
- License
#What is KitTools?
KitTools is a plugin for Claude Code and GitHub Copilot CLI that provides:
- Structured documentation templates — Consistent docs across projects
- Session management — Track work across context refreshes
- Automation hooks — Auto-timestamps, scratchpad reminders
- Feature planning & execution — Plan epics, validate specs, and execute stories autonomously
Structured documentation, autonomous execution, and guided workflows — for Claude Code and GitHub Copilot CLI. Instead of spending tokens explaining your project in chat, maintain living documentation that gives AI immediate understanding.
The two builds are maintained in parallel with the same skills, prompts, and workflows. See Claude Code vs. Copilot CLI for the differences between them.
#Installation
#Claude Code
# 1. Add the WashingBearLabs marketplace
/plugin marketplace add WashingBearLabs/WashingBearLabsMarketplace
# 2. Install the plugin
/plugin install kit-tools@washingbearlabs
Or from a local clone:
git clone https://github.com/WashingBearLabs/KitTools.git
/plugin install ./KitTools
#GitHub Copilot CLI
# 1. Add the WashingBearLabs marketplace
copilot plugin marketplace add WashingBearLabs/WashingBearLabsMarketplace
# 2. Install the plugin
copilot plugin install kit-tools@washingbearlabs
Or install directly from the repository:
copilot plugin install WashingBearLabs/KitToolsCopilot
Update either build later with its plugin update command
(/plugin update kit-tools@washingbearlabs / copilot plugin update kit-tools).
#Claude Code vs. Copilot CLI
KitTools ships as two builds from a shared codebase — the Claude Code plugin and the Copilot CLI plugin — kept in version lockstep and maintained in parallel. Every skill, agent prompt, and template is the same. Only the tool-specific plumbing differs:
| Area | Claude Code | GitHub Copilot CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Invoking a skill | Explicit slash command, e.g. /kit-tools:init-project | Natural language — ask Copilot (e.g. “initialize kit-tools in this project”) and the matching skill activates from its description |
| Platforms | Developed on macOS/Linux (POSIX) | Cross-platform: macOS and Windows |
| Autonomous execution | Detached tmux session | Detached background process (POSIX start_new_session / Windows DETACHED_PROCESS) — no tmux required |
| Monitoring a run | Attach to the tmux session | Tail the run log (tail -f / Get-Content -Wait); track state with the execution-status skill |
| Process liveness / cleanup | tmux has-session, killpg | psutil PID checks + recursive tree termination |
| File locking | fcntl | portalocker |
| Keep-awake | caffeinate / systemd-inhibit | Windows SetThreadExecutionState (degrades gracefully) |
| Project instructions file | CLAUDE.md | AGENTS.md (Copilot reads both; an existing CLAUDE.md still works) |
| Child agent sessions | claude -p … | copilot -p … --allow-all-tools --output-format json |
| Automation hooks | Claude hook payloads | VS Code-compatible hooks with paired bash/powershell commands, auto-selected by OS |
The Copilot CLI build has no tmux dependency and runs on Windows as well as macOS. It requires Python 3 with
PyYAML,psutil, andportalocker; run thedoctorskill to verify your environment.
The command examples throughout the rest of this page use Claude Code’s
/kit-tools:<skill> syntax. In Copilot CLI, invoke the same skill by asking for
it in natural language.
#Quick Start
-
Initialize — Set up kit_tools in your project:
/kit-tools:init-projectSelect your project type (API, Web App, CLI, etc.) and templates will be tailored accordingly.
-
Seed — Populate templates with project-specific content:
/kit-tools:seed-projectClaude or Copilot explores your codebase and fills in the documentation.
-
Work — Start a development session:
/kit-tools:start-sessionThe assistant orients itself using your docs and creates a scratchpad for notes.
-
Close — End your session cleanly:
/kit-tools:close-sessionNotes are processed into permanent documentation.
#Skills Reference
| Skill | Description |
|---|---|
/kit-tools:init-project | Initialize kit_tools with project-type presets |
/kit-tools:seed-project | Populate templates from codebase exploration |
/kit-tools:seed-template | Seed a single template with project-specific content |
/kit-tools:validate-seeding | Validate seeded templates for unfilled placeholders |
/kit-tools:doctor | Plugin self-integrity and environment health check — broken references, agent token drift, stale installs, missing tools |
/kit-tools:start-session | Git health check, orient, and create scratchpad for a work session |
/kit-tools:close-session | Process notes, update docs, reconcile worktrees, and compact execution learnings at session end |
/kit-tools:checkpoint | Mid-session checkpoint without closing |
/kit-tools:create-vision | Define the product vision interactively, with optional web landscape research |
/kit-tools:plan-epic | Plan a new feature or epic — clarification scan, pre-story research, prioritized stories — creating an Epic and Feature Specs |
/kit-tools:validate-epic | Validate feature specs before execution — completeness, story quality, adversarial review, codebase fit, security, cross-model second opinion (with a user-confirmed quick tier for small epics). Each reviewer also returns a 1–10 readiness score, reported per-reviewer (never averaged) so the gate reads the worst reviewer |
/kit-tools:execute-epic | Execute an epic’s feature specs autonomously, supervised, or guarded — with optional supervisor monitoring |
/kit-tools:complete-implementation | Mark a feature spec as completed and archive it |
/kit-tools:bump-version | Bump project version using kit_tools/BUMP_VERSION.md runbook |
/kit-tools:sync-project | Full sync between code and docs (--quick for audit) |
/kit-tools:validate-implementation | Validate a feature branch against its feature spec (quality, security, compliance) |
/kit-tools:execution-status | Check progress and status of autonomous epic execution; acts as supervisor when monitoring is enabled |
/kit-tools:optimize-tests | Audit test suite health: mapping gaps, stale tests, overlap, performance, KitTools alignment |
#Hooks Reference
KitTools includes automation hooks that run automatically:
| Hook | Trigger | What it does |
|---|---|---|
create_scratchpad | SessionStart | Creates SESSION_SCRATCH.md if kit_tools exists |
update_doc_timestamps | PostToolUse (Edit/Write) | Updates “Last Updated” in kit_tools docs |
detect_phase_completion | PostToolUse (Edit) | Notes feature spec criteria and milestone task completions; suggests validate-implementation when all criteria are done |
validate_seeded_template | PostToolUse (Edit/Write) | Validates seeded templates for unfilled placeholders |
remind_scratchpad_before_compact | PreCompact | Reminds to capture notes, adds compaction marker |
check_execution_notifications | UserPromptSubmit | Surfaces execution notifications (completions, failures, crashes, pauses) on next user message |
remind_close_session | Stop | Reminds to run close-session if scratchpad has notes |
harvest_signals | Stop | Reduces each run’s structured event stream into an idempotent per-run telemetry record under ~/.kit/feedback/ for retrospective and benchmarking analysis (survives plugin updates) |
Note: Setup validation is built into /kit-tools:init-project as a final step, including a /kit-tools:doctor integrity pass.
#Project Structure
After initialization, your project will have:
your-project/
├── kit_tools/
│ ├── AGENT_README.md # AI navigation guide
│ ├── SYNOPSIS.md # Project overview
│ ├── PRODUCT_VISION.md # Product vision (blank; populate via create-vision)
│ ├── SESSION_LOG.md # Session history
│ ├── AUDIT_FINDINGS.md # Code quality findings
│ │
│ ├── arch/ # Architecture docs
│ │ ├── CODE_ARCH.md # Code structure, patterns
│ │ ├── DECISIONS.md # Architectural decision records
│ │ ├── SERVICE_MAP.md # Dependencies, integrations *
│ │ ├── INFRA_ARCH.md # Cloud resources, networking *
│ │ ├── DATA_MODEL.md # Database schema *
│ │ ├── SECURITY.md # Auth, secrets, permissions *
│ │ └── patterns/ # Detailed pattern docs (optional)
│ │
│ ├── docs/ # Operational docs
│ │ ├── LOCAL_DEV.md # Local development setup
│ │ ├── CONVENTIONS.md # Code conventions
│ │ ├── TROUBLESHOOTING.md
│ │ ├── GOTCHAS.md # Known issues
│ │ ├── MONITORING.md *
│ │ ├── CI_CD.md *
│ │ ├── DEPLOYMENT.md *
│ │ ├── API_GUIDE.md *
│ │ ├── ENV_REFERENCE.md *
│ │ ├── UI_STYLE_GUIDE.md *
│ │ └── feature_guides/
│ │
│ ├── testing/ # Test documentation
│ │ ├── TESTING_GUIDE.md
│ │ └── test-metrics.json # Auto-generated test metrics from orchestration
│ │
│ ├── specs/ # Feature specs and epics
│ │ └── archive/ # Completed feature specs
│ │
│ ├── roadmap/ # Milestone tracking
│ │ ├── MILESTONES.md
│ │ └── BACKLOG.md
│ │
│ └── hooks/ # Automation scripts (installed by init-project)
│ ├── create_scratchpad.py
│ ├── update_doc_timestamps.py
│ └── ... # 7 scripts total
│
└── AGENTS.md # Project instructions (AGENTS.md for Copilot CLI; CLAUDE.md for Claude Code)
* Project-type-specific — included for API/Backend, Web App, Full Stack, etc. See Project Types for which templates are included with each type.
#Templates Reference
KitTools provides 30 documentation templates organized by category:
#Core (Always included)
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
AGENT_README.md | AI navigation guide — read order, patterns, off-limits areas |
SYNOPSIS.md | Project overview — what is this, current state, how to run |
SESSION_LOG.md | Session history |
AUDIT_FINDINGS.md | Code quality findings log |
CODE_ARCH.md | Code architecture — structure, patterns, key abstractions |
DECISIONS.md | Architecture decision records |
LOCAL_DEV.md | Local development setup |
GOTCHAS.md | Known issues and landmines |
CONVENTIONS.md | Code conventions and standards |
TROUBLESHOOTING.md | Common issues and solutions |
TESTING_GUIDE.md | Testing strategy and patterns |
PRODUCT_VISION.md | Product vision (via create-vision skill) |
specs/* | Feature specs and epics |
roadmap/* | Milestone tracking and backlog |
#API (For backend services)
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
API_GUIDE.md | API documentation |
DATA_MODEL.md | Database schema |
ENV_REFERENCE.md | Environment variables |
SERVICE_MAP.md | Dependencies and integrations |
#Ops (For deployed services)
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
DEPLOYMENT.md | Deploy procedures |
CI_CD.md | Pipeline documentation |
MONITORING.md | Logs, metrics, alerts |
INFRA_ARCH.md | Cloud resources, networking |
SECURITY.md | Security documentation |
#UI (For frontend applications)
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
UI_STYLE_GUIDE.md | UI patterns and component guidelines |
feature_guides/FEATURE_TEMPLATE.md | Feature-specific documentation template |
#Patterns (Optional deep-dives)
| Template | Purpose |
|---|---|
AUTH.md | Authentication patterns |
ERROR_HANDLING.md | Error handling patterns |
LOGGING.md | Logging patterns |
#Project Types
When initializing, select your project type for tailored templates:
| Type | Description | Templates Included |
|---|---|---|
| API/Backend | REST, GraphQL, microservices | Core + API + Data + Ops |
| Web App | React, Vue, Next.js | Core + Deployment + CI + UI |
| Full Stack | Frontend + Backend | Everything |
| CLI Tool | Command-line apps | Core (minimal) |
| Library | npm, PyPI packages | Core + API docs |
| Mobile | iOS/Android apps | Core + Services |
| Custom | Pick templates manually | Your choice |
#Session Workflow
KitTools encourages a session-based workflow:
┌─────────────────┐
│ start-session │ ← Git check, orient, check for orphaned notes
└────────┬────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Work... │ ← Scratchpad captures notes automatically
│ │ ← Hooks update timestamps, remind on compact
└────────┬────────┘
│
┌────┴────┐
│ │
▼ ▼
┌────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│checkpoint│ │close-session│
└────────┘ └─────────────┘
│ │
│ ▼
│ Notes → permanent docs
│ Scratchpad deleted
▼
Continue
working...
#SESSION_SCRATCH.md
When a session starts, a scratchpad is created:
# SESSION_SCRATCH.md
> Auto-generated. Append notes as you work. Processed on session close.
## Active Feature
**Working on:** [Feature name or "General"]
**Feature Spec:** [e.g., `feature-auth.md` or N/A]
---
## Notes
[Notes captured during the session]
On close-session, these notes are processed into permanent documentation and the scratchpad is deleted.
#Feature Validation
Use /kit-tools:validate-implementation to validate an entire feature branch against its feature spec:
- Captures the full branch diff (
git diff main...HEAD) — all changes across the feature - Runs three independent review passes:
- Code Quality — naming, patterns, code smells, error handling (dedicated agent)
- Security — injection, auth gaps, secrets, input validation (dedicated agent)
- Feature Spec Compliance — acceptance criteria coverage, scope creep, intent alignment
- Runs the project’s test suite — auto-detects the test command (package.json, pyproject.toml, pytest.ini, Makefile, or TESTING_GUIDE.md). Failed tests are logged as critical findings.
- Fixes critical findings automatically (autonomous mode) or inline (supervised mode)
- Writes remaining findings to
kit_tools/AUDIT_FINDINGS.mdwith unique IDs and severity levels - Critical findings pause autonomous execution — a
.pause_executionfile is created referencing the findings. Warning and info findings do not pause. In supervised mode, findings are reported without pausing.
Validation runs automatically after autonomous execution completes, and can be invoked manually at any time. Open findings are reviewed at /kit-tools:start-session.
#Feature Planning
Use /kit-tools:plan-epic to create epics and feature specs:
- Optional Product Vision for strategic context (define with
/kit-tools:create-vision) - Optional landscape research — a web-research agent surveys prior art, current techniques, and what’s changed since an existing design was written. Suggested automatically for AI features and fast-moving domains; you always decide whether to run it.
- Scope assessment — Determines how many feature specs the work requires (1 for simple, 2-5+ for complex). All work is structured as an epic, even single-spec features.
- Clarification scan — The draft scope is checked against a 7-category taxonomy (functional scope, data & state, integrations, edge cases, non-functional, security, completion signals); up to 5 targeted questions, each with a recommended answer, logged to the spec’s Clarifications audit trail.
- Research before stories — Codebase exploration verifies what exists to reuse and which patterns to follow, so implementation hints are grounded in real findings.
- Generates
epic-[name].md+feature-[name].mdfiles with:- Epic overview and completion criteria
- User stories with acceptance criteria (US-XXX format), each carrying a priority (P1–P3) and an independent test
- Implementation hints per story (key files, patterns, gotchas)
- Edge cases (each owned by a story) and assumptions (defaults settled during planning)
- Out of scope boundaries
- Technical considerations
- Open questions, classified — an unresolved
[BLOCKING]question gates execution until answered
- Story refinement — Each story is reviewed for session-fit before finalizing
- Implementation hints are generated during refinement to reduce agent exploration time
- Test criteria auto-injected — Code stories automatically get “Tests written/updated” and “Full test suite passes” criteria (doc/config-only stories are exempt)
- Links to backlog and milestone tracking
- Run
/kit-tools:validate-epicbefore execution to catch gaps early
#Story Refinement
After generating the feature spec, each story is reviewed against these heuristics:
| Check | Question | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Single Responsibility | Is this story doing multiple things? | “and”, “also”, multiple verbs |
| Session Fit | Is the scope implementable and verifiable as one unit? | crosses subsystems, bundles distinct concerns |
| Research Needs | Are there unknowns that would eat context? | Vague tech, unexplored patterns |
| Scope Clarity | Are criteria specific and verifiable? | “works correctly”, “handles properly” |
For each story with issues, the refinement process:
- Multi-concern stories → Split into separate stories
- Over-scoped stories → Narrow or split
- Research needs → Conduct research, document findings
- Vague criteria → Propose specific, verifiable criteria
Refinement findings are captured in the feature spec’s “Refinement Notes” section.
#Scope & Precision
Specs, stories, and criteria are sized by scope, not by a number — each is one coherent concern with as much detail as the work requires:
| Unit | How many |
|---|---|
| Specs per epic | As many distinct concerns as the work spans — no ceiling |
| Stories per spec | As many as the concern needs |
| Criteria per story | As many verifiable criteria as precision requires |
Nothing is split to hit a number — a unit is split only when it covers more than one concern. Precise verbosity beats vague brevity. Unresolved [BLOCKING] open questions still gate a spec (session_ready: false) until resolved.
#Epic Decomposition
Large features (“epics”) are automatically split into focused feature specs with an explicit epic file:
"OAuth Authentication" (epic)
↓ decomposed into:
├── epic-oauth.md (decomposition table, completion criteria)
├── feature-oauth-schema.md (3 stories, no dependencies)
├── feature-oauth-provider.md (4 stories, depends_on: [oauth-schema])
├── feature-oauth-api.md (4 stories, depends_on: [oauth-provider])
└── feature-oauth-ui.md (4 stories, depends_on: [oauth-api])
When you run /kit-tools:execute-epic, the orchestrator reads the epic’s decomposition table and executes specs in order on a shared epic/[name] branch. Each spec is validated, tagged, and archived before the next one starts. Dependencies are enforced as hard gates — a spec won’t execute until its depends_on specs are archived.
#Feature Spec Lifecycle
/plan-epic → epic-auth.md + feature-auth-schema.md + feature-auth-api.md
↓
/validate-epic auth → catch gaps before coding starts
↓
/execute-epic auth → autonomous execution, story by story
↓
/validate-implementation → quality, security, and compliance review
↓
/complete-implementation → archive feature specs, clean up artifacts, handle branch
#Feature Spec Structure
---
feature: auth
status: active
session_ready: true # true if all stories pass refinement
depends_on: []
vision_ref: # product vision reference (optional)
type: feature # feature (default) or epic-child
epic: # epic name (empty for standalone specs)
epic_seq: # execution order within epic (1-based)
epic_final: # true only on last spec in epic
created: 2025-01-15
updated: 2025-01-20
---
# Feature Spec: User Authentication
## Overview
Brief description of the feature and the problem it solves.
## Goals
- Specific, measurable objective 1
- Specific, measurable objective 2
## User Stories
### US-001: User Login Form
**Priority:** P1
**Description:** As a user, I want to see a login form so that I can enter my credentials.
**Independent Test:** Can be verified by loading /login and exercising the form alone — delivers a working entry point before auth wiring exists.
**Implementation Hints:**
- Reuse existing Form component at `src/components/Form.tsx`
- Follow validation patterns in `src/utils/validators.ts`
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Login page shows email and password fields
- [ ] Submit button is disabled until both fields have content
- [ ] Tests written/updated for new functionality
- [ ] Full test suite passes
- [ ] Typecheck/lint passes
### US-002: Login Authentication
**Priority:** P1
**Description:** As a user, I want my credentials validated so that I can access my account.
**Independent Test:** Can be verified by posting credentials to the auth endpoint with the form stubbed — delivers working validation on its own.
**Implementation Hints:**
- AuthService at `src/services/auth.ts` handles credential validation
- Dashboard route at `/dashboard` — redirect on success
**Acceptance Criteria:**
- [ ] Valid credentials redirect to dashboard
- [ ] Invalid credentials show error message
- [ ] Tests written/updated for new functionality
- [ ] Full test suite passes
- [ ] Typecheck/lint passes
## Edge Cases
- Empty credentials submit: button stays disabled (US-001)
- Auth service unreachable: error message, no redirect (US-002)
## Out of Scope
- What this feature will NOT include
## Assumptions
- Existing AuthService is reused as-is; no new token scheme
## Implementation Notes
<!-- Populated during implementation -->
## Refinement Notes
### Research Findings
- **Decision:** Reuse AuthService at src/services/auth.ts — **Rationale:** already handles validation; a parallel path would drift
- Dashboard route confirmed at /dashboard
### Scope Adjustments
- Original US-001 split into US-001 (form) and US-002 (auth)
### Decisions Made
- Reuse existing AuthService for credential validation
#Autonomous Execution
Use /kit-tools:execute-epic to execute feature spec stories:
/kit-tools:execute-epic # Select epic, choose execution mode, run
Three execution modes:
- Supervised — Review each story in-session before continuing
- Autonomous — Spawn separate background sessions per story, run until complete
- Guarded — Autonomous with human oversight on failures
Supervisor monitoring (optional, for autonomous/guarded modes): When enabled, the launching session stays active as a supervisor, polling orchestrator health every 30 minutes. The supervisor can:
- Detect crashes and stale heartbeats
- Split oversized stories that repeatedly time out
- Pause execution when problems persist after intervention
- Skip blocked stories and continue with the rest
The supervisor communicates with the orchestrator through JSON files (health snapshots and control actions) — no system-level permissions required from the launching session. Intervention follows a graduated path: observe retries → intervene after exhaustion → escalate to user. It stops on its own when the run finishes or hits something only you can resolve (sending a desktop notification), so it doesn’t keep polling while you’re away — while still staying alive through self-healable pauses.
For long unattended runs you can also opt to keep the machine awake (a setup question for autonomous/guarded mode): the orchestrator holds a sleep assertion — macOS caffeinate, Linux systemd-inhibit — for the duration of the run and releases it automatically when finished.
Key features of autonomous execution:
- Worktree isolation — Autonomous and guarded runs execute in a dedicated git worktree (under
~/.kit/worktrees/), not your live checkout. The background orchestrator never shares a working directory with you, so you can keep coding, plan the next epic, or run another execution in the same repo without commit contamination or checkout collisions. A gitignored.kit/registry lets/kit-tools:execution-status,/kit-tools:close-session, and others find running executions from anywhere; finished worktrees are torn down safely (git’s own guards keep any unmerged or uncommitted work — never destroyed). A committedworktree.yamlcontract declares how a fresh worktree becomes runnable — the install commands to run (env_bootstrap), secret files to link (env_link), and local/sibling path dependencies to symlink (path_links, e.g. a../sharedworkspace package). - Branch-per-attempt — Each implementation attempt runs on a temporary branch (
feature-story-attempt-N). Successful attempts merge; failed attempts are deleted cleanly (no destructivegit reset). - File-based agent results — Agents write structured JSON result files instead of stdout parsing, eliminating false failures from LLM output formatting.
- Reference-based context — Agent prompts pass file paths instead of inlining full file contents, reducing prompt size ~80% for large projects.
- Implementation hints — Per-story hints from planning flow reduce exploration time.
- Independent verification — A separate verifier agent receives git-sourced file lists (not implementer claims) for honest assessment.
- Patch-based retry — Failed attempt diffs are included in retry prompts so the agent takes a different approach.
- Pause on critical findings — After validation, critical findings create a
.pause_executionfile. The pipeline resumes when the file is removed after review. - Test metrics — Per-file test pass/fail counts, durations, and timeouts are tracked in
kit_tools/testing/test-metrics.jsonacross orchestration runs for identifying slow or flaky tests. - 24-hour safety net — Orchestrator self-terminates after 24 hours of continuous execution.
Progress is tracked in kit_tools/EXECUTION_LOG.md and feature spec checkboxes.
For epics, the orchestrator chains feature specs automatically — executing all stories in one spec, validating, tagging a checkpoint, archiving, then moving to the next. You can choose to pause between specs for review or run non-stop.
#Key Files Explained
#AGENT_README.md
The entry point for AI assistants. Contains:
- Read order — Which docs to read and in what order
- Session checklists — Start and end checklists
- Patterns to follow — Code organization, naming conventions, security patterns
- Off-limits areas — Things requiring human review
#SYNOPSIS.md
Quick project overview answering:
- What is this project?
- What state is it in?
- What’s the tech stack?
- How do I run it locally?
- What works? What’s broken?
#GOTCHAS.md
Known issues, quirks, and landmines:
### [Title]
**Location:** `path/to/file`
**Severity:** 🔴 High / 🟡 Medium / 🟢 Low
**What happens:** [Description]
**Why it exists:** [Reason]
**Workaround:** [How to avoid]
#AUDIT_FINDINGS.md
Code quality findings from validation:
## Active Findings
### [AUD-001] Finding Title
- **Severity:** critical / warning / info
- **File:** path/to/file.ts:42
- **Description:** What was found
- **Recommendation:** How to fix it
#Template Versioning
All templates include version comments:
<!-- Template Version: 1.2.0 -->
To pick up new templates or hooks from a newer plugin version, run /plugin update kit-tools@washingbearlabs and then re-run /kit-tools:init-project in your project to merge in the additions.
#Template vs Instance
A key design principle:
- Plugin templates = Canonical versions, updated with the plugin
- Project kit_tools/ = Your project’s documentation, can diverge and customize
This means:
- Plugin updates don’t overwrite your customized docs
- You can selectively pull in template improvements
- Each project’s documentation is independent
#Philosophy
This framework is built around a key insight: AI assistants are most effective when they have structured, comprehensive context about a codebase.
Instead of repeatedly explaining your project in chat, maintain living documentation that:
- Gives AI immediate understanding of architecture and patterns
- Prevents AI from making decisions that violate existing conventions
- Enables effective troubleshooting with log locations and debug procedures
- Reduces errors by documenting gotchas and known issues
The documentation also benefits human developers, but it’s optimized for AI consumption.
#Core Principles
- AI-first documentation — Written for AI consumption, useful for humans too
- Living docs — Update as you go, not as an afterthought
- Minimal viable docs — Only document what’s useful, delete what isn’t
- Session logging — Track what was done for continuity across sessions
#Links
- KitTools for Claude Code
- KitTools for GitHub Copilot CLI
- Report an Issue (Claude Code)
- Report an Issue (Copilot CLI)
#License
GPL-3.0 License