CRAM ESSENTIAL - AI-Powered Development Team for VS Code

Turn Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, and any AI into a full software development company that builds your projects autonomously.

CRAM ESSENTIAL orchestrates multiple AI models as a virtual software development company with 12 specialized roles, 4 orchestration strategies, and a full SDLC pipeline — all inside VS Code.

One click. Multiple AIs. Complete projects.

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Why CRAM ESSENTIAL?

Feature	CRAM ESSENTIAL	Single AI Tools
Multiple AIs working together	Yes	No
AI team with specialized roles	12 roles	None
Full project lifecycle (SDLC)	6 stages	None
AI meetings with debates	Yes	No
Decision tracking	Yes	No
Works with Claude + GPT + Gemini	All at once	One at a time

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Features

12 AI Team Members

Your AI company has specialized employees:

Role	Default AI	Responsibility
CEO	Claude	Vision & strategy
CTO	Claude	Technology decisions
Lead Architect	Claude	System design
Senior Developer	GPT-4	Core implementation
Frontend Developer	GPT-4	UI/UX code
Backend Developer	GPT-4	APIs & databases
QA Engineer	Gemini	Testing & bugs
Security Auditor	Gemini	Vulnerability analysis
DevOps Engineer	Gemini	CI/CD & deployment
SEO Specialist	GPT-4	Search optimization
Marketing Strategist	Claude	Go-to-market
Performance Engineer	Gemini	Speed optimization

4 Orchestration Strategies

• Collaborative — Architect designs, Developer codes, Reviewer critiques, then refine. Best for complex projects.
• Sequential — Pipeline chain: each AI builds on the previous output. Best for step-by-step tasks.
• Parallel — All AIs work independently, then results are synthesized. Best for speed.
• Competitive — AIs compete, a judge scores and picks the best. Best for quality.

Full SDLC Pipeline

Discovery --> Architecture --> Implementation --> QA --> SEO/Marketing --> Deployment

Each stage runs an AI meeting where your team:

• Debates approaches and trade-offs
• @mentions each other to ask questions
• Makes tracked decisions with rationale
• Produces code, docs, and reports

AI Meetings

Real multi-turn conversations between AI team members. They debate algorithms, review each other's code, challenge assumptions, and reach consensus — just like a real development team.

Custom Providers

Add any OpenAI-compatible API: Ollama, Mistral, Together AI, LM Studio, Cohere, and more.

"cramEssential.customProviders": [
  {
    "name": "ollama",
    "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
    "model": "llama3",
    "apiKey": ""
  }
]

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Quick Start

1. Install CRAM ESSENTIAL from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Click the CRAM ESSENTIAL icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
3. Add at least one API key (Claude, GPT-4, or Gemini)
4. Run CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Company Project from the Command Palette

You only need one AI provider to get started. Add more for multi-AI collaboration.

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All Commands

Command	Description
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Company Project	Run your project through the full SDLC pipeline
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Meeting	Start an AI team meeting on any topic
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Set Orchestration Strategy	Switch between Collaborative/Sequential/Parallel/Competitive
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Assign Company Roles	Reassign which AI plays which role
CRAM ESSENTIAL: View Decision Log	See all decisions made by your AI team
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Export Session	Save the full session to disk
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Welcome	Open the welcome & setup guide

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Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
cramEssential.claude.apiKey	Anthropic API key	—
cramEssential.gpt.apiKey	OpenAI API key	—
cramEssential.gemini.apiKey	Google AI API key	—
cramEssential.defaultStrategy	Default orchestration strategy	collaborative
cramEssential.meetingMaxTurns	Max conversation turns per meeting	8
cramEssential.maxTokensPerRequest	Max tokens per AI request	4096
cramEssential.timeoutMs	Timeout per request (ms)	120000
cramEssential.logLevel	Logging level	info

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Get Your API Keys

Provider	Where to get it	Free tier?
Claude	console.anthropic.com	Yes (limited)
GPT-4	platform.openai.com	No
Gemini	aistudio.google.dev	Yes

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License

MIT - Alen Thomas