AI-DLC (AI-Driven Development Life Cycle) turns AI coding assistants into structured, verifiable software-delivery workflows. One harness-neutral core runs natively in Claude Code, Kiro CLI, Kiro IDE, Codex CLI, Cursor, opencode, GitHub Copilot, and Kimi Code.
This is the independently developed j5ik2o fork. Releases use an upstream base
plus a -j5ik2o.N suffix; see
fork versioning.
The Quick Start below installs the latest stable AI-DLC release.
macOS, Linux, or WSL:
curl -fsSL https://github.com/awslabs/aidlc-workflows/releases/latest/download/install.sh | shWindows PowerShell:
irm https://github.com/awslabs/aidlc-workflows/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iexThe installer adds the native aidlc command and every harness runtime. Bun
and Node.js are not required. If your shell cannot find aidlc, follow the PATH
instruction printed by the installer or start a new shell.
Prefer to manage the project files manually? Install the matching native
aidlc command, download aidlc-runtime-X.Y.Z.tar.gz from the
release, and copy
runtime/<harness>/ into your project.
From the project root, select the harness you use:
cd /path/to/your-project
aidlc config --harness claude
aidlc doctorReplace claude with kiro, kiro-ide, codex, cursor, opencode, or
copilot. Running aidlc config without --harness starts the interactive
setup when a terminal is available.
Open your harness in the configured project and describe the work:
/aidlc Build a REST API for inventory management
Codex CLI uses $aidlc instead of /aidlc. AI-DLC selects a workflow from the
request, asks for missing decisions, and stops at approval gates before moving
forward.
For provider setup, trust prompts, and harness-specific prerequisites, use the guide in the table below. The complete walkthrough is in Getting Started.
| Harness | Configure | Open | Invoke | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code | aidlc config --harness claude |
claude |
/aidlc |
Getting Started |
| Kiro CLI >= 2.6 | aidlc config --harness kiro |
kiro-cli chat |
/aidlc |
Kiro CLI |
| Kiro IDE | aidlc config --harness kiro-ide |
Open the project | /aidlc |
Kiro IDE |
| Codex CLI >= 0.145.0 | aidlc config --harness codex |
codex |
$aidlc |
Codex CLI |
| Cursor | aidlc config --harness cursor |
Open Cursor or run agent |
/aidlc |
Cursor |
| opencode >= 1.17 | aidlc config --harness opencode |
opencode |
/aidlc |
opencode |
| GitHub Copilot CLI >= 1.0.74 / VS Code >= 1.130 | aidlc config --harness copilot |
Copilot CLI or VS Code | /aidlc |
GitHub Copilot |
| Kimi Code | aidlc config --harness kimi |
kimi |
/skill:aidlc |
Kimi Code |
Model-provider setup belongs to the harness. Claude Code defaults to Amazon Bedrock; Codex inherits your existing Codex model and authentication; GitHub Copilot uses GitHub sign-in or BYOK; Kiro, Cursor, opencode, and Kimi Code use their configured provider. The methodology itself is provider-independent.
AI-DLC works best with capable reasoning models. The current recommended model is Claude Opus 4.8.
Ad-hoc AI coding loses context as projects grow. AI-DLC keeps requirements, decisions, implementation, tests, and operational work connected through one audited lifecycle:
- 5 phases and 33 stages from initialization through operation
- 14 agents: 11 domain experts, 2 reviewers, and an adaptive composer
- 11 workflow profiles for features, bug fixes, infrastructure, security, proofs of concept, enterprise delivery, and other common work
- Human approval gates and source-bound review evidence
- 95-event audit trail plus persistent state, team knowledge, and learned rules
- The same deterministic engine across every supported harness
Start with Workflow Profiles to compare Classic, Express, and the focused workflows. See the AI-DLC Workflows 2.0 Specification for the architecture and methodology.
Important
Generative AI can make mistakes. Review generated output and costs before acting on them. See the AWS Responsible AI Policy.
| Guide | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Installing, configuring, and running your first workflow |
| User Guide | Using workflows, profiles, agents, knowledge, and approval gates |
| Harness guides | Handling provider, trust, and runtime differences |
| Install and Lifecycle | Updating, pinning, installing offline, using mirrors, or uninstalling |
| Harness Engineer Guide | Reshaping stages, agents, rules, sensors, and knowledge |
| Developer Reference | Changing the engine, hooks, packaging, or tests |
core/- hand-authored, harness-neutral methodology and enginecore/tools/- 68 aidlc-*.ts engine and authoring toolsharness/<name>/- thin, harness-specific manifests and integrationsplugins/<name>/- optional AIDLC pluginsscripts/- packaging, binary, installer, and release toolingtests/- smoke, unit, integration, and end-to-end testsdocs/- user, harness-engineering, and developer documentationdist/anddist-release/- generated, ignored local outputs
Edit core/ or harness/<name>/, never generated dist* output.
Install dependencies and generate every harness:
bun install --frozen-lockfile
bun scripts/package.tsUseful commands:
bun scripts/package.ts <name> # generate one harness
bun scripts/package.ts --check # determinism guard
bun tests/run-tests.ts --ci # smoke, unit, and integration
bun tests/run-tests.ts --release # full release acceptanceSee the Contributing Guide for the complete development workflow and Porting to a New Harness to add another runtime.
Run aidlc doctor from the project root first. Common fixes:
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
aidlc is not found |
Apply the PATH instruction printed by the installer or start a new shell |
| Project/runtime version skew | Finish the active workflow, then run aidlc config |
| Codex hooks do not run | Trust the project hooks as described in the Codex guide |
| Bedrock access fails | Enable the configured models and verify AWS credentials and region |
| Plugin stages disappear after refresh | Run /aidlc plugin sync |
| Refreshed skills do not take effect | Start a new harness session |
See Troubleshooting for diagnostic and recovery procedures.