Quick Start

This walks you from a freshly installed plugin to a shipped feature. It assumes you’ve already installed Feature Forge and have an existing project. (Starting from an empty repo? Use bootstrapping instead of step 1.)

Throughout, <feature-name> is a short kebab-case name like api-key-auth.

1. Initialize the project

/feature-forge:forge-init

Creates forge.config.json with sensible defaults. One-time per project. See init vs bootstrap.

2. Run the six stages in order

Each command interviews you, produces an artifact, and (by default) commits it. Review the output before moving on — and run the verify gate whenever you want extra confidence.

/feature-forge:forge-1-prd  <feature-name>   # WHAT to build  → PRD.md
/feature-forge:forge-2-tech <feature-name>   # HOW to build   → tech-spec.md
/feature-forge:forge-3-specs <feature-name>  # detailed specs → 00-…NN-*.md
/feature-forge:forge-4-backlog <feature-name># work items     → backlog.json
/feature-forge:forge-5-loop <feature-name>   # implement it   → committed code
/feature-forge:forge-6-docs <feature-name>   # document it    → docs/architecture/<feature>/

What each stage does, in one line:

Step	Stage	You get
1	PRD	Requirements with stable REQ-* IDs
2	Tech Spec	Technical design tracing to those requirements
3	Specs	Numbered, build-ready implementation docs
4	Backlog	A queue of self-contained work items
5	Loop	Implemented, tested, committed code
6	Docs	Architecture docs from the real code

3. Verify — automatically, or on demand

Verification catches gaps and contradictions before they reach downstream stages. It runs in a fresh, read-only subagent, so it never needs a /clear and rarely warrants skipping — which makes it the one step worth automating.

Recommended — turn it on once. Add autoVerify: true to forge.config.json and the navigator runs forge-verify automatically after each stage completes, no prompt, returning only a compact findings digest to your session:

{
  "autoVerify": true
}

On demand. Prefer to drive it yourself? Run it after any stage:

/feature-forge:forge-verify <feature-name>   # writes a findings document
/feature-forge:forge-fix    <feature-name>   # applies the fixes

Either way, see Verify & Fix for the full picture, including per-stage overrides and the autoFix power-user opt-in.

4. Check status anytime

/feature-forge:forge <feature-name>          # where am I, what's next?

The dashboard is read-only and always tells you the next command.

Where to go next

• New to the vocabulary? Read Key Concepts & Glossary.
• Want to see it all on one feature? The Worked Example runs api-key-auth through every stage with real artifacts.
• Shipping something large? Learn about Epics.