kaddo bootstrap

kaddo bootstrap

For new projects, kaddo bootstrap turns an initial idea into structured knowledge before you write code. It scaffolds the minimal base of the project’s four macro layers from the template registry:

Business → Product → Tech → Delivery

bootstrap is deterministic: it never calls an LLM, never generates source code, and never decides the architecture. It creates starter artifacts (with TBD, assumptions and open questions) that you then refine with the bootstrap agents in your own LLM. It generates only the minimal base — Delivery (roadmap, work items) and decisions emerge later, through agents and real work.

The macro layers

flowchart TD
    A[kaddo init] --> B[kaddo bootstrap]
    B --> C[business.md]
    B --> D[product.md]
    B --> E[codebase.md]
    E --> G[kaddo context → agents → roadmap → create --from roadmap]
    G -.later.-> H[Delivery: roadmap · work-items/]

What it generates — minimum sufficient knowledge

Exactly one consolidated file per layer, with the sections inside:

Layer	File	Sections
Business	knowledge/business/business.md	Problem · Users · Value Proposition · Business Rules · Constraints
Product	knowledge/product/product.md	Product Brief · Capabilities · Scope · Out of Scope · Success Criteria
Tech	knowledge/tech/codebase.md	Repository Structure · Candidate Stack · Quality Attributes · Standards · Git Strategy · Initial Modules

That is all bootstrap creates. It does not generate specialized files (problem.md, users.md, capabilities.md, …), knowledge/delivery/ or knowledge/tech/decisions/. As the project matures, business.md can split into problem.md, users.md, … and product.md into product-brief.md, capabilities.md — those specialized templates stay in the registry as advanced templates. Knowledge grows progressively; you are never forced to start with everything.

Consolidated artifacts are valid knowledge. Kaddo recognizes business.md, product.md and codebase.md by their front-matter type, so explain/understand report them as real knowledge (status Consolidated) — not as “missing”.

Behavior

• Requires kaddo init first (otherwise: Run 'kaddo init' first.).
• Oriented to state: new. On pre-ai/legacy it warns and asks for confirmation.
• Never overwrites existing artifacts — they are reported as skipped.
• All artifacts come from the central template registry.

Next steps

kaddo context        # prepare the LLM context pack
kaddo add agents     # installs business-agent, bootstrap-agent, codebase-agent
kaddo understand     # guided handoff
# refine the artifacts in your LLM, then:
kaddo create --from roadmap

The three bootstrap agents — business-agent, bootstrap-agent and codebase-agent — turn these starter artifacts into real definition. Kaddo prepares structure; your LLM and your team provide the content. Kaddo never invents business facts and never writes code.