# Doctrine
Doctrine is an opinionated but hackable set of tools and conventions for
software engineering with LLM agents.
> Heresy burns; Doctrine remains.
## Design Goals:
1. Correctness
2. Laziness
3. Hackability
4. Efficiency
- DX for solo developers, teams
- time and token efficiency
- suitability for systems of any size & complexity profile
- useful support for "pre-rational" stages of specification (e.g. product design, backlog)
- quality engineering: robust auditability; formal verification gates
- separation of structured, relational data from prose
- separation of mutable, disposable state from useful artifacts
- thoughfully designed memory retrieval, relevance & decay
- composability; provide "orchestration primitives"
- avoidance of vendor lockin
- single binary distribution
- more with less: focused ambition, not minimalism.
## Non-Goals
- SaaS integration (in core)
- Windows support (for now)
- Integrated TUI (for now)
## Installation
TL'DR:
```zsh
**Prebuilt binary (macOS + Linux, no Rust toolchain) — recommended:**
``` zsh
# latest release (rolling):
# or pin to a release tag for reproducibility:
Installs to `~/.local/bin` (override with `DOCTRINE_BIN_DIR`); choose a version
with `DOCTRINE_VERSION`. The script checksum-verifies what it downloads — read it
before piping to a shell. macOS arm64 + x86_64; Linux x86_64 + aarch64 (static
musl — runs on any distro regardless of glibc version).
**Or with [`cargo binstall`](https://github.com/cargo-bins/cargo-binstall) (prebuilt, no compile):**
``` zsh
cargo binstall doctrine
```
**Or `cargo install` (compiles from source; needs a Rust toolchain — may hit the
`-liconv` link error on some macOS toolchains, which the prebuilt paths above
sidestep):**
``` zsh
cargo install doctrine
```
Then bootstrap a project:
``` zsh
cd my_project || mkdir my_project
doctrine slice new "add killer feature"
```
or install from source (customise templates / skills):
``` zsh
gh repo clone davidlee/doctrine && cd doctrine
# optional:
# customise install/templates and/or plugins/skills
# they'll get bundled into the binary for installation
cargo install --path .
```
or use it as a nix flake:
```nix
inputs.doctrine.url = "github:davidlee/doctrine";
# ...
doctrine = inputs.doctrine.packages.${system}.doctrine;
```
to install skills for other agents:
```zsh
npx skills add davidlee/doctrine # or your fork
```
## Post-Install Setup
```zsh
mkdir my-project && cd my-project
git init
mkdir .claude
# also run this after a new doctrine version:
doctrine install -y
git add -A && git commit -m "chore: doctrine install"
```
## Memory-only use
Use Doctrine's memory system with your preferred tooling for the rest:
```zsh
cd my-project
doctrine install --agent claude --only-memory -y
# doctrine memory help
# doctrine memory record --type pattern "red/green/refactor TDD" --glob "src/lib/**/*" --summary "..."
# doctrine memory list
```
## Usage
``` zsh
doctrine slice new "add killer feature"
```
Doctrine ships with self-documenting agent memories.
The agent should be able to steer while you get used to
the default workflow.
## Hack
templates:
``` zsh
$EDITOR .doctrine/templates
```
skills:
``` zsh
rm .claude/skills/code-review # remove symlink
cp -r .doctrine/skills/code-review/ .claude/skills/
$EDITOR .claude/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
git add -f .claude/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
doctrine install # skips existing non-symlinks
```
or:
``` zsh
gh repo fork davidlee/doctrine --clone
cd doctrine
$EDITOR doctrine/plugins/review
git commit -m "feat: review like a pirate" && git push
cargo install --path . # build with your edits
# in your projects
doctrine install --agent claude --yes # from binary, or
npx skills add my-github/doctrine
```
## License
This repository is multi-licensed:
- Rust source code, application code, and compiled binaries are licensed under GPL-3.0-only.
- Files under `plugins/` are licensed under MIT.
- Files under `install/` are licensed under MIT, including templates and `config.toml`.
Where a file contains an SPDX license identifier or a directory contains its own LICENSE file, that more specific notice controls.
## Acknowledgements
The `/worktree` skill's directory-selection and safety-verification patterns are
adapted from [`superpowers:using-git-worktrees`](https://github.com/obra/superpowers)
by Jesse Vincent (MIT).
## Specifications
Product and technical specifications — the durable, agent-readable intent behind
Doctrine's capabilities. Regenerate this list with `just readme-index`.