stepwell

CLI + MCP server for reading, checking and managing the project docs (BACKLOG.md, PROGRESS.md, docs/archive/*) in repos following the STEPWELL method — steps, archive pattern, test-first.

Status: fifteen phases complete. Phase 1 — core library (fault-tolerant parsers, status/validation reports) · Phase 2 — MCP server + CLI (read tools, resources) · Phase 3 — mutations (archive_item, progress_update, each dry-run + apply) · Phase 4 — locale profiles (de/en, test-first) · Phase 5 — server name stepwell · Phase 6 — review fixes (stale span, synonym regexes, CRLF roundtrip, stale check, STEP_DUPLICATE) + tool CRUD (backlog_add/update/remove, progress_plan_phase, CLI ASCII aliases, title parameter). Phases 7–15: CI + field test + packaging, archive/index hardening, coverage gate, annotations, init/templates, JSON schema versioning, token economy, STEPWELL naming, language switch to English primary. Current state and step history: PROGRESS.md.

Principles

1. Markdown stays the source of truth. The tool reads, validates and assists — it does not replace the docs. If the docs are lost, no data is lost.

2. Fault tolerance instead of abort. Projects follow the method, not byte-exact: structure drift is reported as a structured warning (ParseResult<T> with warnings[]), never as a crash. Every partial result stays queryable.

3. Dry-run first. The two write tools (archive_item, progress_update) return a plan with a diff preview by default; writing happens only with dryRun: false / --apply — afterwards the result is freshly parsed and verified.

4. Narrow write surface. The error-prone structural operations are automated by the tool (verbatim move, Done Index, status cells, item CRUD, phase planning). Everything else (prose, goal/acceptance texts) is edited directly in the Markdown files by humans/agents.

5. Multi-project. The project root is passed per tool call / CLI invocation — one server instance serves any number of STEPWELL projects.

File requirement: all four files are mandatory — BACKLOG.md, PROGRESS.md, docs/archive/BACKLOG_ARCHIVE.md, docs/archive/PROGRESS_ARCHIVE.md. If one is missing, the project does not load (hard error with a clear message).

Format legend (canonical: PLAYBOOK §3 + §7):

Related MCP server: MCP Backlog Server

Requirements & setup

• Node.js ≥ 22.18 — the repo ships TypeScript source and uses Node's native type stripping (no build step).

npm install
npm run typecheck   # strict, covers src AND tests
npm run test        # Vitest, protocol-faithful against the fixtures
npm run test:watch

MCP server

Server name stepwell (transport stdio, entry packages/mcp/src/serve.ts).

This repo already wires the server into opencode.json (restart opencode after config changes). Other MCP clients (Claude Desktop, Cursor, …) follow the same pattern:

{
  "mcp": {
    "stepwell": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["node", "/path/to/stepwell-tool/packages/mcp/src/serve.ts"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Manual verification with the inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node packages/mcp/src/serve.ts

The test suite covers the same protocol path automatically (InMemoryTransport + client, plus a real stdio handshake test).

Distribution (two channels)

1. MCP server: npx stepwell (or serve.ts) — operational, tools as below. The published package ships compiled dist (since 10.4/H1) and therefore runs directly from node_modules — prepublishOnly builds before publishing.

2. SKILL.md: packages/mcp/skills/stepwell/SKILL.md (included in the npm pack) — portable signpost for skill ecosystems (Claude Skills, Gemini CLI, …): which tool when, gates (release/content), test-first, status maintenance only via tools. It replaces neither the MCP server nor PLAYBOOK.md — both remain binding.

Tools

All tools take root (absolute path to the project root) per call. All JSON text payloads are compact (no indentation — token economy, E1). docs_validate, progress_update and archive_item also deliver their data as structuredContent only on opt-in with structured: true (M3/9.7, dedupe since E1 — default is text only); error responses (isError: true, including PROJECT_NOT_INITIALIZED) carry no structuredContent. Errors (missing mandatory file, unknown ID/phase) return isError: true with a clear message — the server does not crash.

Read

Write (dry-run + apply)

Response formats: dry-run returns the plan {dryRun, changes:[{file, description, before, after, diff}]}; apply returns {written, verification:{ok, messages}}. With detail: "summary" (E1) dry-run changes are projected onto {file, description, beforeLines, afterLines} + top-level marker detail: "summary" — the default stays "diff" with the full preview (safety note unchanged).

Locale profiles

The doc files may be formatted in German or English — mixed within the same repo is forbidden; one language per project. The tool separates:

• Reading: always language-tolerant (zero-config). Parser and validator recognise the role markers of both languages via union matching — Erledigt-Index|Done Index, Ort|Location, erledigt|done, Ziel|Goal, Abnahme|Acceptance, Verifikation|Verification, Umfang|Scope, Fortschritt|Progress, Laufende Phasen|Active Phases, abgeschlossen|completed, Stand:|As of:.

• Writing: the locale option on archive_item and progress_update/ backlog_remove ("de" | "en"; default = auto-detection from the file context, tie → en since 14.3). Generated texts (index line, done/verification/removed markers, skeletons) follow the target language; CLI equivalent: --locale de|en.

• More languages: packages/core/src/profile.ts holds the role synonyms — a new language is a new key per role, no parser rebuild.

Resources (resource templates)

The root is percent-encoded into the URI segment (Windows paths contain : and \); the read callback decodes it. Content verbatim, text/markdown:

stepwell://{root}/backlog          → BACKLOG.md
stepwell://{root}/progress         → PROGRESS.md
stepwell://{root}/archive/{kind}   → kind = "backlog" | "progress"
stepwell://{root}/phase/{phase}    → phase context: phase verbatim + table rows
                                     + merged backlog item bodies in step order (G5/12.6)
stepwell://{root}/hashes           → SHA256 per doc file (application/json;
                                     hash short-circuit, E2/12.5 — fast-path foundation E3)
stepwell://templates/{kind}        → skeletons of the four mandatory files
                                     (kind = "backlog" | "progress" |
                                      "backlog-archive" | "progress-archive")

M4 alternative check (G5): resource instead of tool — the phase context is a pure read path, and the composition happens at read time instead of as a duplicate in the files (anti-drift): a subagent gets phase + item bodies in one read, without a new tool growing the surface.

Example: stepwell://D%3A%5Cproj%5Cdemo/backlog

Project init (M8, variant A): for newly created projects the agent reads the four skeletons from stepwell://templates/{kind} and creates the files itself — deliberately no init_project write tool (M4 guardrail: keep the write surface small); the skeletons live canonically in stepwell-core (projectTemplates) and are finding-free under docs_validate. The init-fallback guidance (PROJECT_NOT_INITIALIZED) points to this path.

CLI

packages/mcp/src/cli.ts — runnable directly in the workspace repo (node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts …); from the installed package (npm i -g stepwell or npx stepwell) under the bin name stepwell. Human output on stdout; --json returns the core payloads with a leading schema version field (currently 2, bumped with N1/13.2 — a resource-URI change is a MAJOR contract). Field contract per command:

Contract rule (M6/Decision 16): a breaking change to this field set ⇒ bump schema (in lockstep with the npm MAJOR).

Releases (version policy, L6)

• Format: CHANGELOG.md per Keep a Changelog 1.1.0, [Unreleased] on top, curated user-relevant aggregates. Redundancy rule: no git-log dump, no duplication of Done Index/BACKLOG_ARCHIVE — item/commit history stays in the STEPWELL files. Date format YYMMDD/HHMM (Decision 11) instead of ISO — documented deviation.

• Lockstep SemVer (Decision 16): root, stepwell and stepwell-core always carry the same version. MAJOR = breaking in the tool/JSON/resource contract (always together with the schema field), MINOR = new tools/features, PATCH = fixes. 0.x until the passed field test; 1.0.0 = release moment.

• Publish checklist: (1) curate Unreleased in the CHANGELOG, (2) bump the version in all three package.json (lockstep), (3) CHANGELOG section [<version>] - <YYMMDD/HHMM>, (4) git tag v<version>, (5) publish only stepwell (npm publish --otp, dist-tag latest; core is distributed as a dependency), (6) CI job pack-smoke must be green — dynamic since 10.5/H1, proves the handshake against the installed artefact (server stepwell).

# Status aggregate
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts status --root <project> [--json]

# List/filter backlog — icons or ASCII aliases (red/kritisch/p1, hoch/p2, mittel/p3, niedrig/p4, blue/test/p5)
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts backlog --root <project> [--priority red,yellow] [--open false] [--section HIGH] [--json]

# Progress table — status as icon or alias (open, running/wip, done, blocked)
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts progress --root <project> [--status done] [--json]

# Consistency check (exit 1 on findings — CI-suitable)
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts validate --root <project> [--json]

# Archive a completed item (dry-run preview, then --apply)
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts archive --root <project> --id H1 [--note "Commit abc1234"] [--locale en] [--apply]

# Maintain step status (dry-run preview, then --apply) — --title renames the block heading
node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts progress-update --root <project> --phase "Phase 2" --step 2.2 --status running [--title "New title"] [--note "…"] [--checkpoint <sha>] [--locale en] [--apply]

Invalid values exit with code 2 and the list of allowed aliases (e.g. 🔴=red/kritisch/p1, …, ⬜=open, 🔄=running/wip, ✅=done, ⛔=blocked).

Exit codes: 0 success (or no validate findings) · 1 error or validate findings · 2 usage error (unknown command, missing required option).

CI (optional)

This repo uses GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/ci.yml): install → typecheck → test (JUnit + coverage report as artefact) → validate --root . (exit 1 on doc findings flips the job).

For smaller projects the local run suffices — the pipeline is overkill when nobody looks at it:

npm install && npm run typecheck && npm run test && node packages/mcp/src/cli.ts validate --root .

STEPWELL projects may copy ci.yml as a template; the method (PLAYBOOK) does not require CI.

Warning codes

Parse warnings arise when parsing individual files (drift tolerance), validate findings check cross-file consistency (docs_validate collects both). Convention warnings affect only open files — archives are append-only and never flagged. A UTF-8 BOM (U+FEFF) at the start of a file is silently tolerated (stripped deterministically, T5/9.13) — no warning.

Typical workflow (agent + stepwell)

1. docs_status            → where do we stand? Which priorities are open?
2. backlog_list --open    → what is next? (BINDING: sequential by priority)
3. (work on the code, test-first — the agent edits prose directly)
4. progress_plan_phase    → plan a new phase ahead (rows + scope skeleton)
5. progress_update (🔄)   → step started: keep table + detail block clean
6. progress_update (✅)   → step done; if the phase is complete, the block moves into the archive
7. backlog_add/update     → create/change items format-safe (instead of hand-editing)
8. archive_item           → archive the completed item verbatim + Done Index
9. backlog_remove         → move an obsolete item into the archive (without a done marker)
10. docs_validate         → must be clean before committing

The PLAYBOOK rules (sequence, test-first, commit discipline, archive pattern) live in docs/PLAYBOOK.md; the review checklist in docs/LESSONS.md.

Architecture

Design rule (M4/Decision 17): the tool surface stays small — tools only for concrete structure/read operations, no guide/meta tools; method knowledge lives in PLAYBOOK.md, SKILL.md and the resources. Every new tool (or new parameter surface) justifies the surface growth via the alternative check (parameter on an existing tool/resource instead of a new tool) — documented like the docs_review decision (L5).

packages/
├── core/                 stepwell-core — zero dependencies, no MCP dependency
│   ├── src/backlog.ts    BACKLOG parser (sections, item blocks, Done Index)
│   ├── src/progress.ts   PROGRESS parser (table, detail blocks) + scopeSteps
│   ├── src/archive.ts    archive parser (ArchiveItem = BacklogItem + doneLine)
│   ├── src/project.ts    loadProject (4-file requirement, lazy + memoized), backlogShow
│   ├── src/status.ts     docsStatus (aggregate)
│   ├── src/validate.ts   docsValidate (consistency rules + parse warnings)
│   ├── src/mutations.ts  plan/apply: archive_item, progress_update, backlog CRUD, planPhase
│   ├── src/aliases.ts    ASCII aliases for priority emojis and status icons (CLI)
│   ├── src/diff.ts       line-based mini diff for the plan preview
│   ├── src/profile.ts    locale profiles: role synonyms de/en (read union, write canonical)
│   └── tests/fixtures/   project-a (clean) + project-b-drift (cases D1–D15)
│                         + project-d-tablefirst (table before detail blocks),
│                         README there = working specification
└── mcp/                  stepwell — thin transport layer over core
    ├── src/server.ts     createDocsServer (all tools + resources)
    ├── src/tools.ts      tool registration (JSON payloads, isError wrapping)
    ├── src/resources.ts  resource templates (percent-encoded root)
    ├── src/serve.ts      stdio entry
    └── src/cli.ts        stepwell command line

• Stack: TypeScript (strict, NodeNext, noUncheckedIndexedAccess, exactOptionalPropertyTypes), npm workspaces, Vitest, MCP SDK v1.x stable (^1.30.0) + zod v3. Deliberately decided against build/bundle steps: Node ≥ 22.18 executes the TS source directly (type stripping), import specifiers therefore end on .ts.

• Data model: ParseResult<T> = { value, warnings[] }, Warning = { code, file, line?, message } — item blocks carry span (lines) and raw (verbatim) as the basis of the verbatim move.

• Tests: 318 tests, developed test-first (RED → GREEN). Mutations in tests run exclusively against temp copies of the fixtures — the originals are read-only and protected by a test.

Development

npm install && npm run typecheck && npm run test   # acceptance before every completion
npx vitest run packages/core                       # core only
npx vitest run packages/mcp                        # MCP/CLI only

New features follow the STEPWELL method: plan → package in PROGRESS.md → implement test-first → verification → commit → maintain status. Details: AGENTS.md.