AlignFirst Setup Guide

Route by the user's intent. Load only the references needed for that route.

Terminology

The AlignFirst CLI is the alignfirst npm package and bin. It provides guide, ticket, sync, plans, docmap, conventions, context, config, and doctor.

The AlignFirst skills are stubs that run the CLI. The nine command skills alspec, alplan, al, almerge, alreview, aldescription, alcatchup, alcatchupaad, and alcatchupspec keep disable-model-invocation: true; humans invoke them as /alspec in Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, or $alspec in Codex. The optional alignfirst skill lets the agent recognize a protocol named in prose; a project whose instruction file runs alignfirst context provides this itself.

alignfirst-setup-guide and alignfirst-developer-openclaw-playbook are separate skills. A team plans repository is an optional CLI mode configured through alignfirst plans setup.

An AlignFirst Developer host also installs @paleo/alcode, the companion CLI for coding-agent delegation and project discovery.

Named Tool

When the user names a tool, inspect the repository and proceed directly to that tool. Install or upgrade only what they requested.

• AlignFirst CLI and skills: alignfirst-skills-setup.md. For an existing v1, v2, or v3 installation, start with alignfirst-upgrade.md.
• Team plans repository: plans-setup.md.
• docmap: docmap-setup.md.
• workspace: workspace-setup.md.

Do not present the tooling menu or add unrelated tools on this route.

Tooling Recommendation

When the user asks what the project could adopt, inspect the repository and present these independent choices:

• AlignFirst installs the CLI and the command skills for collaborative specification, planning, implementation, merge, review, description, and catch-up workflows. A team plans repository is an optional sub-choice.
• docmap makes the repository's docs/ tree discoverable to agents and humans. It is available through the AlignFirst CLI or as the standalone @paleo/docmap package.
• workspace creates isolated git-worktree development environments.

Determine whether a team plans repository exists before offering that option. Let the user choose any subset.

AlignFirst Developer

An AlignFirst Developer is a persistent AI teammate for software work. It receives requests through team chat, manages each task in an isolated project workspace, and delegates repository work to a coding agent (Claude Code or Codex) using the AlignFirst protocols. The current deployment runs on OpenClaw through Slack or Discord under a dedicated Linux service account.

Preparing a project makes its repository compatible with an AlignFirst Developer. Creating an AlignFirst Developer builds and deploys the teammate itself.

Prepare a Project for an AlignFirst Developer

Inspect the repository before changing it. A prepared project has all of these:

1. A bootstrap line in AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md. The README may offer a global AlignFirst CLI installation as a convenience. .alignfirst.json is required for an AlignFirst Developer project and optional otherwise.
2. A clean alproject doctor --root <projects-directory> result after writing .alignfirst.json and before workspace setup. Stop preparation when the inventory is unhealthy.
3. The team plans repository through alignfirst plans setup when the team has one.
4. docmap, including project scripts or CLI instructions. When the repository has no docs/ directory, bootstrap its documentation through docmap-bootstrapping.md as part of the preparation.
5. workspace, adapted to the project's runtime and development lifecycle, meeting the AlignFirst Developer contract.
6. A Node version declaration (.nvmrc, .node-version or engines.node) so fnm selects the project runtime. Ask which version to declare when the repository has none.
7. A project-specific DEVELOPERS.md for an unfamiliar developer: commands, architecture, documentation map, development workflow, and verification procedures.

Detect and verify the package manager, runtime, build, test, lint, dev-server, ports, shared directories, seeded configuration files, and team-plan details. Write only facts confirmed from the repository. Follow each selected tool reference above, then complete DEVELOPERS.md, naming the Node version declaration.

Create an AlignFirst Developer

For creating or operating the developer deployment itself, read alignfirst-developer.md. Do not load that workflow for ordinary tool setup.

Shared Investigation Rules

Detect the package manager from packageManager in package.json, then the root lockfile: package-lock.json means npm, pnpm-lock.yaml means pnpm, yarn.lock means yarn, and bun.lock or bun.lockb means bun. Fall back to npm.

Translate commands to that package manager. npm needs -- before script flags; pnpm and yarn omit run and the separator; bun keeps run but omits the separator.

Detect existing footprints before proposing changes:

• docmap: a docmap script, @paleo/docmap, alignfirst docmap in an instruction file, or docs/.
• workspace: a workspace script or @paleo/workspace.
• AlignFirst: .alignfirst.json, .plans/, a bootstrap line running alignfirst context or npx alignfirst context, an AlignFirst instruction section, or a canonical skill installation.
• team plans: a .plans symlink or plans.folder in .alignfirst.json.
• AlignFirst Developer preparation: the complete seven-part contract above.

Require a clean working tree immediately before project mutations. Read-only discovery and recommendations do not require one.

Temporary Local Installation

When this guide was installed only for the current project, remove it through the skills CLI after setup:

npx -y skills remove alignfirst-setup-guide --yes </dev/null

The CLI owns skills-lock.json. Leave global installations in place for other repositories. An AlignFirst Developer service account must retain a global installation for its delegated coding agent.