npm install @1yian/apaManage complex projects with a team of AI assistants, smoothly and efficiently.
Always Plan Ahead (APA) is fork of APM that brings real-world project management principles into your AI-assisted workflows.
It is built on addresses a fundamental challenge of LLMs: context window limitations by transforming Claude Code from an implementor to an orchestrator of implementation subagents and by enforcing a persistent memory system.
This frees up context usage in your Claude session, allowing for longer sessions that accomplish more at a higher quality.
Install APM CLI globally via NPM:
``bash`
npm install -g @1yian/apa
Or install locally in your project:
`bash`
npm install @1yian/apa
When you run apm init, simply select your AI assistant from the list, and APM will automatically configure the appropriate command structure for your environment.
Follow these simple steps to start using APM in your project:
1. Navigate to your project directory in your terminal.
2. Run the APA initialization command in your repo:
`bash`
apa init .
3. APM automatically installs:
- .apa/ directory with APM guides and initial assets
- APM slash commands in your Claude's local command directory
- Necessary installation meta-data
5. Open your AI assistant chat and enter the slash command:
`
/apa.init
6. Follow the established APA workflow:
Traditional Workflow:
`
/apa.init → /apa.plan → /apa.implement
Specification-Driven Workflow (New):
`
/apa.init → /apa.specify → /apa.plan → /apa.implement
Full Workflow with Constitution (Recommended for Complex Projects):
`
/apa.init → /apa.constitution → /apa.specify → /apa.plan → /apa.implement
APA now supports optional specification-driven workflow adapted from GitHub Spec-Kit:
- /apa.specify: Create structured feature specifications with prioritized user stories, acceptance criteria, and measurable success criteria
- /apa.constitution: Establish project principles, quality standards, and technical constraints
- Research Phase: Explicit investigation and documentation before implementation
- Living Documents: Specifications and plans evolve during implementation
When to use:
- ✅ Complex features requiring detailed requirements
- ✅ Brownfield projects needing documentation of existing systems
- ✅ Projects with multiple stakeholders requiring alignment
- ✅ Features with unclear scope benefiting from structured analysis
When to skip:
- ⚠️ Simple, well-defined features (go directly to /apa.plan)
- ⚠️ Personal projects or prototypes
- Manager Agent: Orchestrates implementation subagents and coordinates task execution
- Implementation Agents: Execute individual tasks with focused context
- Persistent Memory: Session summaries and research findings preserved across sessions
- Adaptive Planning: Plans evolve based on discoveries during implementation
- Context Synthesis: Structured requirements gathering through question rounds
- Project Breakdown: Phases and tasks with dependencies and guidance
- Constitution Compliance: Validate plans against project principles
- Discovery-Driven: Exploratory phases for brownfield and uncertain work
| Feature | Traditional APA | Specification-Driven |
|---------|----------------|---------------------|
| Requirements | Gathered in Context Synthesis | Structured specification created first |
| User Stories | Implicit in planning | Explicit, prioritized (P1, P2, P3) |
| Success Criteria | Defined during planning | Measurable, technology-agnostic |
| Brownfield Support | Discovery during implementation | "As-is" and "to-be" documented upfront |
| Constitution | Optional template | Integrated with compliance validation |
| Research | Ad-hoc during tasks | Explicit Phase 0 with documentation |
| Best For | Simple, well-defined features | Complex features, brownfield, stakeholder alignment |
- /apa.init: Initialize APA session
- /apa.plan: Create implementation plan through Context Synthesis and Project Breakdown
- /apa.implement: Execute implementation plan with Manager-Agent orchestration
- /apa.status: Check current session status
- /apa.resume: Resume paused session
- /apa.reassess: Strategic replanning when major discoveries invalidate plan
- /apa.constitution: Establish project principles and quality standards
- /apa.specify: Create structured feature specification from natural language
- Specification-Driven Workflow: Complete guide to using specification-driven development in APA
- Living Plan Philosophy: How plans evolve during implementation
- Research Phase Guide: Structuring investigation and documentation
- Context Synthesis Guide: Requirements gathering methodology
- Project Breakdown Guide: Task breakdown methodology
- Manager Guide: Manager agent orchestration
- Memory System Guide: Persistent memory and session summaries
- Specification Template: Structured feature specification
- Constitution Template: Project principles and standards
- Implementation Plan Template: Task breakdown structure
`bash1. Initialize session
/apa.init
What you get:
- Constitution (
):
- Security-first principle
- Test-first requirement
- Backward compatibility constraint- Specification (
apa/[branch]/specification.md):
- Current State: JWT-based auth documented
- User Story 1 (P1): New users can sign up with OAuth2
- User Story 2 (P1): Existing users can link OAuth2 accounts
- Success Criteria: 90% of new users choose OAuth2- Implementation Plan (
apa/[branch]/implementation-plan.md):
- Phase 0: OAuth2 Integration Research
- Phase 1: OAuth2 Core Implementation
- Phase 2: Migration & Testing
- Constitution compliance validated- Research Findings (
apa/[branch]/research.md`):APA is a fork of APM by @sdi2200262.
Specification-driven workflow adapted from GitHub Spec-Kit by @github.
MIT