AIDE Methodology Doc Hub
- aide-spec.md
- aide-template.md
- plan-aide.md
- todo-aide.md
- brief-aide.md — per-module architect's pre-read (deleted post-QA)
- session-aide.md — root-level session record — what was done, decisions, what comes next — linked to the kanban board (replaces legacy
handoff.aide) - brain-aide.md
- progressive-disclosure.md
- agent-readable-code.md
- automated-qa.md
- cascading-alignment.md
- changelog.md — what changed in each release; its
[migration]entries tellaide-upgraderwhich project files are on an older format
Pipeline Agents
AIDE ships the canonical pipeline agents that aide_init installs to .claude/agents/aide/. Most map to pipeline phases; the explorer is a read-only investigator:
| Agent | Model | Phase(s) | Brain Access |
|---|---|---|---|
aide-spec-writer | opus | spec (.aide frontmatter); also writes session.aide CREATE/UPDATE on orchestrator demand | none |
aide-domain-expert | sonnet | research | write |
aide-strategist | opus | synthesize | read |
aide-architect | opus | structure (proposes the project folder tree before any spec below the root; writes no file), plan | read (playbook + brain) |
aide-implementor | sonnet | build, fix | read (playbook) |
aide-qa | sonnet | qa | none |
aide-aligner | opus | align | none |
aide-auditor | opus | refactor | read (playbook + brain) |
aide-explorer | sonnet | investigation (read-only) | read |
aide-maintainer | sonnet | post-QA cleanup (records each file's closing status through aide_frontmatter, then removes per-module ephemerals through aide_cleanup) | read (brain — verifies retro promotion) |
aide-upgrader | sonnet | end of every /aide:upgrade (brings the project's own files to the current format from the changelog's [migration] entries; applies only user-approved changes) | none |
The orchestrator (/aide) delegates to these agents by name. Each agent gets fresh context per phase — handoff is via files (.aide, plan.aide, todo.aide), not conversation. The explorer is the exception: it is a non-pipeline agent used for bug tracing, codebase questions, and intent-tree navigation — it never writes files. The upgrader is the other non-phase agent: /aide:upgrade runs it last, every time, in REPORT mode to find project files on an older format, then in APPLY mode for the changes the user approved; it never talks to the user and writes only through AIDE tools. The maintainer is a precondition-gated cleanup pass: it runs once per closed feature (delegated by the orchestrator after QA passes and the retro is promoted to brain) to remove the per-module ephemerals (brief.aide, plan.aide, todo.aide) through the aide_cleanup MCP tool, which enforces the checkbox preconditions in code. The project-wide .aide/session.aide is never deleted. It is authored by aide-spec-writer — the same structured-file writer that owns .aide frontmatter — invoked when tracked work first starts (CREATE) and kept up to date as the orchestrator works (UPDATE whenever anything changes what it says). The spec-writer transcribes orchestrator-supplied state; it does not interview the user and does not invent content.
aide_init also installs one agent outside the pipeline: kanban-maintainer (sonnet), at .claude/agents/kanban/. It is the board agent — it reads the project's kanban board and tasks and returns a compact report, and carries out board changes the caller has already approved with the user; it never talks to the user. It ships as a pair with the kanban skill, which routes every board read and write to it; neither depends on AIDE. The /aide orchestrator uses it through the kanban skill for board bookkeeping — it has no pipeline phase.
Skills
AIDE ships six canonical skills that aide_init installs to .claude/skills/:
| Skill | Purpose |
|---|---|
study-playbook | Navigate the coding playbook top-down to load conventions before writing or reviewing code |
brain | Signpost — tells agents when a task needs cross-project knowledge external to the repo, and routes them through /aide:brain |
aide | The pipeline orchestrator behind /aide — boot sequence, phase routing, delegation to the pipeline agents |
aide-handoff | Records pipeline state to .aide/session.aide by delegating the write to aide-spec-writer |
kanban | Works the project's kanban board (create, work, manage, move, complete, stash, review); routes board reads and writes to kanban-maintainer. Works in any project, AIDE or not |
aide-brain-author | Writes a brain config for any backend, section by section with the user, from the bundled template and each section's published purpose; /aide:brain config hands off to it for any backend other than the bundled default |
The aide-architect and aide-auditor agents declare study-playbook in their frontmatter to load conventions before planning. Host teams build their own coding playbook inside the brain — an external, team-shareable knowledge store that the brain skill points at and the /aide:brain command navigates.