# SCOPE

> This file helps you quickly understand what this repository is about,
> when it is relevant, and when it is not.
> It is intentionally lightweight and may be incomplete.

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## One-liner

AI agent development framework providing specialized agent personas (markdown instruction sets) and CLI scaffolding tools for embedding domain expertise into Claude Code sessions.

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## Core Idea

Kaizen-agentic makes recurring development workflows (TDD, refactoring, project management, documentation) first-class by packaging them as named agent personas. You invoke an agent by name, load its instruction set, and follow it — the agent defines the workflow, Claude Code executes it. The "kaizen" (continuous improvement) philosophy means agents are refined based on performance over time.

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## In Scope

- 17+ agent definition files (`agents/agent-*.md`) — markdown persona instruction sets
- Agent categories: testing, quality, process, infrastructure, release, documentation
- CLI tooling: `kaizen-agentic init/install/status` for project scaffolding
- Project templates (python-basic, python-web, python-cli, python-data, comprehensive)
- Python framework: `Agent` base class, `AgentConfig` dataclass, `OptimizationLoop` for performance tracking
- Custodian MCP integration: `list_kaizen_agents()` and `get_kaizen_agent()` tools

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## Out of Scope

- Agent runtime / execution engine (agents are persona definitions; execution is Claude Code's responsibility)
- LLM orchestration or multi-agent debate systems
- Project-specific implementation (agents guide; they do not build the software)
- Commercial features or PyPI distribution (pre-v1.0)

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## Relevant When

- Starting a guided development workflow (TDD, refactoring, testing, requirements)
- Scaffolding a new project with consistent structure and best-practice tooling
- Looking up what specialized agent personas are available for a domain session
- Contributing a new agent persona to the ecosystem

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## Not Relevant When

- Ad-hoc, one-off scripting with no need for structured guidance
- Non-Claude-Code development environments
- Need for runtime orchestration or scheduling (not a scheduler)

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## Current State

- Status: experimental → stabilizing (v1.0.2 released)
- Implementation: ~85% — 17 agents defined, CLI functional, templates working; optimization loop pattern established but not exercised at scale
- Stability: stable CLI and agent loading
- Usage: installed in dev projects; agents callable via Custodian MCP hub-wide

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## How It Fits

- Upstream dependencies: Claude Code (agent invocation), kaizen philosophy
- Downstream consumers: Custodian State Hub (loads agents via MCP); all six domains (teams use agents for guided workflows)
- Often used with: the-custodian (MCP integration), markitect_project (project-management agent), activity-core (scaffolding)

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## Terminology

- Preferred terms: agent, agent persona, AgentConfig, project template
- Also known as: "kaizen agents", "the agent library"
- Potentially confusing terms: "Agent" here is a persona/instruction set, not a running process

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## Related / Overlapping Repositories

- `the-custodian` — hosts MCP tools that load agents; custodian agent copies live in `the-custodian/agents/`
- `markitect_project` — references kaizen-agentic as a capability submodule

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## Getting Oriented

- Start with: `README.md` (quick start, agent list, installation)
- Key files / directories: `agents/` (all persona definitions), `src/kaizen_agentic/` (Python framework), `templates/` (project scaffolds)
- Entry points: `kaizen-agentic --help`; or via MCP: `get_kaizen_agent("scope-analyst")`