Getting started

Try it in 60 seconds (needs Node.js 20 or newer)

git clone https://github.com/thenewurbankid-web/construct.git && cd construct && npm install && npm link
construct init my-app && cd my-app && construct create feature billing
construct validate

You should see: the files it created, [llm: 0 calls ...] (nothing was guessed), and a check that exits 0. The check may show two warnings that a starter feature's public API has no description. Those are reminders, not failures.

Next: open the browser Cockpit, or read on to see what just happened.

What just happened#

1. Install. npm link puts the construct command on your path. construct doctor prints your Node and npm versions and confirms the checking tools are available.

2. Create a project. construct init my-app writes an architecture.yml (the rules for your project), an AGENTS.md and a small starter feature called core. It targets a Next.js App Router app by default; for a client-routed single-page app use construct init my-app --framework react-spa. Then, inside the project:

npm install
construct sync
construct validate

A fresh project passes. validate exits with a non-zero status only when something is an error.

3. Add your first feature. A feature is a folder that owns everything for one part of your app. Add a slice of it in one command:

construct create layer Invoice --feature billing --layers domain,hook,page,controller

Every command lists the files it wrote and how many AI calls it made. Unless you pass --llm, that number is zero and every file is a plain template you fill in yourself. Construct builds the parts in dependency order whatever order you list them in, so imports resolve. If you skip one a later file needs, validate says exactly which file is missing.

4. Look around. Both commands are read-only:

construct research summarize --feature billing --format compact
construct research workflow billing

summarize describes a feature in plain English from its code. research workflow explains any state machines in it.

5. Open the Cockpit (optional). Everything above also works from a browser. Start the two halves in separate terminals:

cd ui/server && npm install && npm start      # API on http://localhost:4000
cd ui/client && npm install && npm run dev    # app on http://localhost:3000

Open http://localhost:3000. The Settings page tells the Cockpit which project folder to work on. See Using the Cockpit.

Where next#

• The five ideas behind everything, one sentence each.
• The how-to guides cover each task: creating, refactoring, importing, tuning rules.
• The examples show a problem, the exact command or screen, and the exact result, separately for the CLI, the Cockpit and the core API.

Checked against commit d23283f on 2026-09-23: the three quickstart commands were run in a fresh folder and printed the created feature, [llm: 0 calls ...] and two READ-003 warnings with exit code 0.