Scaffold Framework
Create a complete framework package structure inside agentic/code/frameworks/.
Triggers
Alternate expressions and non-obvious activations (primary phrases are matched automatically from the skill description):
- "I need a new framework" → scaffold framework with guided design
- "create an AIWG framework" → prompt for name, scaffold
- "build a lifecycle framework for X" → derive name from X, scaffold with interactive mode
- "new framework package" → prompt for name and description
Trigger Patterns Reference
| Pattern | Example | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Named scaffold | "scaffold framework legal-ops" | Scaffold directly |
| Interactive | "scaffold framework --interactive" | Full guided design mode |
| Described | "create a framework for content production pipelines" | Derive name=content-production, confirm |
| Phased | "scaffold framework data-science --phases discovery,analysis,modeling,deployment" | Scaffold with custom phases |
Understanding Frameworks
Frameworks are major capability bundles that model complete operational lifecycles. They contain everything a team needs to manage a specific type of work end-to-end. Examples:
| Framework | Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|---|
sdlc-complete |
Software development lifecycle | ~58 agents, 100+ templates |
media-marketing-kit |
Marketing operations | ~37 agents, campaign lifecycle |
forensics-complete |
Digital forensics and IR | Investigation lifecycle |
research-complete |
Research workflow automation | Research phases |
Frameworks differ from addons:
- Frameworks: Define a complete lifecycle with phases, transitions, and gate criteria
- Addons: Provide cross-cutting feature bundles installed alongside any framework
Framework creation is a significant undertaking. Study existing frameworks before building new ones. Start with core agents per phase, then expand.
Process
1. Parse Arguments
Extract from $ARGUMENTS:
<name>— kebab-case framework name (required)--description "<text>"— short description (optional; prompted if absent)--phases "<p1,p2,...>"— comma-separated phase list (optional; defaults toinception,elaboration,construction,transition)--author "<name>"— author name (optional)--interactive— enable guided design questions
If <name> is missing, ask before proceeding.
2. Validate Name
- Must be kebab-case
- Must not conflict with existing frameworks:
ls agentic/code/frameworks/
3. Interactive Design (if --interactive)
This is the recommended path for first-time framework creation. Ask:
- Lifecycle: What lifecycle does this framework manage? (software dev, marketing, legal, research)
- Target audience: Who uses this framework? (engineering teams, marketing departments, legal firms)
- Phase structure: What phases does this lifecycle include?
- Default: inception → elaboration → construction → transition
- Custom examples: discovery → analysis → synthesis → publication
- Phase gates: What criteria must be met to transition between phases?
- Agent categories: What specialist roles are needed per phase?
- Analysis (analysts, researchers, planners)
- Design (architects, designers, strategists)
- Execution (developers, writers, implementers)
- Quality (reviewers, testers, validators)
- Coordination (managers, orchestrators, leads)
- Template categories: What artifact types will this framework produce?
- Core commands: What phase-execution and transition commands are needed?
4. Run Scaffolding
aiwg scaffold-framework <name> \
--description "<description>" \
--phases "<phase1,phase2,...>"
5. Customize Generated Files
manifest.json — Framework registry entry:
{
"name": "<name>",
"version": "1.0.0",
"description": "<description>",
"author": "<author>",
"phases": ["<phase1>", "<phase2>"],
"agents": [],
"commands": [],
"skills": [],
"rules": [],
"templates": {}
}
README.md — Framework overview: purpose, phases, agent catalog, quick start.
actors-and-templates.md — Maps roles to artifacts per phase. Critical for orchestration.
plan-act-<name>.md — Master plan-and-act document defining framework behavior.
6. Populate Phase Flows
Each phase gets a flow definition in flows/:
# <Phase> Phase Flow
## Objectives
[What this phase accomplishes]
## Entry Criteria
[What must be true to begin this phase]
## Activities
[What happens in this phase]
## Artifacts Produced
[Documents and deliverables]
## Exit Criteria / Gate
[What must be true to leave this phase]
## Agents
[Which agents are active in this phase]
7. Build Agent Catalog (Priority Order)
After scaffold, build agents in this order:
- Phase 1: 2-3 core agents per phase (primary authors)
- Phase 2: Reviewer agents for each phase
- Phase 3: Orchestration agents for phase transitions
aiwg add-agent <role> --to <name> --template complex
8. Build Command Set (Priority Order)
- Phase execution:
flow-<phase>commands - Phase transitions:
flow-<phase>-to-<next>commands - Utilities:
project-status,gate-check,health-check
aiwg add-command flow-<phase> --to <name> --template orchestration
9. Deploy and Validate
# Deploy framework to active provider
aiwg use <name>
# Validate structure and metadata
aiwg validate-metadata
# Health check
aiwg doctor
Generated Structure
agentic/code/frameworks/<name>/
├── README.md # Framework documentation
├── manifest.json # Framework configuration and registry
├── plan-act-<name>.md # Master plan-and-act document
├── actors-and-templates.md # Role-to-artifact mapping
├── agents/ # Agent definitions (.md files)
├── skills/ # Skill definitions
├── commands/ # Slash command definitions
├── rules/ # Framework-specific rules
├── templates/ # Document templates (by category)
├── flows/ # Phase flow definitions
│ ├── <phase1>.md
│ ├── <phase2>.md
│ └── ...
└── docs/ # Framework documentation
├── orchestrator-architecture.md
└── agent-catalog.md
Output Format
Framework Created: <name>
─────────────────────────
Location: agentic/code/frameworks/<name>/
Phases: <phase1> → <phase2> → ... → <phaseN>
Created:
✓ README.md
✓ manifest.json
✓ plan-act-<name>.md
✓ actors-and-templates.md
✓ agents/
✓ skills/
✓ commands/
✓ rules/
✓ templates/
✓ flows/<phase>.md (for each phase)
✓ docs/
Next Steps:
1. Define actors: Edit actors-and-templates.md
2. Add agents: aiwg add-agent <role> --to <name> (2-3 per phase)
3. Add commands: aiwg add-command flow-<phase> --to <name>
4. Add templates: aiwg add-template <artifact> --to <name> --category <phase>
5. Deploy: aiwg use <name>
6. Validate: aiwg validate-metadata
Reference frameworks:
- sdlc-complete: 58 agents, ~100 templates (comprehensive)
- media-marketing-kit: 37 agents, marketing-focused
Examples
Example 1: Standard lifecycle framework
User: "scaffold framework legal-ops"
Action:
aiwg scaffold-framework legal-ops \
--description "Legal operations and case management lifecycle" \
--phases "intake,investigation,analysis,drafting,review,close"
Result: agentic/code/frameworks/legal-ops/ created with six phase flow files and full directory structure.
Example 2: Interactive framework design
User: "scaffold framework --interactive"
Process: Guided questions establish the lifecycle type (e.g., content production), phases (ideation, research, writing, editing, publication), agent categories, and initial agent/command stubs.
Example 3: Research workflow framework
User: "create a new AIWG framework called data-science-ops"
Action:
aiwg scaffold-framework data-science-ops \
--description "Data science project lifecycle management" \
--phases "discovery,data-preparation,modeling,evaluation,deployment"
References
- @$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/addons/aiwg-utils/skills/devkit-create-framework/SKILL.md — Devkit equivalent (interactive design)
- @$AIWG_ROOT/src/cli/handlers/scaffolding.ts — CLI handler implementation
- @$AIWG_ROOT/docs/cli-reference.md — Full CLI reference
- @$AIWG_ROOT/docs/development/framework-creation-guide.md — Detailed framework authoring guide
- @$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/frameworks/sdlc-complete/ — Primary reference implementation
- @$AIWG_ROOT/agentic/code/frameworks/media-marketing-kit/ — Alternative reference implementation