Quick Start

This page takes you from zero to a working CAP Pro feature in five commands. It assumes you have CAP Pro installed (npx cap-pro@latest) and a project to work in.

1. Initialise the project

In your project directory, run:

/cap:init

This creates:

• .cap/ — ephemeral session state and project memory
• FEATURE-MAP.md — single source of truth for features and acceptance criteria
• .cap/stack-docs/ — auto-fetched library documentation via Context7

/cap:init runs brownfield analysis on existing codebases — it will scan your code for existing patterns and pre-populate the Feature Map.

2. Discover features

/cap:brainstorm

This launches an interactive conversation with the cap-brainstormer agent. It:

• Asks targeted questions to understand what you want to build
• Clusters features into logical groups
• Surfaces dependencies between features
• Produces structured Feature Map entries with acceptance criteria (ACs)

Output: FEATURE-MAP.md populated with feature entries in state planned.

3. Build the prototype

/cap:prototype

The cap-prototyper agent:

• Reads the active feature from FEATURE-MAP.md
• Confirms the ACs with you (one round of "is this right?")
• Builds working code, embedding @cap-feature and @cap-todo tags
• Marks the feature prototyped in the Feature Map

The tags are how CAP Pro keeps the plan in sync with the code. Example:

// @cap-feature(feature:F-Hub-Spotlight, ac:1) Display spotlight banner with rotating slides
// @cap-todo(ac:F-Hub-Spotlight/AC-3, risk:medium) Hover-to-pause needs reduced-motion fallback
function SpotlightBanner({ slides }: Props) {
  // ...
}

4. Test it

/cap:test

The cap-validator agent (in MODE: TEST) writes runnable tests against the Feature Map ACs using RED-GREEN discipline:

1. Write the failing test first (RED)
2. Run it — confirm it fails for the right reason
3. Make it pass (GREEN)

The test framework is auto-detected (vitest, node:test, jest, pytest, …). Once all ACs are green, the feature transitions to tested.

5. Review & ship

/cap:review

cap-validator (in MODE: REVIEW) does a two-stage review:

• Stage 1 — AC compliance: every AC in the Feature Map has a green test? Every @cap-todo is closed?
• Stage 2 — Code quality (only if Stage 1 passes): security, performance, maintainability, anti-patterns.

Once both stages pass, the feature moves to shipped and you commit + tag.

What's next?

• Stuck? → /cap:debug runs the scientific-method debugger with persistent state across context resets.
• Lost track? → /cap:status shows the feature dashboard (or /cap:start re-loads your last session).
• Different team member taking over? → see Multi-User Workflow.
• UI/design sprint with lots of small tweaks? → see Frontend Sprint Pattern.

The auto-trigger contract

You don't have to type the slash commands. CAP Pro recognises the workflow moment and auto-invokes the right agent:

Situation	Auto-action
You describe a new feature without a Feature Map entry yet ("we need X")	/cap:brainstorm
Feature in state planned, you say "let's build it"	/cap:prototype
Feature in state prototyped with open @cap-todo tags, you say "iterate"	/cap:iterate
Feature in state prototyped but not tested yet	/cap:test
Feature in state tested, you say "ready to ship"	/cap:review
You report a bug or "this works locally but not in prod"	/cap:debug
You ask "where are we?" / "show me the dashboard"	/cap:status

The slash commands exist as explicit power-user triggers. In normal conversational use, just describe what you want and CAP Pro picks the right tool.