BMAD Method for Claude Code

A complete agile development methodology converted to Claude Code native features

Attribution & Credits

What is BMAD Method for Claude Code?

BMAD (Business Methodology for AI Development) transforms Claude Code into a full-featured agile development environment. Instead of using external tools or complex setups, everything works through Claude Code’s native features:

• 9 Specialized Skills - AI agents for different roles (Analyst, PM, Architect, Developer, etc.)
• 4 Development Phases - Analysis → Planning → Solutioning → Implementation
• Subagent Architecture - Parallel execution with 200K token context per agent
• Token-Optimized - Progressive disclosure and efficient context management

Key Benefits

Quick Start

For LLMs (Claude Code)

1. Say "Initialize BMAD for this project" to activate bmad-orchestrator
2. Say "What's my BMAD status?" to check workflow progress
3. Follow the phase-appropriate skill workflows

For Humans

1. Install BMAD Skills:

   # Clone the repository
   git clone https://github.com/aj-geddes/claude-code-bmad-skills.git
   cd claude-code-bmad-skills
   
   # Copy skills to Claude Code directory
   cp -r bmad-skills ~/.claude/skills/bmad-skills
   find ~/.claude/skills/bmad-skills -name "*.sh" -exec chmod +x {} \;
   

2. Restart Claude Code (skills load on startup)

3. Initialize in your project:

   Say: "Initialize BMAD for this project"
   
   This creates:
   - bmad/config.yaml (project configuration)
   - bmad/context/ (shared subagent context)
   - bmad/outputs/ (subagent outputs)
   - docs/ (workflow outputs)
   

The Four Phases

Phase 1: Analysis

Skills: business-analyst, creative-intelligence Say: “Create a product brief” or “Research the market for [topic]”

Discover requirements, research markets, and define the problem space. Uses parallel subagents for market/competitive/technical/user research.

Phase 2: Planning

Skills: product-manager, ux-designer Say: “Create a PRD” or “Create UX design”

Create comprehensive requirements and design documents. Parallel section generation for efficient PRD creation.

Phase 3: Solutioning

Skills: system-architect, ux-designer Say: “Design the system architecture” or “Run solutioning gate check”

Design system architecture and validate against requirements. Parallel component design with integration architecture.

Phase 4: Implementation

Skills: scrum-master, developer Say: “Plan the sprint” or “Implement STORY-001”

Plan sprints, create stories, and implement features. Parallel story implementation for independent tasks.

Documentation

Example Session

Here’s what a typical BMAD session looks like:

User: I want to build a task management app

Claude: I'll help you build that! Let me initialize BMAD in your project.

[bmad-orchestrator skill activates]

Created:
- bmad/config.yaml (Project: Task Management App, Level: 2, Type: web-app)
- bmad/context/ (shared subagent context)
- bmad/outputs/ (subagent outputs)
- docs/ (workflow documentation)

Project initialized as Level 2 (Medium feature set).

Recommended next step: Create a product brief to define scope and goals.

User: Create a product brief

Claude: [business-analyst skill activates]

I'll create a comprehensive product brief using parallel research agents.

Launching subagents:
- Agent 1: Market research
- Agent 2: Competitive analysis
- Agent 3: Technical feasibility
- Agent 4: User needs analysis

[After parallel execution]

Output saved to: docs/product-brief-[timestamp].md

Phase 1 complete. Ready for Phase 2 (Planning).

User: What's my BMAD status?

Claude: [bmad-orchestrator skill activates]

Phase 1 - Analysis: Complete ✓
Phase 2 - Planning: Not started

Recommended: Create a PRD (for Level 2+ projects)

User: Create a PRD

Claude: [product-manager skill activates]

I'll create your PRD using parallel section generation...

[Parallel agents generate FR, NFR, Epics, and Stories sections]

Output saved to: docs/prd-[timestamp].md
...

Project Levels

BMAD right-sizes your planning based on project complexity:

Skills Overview

Why Claude Code Native?

Traditional development methodologies require:

• Separate project management tools
• Multiple documentation systems
• Context switching between tools
• Manual status tracking

BMAD Skills provides:

• Single Interface - Everything in your terminal through natural language
• Parallel Execution - Subagents with 200K tokens each for massive parallelization
• Persistent Context - Shared context via bmad/context/ for agent coordination
• Intelligent Routing - Automatic skill activation based on user intent
• Token Efficiency - Progressive disclosure and efficient context management

Community & Support

• GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
• Contributing: See CONTRIBUTING.md
• License: MIT

Version History