alpha · now with Figma tokens import

The context layer your coding agents are missing.

Name: Project Spine
Author: Project Spine

Compile your brief, repo, and design tokens into AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and copilot-instructions from one deterministic source. With drift detection that fails CI before it fails trust.

install the CLI

$ npm install -g project-spine@next

MIT-licensed, fully offline. Node 20+.

View on GitHub Read the docs

~/acme-payroll — spine compile

$ spine compile --brief ./brief.md --repo . --tokens ./tokens.json

✓ compiled spine for "acme-payroll" v0.1.0
  template:    saas-marketing
  hash:        3333f867f40d3e43
  project type:saas-marketing
  stack:       next / tailwind / typescript
  goals:       5
  qa rules:    12
  warnings:    2 (0 error, 1 warn, 1 info)

wrote 19 files under ./.project-spine and repo root.

$ spine drift check --fail-on any
✓ clean · spine hash 3333f867f40d3e43 matches current.

01Output

Nineteen files, every agent, all drift-tracked.

Run spine compile once. Everything below is generated with source pointers back to your brief, and hashed into a manifest that catches drift in CI.

Repo root
AGENTS.mda41e2d0b9c6f7844
CLAUDE.mdf0ce8847b1e29a71
.github/copilot-instructions.md92b4711f3e6c0d12
.project-spine/exports
scaffold-plan.mdc8d5faeb7a20e164
route-inventory.md3b5f77102e9c41a8
component-plan.md7ac2d1b9664fe083
qa-guardrails.md4e6a0f51c9d7b312
sprint-1-backlog.md51bc28a93f0e6d47
rationale.mdb920f47dc651e8a3
architecture-summary.mded7a1f30c9b842fc
export-manifest.jsondrift-tracked

02The moat

Why not just use Claude?

Claude Code writes an AGENTS.md when you ask it to. Project Spine writes verifiable, versioned, portable agent instructions, and tells you the moment they drift.

Claude Code alone

What you get by default

Different AGENTS.md every time you ask. Non-deterministic by design.
No memory of the brief you signed three months ago.
Writes CLAUDE.mdwell. Doesn't own the Cursor or Copilot file.
No sha256 chain, no source pointers, no audit trail.
Can't fail CI when your instructions drift from the brief.

Project Spine

What you get by construction

Same inputs produce the same spine.json. Byte-identical until a real input changes.
export-manifest.json hashes every input and output for lifecycle drift.
One source fans out to AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and copilot-instructions.
Every rule carries a source pointer back to brief.md#section0/item3.
spine drift check --fail-on any turns the contract into a CI gate.

Read the full moat analysis →

03Capabilities

Everything a real kickoff needs. Nothing you don't.

Alpha today — carrying the primitives agencies tell us they need on day one of a new client project.

Deterministic compile

Content-addressable spine.json. Same inputs, same hash. Reviewers can prove why every rule exists.

Drift-aware by construction

export-manifest.json plus spine drift check --fail-on any. A contract, not a comment.

Portable across agents

Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, Codex, Aider. One brief, every agent file, zero re-briefing.

Design tokens first-class

DTCG or Tokens Studio JSON. Aliases resolve. Tokens drift tracked separately so Figma re-exports surface cleanly.

Agent skills shipped

Six SKILL.md files teach Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Cursor to drive Spine end-to-end. One-line install.

Hi, I'm Petri. Project Spine is a solo-maintainer project. I started it because my AGENTS.md files kept going stale the moment the brief moved, and no existing tool treated that as a real problem. If you try Spine and it breaks, or you disagree with a decision I made, email support@projectspine.dev. I read every message.
Petri Lahdelma · maintainer · about the project

§ START

Ship your AGENTS.md
like it's code.

Free while in alpha. MIT forever. Three commands and thirty seconds to compile your first brief into an audit-ready operating layer.

View on GitHub Install the CLI