Air Documentation-Driven Development

Air is a filesystem-based planning solution that treats directories and files as the primary interface for project management and documentation-driven development.

Core Principles

1. Filesystem as Database - All planning in files and directories accessible to any tool
2. Documentation-Driven - Plan first, implement from complete specifications
3. State-Based Tracking - Document states provide clear visibility into project progress
4. Git-Aware - Leverages version control without requiring it

Document Lifecycle States

Documents progress through these states:

draft → ready → work-in-progress → complete → archive/
   ↓
dropped

State Definitions:

• draft - Planning phase, requirements gathering
• ready - Specification complete, approved for implementation
• work-in-progress - Currently being implemented
• complete - Implementation finished and tested
• dropped - No longer needed or deprioritized
• unknown - Missing or malformed metadata

Quick Start Workflow

1. Check Current Status

Always start by checking what work exists and its state:

# See all work in progress
airctl status --state work-in-progress

# Check what's ready for implementation
airctl status --state ready

# View work by feature area
airctl status --by-tag

2. Creating New Features

For new features without Air documents:

1. Check for existing specifications first

   airctl status --state draft,ready

2. Create Air document in appropriate version directory (v0.1/, v0.2/)

   • Use templates: airctl template list to see available templates
   • Start with state: draft (Org-mode: #+state: draft, Markdown: state: in frontmatter)
   • Add title and tags (Org-mode: #+title: and #+FILETAGS:, Markdown: title: and tags: in frontmatter)

3. Complete required sections:

   • Summary - Brief overview
   • Motivation - Why this work is needed
   • Proposal - Detailed specification
   • Implementation History - Track all work

4. Move to 'ready' only when:

   • All sections complete
   • Technical approach confirmed
   • Dependencies identified
   • Stakeholder approval received

3. Implementing Features

Before starting implementation:

# Update state to work-in-progress
airctl update v0.1/feature-name.org --state work-in-progress

During implementation:

• Document design changes in the Air document
• Update Implementation History with major milestones
• Write tests based on Air document specifications
• Run tests after any code changes

Before marking complete:

1. Run all tests - must pass without exceptions
2. Run integration tests
3. Fix any failing tests immediately
4. Update Implementation History with completion date
5. Update state to complete:

   airctl update v0.1/feature-name.org --state complete

4. Managing Work

Update document metadata:

# Change state
airctl update path/to/doc.org --state work-in-progress

# Add tags
airctl update path/to/doc.org --add-tag reviewed

# Update multiple properties
airctl update path/to/doc.org --state complete --title "New Title"

Track progress:

# View specific directory
airctl status --directory v0.1/

# Include archived documents
airctl status --include-archive

# Verbose output with dates and tags
airctl status --verbose

Directory Structure

Standard Air project layout:

./air/
├── v0.1/              # Current milestone specifications
├── v0.2/              # Next milestone planning
├── archive/           # Completed work (excluded from status by default)
├── templates/         # Document templates
└── context/           # Generated context files for AI tools

Organization guidelines:

• Use semantic versioning: v0.1, v0.2, v0.10 (sorts correctly)
• Move completed work to archive/ when no longer actively referenced
• Place OVERVIEW.md in directories to explain contents

Context Generation for AI Tools

Generate comprehensive project context for AI assistants:

# Generate all context files
airctl context generate

# Generate with Claude-specific formatting
airctl context generate --claude

Generated context includes:

• Project overview and architecture
• Current work status from Air documents
• Coding conventions and standards
• Implementation guidelines

Document Format

Air supports both Org-mode and Markdown formats. Choose based on your preference.

Org-mode Format

#+title: Feature Name
#+state: draft
#+FILETAGS: :tag1:tag2:

* Summary
Brief overview of what this addresses.

* Motivation
Why this work is needed and what problems it solves.

** Goals
What we want to achieve.

** Non-Goals
What is explicitly out of scope.

* Proposal
Detailed specification of the solution.

* Design Details
Technical implementation details.

* Implementation History
- YYYY-MM-DD: Description of work completed

Markdown Format

---
title: Feature Name
state: draft
tags: [tag1, tag2]
---

# Summary
Brief overview of what this addresses.

# Motivation
Why this work is needed and what problems it solves.

## Goals
What we want to achieve.

## Non-Goals
What is explicitly out of scope.

# Proposal
Detailed specification of the solution.

# Design Details
Technical implementation details.

# Implementation History
- YYYY-MM-DD: Description of work completed

Best Practices

Planning Phase

• Create Air documents before implementing complex features
• Complete specifications before moving to 'ready' state
• Identify dependencies between documents
• Get stakeholder approval before implementation

Implementation Phase

• Only implement from 'ready' documents
• Update state immediately when starting work
• Keep Implementation History current
• Document any design deviations
• Never mark complete with failing tests

Maintenance

• Review document states regularly with airctl status
• Archive completed work that's no longer referenced
• Update specifications when requirements change
• Regenerate context files after document changes

Common Commands Reference

# Initialize Air structure
airctl init

# Configuration management
airctl config create        # Interactive wizard
airctl config show          # View current config

# Directory setup
airctl directory init       # Create Air directories

# Template management
airctl template list        # Show available templates
airctl template init        # Install default templates

# Status tracking
airctl status              # Show all documents
airctl status --state ready,work-in-progress
airctl status --by-state   # Group by state
airctl status --by-directory  # Group by directory
airctl status --by-tag     # Group by tags

# Document updates
airctl update <path> --state <state>
airctl update <path> --add-tag <tag>
airctl update <path> --remove-tag <tag>
airctl update <path> --title "New Title"

# Context generation
airctl context generate
airctl context generate --claude

Troubleshooting

Unknown states appearing:

• Check document has state property (Org-mode: #+state:, Markdown: state: in frontmatter)
• Verify state value is one of: draft, ready, work-in-progress, complete, dropped
• Ensure file extension matches configured file-types (.org or .md by default)

Documents not appearing in status:

• Verify files are in main-directory configured in air-config.toml
• Check file extensions match configured file-types
• Ensure documents aren't in archive/ (use --include-archive to see them)

Configuration issues:

• Run airctl config show to see current configuration
• Check air-config.toml exists in project root or user config directory
• Verify directory paths in configuration are correct

Collaboration Workflow

For team members:

1. Check airctl status to see current work
2. Review 'ready' documents before implementing
3. Use airctl update to claim work (move to work-in-progress)
4. Keep Implementation History updated
5. Update state when finished

For project leads:

1. Review draft documents for completeness
2. Approve documents by moving to 'ready' state
3. Monitor progress with airctl status --state work-in-progress
4. Plan releases based on completed milestones
5. Manage archive to keep active work visible

Integration with Git

• Air documents live alongside code in version control
• Commit document updates with related code changes
• Use document states to plan pull request scope
• Tag releases based on completed Air milestones
• Git history can provide document timestamps (falls back to filesystem)

---

For more details, see context files in ./air/context/:

• OVERVIEW.md - Project overview
• air-conventions.md - Document structure and tag taxonomy
• architecture.md - System architecture
• implementation-guide.md - Coding standards
• interface-design.md - CLI design patterns