intent driven development

Quick Start

Get chant working in 5 minutes. By the end, you’ll have an AI agent create a script for you.

Prerequisites

• chant installed
• One of these AI coding CLIs:
  • Claude Code: claude command (install)
  • Kiro CLI: kiro-cli-chat command (install)

Step 1: Initialize a Project

Create a test project:

mkdir chant-quickstart && cd chant-quickstart
git init

Run the wizard:

chant init

The wizard asks:

1. Project name - accept the default
2. Provider - choose claude or kirocli
3. Model - choose sonnet (fast and capable)
4. Agent config - choose your CLI (Claude Code or Kiro)

Quick setup: Skip the wizard with flags:

# For Claude Code
chant init --provider claude --model sonnet --agent claude

# For Kiro CLI
chant init --provider kirocli --model sonnet --agent kiro

Step 2: Create a Spec

Add a simple task:

chant add "Create a hello.sh script that prints Hello World"

This creates a minimal spec. Check what lint thinks:

chant lint

You’ll see warnings like:

⚠ No acceptance criteria found
⚠ Description is too brief

Step 3: Improve the Spec

Open the spec file (shown in the chant add output) and add acceptance criteria:

chant show 001  # View the spec

Edit .chant/specs/[your-spec-id].md to look like this:

---
status: pending
---

# Create a hello.sh script that prints Hello World

Create a bash script that outputs a greeting.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] Creates `hello.sh` in the project root
- [ ] Script is executable (`chmod +x`)
- [ ] Running `./hello.sh` prints "Hello World"
- [ ] Script includes a shebang line (`#!/bin/bash`)

Run lint again:

chant lint

Now it passes. The spec is ready for execution.

Step 4: Start Your Agent CLI

Open a new terminal in the same directory and start your AI CLI:

Claude Code:

claude

Kiro CLI:

kiro-cli-chat chat

Step 5: Use MCP Tools to Execute

Inside your agent CLI, the chant MCP tools are available. Try these commands:

Check project status:

Use chant_status to show the project status

You’ll see: 1 pending | 0 in_progress | 0 completed

View the spec:

Use chant_spec_get to show spec 001

This displays your spec with its acceptance criteria.

Start working on it:

Use chant_work_start to begin working on spec 001

The agent will:

1. Read the spec and acceptance criteria
2. Create hello.sh with the required content
3. Make it executable
4. Commit with message: chant(001): Create hello.sh script

Monitor progress:

Use chant_status to check progress

You’ll see: 0 pending | 0 in_progress | 1 completed

Step 6: Verify the Result

Back in your original terminal:

# Check the script exists
ls -la hello.sh

# Run it
./hello.sh
# Output: Hello World

# View the commit
git log -1 --oneline

# Check spec status
chant list

What Just Happened?

1. chant init - Set up project config and MCP integration
2. chant add - Created a spec (work intention)
3. chant lint - Validated spec quality
4. MCP tools - Let the agent discover and execute the spec
5. Agent - Read the spec, wrote code, committed changes

The key insight: you defined the goal, the agent figured out how to achieve it.

Next Steps

Learn More

• Specs - How to write effective specs
• Prompts - Customize agent behavior
• Skills - Agent Skills open standard and custom skills
• Providers - Configure different AI providers
• MCP Tools - All available MCP operations