What Is This
Software Development Department (SDD) turns a Claude Code workspace into a small engineering organization: agents own domains, skills route work through repeatable workflows, hooks enforce control gates, and memory persists operational context across sessions.
SDD is Claude-native. Codex support is an adapter layer via AGENTS.md, .codex/, and docs/codex-compatibility.md; this layer does not change Claude's runtime behavior.
Why It Exists
Coding with a single agent often skips process: vague specs, overly broad edits, weak verification, forgotten decisions. SDD adds a control-plane structure around Claude Code so that implementation work has clear routing, bounded ownership, approval gates, and fresh evidence before declaring completion.
Technical Capabilities
| Capability | Implementation |
|---|
| Structured Agent Definitions | 28 agents with role, model, ownership, escalation path, and tool scope |
| Skill Routing | 116 skills with when_to_use, allowed-tools, effort hints, and workflow gates |
| Lifecycle map | DEFINE -> PLAN -> BUILD -> VERIFY -> REVIEW -> SHIP for all non-trivial work |
| Verification gates | Pre-code gate, TDD workflow, review gates, completion evidence, and Codex preflight |
| Path-scoped rules | 15 rules applied by file zone: API, UI, DB, AI, config, tests, docs, and source code |
| Runtime hooks | 26 hook files for bash guard, trace logging, skill telemetry, circuit state, and validation |
| Durable memory | Tiered memory from MEMORY.md index to topic files, archive, and optional semantic recall |
| Circuit breaker | Per-agent failure state with fallback routing and audited transitions |
| Fork-join execution | Git worktree workflow for parallel, isolated, reviewable workstreams |
| Agent-style review | Portable agent-style skill package for opt-in technical prose review |
Quick Start
Existing Product Repo
Clone SDD once, then install the harness into your product directory:
git clone https://github.com/tranhieutt/software_development_department [Your folder clone's path]
cd [Your folder clone's path]
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install-sdd.ps1 [Your folder project's path]
This defaults to Product mode and runs preflight after install. Product mode preserves existing product files: README.md, PRD.md, TODO.md, and .gitignore.
Open your product directory after install:
cd [Your folder project's path]
With Claude Code, read CLAUDE.md and run /start.
With Codex, read AGENTS.md and .codex/START.md, or paste:
Use codex-sdd, then route through using-sdd, then run the start workflow for this repo.
Requirements
- Claude Code:
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
- Git
- Git Bash 2.40+ or WSL2 on Windows for hook shell compatibility
jq and Python 3 recommended for validation and audit scripts
Codex Adapter
With Codex, open this repository and use .codex/START.md as the equivalent of /start. Codex must self-enforce SDD gates because Claude Code hooks do not run automatically in Codex.
Run the preflight check before any risky Codex work:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\codex-preflight.ps1
Department Hierarchy
Tier 1; Executive
cto technical-director producer
Tier 2; Leads
product-manager lead-programmer ux-designer
qa-engineer release-manager
Tier 3; Specialists
frontend-developer backend-developer fullstack-developer
mobile-developer ai-programmer network-programmer
tools-programmer ui-programmer data-engineer
analytics-engineer ux-researcher tech-writer
prototyper performance-analyst devops-engineer
security-engineer diagnostics accessibility-specialist
community-manager ui-spec-designer
Operating Model
- Route requests through
using-sdd.
- Pick a coordination skill: spec, plan, TDD, review, release, or specialist workflow.
- Pass the pre-code gate before editing production code.
- Keep changes scoped to the approved task.
- Verify with a fresh command or inspection before declaring completion.
- Keep Claude as the source of truth; keep Codex as the adapter.
Common entry points:
| Situation | Command |
|---|
| Start a session | /start |
| Explore an idea | /brainstorm |
| Write a spec | /spec |
| Break down a plan | /plan |
| Implement an approved task | /tdd |
| Coordinate agents | /orchestrate |
| Review code | /code-review |
| Review prose style | /style-review |
| Prepare a release | /release-checklist |
Type / in Claude Code to browse related workflows; SDD provides 116 workflows but expects agents to load only the skill needed for the current task.
Included
| Category | Count | Purpose |
|---|
| Agents | 28 | Domain ownership and escalation |
| Skills | 116 | Workflow routing and specialist procedures |
| Hooks | 26 | Guardrails, telemetry, validation, and lifecycle checks |
| Rules | 15 | Path-scoped standards |
| Templates | 22+ | Specs, ADRs, plans, reports, and release artifacts |
Project Structure
CLAUDE.md # Claude-native constitution
AGENTS.md # Adapter guide for Codex
.codex/ # Adapter prompts and checklists for Codex
.claude/
settings.json # Permissions and hook registration
agents/ # 28 agent definitions
skills/ # 116 skills
hooks/ # 26 hook scripts
rules/ # 15 path-scoped rules
memory/ # Durable memory system
docs/ # Technical docs, ADRs, compatibility notes
scripts/ # Validators, reports, utility scripts
production/traces/ # Decision, skill, agent telemetry
Validation
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\codex-preflight.ps1
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\validate-skills.ps1
node scripts\harness-audit.js --compact
node scripts\validate-readme-sync.js
License
MIT. See LICENSE.
Based on Claude Code Game Studios by Donchitos; adapted for software engineering organizations.
