⚡ Rapid OS
Your agent says "done". Rapid OS checks it.
Evidence it runs itself and your approval, before any work counts as finished.
Works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Antigravity (what each one guarantees).
⚡ Quick start with shortcuts
Install Rapid OS and accept the shortcuts when the installer offers them (or run rapid init --shortcuts in your project). Then work from your agent:
/rapid-init invoicing API for small businesses # onboarding: stack, documents, test command
/rapid-feature add CSV export to the monthly report # one governed run: spec, tasks, tests, evidence
/rapid-status # tasks, gates and the last verdict
/rapid-next # carry on, for example after your approval
In Codex the prefix is $: $rapid-feature add CSV export to the monthly report.
There is one shortcut per mode (/rapid-feature, /rapid-bugfix, /rapid-refactor, /rapid-hardening, /rapid-research). When the agent says it is done, Rapid OS checks its evidence: the tests it ran itself with rapid check, against the spec. When a person is needed, the agent stops and gives you one command to run in your terminal:
rapid approve gate.final-verification
Then type /rapid-next to close the run. Rapid OS does not commit: you review the changes and commit them.
- Per-harness details (generated folder and invocation), user-level installation with
rapid shortcuts install --global and common errors: Shortcuts per harness.
- The v3 commands (
rapid spec, rapid run, rapid evidence, rapid eval…) remain available as Advanced mode for CI, debugging and auditing: see the CLI Command Reference.
🛡️ What each harness guarantees
Rapid OS runs on the same machine and with the same permissions as your agent, so what it can prevent depends on the harness. In every harness the shortcuts tell the agent not to do these things; the table covers what is enforced when the agent ignores that.
| Harness | Approving a human gate from the agent | Passing the test gate with plumbing | Writing to .rapid-os/ directly |
|---|
| Claude Code (with hooks) | Refused: rapid approve detects CLAUDE_CODE_CHILD_SESSION=1, a Claude Code ancestor process and the lack of a TTY (RAPID1310), and the PreToolUse hook denies the command. Best-effort, not attestation. | Refused (see below). | Denied by the PreToolUse hook in file tools and in shell commands. Shell analysis is best-effort: a command built at runtime can get past it. |
| Codex | Partly: only the TTY check. Rapid OS does not recognize this harness's processes, so an agent with a real terminal or a pty wrapper can get past it. | Refused (see below). | Not prevented. There are no hooks. |
| Cursor | Partly: only the TTY check, with the same limit as Codex. | Refused (see below). | Not prevented. There are no hooks. |
| VS Code | Partly: only the TTY check, with the same limit as Codex. | Refused (see below). | Not prevented. There are no hooks. |
| Antigravity | Partly: only the TTY check, with the same limit as Codex. | Refused (see below). | Not prevented. There are no hooks. |
- Plumbing, the same in all five. In runs with ruleset 3, test gates count only evidence produced by
rapid check from a counted test summary or the exact test_command. rapid evidence add refuses the reserved producers (rapid:*), a review from user and the review fields only Rapid OS writes (RAPID1430), and rapid run gate refuses human gates (RAPID1431). A test command other than the baseline's blocks rapid finish until you accept it in your terminal (RAPID1435).
- What this does not cover. Evidence is not signed. An agent that can write to
.rapid-os/ can forge records there that look valid, which also undoes the plumbing refusals: that is the real gap outside Claude Code, and closing it needs a channel outside the agent's reach. Rapid OS also does not judge the quality of the tests: an agent can weaken them, and your review is what catches that.
- Claude Code hooks. Only Claude Code has hooks (
PreToolUse and Stop, which keeps the agent working until the run needs a person). rapid setup finish adds them when Claude is one of the project's agents; otherwise use rapid init --hooks or rapid shortcuts install --hooks. Without them, Claude Code keeps the rapid approve checks but .rapid-os/ is not protected. If rapid is not on the PATH the hooks cannot start, and rapid doctor warns about it (RAPID1339).
More in SECURITY.md and Product Limits and Boundaries.
📖 About the Project
Rapid OS is a Contract-Driven Engineering OS and a Context Injection and Governance framework designed to solve the "Context Amnesia" problem and the lack of deterministic verification in AI coding agents.
When you work with AI assistants such as Cursor, Claude, Antigravity, VS Code or Codex, Rapid OS does not just inject a standardized "Project Constitution": it governs the full engineering cycle — repository intelligence (rapid scan), immutable specifications (rapid spec), selective context compilation (rapid context), execution contracts and policies (rapid policy / rapid run), harness capability profiles and compatibility (rapid harness), immutable evidence (rapid evidence) and deterministic behavioral evaluation (rapid eval).
🌐 Official Documentation Portal: https://alyconr.github.io/Rapid-OS/
📚 Canonical Documentation Suite (v3.1.0)
The public portal includes the complete documentation, organized into the following areas:
- Learn and Get Started:
- Reproducible Hands-on Labs (Tutorials):
- Coding Harness Integrations:
Rapid OS v3.1.0 Status
Release candidates. main carries the 3.2.0 release candidates, and its installers pin the latest one (see the CHANGELOG). The stable version is still v3.1.1, and the installation commands in this README and in the installation docs point to that tag. What main adds on top of the stable release: onboarding through rapid setup / /rapid-init with one stack per component and documents you review before closing, per-stack architecture with the gate.architecture gate (rapid arch check), infrastructure services and the deployment document, the security baseline (OWASP ASVS 5.0.0, SSDF, SLSA) with a per-language CI workflow, and rapid shortcuts install --global for user-level /rapid-init. See the CHANGELOG.
Rapid OS v3.1.0 is complete and preserves full backward compatibility with all v3.0 and v2 commands and generated file locations. It adds the porcelain layer, the five engineering modes, shortcuts and Claude Code hooks on top of the v3 governance engine.
| Workstream | Status | Included in v3.1.0 |
|---|
| Core package & PEP 517 packaging | Complete | rapid_os package, rapid console script, rapid.py compatibility entrypoint, and rapid --version. |
| Agent adapter architecture | Complete | Cursor, Claude, Antigravity, VS Code, and Codex adapters behind a registry. |
| First-class Codex support | Complete | Opt-in AGENTS.md generation through the adapter system. |
| Structured scope generation | Complete | SPECS.md, TASKS.md, and ACCEPTANCE.md from rapid scope. |
| Validation and diagnostics | Complete | rapid validate, rapid doctor, and rapid inspect-context across all v2 and v3 registries. |
| Project Intelligence (v3 Phase 1) | Complete | Deterministic ProjectModel, ProjectFact, Evidence provenance, rapid scan (--json, --write, --verbose), and optional .rapid-os/project.json snapshot. |
| Context Compiler (v3 Phase 2) | Complete | Task-aware ContextCompiler, ContextResolver, ContextManifest, budget enforcement, conflict detection, RAPID7xx diagnostics, and read-only rapid context (--mode, --harness, --objective, --spec, --spec-revision, --max-chars, --manifest, --json). |
| Spec Registry (v3 Phase 3) | Complete | Canonical SpecRecord & SpecRevision, immutable revisions under , (, , , , , ), validation, and integration. |
🧩 How it Works
Rapid OS acts as the Architect who defines the rules, while your AI (Cursor/Claude) acts as the Builder.
graph TD
%% Styles
classDef user fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:black;
classDef rapid fill:#005f99,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:white;
classDef context fill:#ffeb99,stroke:#d4a017,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5,color:black;
classDef ai fill:#009966,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:white;
classDef code fill:#333,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:white;
%% Main nodes
User(👤 User):::user
AI(🤖 AI Agent <br> Cursor / Claude / Copilot):::ai
FinalCode(📦 Application Code <br> .ts, .py, .css):::code
%% Subgraph: Rapid OS (the Technical Director)
subgraph "🛠️ PHASE 1: Context Preparation (Rapid OS CLI)"
RapidCLI(🖥️ Rapid OS CLI):::rapid
User -->|1. Runs 'rapid init'| RapidCLI
ContextFiles[📄 Context Files <br> .cursorrules, CLAUDE.md, etc.]:::context
RapidCLI -->|"Generates Rules (Stack, Security)"| ContextFiles
end
%% Subgraph: Specific tasks (optional)
subgraph "🎯 PHASE 2: Task Definition (Optional)"
ScopeCmd(Command 'rapid scope'):::rapid
DeployCmd(Command 'rapid deploy'):::rapid
SkillCmd(Command 'rapid skill'):::rapid
User -->|2a. Defines functionality| ScopeCmd
User -->|2b. Installs Skills| SkillCmd
SpecsFile[📄 SPECS.md / TASKS.md / ACCEPTANCE.md <br> Implementation Plan]:::context
SkillsFolder[📂 Active Skills <br> .cursor/skills]:::context
ScopeCmd --> SpecsFile
SkillCmd --> SkillsFolder
end
%% Subgraph: The actual generation (the Builder)
subgraph "🚀 PHASE 3: The Act of Generating (the Builder)"
%% The magic injection
ContextFiles -.->|"⚡ AUTOMATIC CONTEXT INJECTION ⚡"| AI
SpecsFile -.->|"Reads precise instructions"| AI
SkillsFolder -.->|"Uses tools (e.g. Deploy, DB)"| AI
%% The user's action
User == "3. Simple prompt: 'Build the login' or 'Implement SPECS.md'" ==> AI
%% The result
AI ==>|"Generates code guided by context, rules and verifiable criteria"| FinalCode
end
%% Legend
linkStyle 6,7,8 stroke:orange,stroke-width:2px,fill:none;
linkStyle 9 stroke:blue,stroke-width:3px,fill:none;
linkStyle 10 stroke:green,stroke-width:3px,fill:none;
⚒️ Build With
Tech Stack
This project is built with native technologies to ensure maximum compatibility and zero heavy dependencies:
- Core Logic
- Installer (Linux/Mac)
- Installer (Windows)
- Templates & Context
Key Features
- 🧰 Hybrid Skills Manager: Installs active capabilities for your AI from two sources:
- Remote: Direct access to the community ecosystem (
npx skills) to install thousands of tools.
- Local: Use your own private templates (
templates/skills) to standardize your team's workflows.
- 🤖 Modular Multi-Agent: No more noise. Choose exactly which configuration files to generate: Cursor (
.cursorrules), Claude Code (CLAUDE.md), Google Antigravity (.agent/rules), VS Code (INSTRUCTIONS.md) or Codex (AGENTS.md). Generation uses internal adapters to keep each agent isolated and ready to grow without changing your commands.
- 🧠 Smart Business Context: Business rules live in
docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md: pasted by you, drafted by the agent or skipped, always with their provenance visible (an agent draft enters the context as an assumption until you confirm it). No reusable templates.
- 🏗️ Architectural Topologies: Define whether your project is Frontend Only, BaaS (Supabase), Separated Fullstack or Documentation Site to avoid code hallucinations.
- 🔌 MCP Tools (Model Context Protocol): Automatically configures database servers (Postgres/Supabase) and research tools (Context7, Firecrawl).
- 🖼️ Visual Reference Context (Vision): Records screenshots in
references/ together with a human description in references/VISION_CONTEXT.md and reassembles the agents' context.
- 🚀 Senior Stacks: Pre-configured templates for Modern Web, Python AI, Creative Frontend, Docusaurus Docs, etc.
- 🛡️ Secure by Default: Automatic injection of OWASP protocols and Anti-PII rules.
- ☁️ Deployment Guides:
rapid deploy --target <platform> prints the local template (templates/deploy/<platform>.md: aws, azure, vercel, render, railway, dokploy) without writing anything; the project document is docs/DEPLOYMENT.md, optional during onboarding.
💻 Getting Started
Follow these steps to install Rapid OS in your local environment.
Setup
You do not need to clone this repository manually to use the tool. The installer takes care of everything.
Prerequisites
Make sure you have the following installed:
- Git: For version control.
- Python 3.10+: To run the Rapid OS governance core (
3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13 verified in CI; standard library with no mandatory external dependencies).
- Node.js (Optional): Required only if you want to install remote Skills using
npx (rapid skill add).
Install
Stable Release (v3.1.1)
Once the stable tag v3.1.1 is published, use the installers pinned to that reproducible release:
- Option A: Standard Python package installation (
pip / venv) at tag v3.1.1:
git clone --branch v3.1.1 https://github.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS.git
cd Rapid-OS
python -m pip install .
rapid --version
- Option B: Linux, macOS or WSL (Stable
v3.1.1):
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS/v3.1.1/install.sh | bash
- Option C: Windows PowerShell (Stable
v3.1.1):
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS/v3.1.1/install.ps1 | iex
Restart your terminal after installation to load the rapid command and verify with rapid --version (Rapid OS 3.1.1).
Development (latest development version on main)
If you want to try in-development changes from the main branch (not pinned to a stable release):
git clone https://github.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS.git
cd Rapid-OS
git checkout main
python -m pip install -e .
Update
Update to the stable version v3.1.1
- Windows PowerShell (Stable
v3.1.1):
git -C "$HOME\.rapid-os" fetch --tags --force origin
git -C "$HOME\.rapid-os" checkout --detach v3.1.1
Or by running the stable installer:
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS/v3.1.1/install.ps1 | iex
- Linux, macOS or WSL (Stable
v3.1.1):
git -C "$HOME/.rapid-os" fetch --tags --force origin
git -C "$HOME/.rapid-os" checkout --detach v3.1.1
Or by running the stable installer:
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alyconr/Rapid-OS/v3.1.1/install.sh | bash
Update a development environment (latest development version on main)
If you are working on a development checkout of main:
git checkout main
git pull --ff-only origin main
rapid doctor
Usage
1. Initialize a Project (New or Legacy)
rapid init is the universal command. Use it both for projects from scratch and to "heal" existing projects suffering from Context Amnesia.
- Open your terminal at the root of your project.
- Run:
rapid init
- Follow the interactive wizard:
- Safe scanner: Rapid OS checks local signals such as
package.json, tsconfig.json, Docker, tests, monorepo, database and deploy provider to suggest a stack/topology. Nothing is applied without confirmation.
- Tech Stack: Defines the allowed technologies (e.g. "Only React Functional Components").
- Archetype: "Corporate" for strict code with tests, or "MVP" for speed.
- Project documentation: For each document (brief, business rules, data model and architecture) you choose: 1) paste or import a file, 2) write it right there, 3) leave it for your agent (
/rapid-init) or 4) skip it. With --business-file <path> you import the business rules without being asked.
- Research Capabilities: Enables
Context7 (Docs) and Firecrawl (Web Scraping) so your AI can research libraries and websites by itself.
For Refactoring: When you run this on a legacy project, Rapid OS injects a .cursorrules or .agent file that forces the AI to respect the new standards in any future refactoring, preventing it from imitating the old code ("code drift").
To keep the previous manual flow, use:
rapid init --no-scan
If you pass --stack, that value takes precedence over any scanner suggestion:
rapid init --stack nextjs
You can also set the archetype directly from the CLI (mvp or corporate) without an interactive prompt:
rapid init --archetype corporate
rapid init --archetype mvp
2. Rule Refinement (Rapid Refine)
If you feel your Agent (Cursor/Claude) ignores or misreads your rules, use rapid refine to improve the documentation with the help of the AI.
- Identify the problematic rules file (e.g.
docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md).
- Run:
rapid refine docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md
- Copy the Mega-Prompt that appears in your terminal.
- Paste it into your Chat with the AI.
- The AI will return a professional, unambiguous version of your rules. Replace the file's content with this new version.
3. Install Skills (Active Capabilities)
Give your agent tools to run complex tasks (e.g. query databases, browse the web).
# Option A: From the Marketplace (Vercel)
rapid skill add vercel-labs/agent-skills
# Option B: Your team's private templates
rapid skill install my-internal-workflow
If you run rapid skill with no arguments, Rapid OS opens an interactive menu to list, install a local template, add a remote skill or exit without changes.
4. Define Scope and Refactorings
Avoid giving the AI vague instructions like "Improve the code". Use the Scope Assistant.
rapid scope
- Select the mode: new feature, refactor, bugfix or legacy hardening.
- Answer questions about business, scope, actors, flow, edge cases, rules, constraints, data impact, acceptance criteria, tests and tasks.
- Rapid OS generates
SPECS.md, TASKS.md and ACCEPTANCE.md optimized for spec-guided implementation.
- Your Final Prompt: "Implement the plan detailed in SPECS.md step by step and validate against ACCEPTANCE.md."
5. Configure Database Tools (MCP)
If your architecture includes a database, generate the drivers so the AI can run real SQL and see tables:
rapid mcp --ide claude --scope project
(Supports Postgres and Supabase automatically).
Additional examples:
rapid mcp --ide codex --scope project
rapid mcp --ide codex --scope global
rapid mcp --ide claude --scope global
rapid mcp --ide cursor --scope project
rapid mcp --ide vscode --scope project
rapid mcp --ide antigravity --scope global
Rapid OS models MCP servers internally and then renders each editor's specific format:
- Codex ->
.codex/config.toml with mcp_servers blocks
- Claude ->
.mcp.json or ~/.claude.json with mcpServers
- Cursor ->
.cursor/mcp.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json with mcpServers
- VS Code ->
.vscode/mcp.json with servers
- Antigravity ->
~/.gemini/antigravity/mcp_config.json with a conservative JSON structure based on mcpServers
If the project has not been initialized with rapid init yet, rapid mcp offers to create only the minimal structure needed to generate MCP, or to cancel without writing files.
If you omit --ide or --scope, Rapid OS enters interactive mode and lets you choose the target and scope before writing the file.
6. Visual Reference Context (Vision)
Register a visual reference for the project to accompany your rules with interface context:
rapid vision path/to/design.png
rapid vision copies the image into references/, asks for a human description of the design, adds the entry to references/VISION_CONTEXT.md and regenerates the context files of the configured agents. If you run rapid vision without a path, the command asks for the path interactively and lets you cancel with 0, q, quit, exit, salir or cancelar.
7. Documentation with Docusaurus
Rapid OS includes a specialized stack for creating modern documentation sites:
rapid init --shortcuts
# and in your agent: /rapid-init (or rapid setup next)
# Stack: docs-modern (componente docs)
# Topology: doc-site
Or from the terminal, without an agent: rapid setup set topology doc-site and rapid setup set stack docs-modern.
Includes:
- Framework: Docusaurus 3+ (Static Site Generator).
- Language: TypeScript and MDX (Markdown with React components).
- Diagrams: Native Mermaid.js support (flowcharts, sequence, GANTT).
- Search: Configuration ready for Algolia DocSearch or local search.
- Versioning: Folder structure optimized for semantic documentation versioning.
- Topology:
doc-site organizes your project with specific folders for docs, blog, src/components and static assets.
🧩 Business Rules (docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md)
Your project's business rules live in docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md, the equivalent of your project's "Constitution". Rapid OS writes the file with a frontmatter (rapid-doc, source, status, sha256) that says who authored it:
- Provided by you (
source: provided): saved as-is and counts as confirmed.
- Drafted by the agent (
source: drafted): stays as a draft and reaches the context marked as an assumption until you confirm it with rapid setup doc business --confirm.
- Skipped: the agent receives the line
Reglas de negocio: sin definir. Pregunta, no inventes.
A good document defines: what problem you solve and why people should buy from you, how you acquire, activate and retain customers, and how you generate revenue (SaaS, E-com, etc.).
Legacy: .rapid-os/standards/business.md (from earlier versions) is still read. To migrate it to the new document: rapid setup doc business --from-legacy (it does not delete the original).
🔄 How to Update your Business Rules
If you need to modify your existing rules, you have three paths from the CLI:
-
Option A: rapid refine (Recommended for Improving)
If you already have rules but want the AI to make them professional and remove ambiguity:
rapid refine docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md
Generates a prompt for your AI to rewrite the rules at a Senior level.
-
Option B: provide a new file
If you want to replace the rules with a file of your own:
rapid setup doc business --source provided --file <file>
Replaces the document and keeps a .bak of the previous one.
-
Option C: have the agent draft them again
rapid setup doc business --reopen
Returns the document to pending (if it was skipped) or to draft (if it was confirmed) so your agent drafts it again with /rapid-init. A document you provided yourself is replaced with option B.
⚡ CLI Command Reference
Main flow: porcelain verbs
These are the commands the shortcuts use.
| Command | Description | Result / Output |
|---|
rapid start <mode> | Starts or resumes a governed run (feature, bugfix, refactor, hardening, research) from a spec (--spec-file -, --spec). | Creates the run, takes the baseline and returns the next action. --resume continues; --worktree creates the isolated worktree when the contract requires it. |
rapid next | Next deterministic action of the active run (author_spec, implement_task, verify, await_human_approval, finish, done, blocked). | Read-only. Includes the exact command to run. |
rapid check -- <command> | Runs a command and records evidence (tests, gates, tasks). | Log in .rapid-os/scratch/checks/. Supports --task, --gate and --expect fail (reproduce a bug). |
rapid task start|done|skip | Transitions tasks of the active run. | done verifies with test_command unless --no-check. |
rapid attach <path> --label | Attaches a file as evidence (artifact) to the task in progress. | Evidence with producer rapid:attach; used by research mode. |
rapid finish | Closes the run: records the changes, acknowledges machine gates and evaluates. | Prints the verdict; exits 0 only with pass or pass_with_waivers. |
rapid approve [gate] | of a gate (, , ). With no arguments it lists the pending ones. |
v3 commands and utilities (Advanced mode)
For CI, debugging and auditing. Full table of the commands available in Rapid OS and their results.
| Command | Description | Result / Output |
|---|
rapid init | Initializes Rapid OS. Scans local signals and suggests a stack/topology with confirmation. | Creates .cursorrules, .agent/rules, .rapid-os/ and can create optional docs with backups. Supports --no-scan, --stack and --archetype {mvp,corporate}. |
rapid scan | Project Intelligence. Scans the repository and builds the deterministic ProjectModel with traceable evidence. | Read-only by default. Supports --verbose (shows evidence), --json (pure JSON on stdout) and --write (persists .rapid-os/project.json with a backup). |
rapid context | Context Compiler. Compiles selective, traceable context per task, mode, spec, harness and budget. | Read-only. Supports --mode, --harness, --objective, --spec, --spec-revision, --max-chars, --manifest and --json. |
rapid spec | Spec Registry (v3). Manages specifications with stable identity, immutable revisions and status (draft, ready, archived). | Subcommands: create, list, show, revise, status and export-legacy. Persists under .rapid-os/specs/<spec-id>/. |
rapid policy | Execution Policy (v3). Inspects the effective execution policy or initializes .rapid-os/policy.json. | Subcommands: show [--json] (read-only) and init [--json]. |
rapid run | Run Registry & Execution Contracts (v3). Creates and governs immutable execution contracts and a declared execution state history. |
Project Intelligence (rapid scan)
You can inspect which facts Rapid OS detects about your repository (languages, frameworks, package managers, Docker, testing, monorepo, databases and deploy providers) without modifying any file:
rapid scan
rapid scan --verbose
rapid scan --json
If you want to persist a deterministic, traceable snapshot of the ProjectModel (schema_version: 1) in .rapid-os/project.json:
rapid scan --write
rapid scan --json --write
Spec Registry (rapid spec)
Rapid OS v3's Spec Registry replaces the overwritable singleton files with a structured registry in .rapid-os/specs/<spec-id>/ with stable identity (spec.json), lifecycle (draft, ready, archived) and immutable revisions (revisions/0001/, 0002/, ... with revision.json, requirements.md, tasks.md and acceptance.md):
# Create a spec (interactive or via flags)
rapid spec create --title "Booking Idempotency" --mode feature --objective "Prevent duplicate charges" --problem "Retries duplicate bookings" --scope "POST /bookings" --acceptance "Duplicate key returns 200" --task "Add idempotency key store"
# List and query specs (read-only)
rapid spec list
rapid spec list --json
rapid spec show booking-idempotency
rapid spec show booking-idempotency --revision 1 --json
# Create a new immutable revision (inherits unspecified fields)
rapid spec revise booking-idempotency --acceptance "Duplicate key returns 200" --acceptance "Timeout retries are safe"
# Mark as ready for the Context Compiler to consume
rapid spec status booking-idempotency ready
# Explicitly export to SPECS.md / TASKS.md / ACCEPTANCE.md (v2 compatibility)
rapid spec export-legacy booking-idempotency
Compatibility with rapid scope: rapid scope keeps its classic behavior of writing SPECS.md, TASKS.md and ACCEPTANCE.md at the root, and supports rapid scope --register [--spec-id <id>] [--status {draft,ready}] to simultaneously register the spec in .rapid-os/specs/.
Context Compiler (rapid context)
Rapid OS v3's Context Compiler selects and compiles only the context relevant to a specific task by combining the ProjectModel, project standards, ready specs from the Spec Registry, deterministic precedence, conflict detection and a character budget (max_chars):
rapid context
rapid context --mode bugfix --harness codex
rapid context --mode feature --spec booking-idempotency
rapid context --mode feature --spec booking-idempotency --spec-revision 1
rapid context --mode feature --objective "Implement order API" --max-chars 16000
rapid context --manifest
rapid context --json
- Read-only:
rapid context never writes or modifies files in the repository.
--spec <spec-id>: Loads requirements.md, tasks.md and acceptance.md of a spec in ready status from .rapid-os/specs/<spec-id>/ (and excludes the root singletons SPECS.md/TASKS.md/ACCEPTANCE.md to avoid ambiguity).--manifest: Shows which sources were selected (SELECTED), which were skipped (SKIPPED and why) and any conflicts detected (CONFLICTS).--json: Emits the CompiledContext document (schema_version: 1, manifest and content) ready for automated consumption.
Execution Policy Engine & Run Contracts (rapid policy & rapid run)
Phase 4 of Rapid OS v3 introduces deterministic execution governance by binding each concrete attempt (Run) to an exact, immutable Spec revision (ready), an exact CompiledContext snapshot, the ProjectModel and the ExecutionPolicy in force:
# Inspect or initialize .rapid-os/policy.json
rapid policy show
rapid policy show --json
rapid policy init
# Create a Run bound to a ready Spec
rapid run create --spec booking-idempotency --harness codex
rapid run create --spec booking-idempotency --spec-revision 1 --risk high --json
# List and inspect Runs (read-only)
rapid run list
rapid run list --status prepared --json
rapid run show booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid run show booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
# Handle pre-execution gates and activate the Run
rapid run gate booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 gate.baseline acknowledge --reason "Baseline green"
rapid run status booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 active
# Update the task ledger (T001, T002, ...)
rapid run task booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 T001 in_progress
rapid run task booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 T001 done
# Handle/waive post-execution gates and declare the Run as finished
rapid run gate booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 gate.tests acknowledge --reason "Unit tests added"
rapid run gate booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 gate.final-verification acknowledge --reason "Ready for verification"
rapid run status booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 finished
Harness Capability Registry (rapid harness)
Phase 5 of Rapid OS v3 introduces a deterministic, declarative registry of harness capabilities (HarnessProfile) and a compatibility resolver (CapabilityResolver) against the requirements derived from each ExecutionContract:
# List active profiles (built-in + project overrides/profiles in .rapid-os/harnesses/)
rapid harness list
rapid harness list --json
# Inspect an active profile (read-only)
rapid harness show codex
rapid harness show codex --json
# Initialize an editable project override (.rapid-os/harnesses/codex.json) from the built-in
rapid harness init codex
rapid harness init codex --json
# Generate a deterministic snapshot of all active profiles in .rapid-os/capabilities.lock
rapid harness lock
rapid harness lock --json
# Resolve declared compatibility against a Run's ExecutionContract (read-only; evaluates contract.harness and never mutates the Run)
rapid harness resolve --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid harness resolve --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
rapid harness resolve --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --require mcp.invoke --require shell.execute
rapid harness resolve --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --locked --require-compatible
- Harness source of truth:
rapid harness resolve evaluates exclusively ExecutionContract.harness (profile.id == contract.harness). The harness is selected when the Run is created (rapid run create --harness <id>); validate_harness_id() validates the canonical ID (RAPID1104 HarnessIdentityError).
- Deterministic requirement derivation (
CapabilityRequirementResolver):
- Always:
context.consume (source="contract.context"), repository.read (source="contract.repository").
- If
contract.tasks is not empty: repository.write (source="contract.tasks").
- Workspace (
contract.workspace): current_allowed → workspace.current (source="contract.workspace"), isolated_required → workspace.isolated (source="contract.workspace").
- Required
gate.tests: tests.execute (source="contract.gate.tests").
- Human/governance gates: They do not derive technical harness capabilities.
- Explicit
--require <capability-id>: Strictly additive (source="cli.require"); they never remove, downgrade or replace requirements derived from the contract.
- Diagnostic codes (
RAPID1100–RAPID1119):
RAPID1100 (INFO): Harness capability registry / lock valid.RAPID1101 (ERROR): Invalid or unknown capability_id (InvalidCapabilityIdError).RAPID1102 (ERROR): Invalid HarnessProfile schema/content/digest (InvalidHarnessProfileError).RAPID1103 (ERROR): HarnessProfile not found (HarnessProfileNotFoundError).RAPID1104 (ERROR): Invalid harness identity / filename-ID mismatch (HarnessIdentityError).RAPID1105 (): Unsafe profile/registry/lock path or symlink ().
HarnessProfile
DECLARES capabilities
CapabilityResolution
DETERMINES declared compatibility
Neither proves runtime behavior.
Evidence Engine & Behavioral Evals (rapid evidence & rapid eval)
Phase 6 of Rapid OS v3 closes the governance loop by strictly separating Declaration (GateDisposition.ACKNOWLEDGED), Capability (HarnessProfile), Observation (RunEvidence) and Deterministic Judgment (BehavioralEvaluator → EvaluationReport):
# Ingest immutable evidence bound to a Run and copy SHA-256-verified artifacts
rapid evidence add --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --input evidence.json
rapid evidence add --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --input evidence.json --json
# List, inspect and verify the integrity of evidence and artifacts (read-only)
rapid evidence list --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid evidence list --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
rapid evidence show --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 E001
rapid evidence show --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 E001 --json
rapid evidence verify --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid evidence verify --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
# Evaluate the observed behavior against the Run's contract, state and evidence
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --require mcp.invoke
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --write
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --require-pass
rapid eval run --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --write --require-pass --json
# List and inspect persisted evaluation reports (read-only)
rapid eval list --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid eval list --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --json
rapid eval show --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001
rapid eval show --run booking-idempotency-r1-run-001 --revision 1 --json
- Deterministic canonical schemas:
RunEvidence (schema_version = 1): id, run_id, contract_digest, state_revision, state_digest, kind, producer, summary, task_ids, gate_ids, capability_ids, payload (e.g. command_result: {"label": "...", "exit_code": 0}), artifacts, content_digest (no wall-clock timestamps, guaranteeing deterministic digests).EvidenceArtifact: path, sha256, size_bytes.EvaluationReport (schema_version = 1): includes extra_capability_ids (validated against the Phase 5 catalog, sorted, deduplicated and included in report_digest) and EvaluationVerdict (pass, pass_with_waivers, fail, unverified).- Mandatory semantic replay (
RAPID1223): Every persisted EvaluationReport is rebuilt with BehavioralEvaluator from ExecutionContract + historical RunState + exact evidence set + BehavioralRuleset + extra_capability_ids, requiring exact equality of assertions, verdict, ruleset_digest, evidence_set_digest, extra_capability_ids and report_digest.
- Immutable isolation (Phase 4 and Phase 5 untouched):
rapid evidence and rapid eval never modify .rapid-os/runs/<run-id>/ (run.json, contract.json, context.md, context-manifest.json, states/*.json), never auto-acknowledge gates, never auto-finish Runs and never mutate .rapid-os/harnesses/ or .rapid-os/capabilities.lock.
ACKNOWLEDGED does not imply PASS: An acknowledged gate (GateDisposition.ACKNOWLEDGED) or a task marked DONE without verified evidence remains UNVERIFIED. A gate with an explicit waiver (WAIVED) produces and an overall verdict of () when the remaining required assertions pass.
Phase 4 RunState
DECLARES lifecycle and gate disposition
Phase 5 CapabilityResolution
EVALUATES declared harness capability compatibility
Phase 6 RunEvidence
RECORDS immutable observations and artifact digests
Phase 6 EvaluationReport
DERIVES deterministic behavioral conclusions
Validation and Diagnostics
Before regenerating context or using Rapid OS in CI, you can validate the project state:
rapid validate
rapid validate --json
rapid validate --strict
rapid validate fails with code 1 when there are errors, such as missing tech-stack.md or topology.md, invalid JSON in .rapid-os/config.json, .rapid-os/project.json, .rapid-os/specs/ (RAPID801–RAPID809), .rapid-os/policy.json or .rapid-os/runs/ (RAPID1001–RAPID1014), .rapid-os/harnesses/ or .rapid-os/capabilities.lock (RAPID1101–RAPID1112), .rapid-os/evidence/ (RAPID1201–RAPID1211), .rapid-os/evals/ (RAPID1221–RAPID1229), MCP templates, unknown tools in .rapid-os/config.json, incompatible stack/topology combinations or an empty assembled context. With --strict, warnings also return 1.
To review the local installation without modifying anything:
rapid doctor
rapid doctor --json
rapid doctor reports resolved paths, the active templates directory, the state of the current project (including .rapid-os/project.json, .rapid-os/specs/, .rapid-os/policy.json, .rapid-os/runs/, .rapid-os/harnesses/, .rapid-os/capabilities.lock, .rapid-os/evidence/ and .rapid-os/evals/ if they exist) and optional Node/npx availability.
To see the final context before writing agent files:
rapid inspect-context
rapid inspect-context --summary
rapid inspect-context --json
rapid inspect-context uses the same context assembly as normal generation, but it does not write .cursorrules, CLAUDE.md, INSTRUCTIONS.md, AGENTS.md or Antigravity files.
✅ Capabilities and Limitations
Rapid OS DOES:
- scan repository facts with evidence
- compile task-specific context with provenance and budgets
- manage immutable specs and revisions
- classify execution risk and produce immutable execution contracts
- track append-only run state
- resolve declared harness capability compatibility
- store immutable run evidence and verify artifact digests
- evaluate runs deterministically against evidence rules
- drive governed runs with the porcelain verbs (start, next, check, task, attach, finish) and generate /rapid-<mode> shortcuts
Rapid OS DOES NOT:
- launch coding agents or call LLM APIs
- run anything from the plumbing commands (spec, run, evidence, eval...)
- approve human gates (a person runs `rapid approve` in their own terminal)
- create git worktrees except with `rapid start --worktree`
- cryptographically attest external producer identity
- guarantee software correctness beyond recorded evidence rules
Rapid OS RUNS, only through the porcelain:
- the test_command from .rapid-os/config.json, or the argv given to `rapid check`
- read-only git commands to record the run's changes (and `git worktree add` with --worktree)
What Rapid OS IS and what it IS NOT:
| WHAT YOU CAN DO (Do's) | WHAT IT DOES NOT DO (Don'ts) |
|---|
| Inject Senior Context: Force the AI to follow Clean Architecture and SOLID. | Write code on its own: Rapid OS is the Architect, your AI (Cursor/Claude) is the Builder. |
| Govern Execution Contracts: Classify risk, require gates and pin immutable snapshots per Run. | Invoke Agents or approve gates: It does not launch editors or models and never approves human gates. It runs only the configured test_command or the argv of rapid check (the plumbing runs nothing) and creates a worktree only with rapid start --worktree. |
| Refactor Legacy: Define modern rules to clean up old code. | Run in the Cloud: It is a 100% local CLI. It does not upload your code anywhere. |
| Standardize Teams: Have every dev (and their AIs) write the same way. | Compile your App: It does not replace npm run build or compilers. |
Generate Guides and Context: Creates agent rules, specs, MCPs and the deployment document (docs/DEPLOYMENT.md). | Deploy to Production: rapid deploy prints the platform template (it does not write DEPLOY.md), but YOU run the final deploy. |
🧩 Practical Example: Legacy Refactoring
Scenario: You have an old React project with Redux and classes that you want to migrate to Hooks and the Context API.
- Injection: You enter the folder and run
rapid init --shortcuts; in your agent, /rapid-init (or rapid setup next) has you choose the stack for each component (for example react-vite for the frontend).
- Scope: You run
rapid scope.
- Name: "Auth migration to Context"
- Mode: "refactor"
- Objective: "Remove Redux from /auth and use React Context."
- Tasks: "Create AuthContext, Migrate Login.js, Remove reducers."
- Execution:
- You open Cursor/Claude.
- You type: "@SPECS.md @.cursorrules Follow the refactoring plan. Start with step 1."
- Result: The AI will write the new code following YOUR modern standards, ignoring the old style of the rest of the project.
📚 Practical Example: Product Documentation
Scenario: You want to create your SaaS's official documentation, making sure every new page follows the same tone of voice, structure and format.
- Initialization:
mkdir my-docs && cd my-docs
rapid init --shortcuts
# in your agent: /rapid-init (or rapid setup next)
rapid setup set topology doc-site
rapid setup set stack docs-modern
- Rule Definition:
- During onboarding, the business rules document (
docs/BUSINESS_RULES.md) is either provided by you or drafted by the agent as a draft; before closing you review it and confirm it with rapid setup doc business --confirm. Example content: "The tone of voice must be friendly but technical. Use Mermaid diagrams for complex flows."
- Execution:
- You open your editor with Cursor/Claude.
- Prompt: "Create a 'Getting Started' page that explains how to install the SDK, including an authentication flow diagram."
- Result: The AI will generate an
.mdx file guided by context, rules and verifiable criteria, importing Docusaurus components and rendering the requested Mermaid diagram according to your style guide.
Run tests
Rapid OS uses the Python standard library's unittest. From the repository root:
python scripts/test.py # fast suite, in parallel (a couple of minutes)
python scripts/test.py --all # full suite, including the slow end-to-end modules
python scripts/test.py test_hooks # only the modules you name
python -m unittest discover still works, but runs everything serially (about 13 minutes).
For a quick CLI check:
python rapid.py --help
python rapid.py guide
On GitHub Actions, every pull request that is not a draft runs the fast suite on Python 3.12. The full suite on Python 3.10–3.13, the CLI smoke checks and the wheel and sdist checks run after a merge to main, on v* tags, or by hand with gh workflow run tests.yml --ref <branch>.
Deployment
Rapid OS does not deploy itself (it is a local CLI), but it helps document and standardize the deployment of your applications.
Use rapid deploy --target <platform> to print the deployment template (aws, azure, vercel, render, railway or dokploy). It writes no files: the project document is docs/DEPLOYMENT.md, which you resume with rapid setup doc deployment --reopen. An unknown platform is RAPID1413.
👥 Authors
Future v3.2+ Enhancements
Rapid OS v3.1.0 is complete. These items are optional post-v3.1 enhancements and are not required to use the current CLI:
🤝 Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Read CONTRIBUTING.md for the development environment, the tests to run before a pull request and the invariants of Rapid OS. Taking part means accepting the Code of Conduct. To report a vulnerability, follow SECURITY.md.
⭐ Show your Support
If Rapid OS has saved you time or headaches with AI, give the repository a star ⭐️!
👏 Acknowledgements
- Inspired by the need for Spec-Driven Development (SDD).
- Thanks to the Cursor and Anthropic communities for their advances in Context Windows.
❓ FAQ
Does Rapid OS upload my code to the cloud?
No. Rapid OS runs 100% locally. It only generates text files (.md) in your folder.
Does it work with existing projects?
Yes. You can run rapid init in a legacy project (cloned from GitHub) to inject modern refactoring rules.
What happens if I run rapid init again?
Rapid OS detects whether configuration files already exist and creates automatic backups (.bak) before overwriting anything.
📃 License
Distributed under the MIT license. See LICENSE for more information.
