BMad-METHOD: Universal AI Agent Framework

Foundations in Agentic Agile Driven Development, known as the Breakthrough Method of Agile AI-Driven Development, but it is so much more. Transform any domain with specialized AI expertise: software development, entertainment, creative writing, business strategy to personal wellness just to name a few.

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🧭 Quick Navigation - Find Your Path

🚨 MUST READ: Understanding the BMAD Workflow

Before diving in, review these critical workflow diagrams that explain how BMAD works:

1. Planning Workflow (Web UI) - How to create PRD and Architecture documents
2. Core Development Cycle (IDE) - How SM, Dev, and QA agents collaborate through story files

⚠️ These diagrams explain 90% of BMad Method Agentic Agile flow confusion - Understanding the PRD+Architecture creation and the SM/Dev/QA workflow and how agents pass notes through story files is essential - and also explains why this is NOT taskmaster or just a simple task runner!

What would you like to do?

• Build software with Full Stack Agile AI Team → Quick Start Instruction
• Learn how to use BMAD → Complete user guide and walkthrough
• See available AI agents → Specialized roles for your team
• Explore non-technical uses → Creative writing, business, wellness, education
• Create my own AI agents → Build agents for your domain
• Browse ready-made expansion packs → Game dev, DevOps, infrastructure and get inspired with ideas and examples
• Understand the architecture → Technical deep dive
• Join the community → Get help and share ideas

Popular Use Cases

• Software Development - Quick Start | User Guide | Workflow Guides
• Game Development - 2D Phaser Pack
• Business Strategy - Full Guide
• Creative Writing - Full Guide
• DevOps/Infrastructure - Infrastructure Pack

Quick Links

• Installation → Get started in minutes
• Documentation → All guides and references
• Contributing → Help improve BMAD
• Support → Get help and connect

🔄 Important: Keeping Your BMad Installation Updated

Stay up-to-date effortlessly! If you already have BMad-METHOD installed in your project, simply run:

npx bmad-method install
# OR
npm run install:bmad

This will:

• ✅ Automatically detect your existing v4 installation
• ✅ Update only the files that have changed and add new files
• ✅ Create .bak backup files for any custom modifications you've made
• ✅ Preserve your project-specific configurations

This makes it easy to benefit from the latest improvements, bug fixes, and new agents without losing your customizations! If for some reason this fails, you can rename or remove your .bmad-code folder and run the install again. The main thing to look out for is if you have set up custom modes that are not file driven (Cursor is the only one at this time that is not done through project files lagging behind) - you will want to ensure your sm and dev custom modes especially are kept up to date.

🚀 Quick Start

Fastest Start: Web UI (2 minutes) 🏃‍♂️

1. Get the bundle: Copy dist/teams/team-fullstack.txt (from this repository)
2. Create AI agent: Create a new Gemini Gem or CustomGPT
3. Upload & configure: Upload the file and set instructions: "Your critical operating instructions are attached, do not break character as directed"
4. Start Ideating and Planning: Start chatting! Type *help to see available commands or pick an agent like *analyst to start right in on creating a brief.

💡 All pre-built bundles are in the dist/ folder - ready to copy and use immediately!

IDE Quick Start (5 minutes) 💻

Prerequisites: Install Node.js (v20 or higher)

Run npx bmad-method install

OR

git clone https://github.com/bmadcode/bmad-method.git
npm run install:bmad # build and install all to a destination folder

This installs all agents and configures them for your IDE. If you have an existing v3 installation, it will offer to upgrade it automatically.

Overview

The BMad Method (Breakthrough Method of Agile Agentic-Driven Development) elevates 'Vibe Coding' by providing specialized AI agents for every role in an Agile team. Each agent has deep expertise in their domain helping you really plan and execute on your vision while keeping the agents on the rails even through complex application plans.

Unlike systems like Task Master, or inbuilt Task tool, the BMad Methods agile flow does so much more. With most systems, you give your idea in a few sentences at most, and the system churns out a plan, task list, lets you review it and then starts executing. Where the BMad agile flow is different is you can choose to have more upfront planning and architecture specification to ensure the system is built in a sustainable way, not a vibe coded spaghetti mess. When producing the PRD and Architectures (full stack, front end and or backend), the Agents work with you back and forth using advanced proven LLM techniques and techniques also based in psychology to produce beyond the average slop LLMs and Task generators will on their own. This truly is a system of Human in the Loop produces markedly better results.

Installation

Method 1: Pre-Built Web Bundles (Fastest) 📦

For ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini web interfaces:

1. Choose a bundle:
   • Recommended: dist/teams/team-fullstack.txt (complete development team)
   • Or pick from individual agents in dist/agents/
2. Upload to your AI platform (Gemini Gem, CustomGPT, or directly in chat)
3. Set instructions: "Your critical operating instructions are attached, do not break character as directed"
4. Type /help to see available commands

Method 2: CLI Installer (For IDEs) 🎯

Prerequisites: Install Node.js v20+ first

Install directly into your project: npx bmad-method install

Supported IDEs:

The BMad Method works with any IDE, but has built-in integration for:

• cursor - Cursor IDE with manual rule @agent commands
• claude-code - Claude Code with /agent commands
• cline - Cline Rules integration
• gemini-cli - Gemini with @agent commands
• windsurf - Windsurf with manual rule @agent commands
• roo - Roo Code with custom modes (see .roomodes)
• windsurf - Windsurf with @agent commands

Available Agents

Core Development Team

BMad Agents

Advanced Features

Dynamic Dependencies

Each agent only loads the resources it needs, keeping context windows lean.

Template System

Rich templates for all document types:

• Product Requirements (PRD)
• Architecture Documents
• User Stories
• Test Plans
• And more...

Templates are unique in that they are embedded with the LLM instructions also for further working with you to prompt and elicit the best from you and your agile agent team member - allowing for unique coaching and customization options. While there is a single create-doc task, the possibilities are endless when you expand the templates into more doc types, or customize with your own docs embedded with the templating markup and LLM instruction framework that is core to the BMad Method.

Slash Star Commands

Ask the agent you are using for help with /help (in the web) or *help in the ide to see what commands are available!

Advanced Elicitation

Many of the Agents and Templates for docs, and some tasks, include Advanced Elicitation directives based on the latest in LLM interactions and pro level prompt engineering guidance. With this, you can push the Agents further than ever before. If an agent proposes an idea, or an architecture - you can push it further with optional elicitations where it will have to really expand on, defend, or produce other options and prove its suggestion was better. This is a necessary step if you want the absolute best beyond accepting the generated average responses the LLMs think you want to hear for their first response. Some of this is interactive, and some of this is baked into the core prompting engine that powers the LLM progression through various tasks and template flows.

Usage

The BMAD Method follows a structured Agile workflow with specialized AI agents. For complete usage instructions and walkthroughs, see the User Guide.

Quick Start Examples

With IDE Integration

# In Cursor
@pm Create a PRD for a task management app

# In Claude Code
/architect Design a microservices architecture

# In Windsurf
@dev Implement story 1.3

With Web UI

After uploading a bundle, type /help to see available commands.

Key Resources

• Complete User Guide - Full walkthrough from project inception to completion
• CLI Commands - Installation, updates, and management
• Upgrading from V3 - Migration instructions
• Core Configuration - V4's flexible project structure support
• Teams & Workflows - Pre-configured agent teams

Project Structure

See the Core Architecture for the complete source tree and detailed explanations of each component.

Key Directories

• .bmad-core/ - Heart of the framework (agents, templates, workflows)
• dist/ - Pre-built bundles ready for web UI use
• expansion-packs/ - Domain-specific extensions
• tools/ - Build and installation utilities
• docs/ - Your project documentation (PRD, architecture, stories)

📦 Pre-Built Bundles (dist/ folder)

All ready-to-use bundles are in the dist/ directory!

• Teams: dist/teams/ - Complete team configurations

  • team-fullstack.txt - Full-stack development team
  • team-ide-minimal.txt - Minimal IDE workflow team
  • team-no-ui.txt - Backend-only team
  • team-all.txt - All agents included

• Individual Agents: dist/agents/ - Single agent files

  • One .txt file per agent (analyst, architect, dev, etc.)

• Expansion Packs: dist/expansion-packs/ - Specialized domains

  • Game development, DevOps, etc.

For Web UI usage: Simply copy any .txt file from dist/ and upload to your AI platform!`

Documentation & Guides

Architecture & Technical

• 🏗️ Core Architecture - Complete technical architecture and system design
• 📖 User Guide - Comprehensive guide to using BMAD-METHOD effectively
• 🚀 Expansion Packs Guide - Extend BMAD to any domain beyond software development

Workflow Guides

• 📚 Universal BMAD Workflow Guide - Core workflow that applies to all IDEs
• 🏗️ Working in the Brownfield Guide - Complete guide for enhancing existing projects

IDE-Specific Guides

• 🎯 Cursor Guide - Setup and usage for Cursor
• 🤖 Claude Code Guide - Setup and usage for Claude Code
• 🌊 Windsurf Guide - Setup and usage for Windsurf
• 🦘 Roo Code Guide - Setup and usage for Roo Code
• 🔧 Cline Guide - Setup and usage for Cline (VS Code)
• ✨ Gemini CLI Guide - Setup and usage for Gemini CLI

🌟 Beyond Software Development - Expansion Packs

While BMAD excels at software development, its natural language framework can structure expertise in ANY domain. Expansion packs transform BMAD into a universal AI agent system for creative writing, business strategy, health & wellness, education, and much more.

Available Expansion Packs

Technical Domains

• 🎮 Game Development - Complete game studio team with designers, developers, and narrative writers
• 🏗️ Infrastructure/DevOps - Cloud architects, security specialists, SRE experts
• 📱 Mobile Development - iOS/Android specialists, mobile UX designers
• 🔗 Blockchain/Web3 - Smart contract developers, DeFi architects

Non-Technical Domains

• 💼 Business Strategy - Strategic planners, market analysts, business coaches
• 💪 Health & Wellness - Fitness coaches, nutrition advisors, meditation guides
• 🎨 Creative Arts - Story writers, world builders, character developers
• 📚 Education - Curriculum designers, tutors, learning coaches
• 🧠 Personal Development - Life coaches, goal setters, habit builders
• 🏢 Professional Services - Legal advisors, content creators, research assistants

Creating Your Own Expansion Pack

Transform your expertise into AI agents:

1. Identify your domain - What knowledge do you want to share?
2. Design specialized agents - Each with unique expertise and personality
3. Create reusable tasks - Standard procedures in your field
4. Build professional templates - Structured outputs for consistency
5. Share with the community - Help others benefit from your expertise

📖 Read the full Expansion Packs Guide - Detailed examples, inspiration, and technical details

Support

• 💬 Discord Community
• 📖 Documentation
• 🐛 Issue Tracker
• 💬 Discussions

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Version History

• Current: v4 - Complete framework rewrite with CLI installer, dynamic dependencies, and expansion packs
• Previous Versions:
  • Version 3 - Introduced the unified BMAD Agent and Gemini optimization
  • Version 2 - Added web agents and template separation
  • Version 1 - Original 7-file proof of concept

See versions.md for detailed version history and migration guides.

Author

Created by Brian (BMad) Madison

Contributing

We're excited about contributions and welcome your ideas, improvements, and expansion packs! 🎉

Before Contributing - MUST READ

To ensure your contribution aligns with the BMad Method and gets merged smoothly:

1. 📋 Read CONTRIBUTING.md - Our contribution guidelines, PR requirements, and process
2. 🎯 Read GUIDING-PRINCIPLES.md - Core principles that keep BMAD powerful through simplicity
3. 🆕 New to GitHub? Start with our Pull Request Guide

Key Points to Remember

• Keep dev agents lean (save context for coding!)
• Use small, focused files over large branching ones
• Reuse existing tasks (like create-doc) instead of creating duplicates
• Consider expansion packs for domain-specific features and not improvements to the core system (those belong in the core system)
• All contributions must follow our natural language, markdown-based templating approach with template embedded LLM instructions and elicitations

We're building something amazing together - let's keep it simple, powerful, and focused! 💪

Development Setup

Want to help improve the BMad Method. Fork n' Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/bmadcode/bmad-method.git
cd bmad-method

npm run build # rebuild the dist folder
npm run install:bmad # build and install all to a destination folder

_{Built with ❤️ for the AI-assisted development community}