Dev & Engineering spec-driven-developmenttddgit-worktreecode-reviewquality-gatesmulti-llm-routing

MoAI Development Harness

A Claude Code harness that turns coding work into gated SPEC workflows with model routing and budget controls.

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What does this agent do, and when should you use it?

MoAI-ADK is a single-binary Go harness that wraps Claude Code on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Its central workflow is a SPEC lifecycle: /moai plan creates a specification, /moai run implements it with TDD or DDD, and /moai sync updates documentation and creates a PR. The tool ships TRUST 5 quality gates, an 11-agent catalog for planning, implementation, auditing, documentation, and E2E work, plus Git worktree isolation. It also exposes model-and-effort profiles, a Token Circuit Breaker, a statusline, and handoff records for managing long-running sessions. It fits teams already committed to Claude Code that want an opinionated operational layer around their repository workflow.

moai init detects a project's language, framework, and methodology, then generates Claude Code integration files. From a project directory, the user launches claude and runs /moai plan "Add JWT login", /moai run SPEC-AUTH-001, and /moai sync SPEC-AUTH-001 to author a SPEC, implement it, synchronize documentation, and create a PR. /moai goal and /moai loop drive declarative completion loops and scan LSP diagnostics, AST-grep, and linters in parallel; /moai gate, /moai review, and /moai clean run gates, reviews, and dead-code cleanup. moai cc, moai glm, and moai cg launch Claude-only, GLM-only, or Claude-leader/GLM-worker sessions, while moai worktree manages isolated SPEC worktrees.

  1. A Claude Code team adding an authentication feature and needing an evidence-oriented plan → run → sync workflow rather than an ad hoc coding session.
  2. A maintainer of a legacy repository with under 10% test coverage who needs DDD and characterization tests before incremental changes.
  3. An engineering team running several specifications in parallel and needing separate Git worktrees to prevent overlapping edits.
  4. A usage-metered team that wants to assign model and reasoning effort differently to planning, implementation, and audit work.
  5. A team with implementation-heavy tasks that wants Claude to own planning and audits while GLM workers perform bulk implementation.

What are this agent's strengths and limitations?

Pros
  • Defines a concrete /moai plan → /moai run → /moai sync SPEC lifecycle with verification depth tied to task size.
  • Applies TRUST 5 gates across testing, readability, consistency, security, and traceability; the documented testing bar is 85%+ coverage.
  • Separates authoring and evaluation through named independent roles such as plan-auditor and sync-auditor.
  • Provides model/effort profiles, a Token Circuit Breaker, and a Claude-plus-GLM execution mode for operational cost control.
  • Ships as one Go binary with no extra runtime dependencies and documented support for macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Limitations
  • Its core workflow depends on Claude Code, so it is not documented as a standalone coding application, SDK, or provider-neutral agent.
  • It requires Git plus a local shell and filesystem workflow; native Windows cmd.exe is explicitly unsupported, with WSL recommended.
  • CG mode requires tmux, and GLM use requires a z.ai API key or subscription, adding environment and provider setup.
  • The gates rely on a project's available test, lint, and language toolchain; the supplied evidence does not establish equivalent verification coverage for every language.
  • Fully-autonomous mode requires sandbox proof and otherwise downgrades to automatic; deny/ask safety rules still apply.

How do you install or deploy this agent?

Install Git and Claude Code first. On macOS, Linux, or WSL:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modu-ai/moai-adk/main/install.sh | bash

On Windows with PowerShell 7.x+:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modu-ai/moai-adk/main/install.ps1 | iex

To build from source, use Go 1.26+:

git clone https://github.com/modu-ai/moai-adk.git
cd moai-adk && make build

Then initialize a project with moai init my-project. gh is recommended for PR automation; tmux is required for CG mode.

How do you use this agent?

Inside an initialized project, launch Claude Code:

claude

Then run:

/moai plan "Add JWT login"
/moai run SPEC-AUTH-001
/moai sync SPEC-AUTH-001

These commands create a SPEC, implement it with TDD or DDD, then synchronize documentation and create a PR. For the GLM backend, save a z.ai API key and enter hybrid mode:

moai glm sk-your-glm-api-key
moai cg

Use moai cc for a Claude-only session.

How does this agent compare with similar options?

The documented execution choices are moai cc for Claude-only work, moai glm for GLM-only work, and moai cg for a Claude leader with GLM workers. The README positions Claude-only mode for complex, highest-quality work, GLM-only mode for cost optimization, and CG mode for keeping strategy, planning, and audits with Claude while delegating bulk implementation to GLM.

FAQ

Can I use it without Claude Code?
Not as documented. MoAI-ADK is described as a harness for Claude Code, and its first workflow starts by launching claude in the project.
Do I have to use GLM?
No. moai cc launches a Claude-only session. moai glm and moai cg are documented cost-oriented alternatives.
What permission safeguards apply to autonomous mode?
semi-auto is the default. fully-autonomous uses bypassPermissions but requires an environment marker or --sandbox-proof; without proof it downgrades to automatic, and deny/ask rules remain binding.
What happens when a long task reaches its token budget?
The Token Circuit Breaker stops at the hard limit, documented as 90% by default, writes progress to progress.md, and provides a paste-ready resume message.

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