Zest Dev

A lightweight, human-interactive development workflow for AI-assisted coding.

Quick Start

Install the Claude Code plugin:

/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/nettee/zest-dev
/plugin install zest-dev

Install the CLI:

npm install -g zest-dev

Usage Workflow

Step-by-Step

Work through a feature spec one phase at a time, with human review between each stage.

/zest-dev:new "My new feature"   # Create a spec and set it as current
/zest-dev:research            # Research requirements and explore the codebase
/zest-dev:design              # Clarify requirements and design the architecture
/zest-dev:implement           # Build the feature following the design

Each command advances the spec to the next status: new → researched → designed → implemented.

Quick Implementation

Run all stages end-to-end with approval checkpoints. Useful for straightforward tasks.

Start from a description:

/zest-dev:quick-implement "My new feature"

Or start from an existing spec:

zest-dev set-current <spec-id>
/zest-dev:quick-implement

Summarize a Session

After a quick coding conversation, capture what was discussed and built into a permanent spec file.

/zest-dev:summarize

This is useful when you skipped the planning phase and want to document the work after the fact.

CLI Reference

The zest-dev CLI manages spec files. Use it to inspect and update specs outside of Claude.

Commands

Command	Purpose
zest-dev status	View project status
zest-dev show <spec-id|current>	View spec content
zest-dev create <slug>	Create new spec
zest-dev set-current <spec-id>	Set current working spec
zest-dev unset-current	Unset current working spec
zest-dev update <spec-id> <status>	Update spec status
zest-dev create-branch	Create a git branch from the current spec

Status Transitions

Valid status values: new, researched, designed, implemented

• Forward-only transitions (skipping is allowed): e.g. new → designed is valid
• Backward transitions fail: e.g. implemented → designed
• Setting the same status again returns an error

Generate Prompts for Codex

For editors like Codex that don't support project-level commands, use zest-dev prompt to generate the equivalent prompt text:

codex "$(zest-dev prompt new 'some description')"
codex "$(zest-dev prompt research)"
codex "$(zest-dev prompt design)"
codex "$(zest-dev prompt implement)"
codex "$(zest-dev prompt summarize)"

Project Structure

project/
├── specs/
│   ├── 20260224-init-project/
│   │   └── spec.md
│   ├── 20260225-feature-name/
│   │   └── spec.md
│   └── current -> 20260225-feature-name (symlink)
└── .zest-dev/
    └── template/
        └── spec.md

Create a custom spec template at .zest-dev/template/spec.md.