Intent-Driven Development

Express your intent clearly. Let AI implement it correctly.

What is Intent-Driven Development?

Intent-Driven Development (IDD) is a methodology where you focus on expressing what you want and why, while AI handles the how. Instead of writing code line by line, you define clear intent through structured phases, and AI implements it correctly.

The key insight: AI can write code. Humans should define intent.

The FORGE Cycle

FORGE guides you through 5 validated phases:

Phase	Purpose	Output
Focus 🎯	Define what & why	Problem statement, success criteria
Orchestrate 📋	Plan the architecture	C4 diagrams, task breakdown
Refine ✏️	Specify “done” before code	Acceptance criteria, interfaces
Generate ⚡	AI writes code via TDD	Tested, working implementation
Evaluate ✅	Verify intent was met	Accepted or revision needed

Each phase has validation gates. You can’t skip ahead without completing the requirements.

Getting Started

Choose your preferred integration:

Option 1: Claude Code Skill (Recommended)

The simplest way to use FORGE. No server required - works directly in Claude Code.

# Clone the skill to your Claude skills directory
git clone https://github.com/scottfeltham/forge-skill.git ~/.claude/skills/forge

Then in Claude Code:

/forge new "user authentication"
/forge status
/forge phase next

View forge-skill on GitHub

Option 2: MCP Server

For IDE integrations (VS Code, Cursor) and multi-tool workflows.

// Add to claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "forge": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@neoforge/forge-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

View forge-mcp on GitHub

Option 3: CLI (Legacy)

Standalone CLI for non-Claude workflows. Consider using the skill or MCP server instead.

npm install -g @neoforge/forge-framework

View forge-framework on GitHub

Why Intent-Driven Development?

🎯 Clarity Before Code

Define success criteria before implementation. Know exactly what “done” looks like.

🧠 AI as Implementer

You provide intent and constraints. AI handles implementation details via TDD.

✅ Validated Phases

Can’t skip steps. Each phase must pass validation before advancing.

🔄 Structured Iteration

When output doesn’t match intent, refine and regenerate with clear feedback.

📝 Everything in Markdown

All state, specs, and learnings in human-readable files. Full transparency.

🤖 Specialized Agents

Architect, Developer, Tester, DevOps, Reviewer - each with domain expertise.

Quick Example

Using the Claude Code skill:

You: /forge new "payment processing"

Claude: Starting Focus phase. Let me ask some questions:
        - What payment providers do you need?
        - What are your success criteria?
        - Any security requirements?

You: Stripe only. Success = charge cards and handle failures gracefully.

Claude: Got it. Moving to Orchestrate phase...
        [Creates architecture diagram]
        [Breaks into session-sized tasks]

Claude: Ready for Refine phase. Writing acceptance criteria...
        Given a valid card, when charged, then return success
        Given an invalid card, when charged, then return error with code

Claude: Acceptance criteria approved. Starting Generate phase...
        [Writes failing test first - RED]
        [Implements minimal code - GREEN]
        [Refactors - REFACTOR]

Claude: All tests passing. Ready for Evaluate phase.
        Does this match your intent?

The IDD Philosophy

“The bottleneck in AI-assisted development isn’t code generation. It’s expressing intent clearly enough for AI to implement correctly.”

FORGE exists to solve this. It provides just enough structure to capture intent precisely, then gets out of the way while AI does the implementation.

Less code. More clarity. Better software.

About

FORGE Framework was created by Scott Feltham to enable Intent-Driven Development with AI assistants.

License

Distributed under the MIT license.

Contributing

Discuss changes via issue or email before submitting PRs.