Manifest Plugin for Claude Code

Living documentation for feature-driven product engineering. Track features as system capabilities, not work items.

Installation

# Install the server (if not already installed)
brew install manifestdocs/tap/manifest

Then install the plugin inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add manifestdocs/claude-plugins
/plugin install manifest@manifest-plugins

Or from the command line:

claude plugin marketplace add manifestdocs/claude-plugins
claude plugin install manifest@manifest-plugins --scope user

The plugin will detect if the server is missing on startup and guide you through installation.

Requirements

Claude Code 1.0.33+
manifest binary in PATH (install via Homebrew)

Commands

All commands are prefixed with manifest:. Type /manifest: and autocomplete will show available options.

Quick Views

Command	Description
`/manifest:tree`	Display feature hierarchy with status symbols
`/manifest:versions`	Show version roadmap (now/next/later)
`/manifest:next`	Show the highest-priority feature ready for work
`/manifest:feature [query]`	Search and display feature details
`/manifest:activity`	Show recent activity timeline for the project

Setup

Command	Description
`/manifest:init`	Initialize Manifest for current directory (creates project + versions)

Workflow

Command	Description
`/manifest:start [feature]`	MUST be used when implementing a feature (creates branch, defaults to next priority)
`/manifest:complete`	Complete current work (commits, PR or merge, records history)
`/manifest:plan`	Interactive feature planning session

Version Management

Command	Description
`/manifest:release [version]`	Mark a version as shipped
`/manifest:assign [feature] [version]`	Assign a feature to a target version

Feature States

◇ proposed     - In the backlog, not yet started
⊘ blocked      - Waiting on other features to be implemented
○ in_progress  - Actively being worked on
● implemented  - Complete and documented
✗ archived     - No longer active

Typical Workflow

0. Initialize (first time only)

/manifest:init

This creates the project, sets up versions (Now/Next/Later), and links your directory.

1. See what exists

/manifest:tree

2. Find what to work on

/manifest:next

3. Start work

/manifest:start

Important: Always use /manifest:start before implementing—even if you just created the feature or already have context. This records that work is beginning and returns the authoritative spec.

Spec gate: start_feature will refuse if a leaf feature has no details — write a spec first using update_feature. If details exist but lack acceptance criteria, you'll see a warning.

4. Implement the feature

Work on the feature using the specification displayed by /manifest:start.

5. Complete and document

/manifest:complete

This records your work summary and links relevant commits to the feature history.

Planning Features

Use /manifest:plan to interactively design a feature tree from:

A PRD or spec document
A description of capabilities
Codebase analysis

Features are named by capability ("Router", "Authentication") not by task ("Implement routing"). Apply the user story test: "As a [user], I can [capability]..."

Version Planning

Versions organize features into releases:

now - First unreleased version (current focus)
next - Second unreleased version (queued)
later - All other unreleased versions

/manifest:versions          # See the roadmap
/manifest:assign Router v0.2.0   # Schedule a feature
/manifest:release v0.1.0    # Ship a version

MCP Tools

The plugin also exposes MCP tools for programmatic access:

Discovery: list_projects, get_project_instructions, find_features, get_feature, get_active_feature, render_feature_tree, get_project_history

Setup: init_project, add_project_directory, plan, create_feature

Work: start_feature, complete_feature, get_next_feature, update_feature, delete_feature

Versions: list_versions, create_version, set_feature_version, release_version

Philosophy

Features are living documentation of system capabilities, not work items to close. A feature titled "Router" should make sense years from now. Unlike JIRA/Linear where issues get resolved and archived, features in Manifest describe the current state of your product and evolve with your codebase.

License

MIT

Name	manifeststart
Description	Begin work on a feature. MUST be used when the user asks to implement, work on, or build a feature—even if you just created the feature or already have context.

manifeststart

SKILL.md