Shannon Framework

Claude Code plugin for mission-critical domains — replaces subjective AI-development judgments with objective measurements.

Live site: withagents.dev/posts/post-07-prompt-engineering-stack Field journal entry: withagents.dev/posts/post-07-prompt-engineering-stack

Version 5.6.0 | Installation | Quick Start | Documentation | GitHub

🚀 V5.6.0 "Comprehensive Quality & Intelligence": 14 new skills, /shannon:health dashboard, advanced testing, security automation! See docs/v5.6/CHANGELOG.md for complete details.

🔒 V6.0.0 "Project-Level Opt-In": Shannon hooks are now silent by default. Per-project activation via .shannon/active sentinel. Activation benchmark F1=1.00 across all 30 skills. See CHANGELOG.md for the full v6 ledger.

Activation (Opt-In)

Shannon v6.0.0+ ships with hooks disabled by default in every project. They only fire where you explicitly opt in. This ends cross-project pollution from prior versions.

State	How to set it	Behavior
Active in this project	`/shannon:enable` (writes `.shannon/active`)	All hooks fire
Disabled in this project	`/shannon:disable` (writes `.shannon/disabled`)	All hooks no-op (sticky off)
Default (no sentinel)	(nothing)	All hooks no-op
Per-shell escape	`SHANNON_DISABLE=1` env	Hooks no-op for that shell
Global testing escape	`SHANNON_GLOBAL=1` env	Hooks fire everywhere (use sparingly)

Precedence (highest first): SHANNON_DISABLE > SHANNON_GLOBAL > .shannon/disabled > .shannon/active > default-off.

Quick start in a project that should use Shannon:

cd /path/to/your/project
# in Claude Code:
/shannon:enable
# Shannon is now active in this project; other projects unaffected.

To turn it off:

/shannon:disable

Overview

Shannon Framework is a Claude Code plugin that transforms AI-assisted development from ad-hoc interactions into a rigorous, quantitative, reproducible methodology. Built for mission-critical domains—Finance, Healthcare, Legal, Security, Aerospace—Shannon replaces subjective judgments with objective measurements throughout the development lifecycle.

What Shannon IS

Complete Development Methodology: Specification → Planning → Execution → Testing → Reflection
Multi-Layer Enforcement Architecture: 4 layers (Commands → Skills → Hooks → Core Files) enforcing same principles
Quantitative Framework: Replace "seems complex" with 8D complexity scores (0.00-1.00)
Production-Tested System: Built by observing actual LLM violations, creating explicit counters

What Shannon IS NOT

❌ Code generation tool
❌ Testing framework
❌ Project scaffolder
✅ Complete methodology for specification-driven development with quantitative rigor

Core Value Proposition

Quantitative Over Qualitative: Replace ALL subjective judgments with objective measurements.

Traditional Approach	Shannon Framework
"Seems complex"	8D complexity score: 0.72/1.00 (VERY COMPLEX)
"Need 3-4 agents"	Formula: complexity × bands = 8-15 agents
"Making progress"	Quantified: 65% complete (+12% this session)
"Tests look fine"	NO MOCKS compliance: 100% or fail
"Architecture aligns"	Alignment score: 87/100 (STRONG)

Architecture

4-Layer Enforcement Pyramid

                         USER
                           │
                           ↓
            ┌──────────────────────────┐
            │   COMMANDS (Layer 4)     │  ← User-facing interface
            │   15 slash commands      │     /shannon:spec, /shannon:wave
            └────────────┬─────────────┘     Delegate to skills
                         ↓                   Format output
            ┌──────────────────────────┐
            │   SKILLS (Layer 3)       │  ← Workflow implementation
            │   18 behavioral patterns │     Execute methodologies
            └────────────┬─────────────┘     Save to Serena
                         ↓                   Reference core files
            ┌──────────────────────────┐
            │   HOOKS (Layer 2)        │  ← Automatic enforcement
            │   5 lifecycle scripts    │     Block violations
            └────────────┬─────────────┘     Inject context
                         ↓                   Cannot be skipped
            ┌──────────────────────────┐
            │  CORE FILES (Layer 1)    │  ← Foundational specs
            │  9 reference documents   │     11K lines total
            └──────────────────────────┘     Complete algorithms
                         ↓
                   SERENA MCP
              (Central State Store)

Component Inventory

Layer	Count	Purpose	Examples
Commands	20	User entry points	shannon:init, shannon:do, shannon:wave, shannon:spec, shannon:ultrathink
Skills	21	Workflow implementation	project-onboarding, spec-analysis, wave-orchestration, intelligent-do
Hooks	5	Automatic enforcement	post_tool_use (NO MOCKS), precompact
Core Files	9	Reference specs (11K lines)	TESTING_PHILOSOPHY, SPEC_ANALYSIS
Agent Guides	25	Agent usage documentation	WAVE_COORDINATOR, TEST_GUARDIAN

Infrastructure Dependencies

Mandatory:

Claude Code: Plugin platform (required)
Serena MCP: Persistent state store (61% of skills require it)

Recommended:

Sequential MCP: Deep reasoning (100+ thoughts for complex analysis), REQUIRED for /shannon:ultrathink
Context7 MCP: Framework-specific documentation
Tavily MCP: Best practices research

Conditional (based on project type):

Puppeteer MCP: Web testing (NO MOCKS requirement)
iOS Simulator MCP: Mobile testing
Platform-specific MCPs: As needed for real system testing

Installation

Prerequisites

Claude Code (latest version)
Serena MCP (mandatory - 61% of skills require it)
Sequential MCP (recommended for complex analysis)

Installation Steps

⭐ Recommended: Universal Installation (Works for both Claude Code and Cursor IDE)

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/shannon-framework/shannon.git
cd shannon

# Install for both editors
./install_universal.sh

# Or install for specific editor
./install_universal.sh --cursor   # Cursor IDE only
./install_universal.sh --claude   # Claude Code only

# Restart your editor

Alternative Options:

Local Installation (Claude Code only):
```
./install_local.sh
```
More reliable than plugin system. See INSTALL_LOCAL.md

Plugin Installation (Claude Code only):

# In Claude Code CLI:
/plugin marketplace add shannon-framework/shannon
/plugin install shannon@shannon-framework

May have discovery issues. Use local/universal installation instead.

Installation Guides:

Universal (Both Editors): INSTALL_UNIVERSAL.md ⭐ Recommended
Claude Code Local: INSTALL_LOCAL.md
Plugin (Legacy): May not discover components properly

Verification

# Check Shannon is installed
/shannon:status

# Expected output:
# ✅ Shannon Framework v5.0.0
# ✅ Serena MCP: Connected
# ✅ Skills loaded: 18/18
# ✅ Commands available: 15/15

Quick Start

# Prime your session (loads skills, MCPs, context)
/shannon:prime

# Analyze a specification
/shannon:spec "Build a task management web app with React and Node.js"

# Execute with wave orchestration
/shannon:wave

# Run functional tests (NO MOCKS)
/shannon:test

# Reflect before completion
/shannon:reflect

Core Concepts

1. 8D Complexity Analysis

What: Quantitative specification scoring across 8 dimensions

Dimensions:

Structural (0-10): Codebase organization complexity
Cognitive (0-15): Mental model complexity
Coordination (0-10): Team/agent coordination needs
Temporal (0-10): Time-based dependencies
Environmental (0-10): External integrations
Algorithmic (0-15): Logic complexity
Uncertainty (0-15): Unknown factors
Risk (0-15): Failure impact

Output: Total score 0.00-1.00

0.00-0.30: SIMPLE (1-3 agents, 1-3 hours)
0.30-0.50: MODERATE (3-5 agents, 5-15 hours)
0.50-0.70: COMPLEX (5-8 agents, 1-4 days)
0.70-1.00: VERY COMPLEX (8-15 agents, 4-12 days)

Why It Matters: Replaces "seems complex" with objective measurement. Drives resource allocation, timeline estimation, wave planning.

Example:

Specification: "E-commerce platform with inventory, payments, recommendations"
8D Score: 0.72 (VERY COMPLEX)
Recommended: 8-15 agents, 3-7 days, 4-6 waves

2. Wave Orchestration

What: Parallel execution of independent work units

How It Works:

Complexity analysis determines work can be parallelized
Break into independent units (waves)
Spawn agents in parallel (all in ONE Claude Code message)
Create checkpoints between waves
Synthesize results

Performance:

2 agents: 1.5-1.8x speedup
3 agents: 2.0-2.5x speedup
5 agents: 3.0-4.0x speedup
7+ agents: 3.5-5.0x speedup
Average: 3.5x faster than sequential

Example:

/shannon:wave

# Shannon analyzes spec (0.68 complexity)
# Creates 3 waves:
#   Wave 1: Backend API (agents: BACKEND, DATABASE_ARCHITECT)
#   Wave 2: Frontend UI (agents: FRONTEND, MOBILE_DEVELOPER)
#   Wave 3: Testing (agents: TEST_GUARDIAN, QA)
#
# All agents spawn in parallel
# Checkpoint after each wave
# 3.2x speedup vs sequential

3. NO MOCKS Testing (Iron Law)

What: Functional tests ONLY. Zero tolerance for mocks.

Enforcement (4 layers):

Core File: TESTING_PHILOSOPHY.md explains why
Meta-Skill: using-shannon declares as Iron Law
Skill: functional-testing implements patterns
Hook: post_tool_use.py blocks mock usage automatically

Why: Mocks test code, not functionality. Real dependencies test integration, failure modes, performance.

Detection:

PostToolUse hook scans all Write/Edit operations
Patterns: jest.mock(), @mock, sinon.stub(), etc.
Action: Block write, force real implementation

Fallback Strategy:

Web → Puppeteer MCP (real browser)
Mobile → iOS Simulator MCP (real device)
API → HTTP client (real requests)
Database → Database MCP (real DB, test schema)

Authority Resistance: If authority demands mocks:

Explain functional testing value (15min)
Show data (mock coverage ≠ functional coverage)
Calculate cost (mock debt accumulation)
Offer compromise (critical paths functional, rest can be mocked)
Document decision and risks
Comply if authority insists (with documented objection)
Escalate if pattern emerges

4. Context Preservation

What: Zero-loss state management across sessions

Mechanism:

PreCompact Hook: Fires before context compression (15s timeout)
Creates checkpoint in Serena MCP
Stores: specs, goals, waves, progress, decisions
Guaranteed: Cannot compress without checkpoint

Usage:

# Manual checkpoint
/shannon:checkpoint "before-refactor"

# Automatic checkpoints (via PreCompact hook)
# [Happens automatically when context fills]

# Restore from checkpoint
/shannon:restore --latest
/shannon:restore "before-refactor"

# List available
/shannon:checkpoint --list

Why: Context loss = lost decisions, rationale, progress. Shannon eliminates this entirely.

5. Goal Management (North Star)

What: Project-level goal tracking and alignment validation

Workflow:

# Set North Star goal
/shannon:north_star "Build production-ready task manager with 99.9% uptime"

# Goal injected into EVERY prompt (via UserPromptSubmit hook)

# Validate alignment
/shannon:wave  # (automatically checks goal alignment)

# Output includes:
# ✅ Goal Alignment: 94/100 (STRONG)
#    - Core features align perfectly
#    - Performance requirements met
#    - Production readiness on track

Purpose: Prevents scope drift. Every decision validated against original goal.

Components Deep Dive

Commands (15 Total)

User-invocable slash commands. Invocation: /shannon:command_name

Session Management (4)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`prime`	Session initialization, auto-resume	skill-discovery, mcp-discovery, context-restoration, goal-management
`checkpoint`	Create state snapshot	context-preservation
`restore`	Load from checkpoint	context-restoration, goal-management
`status`	Shannon health check	mcp-discovery, goal-management

Analysis & Planning (3)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`spec`	8D complexity analysis	spec-analysis
`analyze`	Project analysis with confidence	shannon-analysis, confidence-check
`discover_skills`	Catalog available skills	skill-discovery

Execution (4)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`exec`	NEW V5.1 Autonomous execution with libraries & validation	exec, wave-orchestration, context-preservation
`wave`	Parallel wave execution	wave-orchestration, context-preservation, functional-testing, goal-alignment
`task`	Automated prime→spec→wave	[Chains multiple commands]
`scaffold`	Generate project structure	spec-analysis, project-indexing, functional-testing

Quality & Testing (2)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`test`	NO MOCKS functional testing	functional-testing
`reflect`	Honest gap analysis	honest-reflections

Infrastructure (2)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`check_mcps`	Verify MCP configuration	mcp-discovery
`memory`	Memory system coordination	memory-coordination

Goals (1)

Command	Purpose	Skill(s)
`north_star`	Set/manage project goal	goal-management

Skills (18 Total)

Reusable behavioral patterns. Categorized by enforcement type.

RIGID Skills (2) - 100% Enforcement

Skill	Purpose	MCP
`using-shannon`	Meta-skill for Shannon usage patterns	Serena (REQUIRED)
`functional-testing`	NO MOCKS testing enforcement	Serena (REQUIRED)

PROTOCOL Skills (8) - 90% Enforcement

Skill	Purpose	MCP
`skill-discovery`	Automatic skill discovery and invocation	Serena (REQUIRED)
`phase-planning`	Context-safe phase creation	Serena (REQUIRED)
`task-automation`	Task breakdown and automation	Serena (REQUIRED)
`honest-reflections`	Self-assessment before completion	Serena (REQUIRED)
`context-preservation`	Checkpoint creation	Serena (REQUIRED)
`context-restoration`	Session state restoration	Serena (REQUIRED)
`memory-coordination`	Cross-session memory management	Serena (REQUIRED)
`sitrep-reporting`	Structured situation reports	Serena (REQUIRED)

QUANTITATIVE Skills (5) - 80% Enforcement

Skill	Purpose	MCP
`spec-analysis`	8D complexity specification analysis	Serena (RECOMMENDED)
`wave-orchestration`	Parallel wave execution management	Serena (REQUIRED)
`confidence-check`	Pre-completion confidence verification	Serena (RECOMMENDED)
`goal-alignment`	North Star alignment validation	Serena (RECOMMENDED)
`mcp-discovery`	MCP server discovery patterns	Serena (RECOMMENDED)

FLEXIBLE Skills (3) - 70% Enforcement

Skill	Purpose	MCP
`shannon-analysis`	Shannon-specific analysis workflow	Serena (RECOMMENDED)
`goal-management`	Goal lifecycle management	Serena (RECOMMENDED)
`shannon-quantified`	Shannon principle adherence measurement	Serena (RECOMMENDED)

Note: 61% of skills (11/18) REQUIRE Serena MCP. The remaining 39% (7/18) have degraded fallbacks but strongly recommend Serena.

Hooks (5 Total)

Event-driven automation scripts. Execute automatically on lifecycle events.

Hook	Event	Purpose	Timeout
`session_start.sh`	SessionStart	Load using-shannon meta-skill	5000ms
`user_prompt_submit.py`	UserPromptSubmit	Inject North Star + wave context	2000ms
`post_tool_use.py`	PostToolUse (Write/Edit/MultiEdit)	Block mock usage (NO MOCKS)	3000ms
`precompact.py`	PreCompact	Create context checkpoint	15000ms
`stop.py`	Stop	Enforce wave validation gates	2000ms

Key Features:

user_prompt_submit.py: Fires on EVERY prompt (cannot skip)
post_tool_use.py: Matcher pattern blocks mock writes automatically
precompact.py: continueOnError: false - MUST succeed before compaction
All hooks automatic - no user action required

Core Files (9 Total)

Always-on behavioral pattern files (11,045 lines total).

Core File	Domain	Purpose
`CONTEXT_MANAGEMENT.md`	Context	Context preservation patterns
`FORCED_READING_PROTOCOL.md`	Quality	Complete reading enforcement
`HOOK_SYSTEM.md`	System	Hook architecture documentation
`MCP_DISCOVERY.md`	Integration	MCP server discovery patterns
`PHASE_PLANNING.md`	Planning	Context-safe phase methodology
`PROJECT_MEMORY.md`	Memory	Memory system architecture
`SPEC_ANALYSIS.md`	Analysis	8D complexity methodology
`TESTING_PHILOSOPHY.md`	Quality	NO MOCKS testing philosophy
`WAVE_ORCHESTRATION.md`	Execution	Parallel wave patterns

Loading: Injected into Claude's system prompt at plugin initialization.

Usage Guide

First-Time Setup

# 1. Verify installation
/shannon:status

# 2. Check MCP servers
/shannon:check_mcps

# 3. Set project goal
/shannon:north_star "Build production-ready authentication system with 99.9% uptime"

# 4. Prime session
/shannon:prime

# 5. Ready to work!

Common Workflows

New Project

# 1. Set goal
/shannon:north_star "Build e-commerce platform with inventory, payments, recommendations"

# 2. Analyze specification
/shannon:spec "Detailed specification text here..."

# Output:
# 8D Complexity: 0.72 (VERY COMPLEX)
# Recommended: 8-15 agents, 4-6 waves, 3-7 days

# 3. Execute with waves
/shannon:wave

# Or use task command (automates prime→spec→wave)
/shannon:task "specification text" --auto

Session Resume

# Automatic detection and restoration
/shannon:prime

# Output:
# ✅ Previous session detected
# ✅ Restored: spec, goals, waves, progress
# ✅ Ready to continue from: Wave 3/5 (62% complete)

Complex Project

# 1. Deep analysis
/shannon:analyze --deep

# 2. Review complexity
/shannon:spec "full specification"

# 3. Plan waves
/shannon:wave --plan

# 4. Review plan, then execute
/shannon:wave

# 5. Create checkpoint before risky work
/shannon:checkpoint "before-refactor"

# 6. Test (NO MOCKS)
/shannon:test

# 7. Reflect before completion
/shannon:reflect

Best Practices

Always Prime: Start sessions with /shannon:prime
Set North Star: Define clear project goal upfront
Trust 8D Scores: Don't override complexity analysis without data
Use Waves: Parallel execution = 3.5x average speedup
NO MOCKS: Functional tests only, real dependencies
Checkpoint Often: Before refactors, major changes
Reflect Before Complete: Honest gap analysis prevents premature completion

Performance Tips

Cache Skills: Use --cache flag (12x faster discovery)
Auto-Resume: /shannon:prime auto-detects previous session
Quick Mode: /shannon:prime --quick for time-sensitive work
Parallel Waves: Let Shannon determine agent count (don't override)

Advanced Topics

Creating Custom Skills

Shannon skills follow a strict template. See templates/SKILL_TEMPLATE.md for complete structure.

Required Sections:

Frontmatter (name, description, type, allowed-tools)
Purpose and When to Use
Prerequisites
Workflow (step-by-step)
Anti-Rationalization (violations and counters)
Validation
Examples
MCP Requirements

Enforcement Types:

RIGID (100%): Exact execution, no adaptation
PROTOCOL (90%): Required structure, adaptable details
QUANTITATIVE (80%): Score-based, measurement-driven
FLEXIBLE (70%): Principle-guided, contextual

Understanding Enforcement Levels

Shannon uses defense in depth for critical behaviors:

Example: NO MOCKS Testing

Layer 1 (Core): TESTING_PHILOSOPHY.md explains why
Layer 2 (Hooks): post_tool_use.py blocks mock writes automatically
Layer 3 (Skills): functional-testing enforces patterns
Layer 4 (Commands): /shannon:test invokes enforcement stack

To violate, must defeat ALL 4 layers. Single-layer enforcement can be circumvented; multi-layer cannot.

MCP Configuration Strategies

Mandatory Setup:

# Serena MCP (required for 61% of skills)
claude mcp add serena

# Verify
/shannon:check_mcps

Recommended Setup:

# Sequential MCP (deep reasoning)
claude mcp add sequential-thinking

# Context7 MCP (framework docs)
claude mcp add context7

Conditional Setup (project-specific):

# Web testing
claude mcp add puppeteer

# Mobile testing
claude mcp add ios-simulator

# API testing
claude mcp add http-client

Validation:

/shannon:check_mcps --verbose

# Output shows:
# ✅ Required: Serena (connected)
# ✅ Recommended: Sequential (connected)
# ⚠️ Conditional: Puppeteer (not installed, needed for web testing)

Multi-Wave Project Patterns

For VERY COMPLEX projects (0.70-1.00), use multi-wave strategy:

Wave 1: Foundation

Setup infrastructure
Database schema
Core models
Checkpoint: foundation-complete

Wave 2: Core Features

Authentication
Primary workflows
Business logic
Checkpoint: core-complete

Wave 3: Integration

External APIs
Payment systems
Email/notifications
Checkpoint: integration-complete

Wave 4: Testing & Polish

Functional tests (NO MOCKS)
Performance optimization
Security hardening
Checkpoint: testing-complete

Wave 5: Production Prep

Documentation
Deployment automation
Monitoring/logging
Checkpoint: production-ready

Each wave creates checkpoint. If wave fails, restore and retry without losing previous work.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Serena MCP not connected"

Problem: Commands fail with Serena errors

Solution:

# Check MCP status
claude mcp list

# Add Serena if missing
claude mcp add serena

# Verify
/shannon:check_mcps

"Skills not loading"

Problem: /shannon:prime shows 0/18 skills

Solution:

# Reinstall plugin
/plugin uninstall shannon@shannon-framework
/plugin install shannon@shannon-framework

# Restart Claude Code

"Wave execution slow"

Problem: Waves not parallelizing (no speedup)

Solution: Check complexity score

/shannon:spec "your spec"

# If complexity < 0.50:
# - May not warrant parallelization
# - Use --force flag if needed

/shannon:wave --force

"PostToolUse hook blocking legitimate code"

Problem: Hook detects non-mock code as mock

Solution:

# Review detection pattern in code
# Common false positives:
#   - "mock" in variable names
#   - "stub" in comments

# Rename variables if needed
# Or use --skip-hooks (not recommended)

"Context loss despite checkpoints"

Problem: Restored session missing data

Solution:

# List available checkpoints
/shannon:checkpoint --list

# Restore specific checkpoint
/shannon:restore "checkpoint-name"

# Check Serena memory
/serena:memory list

Getting Help

Documentation: This README + /shannon:status --help
Examples: Each skill includes examples in skills/{name}/examples/
GitHub Issues: github.com/krzemienski/shannon-framework/issues
Community: Check GitHub Discussions

Version History

v5.0.0 (Current - January 2025)

Major:

Comprehensive functional verification (4 test applications)
Three-layer validation (Flow + Artifacts + Functionality)
Enhanced architecture documentation (10 analysis documents)

Status: Functional verification in progress

v4.1.0 (December 2024)

Major Enhancements:

Forced Complete Reading Protocol: Ensures complete content consumption
Automatic Skill Discovery & Invocation: Skills auto-activate based on context
Unified /shannon:prime Command: Single command for session initialization

Performance:

Skill discovery: 12x faster (cache)
Prime command: 35-50s auto-resume mode
Wave orchestration: 3.5x average speedup

Backward Compatibility: ✅ Full V3 compatibility maintained

v4.0.0 (November 2024)

Major Refactor:

Commands refactored to delegate to skills (was monolithic)
Hook system introduced (5 lifecycle hooks)
Core files formalized (9 behavioral patterns)
Serena MCP integration (61% of skills require it)

New Commands: analyze, task, scaffold New Skills: confidence-check, goal-alignment, shannon-quantified Breaking Changes: None (V3 compatibility maintained)

v3.x (Legacy)

Monolithic command architecture (all logic in commands). Deprecated but backward-compatible.

Contributing & Support

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for:

Code of conduct
Development workflow
Testing requirements
PR process

Creating Skills

Copy templates/SKILL_TEMPLATE.md
Fill all required sections
Add anti-rationalization (violations + counters)
Include examples and tests
Submit PR

Testing

# Validate Shannon v5.0
python validate_shannon_v5.py

# Run skill tests
cd skills/{skill-name}/tests
./run_tests.sh

Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
Email: info@shannon-framework.dev

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

Built with Claude Code and inspired by Claude Shannon's information theory principles. Special thanks to the Anthropic team for Claude Code's plugin architecture and MCP ecosystem.

Install Shannon: /plugin install shannon@shannon-framework

Documentation: This README + skill-specific guides in skills/ directory

Version: 5.0.0 | License: MIT | Maintainer: Shannon Framework Team

Name	context-restoration
Description	Restore previous session state from Serena MCP checkpoints. Retrieves checkpoint by ID or auto-selects most recent, deserializes context, restores command/skill/phase/wave state. Use when: resuming after context loss, continuing previous session, recovering from interruption.

context-restoration

SKILL.md

Shannon Framework

Activation (Opt-In)

Overview

What Shannon IS

What Shannon IS NOT

Core Value Proposition

Architecture

4-Layer Enforcement Pyramid

Component Inventory

Infrastructure Dependencies

Installation

Prerequisites

Installation Steps

Verification

Quick Start

Core Concepts

1. 8D Complexity Analysis

2. Wave Orchestration

3. NO MOCKS Testing (Iron Law)

4. Context Preservation

5. Goal Management (North Star)

Components Deep Dive

Commands (15 Total)

Session Management (4)

Analysis & Planning (3)

Execution (4)

Quality & Testing (2)

Infrastructure (2)

Goals (1)

Skills (18 Total)

RIGID Skills (2) - 100% Enforcement

PROTOCOL Skills (8) - 90% Enforcement

QUANTITATIVE Skills (5) - 80% Enforcement

FLEXIBLE Skills (3) - 70% Enforcement

Hooks (5 Total)

Core Files (9 Total)

Usage Guide

First-Time Setup

Common Workflows

New Project

Session Resume

Complex Project

Best Practices

Performance Tips

Advanced Topics

Creating Custom Skills

Understanding Enforcement Levels

MCP Configuration Strategies

Multi-Wave Project Patterns

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Serena MCP not connected"

"Skills not loading"

"Wave execution slow"

"PostToolUse hook blocking legitimate code"

"Context loss despite checkpoints"

Getting Help

Version History

v5.0.0 (Current - January 2025)

v4.1.0 (December 2024)

v4.0.0 (November 2024)

v3.x (Legacy)

Contributing & Support

Contributing

Creating Skills

Testing

Support

License

Acknowledgments