Re-applies PR #2282's three-layer customization model (skill defaults →
team → user) but swaps YAML for TOML and uv for stdlib tomllib. Users
no longer need uv, pip, or a virtualenv — plain python3 (3.11+) is
sufficient, since tomllib shipped in the standard library.
## Schema changes vs PR #2282
- Flat agent schema: fields live directly under [agent], no nested
metadata/persona sub-tables. Easier to author, less indentation.
- Non-configurable identity: name and title are declared in
customize.toml as source-of-truth metadata (for future skill-manifest
generation) but SKILL.md ignores overrides there — identity is
hardcoded to preserve brand recognition.
- role redefined: now describes what the skill does for the user
within its module phase, not a restatement of the title.
- persistent_facts replaces the activation-time file-context load AND
the old memories concept. Entries can be literal sentences or
file: prefixed paths/globs; avoids collision with the upcoming
runtime memory sidecar.
- activation_steps_prepend / activation_steps_append harmonized across
agents and workflows (replaces agent-specific critical_actions).
- [workflow] namespace mirrors [agent] for workflow customization.
Same four structural rules, same field vocabulary.
## Resolver (src/scripts/resolve_customization.py)
Four purely structural merge rules, zero field-name hardcoding:
- Scalars: override wins
- Tables: deep merge
- Arrays of tables where every item has `code` or `id`: merge by
that key (matching keys replace, new keys append)
- Any other array: append
No removal mechanism — overrides cannot delete base items. Fork the
skill or override by code with a no-op value to suppress defaults.
## Agents ported (6)
All six BMad agents now ship customize.toml + rewritten SKILL.md:
analyst (Mary), tech-writer (Paige), pm (John), ux-designer (Sally),
architect (Winston), dev (Amelia). Each uses the same 8-step
activation template: resolve → execute prepend → adopt persona →
load persistent facts → load config → greet (with {agent.icon}) →
execute append → dispatch or present menu.
Step 8 supports fast-path invocation: "hey Mary, let's brainstorm"
dispatches the matching menu item directly after greeting, skipping
the menu render when intent is clear. Chat, clarifying questions,
and bmad-help remain available when nothing on the menu fits.
## Installer + tooling
- _bmad/scripts/ provisioned on install (copies src/scripts/)
- _bmad/custom/ seeded with .gitignore for *.user.toml on fresh install
- Non-module-dir filter extended to skip _memory, memory, docs,
scripts, and custom when scanning for modules
- Dead _config/agents/ directory no longer created
- metadata.capabilities removed from agent-manifest.csv and schema
- eslint config extended to cover src/scripts/**
- validate-file-refs.js knows about custom/ as install-only
## Deferred for follow-up
- bmad-product-brief workflow port (the pilot that demonstrates
[workflow] + on_complete)
- Translated docs (cs/fr/vi-vn/zh-cn) — regenerate from English
Three-layer customization (skill defaults → team → user) for BMad agents
and any skill that opts in. Users edit `_bmad/custom/{skill-name}.yaml`
(team, committed) or `{skill-name}.user.yaml` (personal, gitignored);
customizations survive updates.
Resolver is a Python script using PEP 723 inline metadata, invoked via
`uv run` so deps auto-install into a cached isolated env on first call.
This aligns with Anthropic's Agent Skills spec and BMB conventions, and
keeps the dependency declared (scannable by pip-audit/Dependabot) rather
than vendored.
## Design choices
- **Agent identity is hardcoded** in SKILL.md (name, title, Overview prose)
so skills can be invoked reliably by role *or* default name. Brand
recognition is preserved; customization shapes behavior, not identity.
- **Luminary-anchored personas** (e.g. "Channels Martin Fowler's
pragmatism and Werner Vogels's cloud-scale realism") deliver ~55%
token savings per agent while preserving distinctive voice beats.
- **Universal per-field merge rules** with v6.1-compatible agent
semantics: metadata shallow-merge, persona replace, critical_actions
and memories append, menu merge-by-code, all else deep-merge.
- **Workflow customization** shares the same surface — `bmad-product-brief`
pilots `activation_steps_prepend`, `activation_steps_append`, and
`skill_end` hooks that any workflow-style skill can adopt.
## Infrastructure
- `_bmad/scripts/` houses shared Python scripts (resolver + future).
- `_bmad/custom/` is provisioned empty with a seeded `.gitignore` for
`*.user.yaml` on fresh installs.
- Installer filters ensure `scripts/`, `custom/`, and sidecar-generated
`memory/` directories are never treated as modules.
- Dead v6.1 code cleaned up: `_config/agents/` no longer created,
`metadata.capabilities` removed from schema and CSV manifest.
fs-extra routes all operations through graceful-fs, which globally
monkey-patches node:fs with a deferred retry queue. During multi-module
installs (~500+ file ops), retried unlink operations from one module's
remove phase can fire after the next module's copy phase has written
files, silently deleting them non-deterministically.
Replace fs-extra with a thin fs-native.js wrapper over node:fs/promises
and node:fs. All 21 consumers now use native APIs with no global
monkey-patching, eliminating the retry-queue race condition entirely.
Closes#1779
* feat(installer): add plugin resolution strategies for custom URL installs
When installing from a custom GitHub URL, the installer now analyzes
marketplace.json plugin structures to determine how to locate module
registration files (module.yaml, module-help.csv). Five strategies
are tried in cascade:
1. Root module files at the common parent of listed skills
2. A -setup skill with registration files in its assets/
3. Single standalone skill with registration files in assets/
4. Multiple standalone skills, each with their own registration files
5. Fallback: synthesize registration from marketplace.json metadata
and SKILL.md frontmatter
Also changes the custom URL flow from confirm-all to multiselect,
letting users pick which plugins to install. Already-installed modules
are pre-checked for update; new modules are unchecked for opt-in.
New file: tools/installer/modules/plugin-resolver.js
Modified: custom-module-manager.js, official-modules.js, ui.js
* fix(installer): address PR review findings for plugin resolver
- Guard against path traversal in plugin-resolver.js: skill paths from
unverified marketplace.json are now constrained to the repo root using
path.resolve() + startsWith check
- Skip npm install during browsing phase: cloneRepo() accepts
skipInstall option, used in ui.js before user confirms selection,
preventing arbitrary lifecycle script execution from untrusted repos
- Add createModuleDirectories() call to installFromResolution() so
modules with declarative directory config are fully set up
- Fix ESLint: use replaceAll instead of replace with global regex
* fix(installer): pass version and repoUrl to manifest for custom plugins
installFromResolution was passing empty strings for version and repoUrl,
which the manifest stores as null. Now threads the repo URL from ui.js
through resolvePlugin into each ResolvedModule, and passes the plugin
version and URL to the manifest correctly.
* fix(installer): manifest-generator overwrites custom module version/repoUrl
ManifestGenerator rebuilds the entire manifest via getModuleVersionInfo
for every module. For custom modules, this returned null for version and
repoUrl because it only checked _readMarketplaceVersion (which searches
for marketplace.json on disk) and hardcoded repoUrl to null. Now checks
the resolution cache first to get the correct version and repo URL.
* fix(installer): resolve custom modules from disk cache on quick update
When the resolution cache is empty (fresh CLI process, e.g. quick
update), findModuleSourceByCode only matched plugin.name against the
module code. This failed for modules like "sam" and "dw" where the
code comes from module.yaml inside a setup/standalone skill, not from
the plugin name in marketplace.json.
Now runs the PluginResolver on cached repos when the direct name match
fails, finding the correct module source and re-populating the cache
for the install pipeline.
* feat(installer): universal source support for custom modules
Replace GitHub-only custom module installation with support for any Git
host (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, self-hosted) and local file paths.
- Add parseSource() universal input parser (local paths, SSH, HTTPS with
deep path/subdir extraction for GitHub, GitLab, Gitea)
- Add resolveSource() coordinator: parse -> clone if URL -> detect
discovery vs direct mode (marketplace.json present or not)
- Clone-first approach eliminates host-specific raw URL fetching
- 3-level cache structure (host/owner/repo) with .bmad-source.json
metadata for URL reconstruction
- Local paths install directly without caching; localPath persisted in
manifest for quick-update source lookup
- Direct mode scans target directory for SKILL.md when no marketplace.json
- Fix version display bug where walk-up found parent repo marketplace.json
and reported wrong version for custom modules
* fix(installer): harden readMarketplaceJsonFromDisk and hoist require
- Add try/catch to readMarketplaceJsonFromDisk so malformed JSON returns
null instead of throwing an unhandled parse error
- Hoist CustomModuleManager require outside the per-module loop in
_installOfficialModules
* fix(installer): restore validateGitHubUrl strictness and fix prettier
- Restore original GitHub-only regex in deprecated validateGitHubUrl
wrapper so existing tests pass (rejects non-GitHub URLs, trailing
slashes)
- Run prettier to fix formatting in custom-module-manager.js
* feat(installer): add --custom-source CLI flag for non-interactive installs
Allows installing custom modules from Git URLs or local paths directly
from the command line without interactive prompts:
npx bmad-method install --custom-source /path/to/module
npx bmad-method install --custom-source https://gitlab.com/org/repo
npx bmad-method install --custom-source /path/one,https://host/org/repo
Works alongside --modules and --yes flags. All discovered modules from
each source are auto-selected.
* docs: add custom and community module installation guide
New how-to page covering community module browsing, custom sources (any
Git host, local paths), discovery vs direct mode, local development
workflow, and the --custom-source CLI flag. Clarifies that
.claude-plugin/ is a cross-tool convention, not Claude-specific.
Also updates non-interactive installation docs with the new flag and
examples, bumps sidebar ordering, and fixes --custom-source to install
only core + custom modules when --modules is not specified.
* feat(bmad-help): add _meta rows and llms.txt support for general questions
Register llms.txt URLs in module-help.csv via _meta rows so bmad-help
can fetch module documentation when users ask questions that don't map
to a specific skill.
* refactor(bmad-help): streamline llms.txt docs into existing skill sections
* feat(installer): add community module browser and custom URL support
Three-tier module selection: official, community (category drill-down
with featured/search), and custom GitHub URL.
- Add RegistryClient shared fetch utility
- Add CommunityModuleManager with SHA-pinned cloning (refuses install
if approved SHA cannot be reached; uses HEAD when no SHA set)
- Add CustomModuleManager for arbitrary GitHub repo installation
- Extend findModuleSource chain with community and custom fallthrough
- Extend manifest to detect community and custom source types
- Add Config.customModulesMeta for custom module metadata
* fix: resolve review findings for community/custom module support
- Remove redundant CommunityModuleManager instantiation in UI display
- Remove dead customModulesMeta field from Config (never populated)
- Add 35 unit tests for CustomModuleManager and CommunityModuleManager
pure functions: URL validation, normalization, search, featured, categories
* fix: preserve installed community/custom modules in modify flow
When a user does "Modify Installation" and declines to browse community
modules, previously installed community/custom modules are now auto-kept.
If the user does browse, their selections are trusted (they can deselect).
Also fix stale docs: class doc for SHA pinning, JSDoc return type.
* fix: include community and custom modules in quick update
Quick update now checks community registry and custom cache so installed
community/custom modules are updated instead of skipped.
* fix: use defaults for new config fields during quick update
When quick update encounters new config fields (e.g., from a newly
supported community module), use schema defaults silently instead of
prompting the user. Quick update should be non-interactive.
* test: add unit tests for SHA pinning, category filtering, and URL edge cases
Cover SHA normalization (set vs null/trusted), listByCategory,
getModuleByCode, and URL validation edge cases (HTTP, trailing slash,
SSH without .git). Total: 243 tests.
* refactor(installer): remove custom content installation feature
Remove the entire local filesystem custom content feature from the
installer to make way for marketplace-based plugin installation.
Deleted: custom-handler.js, custom-module-cache.js, custom-modules.js
Removed: --custom-content CLI flag, interactive custom content prompts,
custom module caching, manifest tracking, missing-source resolution,
and related test suites. Updated docs across all translations.
* fix: address review findings from Augment
Fix admonition syntax (remove accidental space in :::note) across 4
translated docs files, and update stale JSDoc on listAvailable().
* chore(install): stop copying skill prompts to _bmad by default
Flip install_to_bmad default from true to false so skill directories
are cleaned from _bmad/ after IDE install. Skills are self-contained
in their IDE directories (.claude/skills/, etc.) and no longer need
duplicate copies in _bmad/.
Two skills (bmad-create-prd, bmad-validate-prd) opt back in via
explicit manifests because bmad-edit-prd cross-references their data
files. Also fixes broken bmm-skills/ path references and corrects
the file-ref validator module-to-source mapping.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* refactor(install): make edit-prd self-contained and remove install_to_bmad
Give bmad-edit-prd its own copy of prd-purpose.md and replace the
cross-skill validation workflow reference with a skill invocation, so
all three PRD skills are fully self-contained. With no remaining
consumers, remove the install_to_bmad flag from manifests, CSV output,
the post-install cleanup loop, and the dedicated test file.
* feat(install): clean up skill directories from _bmad after IDE install
Skills are self-contained in IDE directories, so _bmad/ only needs
module-level files (config.yaml, _config/). After all IDE setups
complete, remove skill directories from _bmad/ via skill-manifest.csv.
Also cleans up skill dirs left by older installer versions.
* test(install): drop stale install_to_bmad column from suite 27 CSV row
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
* feat(installer): overhaul branding, versioning, and skill cleanup
Logo and branding:
- Responsive logo: full "BMAD METHOD" at >=95 cols, "BMAD" for narrower terminals
- Color scheme updated from yellow to blue (matching bmadcode.com brand)
- Added copyright notice and tagline in white for contrast
- Removed version number from logo (individual module versions shown in summary)
- Added ™ to both wide and narrow logo variants
Installer start message:
- Replaced outdated V6 launch announcement with clean welcome
- Consolidated redundant module/platform messaging into single intro
- Tightened open source manifesto (same spirit, fewer words)
- Merged speaking/media into support section with contact email
- Added full social links: Website, Discord, YouTube, X, Facebook
- Replaced docs.bmad-method.org and changelog links with bmadcode.com hub
Install summary improvements:
- Module names now show full display names from module.yaml (not abbreviations)
- All module versions sourced from .claude-plugin/marketplace.json exclusively
- Summary shows version transitions: "v6.2.2 -> v6.3.0", "v6.3.0, no change",
or "v6.3.0, installed" for fresh installs
- Switched summary from clack note() to box() for full-brightness text
- Removed dim/gray styling that was hard to read on dark terminals
- Links styled with color.blue instead of color.dim
- Get started section leads with actionable steps (launch agent, run bmad-help)
- Removed redundant social links (already shown in start message)
Version source unification:
- All module versions now come from .claude-plugin/marketplace.json only
- Removed package.json as version source for core/bmm modules
- Updated manifest.js getModuleVersionInfo() to use marketplace.json
- Updated installer.js _getMarketplaceVersion() helper
- Updated ui.js getMarketplaceVersion() for module selection display
- Quick Update menu no longer shows misleading version (was using package.json)
- Module selection list now shows versions next to each module name
Skill cleanup overhaul:
- Replaced blunt-force bmad-* prefix deletion with surgical removal system
- Added removals.txt support: optional per-project file listing skills to remove
- Created initial removals.txt with all skills removed since v6.2.0
- Install/update: captures previously installed skill IDs from skill-manifest.csv
before manifest regeneration, then removes those + removals.txt entries
- Uninstall: removes all installed skills via skill-manifest.csv + removals.txt
- Deselecting modules now correctly removes their skills from IDE directories
- User-created bmad-* skills in IDE directories are no longer destroyed
- Legacy directory cleanup retains prefix matching (those dirs are abandoned)
Bug fixes:
- Fixed duplicate "CORE module already up to date" during quick update
- Fixed version display showing package.json version instead of actual module version
- Updated test fixture for bmad-os-* preservation test to use skill-manifest.csv
* fix(installer): address Augment review findings
- Fix plugins[0] fragility: extract highest version across all plugins
in marketplace.json instead of assuming first entry (ui.js, installer.js,
manifest.js)
- Fix _readMarketplaceVersion ignoring moduleSourcePath: custom modules
can now source their own marketplace.json by walking up from source path
- Hard-exclude bmad-os-* utility skills in both surgical and legacy cleanup
modes, preventing accidental deletion if tracked in manifests
- Distinguish missing file vs parse error in skill-manifest.csv reading:
warn on corrupt CSV instead of silently skipping cleanup
* fix(installer): resolve module source before reading marketplace version
Move _readMarketplaceVersion call after source type resolution so custom
modules use their own source path instead of falling back to the external
module cache, which could match a different module with the same code.
* fix: preserve local custom module sources during quick update
Keep customModules in the generated main manifest so local custom
module source paths survive update runs. Load those preserved source
paths during stock quick update before falling back to the custom
cache directory.
This fixes the case where BMAD would drop customModules, lose the
original source path for a local module, and then skip the module or
try to re-cache from _bmad/_config/custom/<module>, which could fail
with ENOENT after the cache directory was removed.
Also adds an installation component regression test to verify
customModules and sourcePath are preserved in manifest generation.
Fixes#1582
* fix: ensure consistent formatting
* refactor: extract quick update custom source assembly
Move quick-update custom module source collection out of Installer and into
CustomModules as assembleQuickUpdateSources(). This keeps discoverPaths() focused on consuming prepared install inputs while
making the quick-update source assembly step explicit and easier to evolve.
Also:
- preserve customModules metadata in manifest regeneration for installed modules
- drop stale customModules entries when modules are no longer installed
- cover manifest preservation and manifest-backed quick-update sources in tests
* refactor(installer): restructure installer with clean separation of concerns
Move tools/cli/ to tools/installer/ with major structural cleanup:
- InstallPaths async factory for path resolution and directory creation
- Config value object (frozen) replaces mutable config bag
- ExistingInstall value object replaces stateful Detector class
- OfficialModules + CustomModules + ExternalModuleManager replace monolithic ModuleManager
- install() is prompt-free; all user interaction in ui.js
- Update state returned explicitly instead of mutating customConfig
- Delete dead code: dependency-resolver, _base-ide, IdeConfigManager,
platform-codes helpers, npx wrapper, xml-utils
- Flatten directory structure: custom/handler → custom-handler,
tools/cli/ → tools/installer/, lib/ directories removed
- Update all path references in package.json, tests, CI, and docs
* fix(installer): guard ExistingInstall.version and surface module.yaml errors
Guard ExistingInstall.version access with .installed check in
uninstall.js, ui.js, and installer.js to prevent throwing on
empty/partial _bmad dirs. Surface invalid module.yaml parse errors
as warnings instead of silently returning empty results.
Brian Madison
Alex Verkhovsky
Taras Romaniv