Closes#1663.
Adds two installer flags so module config options can be set without
interactive prompts. Designed for CI scripts, Dockerfiles, and
enterprise rollouts where the user wants to bake answers into the
install command rather than answer prompts.
`--set <module>.<key>=<value>` (repeatable) sets any module config
option. `--list-options [module]` lists every key the installer can
discover locally — built-in modules (`core`, `bmm`) plus any cached
official modules. One flag scales to every module without growing the
CLI surface per option.
```bash
npx bmad-method install --yes \
--modules bmm --tools claude-code \
--set bmm.project_knowledge=research \
--set bmm.user_skill_level=expert \
--set core.user_name=Brian
```
## How it works
`--set` is a post-install patch. The installer runs its normal flow
untouched, then `applySetOverrides` upserts each value into the
relevant config files:
- `_bmad/config.toml` (team scope, default)
- `_bmad/config.user.toml` (user scope, when the key already lives
there — so user-scope keys like `core.user_name` and
`bmm.user_skill_level` keep their proper file)
- `_bmad/<module>/config.yaml` (so declared schema keys carry forward
via the existingValue path on the next install)
A module without `_bmad/<module>/config.yaml` is skipped silently —
no orphan sections in `config.toml` for uninstalled modules.
## Tradeoffs documented in install-bmad.md
- **Verbatim values.** `--set bmm.project_knowledge=research` writes
`"research"`, not `"{project-root}/research"`. The `result:`
template is not applied. Pass it explicitly if you want the
rendered form: `--set bmm.project_knowledge='{project-root}/research'`.
- **Carry-forward, declared keys.** Free — values land in the
per-module `config.yaml`, so the next install reads them as
`existingValue` and they become the prompt default (accepted under
`--yes`).
- **Carry-forward, undeclared keys.** Best-effort. The value lives in
`config.toml` for the current install but won't be re-emitted on
the next install (the manifest writer's schema-strict partition
drops unknown keys). Re-pass `--set` if needed.
- **No "key not in schema" validation.** Whatever you assert is
written.
## Security
Prototype-pollution defense: `--set __proto__.x=1` would otherwise
reach `overrides.__proto__[x] = 1` and pollute `Object.prototype`,
cascading into every plain-object lookup in the process. Defense-in-
depth via parser-level reserved-name rejection (`__proto__`,
`prototype`, `constructor`) AND `Object.create(null)` for the
override maps. Verified the attack reproduces without the guard and
is blocked with it.
## What's intentionally NOT integrated
`--set` deliberately does not touch the prompt / template / schema
collection flow. No pre-seeding answers, no question filtering, no
function-default evaluation, no schema-strict partition exemption.
That earlier integration approach was tried and scrapped: it
spread state across `Config`, `OfficialModules`,
`manifest-generator`, both collection helpers, and required parallel
plumbing for quick-update — every bug fix touched a different layer.
The post-install patch model covers the actual user need (set a
config value from CI) in ~330 lines of `set-overrides.js` without
the schema gymnastics.
## Files
- `tools/installer/set-overrides.js` (new): parser, prototype-pollution
guard, `applySetOverrides` post-install patch, `upsertTomlKey` /
`tomlString` / `tomlHasKey` line-based TOML helpers
- `tools/installer/list-options.js` (new): module.yaml discovery +
formatter for `--list-options`
- `tools/installer/commands/install.js`: register `--set` /
`--list-options` flags, early validation, `--list-options` exit-code
handling (await `stream.write` callback then `process.exitCode` to
avoid truncating piped output), thread `setOverrides` through to
quick-update
- `tools/installer/core/config.js`: carry `setOverrides` field for
the post-install patch step
- `tools/installer/core/installer.js`: invoke `applySetOverrides`
after `writeCentralConfig` (covers regular install + quick-update
via the shared install path)
- `tools/installer/ui.js`: parse `--set` for early validation, warn
about overrides targeting modules not in `--modules`, drop those
entries before threading
- `docs/how-to/install-bmad.md`, `README.md`: usage, routing rules,
carry-forward semantics, tradeoffs
## Test plan
Suite 44 (24 cases): parser, prototype-pollution guard, `tomlString`
escaping, `upsertTomlKey` across insert/replace/missing-section/
empty-file/preserved-newline cases, `applySetOverrides` happy path +
uninstalled-module skip + missing-user-toml-creation + empty-input
no-op, `discoverOfficialModuleYamls` / `formatOptionsList` sanity
(hermetic via `BMAD_EXTERNAL_MODULES_CACHE` temp dir). 355 total
passing. Lint + prettier + markdownlint clean.
E2E smoke verified across:
- [x] `--set` writes correct files (team toml / user toml / per-module
yaml) for declared and undeclared keys
- [x] Quick-update without `--set` carries forward declared keys via
`existingValue` path
- [x] Quick-update WITH `--set` applies cleanly (uniform behavior
across action types)
- [x] `--set` for unselected module: warned, no orphan section
- [x] Prototype pollution: rejected with non-zero exit
- [x] `--list-options bmm` exit 0 with full output through pipe;
`--list-options nope` exit 1
- [x] Translated docs (`docs/{cs,fr,vi-vn,zh-cn}/`) intentionally not
touched — they'll lag behind English until the translation pipeline
runs
* fix(installer): require --tools for fresh --yes installs; remove --tools none (closes#2326)
Fresh non-interactive installs without --tools previously produced a
config-only install (~35 files vs ~1400 in the manifest) with no warning
and a "BMAD is ready to use" success card, leaving slash commands
unreachable. --tools none was an explicit opt-in for the same broken
state.
Now: fresh install + -y without --tools throws a helpful error pointing
at --list-tools. --tools none is rejected as an unknown ID. Empty and
typo'd tool IDs are also rejected. Existing-install paths (--action
update, quick-update, modify) are unchanged - they continue to reuse
previously-configured tools when --tools is omitted.
Adds --list-tools flag that prints all 42 supported tool IDs (id, name,
target_dir, preferred star) sourced from platform-codes.yaml.
English docs updated; localized docs (vi-vn, fr, cs, etc.) will sync via
the normal translation pass.
* fix(installer): address review for #2326 — single source of truth, drop dead code, add tests
- Refactor formatPlatformList to use IdeManager so --list-tools and --tools
validation see the same set of platforms. Eliminates the drift where suspended
platforms appeared in --list-tools but were rejected at validation.
- Drop unused getValidPlatformIds export.
- Flatten redundant block scope around the throw in the --yes-without-tools
branch (refactor leftover).
- Drop dead String() defensive cast (Commander always passes a string).
- Add Test Suite 42: 8 unit tests covering _parseToolsFlag empty/whitespace/
unknown/typo cases plus an integration check that --list-tools output and
--tools validation agree on the ID set.
* fix(installer): close --tools "" bypass and drop hardcoded tool count
- Replace truthy `if (options.tools)` guard with `!== undefined` in both
upgrade and fresh-install branches. Empty string now reaches
_parseToolsFlag and produces the specific "passed empty" error
instead of falling through to a generic message (fresh-install) or
being silently ignored (existing-install).
- Drop the hardcoded "42 supported tools" count from the prereqs in
install-bmad.md so the doc doesn't drift as platform-codes.yaml
changes.
Addresses augment / coderabbit review on #2346.
* feat(installer): channel-based version resolution for external modules
Adds stable/next/pinned channel resolution so external/community modules
install at released git tags by default instead of tracking main HEAD.
Manifest now records channel, resolved version, and SHA per module for
reproducible installs.
CLI flags: --channel, --all-stable, --all-next, --next=CODE (repeatable),
--pin CODE=TAG (repeatable). Precedence: pin > next > channel > registry
default > stable. --yes accepts patch/minor upgrades but refuses majors.
Interactive "Ready to install (all stable)?" gate with a per-module
picker (stable/next/pin) when declined. Re-install prompts classify tag
diffs as patch/minor/major with semver-class-dependent defaults.
Legacy version:null manifests get a one-time migration prompt.
Custom modules gain an optional @<ref> URL suffix for pinning (https,
ssh, /tree/<ref>/subdir forms supported; local paths rejected).
Community modules honor --next/--pin overrides with a curator-bypass
warning; default path still enforces the approved SHA.
Quick-update now reads the manifest's recorded channel per module so
pinned installs don't silently roll forward.
* feat(installer): interactive channel switch, upgrade refusal, unified docs
Builds on the channel-resolution foundation. The installer now lets users
flip a module between stable, next, and pinned after install — either
interactively via a "Review channel assignments?" gate, or by flag. Quick
and modify re-installs classify stable upgrades; under non-interactive
flows, patches and minors apply automatically but majors are refused with
a pointer to --pin.
Fallback behavior for GitHub rate-limit / network failures is now cache-
aware: re-installs reuse the recorded ref silently; fresh installs abort
with actionable guidance (set GITHUB_TOKEN or use --next/--pin). Bundled
modules (core, bmm) warn when targeted by --pin or --next so users aren't
left wondering why the flag had no effect.
Install summary labels no longer mangle "main" into "vmain"; next-channel
entries render as "main @ <short-sha>" instead. Bundled modules are now
correctly skipped from all channel prompts and tag-API lookups.
Docs consolidated into a single how-to. install-bmad.md now covers the
interactive flow, the channel model (stable/next/pinned plus the npm
dist-tag axis for core/bmm), the re-install upgrade prompts, the full
flag reference, copy-paste recipes, and troubleshooting. The old
non-interactive-installation.md is reduced to a redirect stub.
* fix(installer): review fixes + unit tests for channel resolution
- ui.js: import parseGitHubRepo; fixes ReferenceError in the
interactive channel picker's stable-tag pre-resolve path.
- community-manager: pinned modules now fetch+checkout the pin tag
on cache refresh instead of resetting to origin/HEAD (was silently
drifting to main on re-install).
- channel-plan: parseChannelOptions returns acceptBypass so --yes
auto-confirms the curator-bypass prompt; headless --next/--pin
installs of community modules no longer hang.
- community-manager: simplify recordedVersion (dead ternary branch).
- custom-module-manager: drop "or sha" from the @<ref> comment
(git clone --branch rejects raw SHAs); update-path fetches
origin <ref> so /tree/<branch>/ URLs work too.
- install-bmad.md: rename "Headless / CI installs" to "Headless CI
installs" so the stub's #headless-ci-installs anchor resolves.
- test/test-installer-channels.js: 83 unit tests for channel-plan
and channel-resolver pure modules; wired into npm test as
test:channels.
* fix(installer): address CodeRabbit review findings
- ui.js: skip stable-channel upgrade classification when the user has
already declared intent via --pin/--next=/--channel or the review
gate. Prevents the decline / major-refused / fetch-error branches
from silently overwriting an explicit pin with prev.version.
- external-manager.js: short-circuit cloneExternalModule when the
requested plan matches an existing in-process resolution and the
cache is valid. Avoids redundant resolveChannel() + git fetch on
every same-plan lookup in a single install.
- installer.js: fall back to CommunityModuleManager.getResolution()
when no external resolution exists, so community module result
rows carry newChannel/newSha instead of null under --next/--pin.
- installer.js: don't label a module as "no change" when its version
string is 'main'/'HEAD' — the SHA may have moved and preVersions
doesn't track the prior SHA. Show "(refreshed)" instead.
- official-modules.js: match versionInfo.version to the manifest's
cloneRef || (hasGitClone ? 'main' : version) expression so summary
lines report the cloned ref for git-backed custom installs.
- install-bmad.md: clarify that sha is only written for git-backed
modules and that rerunning the same --modules on another machine
does not reproduce stable-channel installs — convert recorded tags
into explicit --pin flags for cross-machine reproducibility.
* 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.
* 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().
* 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