BMAD-METHOD/docs/how-to
Brian 91a57499e9
feat(installer): add --set and --list-options for non-interactive config (#2354)
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
2026-04-28 20:15:57 -05:00
..
customize-bmad.md feat(core-skills): add bmad-customize — guided authoring for _bmad/custom overrides (#2289) 2026-04-20 22:14:54 -05:00
established-projects.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00
expand-bmad-for-your-org.md feat(core-skills): add bmad-customize — guided authoring for _bmad/custom overrides (#2289) 2026-04-20 22:14:54 -05:00
get-answers-about-bmad.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00
install-bmad.md feat(installer): add --set and --list-options for non-interactive config (#2354) 2026-04-28 20:15:57 -05:00
install-custom-modules.md Fix installer custom modules http (#2344) 2026-04-27 19:58:38 -05:00
non-interactive-installation.md feat(installer): channel-based version resolution + interactive channel management (#2305) 2026-04-24 08:20:30 -05:00
project-context.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00
quick-fixes.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00
shard-large-documents.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00
upgrade-to-v6.md feat(installer): universal source support for custom module installs (#2233) 2026-04-09 18:44:40 -05:00