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Getting Started Install BMAD and create your first planning document

Getting Started with BMAD

Learn how to build software with BMAD's AI-powered workflows. By the end of this tutorial, you'll have installed BMAD, initialized a project, and created your first planning document.

What You'll Learn

  • How to install and configure BMAD for your IDE
  • How BMAD organizes work into phases and agents
  • How to initialize a project and choose a planning track
  • How to create your first requirements document

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Node.js 20+ — Required for the installer
  • Git — Recommended for version control
  • AI-powered IDE — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or similar
  • A project idea — Even a simple one works for learning

Step 1: Install BMAD

Open a terminal in your project directory and run:

npx bmad-method install

The interactive installer guides you through setup:

1.1 Choose Installation Location

Select where to install BMAD files:

  • Current directory — Recommended for new projects
  • Subdirectory — If you want BMAD isolated
  • Custom path — For specific project structures

1.2 Select Your AI Tool

Choose the IDE you'll be using:

  • Claude Code
  • Cursor
  • Windsurf
  • Other

The installer configures BMAD to work with your selected tool.

1.3 Choose Modules

For this tutorial, select BMM (BMAD Method) — the core module for software development. You can add other modules later:

Module Purpose
BMM Core methodology for software development
BMGD Game development workflows
CIS Creative intelligence and facilitation
BMB Building custom agents and workflows

1.4 Accept Default Configuration

For your first project, accept the recommended defaults. You can customize settings later in _bmad/[module]/config.yaml.

1.5 Verify Installation

After installation completes, verify by checking your project structure:

your-project/
├── _bmad/
│   ├── bmm/            # Method module
│   │   ├── agents/     # Agent files
│   │   ├── workflows/  # Workflow files
│   │   └── config.yaml # Module config
│   └── core/           # Core utilities
├── _bmad-output/       # Generated artifacts (created later)
└── .claude/            # IDE configuration (if using Claude Code)

Having trouble? See Install BMAD for troubleshooting common issues.

Step 2: Understand How BMAD Works

Before diving in, let's understand BMAD's core concepts.

Phases

BMAD organizes work into four phases:

┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐    ┌─────────────┐
│  Phase 1    │    │  Phase 2    │    │  Phase 3    │    │  Phase 4    │
│  Analysis   │ → │  Planning   │ → │ Solutioning │ → │Implementation│
│ (Optional)  │    │ (Required)  │    │  (Varies)   │    │ (Required)  │
└─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘    └─────────────┘
  Brainstorm        Requirements       Architecture       Build code
  Research          PRD or tech-spec   Design decisions   Story by story

Agents

Agents are specialized AI personas, each expert in their domain:

  • Analyst — Initializes projects, tracks progress, conducts research
  • PM — Creates requirements (PRD or tech-spec)
  • UX-Designer — Designs user interfaces and experiences
  • Architect — Makes technical decisions, designs system architecture
  • SM (Scrum Master) — Manages sprints, creates stories
  • DEV — Implements code, reviews work

Workflows

Workflows are guided processes that agents run. You tell an agent to run a workflow, and it walks you through the process interactively.

Planning Tracks

Based on your project's complexity, BMAD offers three tracks:

Track Best For Documents Created
Quick Flow Bug fixes, simple features, clear scope Tech-spec only
BMAD Method Products, platforms, complex features PRD + Architecture + UX
Enterprise Compliance, multi-tenant, enterprise needs PRD + Architecture + Security + DevOps

Step 3: Initialize Your Project

Now let's set up your project with BMAD.

3.1 Load the Analyst Agent

In your IDE, load the Analyst agent. The method depends on your IDE:

  • Claude Code: Type /analyst or load the agent file directly
  • Cursor/Windsurf: Open the agent file from _bmad/bmm/agents/

Wait for the agent's menu to appear. You'll see a list of available workflows.

3.2 Run the Initialization Workflow

Tell the agent to initialize your project:

Run workflow-init

Or use the shorthand:

*workflow-init

3.3 Describe Your Project

The workflow asks you to describe:

  • Your project and goals — What are you building? What problem does it solve?
  • Existing codebase — Is this a new project (greenfield) or existing code (brownfield)?
  • Size and complexity — Roughly how big is this? (You can adjust later)

3.4 Choose Your Track

Based on your description, the workflow suggests a planning track. You can accept the suggestion or choose a different one:

  • Choose Quick Flow if you have a clear, bounded task
  • Choose BMAD Method for most new products or features
  • Choose Enterprise if you have compliance or security requirements

For this tutorial, we'll assume you chose BMAD Method.

3.5 Confirm and Create

Once you confirm, the workflow creates bmm-workflow-status.yaml in your project's docs folder. This file tracks your progress through all phases.

Important: Always start a fresh chat for each workflow. This prevents context limitations from causing issues.

Step 4: Create Your Requirements Document

With your project initialized, it's time to create your first planning document — the PRD (Product Requirements Document).

4.1 Start a Fresh Chat

Close your current chat and start a new one. This ensures the agent has full context capacity for the workflow.

4.2 Load the PM Agent

Load the PM (Product Manager) agent in your IDE.

4.3 Run the PRD Workflow

Tell the PM agent:

Run prd

Or use shortcuts:

  • *prd
  • Select "create-prd" from the menu
  • Say "Let's create a new PRD"

4.4 Work Through the PRD

The PM agent guides you through creating your PRD interactively:

  1. Project overview — Refine your project description
  2. Goals and success metrics — What does success look like?
  3. User personas — Who uses this product?
  4. Functional requirements — What must the system do?
  5. Non-functional requirements — Performance, security, scalability needs

Answer the agent's questions thoughtfully. The PRD becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

4.5 Review Your PRD

When complete, you'll have a PRD.md file in your _bmad-output/ folder. Review it to ensure it captures your vision.

Step 5: Check Your Progress

At any point, you can check what to do next.

5.1 Load Any Agent

Start a fresh chat and load any BMAD agent.

5.2 Ask for Status

Tell the agent:

workflow-status

The agent reads your bmm-workflow-status.yaml and tells you:

  • Which phase you're in
  • What workflows are complete
  • What the next recommended or required step is

Example response:

Phase 2 (Planning) complete:
  ✓ PRD created

Next recommended steps:
  - UX Design (optional, if your project has a UI)
  - Architecture (required for BMAD Method track)
    Agent: architect
    Command: create-architecture

What You've Accomplished

You've completed the foundation of a BMAD project:

  • Installed BMAD and configured it for your IDE
  • Initialized a project with your chosen planning track
  • Created a PRD that defines your product requirements

Your project now has:

your-project/
├── _bmad/                    # BMAD configuration
├── _bmad-output/
│   ├── PRD.md               # Your requirements document
│   └── bmm-workflow-status.yaml  # Progress tracking
└── ...

Next Steps

Continue building your project by designing your system's technical foundation (required for BMAD Method) and then starting implementation story by story.

Explore related topics:

Quick Reference

Commands you learned in this tutorial:

Command Agent Purpose
*workflow-init Analyst Initialize a new project
*prd PM Create a Product Requirements Document
workflow-status Any Check progress and next steps

Tip: Agents are flexible with commands. Menu numbers, shortcuts (*prd), or natural language ("Let's create a PRD") all work.

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to create a PRD for every project?

Only for BMAD Method and Enterprise tracks. Quick Flow projects use a simpler tech-spec instead.

Q: Can I skip Phase 1 (Analysis)?

Yes, Phase 1 is optional. If you already know what you're building, start with Phase 2 (Planning).

Q: What if I want to brainstorm first?

Load the Analyst agent and run *brainstorm-project before workflow-init.

Q: Why start fresh chats for each workflow?

Workflows are context-intensive. Reusing chats can cause the AI to hallucinate or lose track of details. Fresh chats ensure maximum context capacity.

Getting Help

  • During workflows: Agents guide you with questions and explanations
  • Check status: Run workflow-status with any agent
  • Community: Discord — #general-dev, #bugs-issues
  • Video tutorials: BMad Code YouTube