Autonomous Development Engine (ADE)

What is ADE?

The Autonomous Development Engine (ADE) is AIOX’s revolutionary system for autonomous software development. It transforms vague requirements into production-ready code through structured pipelines and specialized AI agents.

ADE enables truly autonomous development: from gathering requirements to shipping working code, with built-in recovery, quality gates, and learning.

The 7 ADE Epics

ADE is composed of seven interconnected systems that work together to enable autonomous development:

Epic 1: Worktree Manager

Isolates work in Git worktrees for safe parallel development

Epic 2: Migration V2→V3

Migrates agents to autoClaude V3 format

Epic 3: Spec Pipeline

Transforms requirements into executable specifications

Epic 4: Execution Engine

Executes specs with 13-step Coder Agent workflow

Epic 5: Recovery System

Automatically recovers from failures

Epic 6: QA Evolution

Structured 10-phase quality review

Epic 7: Memory Layer

Learns and documents patterns for future use

Architecture Flow

Epic 1: Worktree Manager

Isolates development work in separate Git worktrees, enabling parallel development without branch conflicts.

Commands (@devops)

@devops *create-worktree STORY-42

Benefits

Safe Isolation: Each story gets its own working directory
Parallel Work: Multiple stories can be developed simultaneously
Easy Cleanup: Remove completed worktrees without affecting main branch

Epic 2: Migration V2→V3

Migrates agent definitions from autoClaude V2 to the new V3 format with enhanced capabilities.

Commands (@devops)

@devops *inventory-assets

autoClaude V3 Format

autoClaude:
  version: '3.0'
  migratedAt: '2026-01-29T02:24:10.724Z'

  specPipeline:
    canGather: boolean      # @pm
    canAssess: boolean      # @architect
    canResearch: boolean    # @analyst
    canWrite: boolean       # @pm
    canCritique: boolean    # @qa

  execution:
    canCreatePlan: boolean  # @architect
    canCreateContext: boolean # @architect
    canExecute: boolean     # @dev
    canVerify: boolean      # @dev

  recovery:
    canTrackAttempts: boolean # @dev
    canRollback: boolean    # @dev

  qa:
    canReview: boolean      # @qa
    canRequestFix: boolean  # @qa

  memory:
    canCaptureInsights: boolean # @dev
    canExtractPatterns: boolean # @analyst
    canDocumentGotchas: boolean # @dev

Epic 3: Spec Pipeline

Transforms vague user requirements into detailed, executable specifications through a multi-agent collaboration process.

Pipeline Phases

Gather Requirements

@pm collects and documents user needs

@pm *gather-requirements

Assess Complexity

@architect evaluates technical complexity and identifies risks

@architect *assess-complexity

Research Dependencies

@analyst investigates required libraries, APIs, and patterns

@analyst *research-deps

Write Specification

@pm creates detailed executable spec

@pm *write-spec

Critique & Approve

@qa reviews and approves or requests changes

@qa *critique-spec

Spec Output

The pipeline produces a spec.yaml file containing:

User Story: What and why
Acceptance Criteria: Success conditions
Technical Approach: Implementation strategy
Dependencies: Required packages and APIs
Risks: Potential issues and mitigations
Subtasks: Breakdown of work

Epic 4: Execution Engine

Executes approved specs using the 13-Step Coder Agent workflow with mandatory self-critique.

The 13 Steps

Steps 1-3: Context Loading

Load Context - Read project structure, tech stack
Read Implementation Plan - Load implementation.yaml
Understand Current Subtask - Parse requirements

Steps 4-5: Code Implementation

Plan Approach - Design solution
Write Code - Implement solution
- 5.5 SELF-CRITIQUE (mandatory) - Review own code

Steps 6-9: Testing & Quality

Run Tests - Execute test suite
- 6.5 SELF-CRITIQUE (mandatory) - Evaluate test results
Fix Issues - Address failing tests
Run Linter - Check code style
Fix Lint Issues - Resolve violations

Steps 10-13: Completion

Verify Manually - Smoke test functionality
Update Plan Status - Mark subtask complete
Commit Changes - Git commit with message
Signal Completion - Notify orchestrator

Commands

@architect *create-plan

Self-Critique

The Execution Engine enforces mandatory self-critique at steps 5.5 and 6.5:

selfCritique:
  required: true
  checklistRef: 'self-critique-checklist.md'
  phases:
    - code_quality
    - test_coverage
    - edge_cases
    - error_handling

Epic 5: Recovery System

Automatically detects and recovers from failures during subtask execution.

Recovery Flow

Commands (@dev)

@dev *track-attempt

Automatic Features

Attempt Tracking: Records each implementation try
Stuck Detection: Identifies repeating failures
Smart Rollback: Returns to last known good state
Human Escalation: Notifies when intervention needed

Epic 6: QA Evolution

Structured 10-phase quality review process that ensures code quality before shipping.

10 Review Phases

Setup & Context Loading

Load story, specs, and changed files

Code Quality Analysis

Check patterns, practices, architecture

Test Coverage Review

Verify tests exist and are comprehensive

Security Scan

Identify vulnerabilities and risks

Performance Check

Analyze for bottlenecks and inefficiencies

Documentation Audit

Ensure code is well-documented

Accessibility Review

Check WCAG compliance for UI changes

Integration Points Check

Verify API contracts and dependencies

Edge Cases & Error Handling

Test boundary conditions and failures

Final Summary & Decision

PASS, CONCERNS, FAIL, or WAIVED

Commands (@qa)

@qa *review-build STORY-42

QA Decisions

Decision	Meaning	Next Action
PASS	Ready to ship	Merge to main
CONCERNS	Approved with follow-ups	Ship with tech debt story
FAIL	Needs fixes	Return to @dev
WAIVED	Bypass authorized	Requires @po approval

Epic 7: Memory Layer

Persistent memory system that captures and reuses patterns, insights, and gotchas.

Memory Types

Insights

Discoveries during development sessions

Patterns

Reusable code patterns extracted from implementations

Gotchas

Known pitfalls and how to avoid them

Decisions

Architectural and technical decisions

Commands

@dev *capture-insights

Memory Structure

.aiox-core/memory/
├── insights/
│   ├── 2026-01-15-auth-flow.md
│   └── 2026-01-20-performance.md
├── patterns/
│   ├── api-error-handling.md
│   └── state-management.md
├── gotchas/
│   ├── async-race-conditions.yaml
│   └── dependency-conflicts.yaml
└── decisions/
    ├── tech-stack.md
    └── architecture.md

Complete ADE Workflow

Here’s a full example of using all ADE epics together:

Create Spec

@pm *gather-requirements
@architect *assess-complexity
@analyst *research-deps
@pm *write-spec
@qa *critique-spec

Prepare Execution

@devops *create-worktree STORY-42
@architect *create-plan
@architect *create-context

Execute Subtasks

@dev *execute-subtask 1.1
@dev *execute-subtask 1.2
# Recovery kicks in automatically if needed

QA Review

@qa *review-build STORY-42
# If issues found:
@qa *request-fix "Issue description"
@dev *apply-qa-fix
@qa *verify-fix

Capture Learning

@dev *capture-insights
@analyst *extract-patterns

Merge & Ship

@devops *merge-worktree STORY-42
@devops *cleanup-worktrees

QA Gates

Each Epic has a quality gate that must pass before proceeding:

@qa *gate epic-{N}-{name}

Possible Outcomes:

PASS - Next epic unlocked
CONCERNS - Approved with follow-ups
FAIL - Return for fixes
WAIVED - Bypass authorized by @po

Agent Reference

See all agent capabilities and commands

Custom Agents

Create your own agents with ADE capabilities

Squads System

Organize agents into specialized teams

IDE Integration

Set up ADE in your development environment

Troubleshooting

Subtask Fails Repeatedly

# Check attempt history
@dev *track-attempt --status

# Rollback to last good state
@dev *rollback --hard

# Try alternative approach
@dev *execute-subtask 2.1 --approach alternative

Spec Not Approved

# View critique feedback
cat docs/stories/STORY-42/spec-critique.json

# Refine spec
@pm *write-spec --iterate

# Re-submit
@qa *critique-spec

Worktree Conflicts

# List active worktrees
@devops *list-worktrees

# Resolve conflicts
@devops *merge-worktree STORY-42 --resolve

# Cleanup
@devops *cleanup-worktrees

Version: 1.0.0 | Status: Production Ready ✅

Get Started

Core Concepts

Agents

CLI Reference

Workflows

Advanced

​What is ADE?

​The 7 ADE Epics

Epic 1: Worktree Manager

Epic 2: Migration V2→V3

Epic 3: Spec Pipeline

Epic 4: Execution Engine

Epic 5: Recovery System

Epic 6: QA Evolution

Epic 7: Memory Layer

​Architecture Flow

​Epic 1: Worktree Manager

​Commands (@devops)

​Benefits

​Epic 2: Migration V2→V3

​Commands (@devops)

​autoClaude V3 Format

​Epic 3: Spec Pipeline

​Pipeline Phases

​Spec Output

​Epic 4: Execution Engine

​The 13 Steps

​Commands

​Self-Critique

​Epic 5: Recovery System

​Recovery Flow

​Commands (@dev)

​Automatic Features

​Epic 6: QA Evolution

​10 Review Phases

​Commands (@qa)

​QA Decisions

​Epic 7: Memory Layer

​Memory Types

Insights

Patterns

Gotchas

Decisions

​Commands

​Memory Structure

​Complete ADE Workflow

​QA Gates

​Related Documentation

Agent Reference

Custom Agents

Squads System

IDE Integration

​Troubleshooting

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

What is ADE?

The 7 ADE Epics

Architecture Flow

Epic 1: Worktree Manager

Commands (@devops)

Benefits

Epic 2: Migration V2→V3

Commands (@devops)

autoClaude V3 Format

Epic 3: Spec Pipeline

Pipeline Phases

Spec Output

Epic 4: Execution Engine

The 13 Steps

Commands

Self-Critique

Epic 5: Recovery System

Recovery Flow

Commands (@dev)

Automatic Features

Epic 6: QA Evolution

10 Review Phases

Commands (@qa)

QA Decisions

Epic 7: Memory Layer

Memory Types

Commands

Memory Structure

Complete ADE Workflow

QA Gates

Related Documentation

Troubleshooting