What is Pipeline Kit
Pipeline Kit is a portable workflow pack plus a Python installer for coding agents. Clone the kit, then install .pipeline into any customer project — or into ~/.pipeline on a laptop.
Process lives in the pack. The IDE is a thin adapter: it discovers only run-workflow. The pack is not tied to a product, a language, or an editor.
:::info Handbook vs this site
This documentation site is the guided product manual. After pipeline-kit init, the same adaptation contract is copied to .pipeline/docs/CUSTOMER-GUIDE.md in the target repo. Keep that file as the in-repo handbook; use these pages to learn the product.
:::
What you take where
| You ship | You change per engagement |
|---|---|
| The kit (installer + bundled pack) | AGENTS.md, .pipeline/config.json, local-deploy and test runbooks |
What lands after install
| Path | Role |
|---|---|
.pipeline/ | Workflows, skills, agent briefs, rules, wiki, loader |
.pipeline/config.json | This engagement: chains, tracker, verify, deploy |
.pipeline/docs/CUSTOMER-GUIDE.md | Copied handbook |
.pipeline/docs/OBSERVABILITY.md | Agent-run observability handbook |
.cursor/skills/run-workflow/ (or .claude / .github) | The only IDE-discovered skill |
Specialist briefs and skill bodies stay under .pipeline/ so the IDE does not auto-load them. The parent reads only the allowlist from the loader.
Shipped workflows
| Name | When it runs |
|---|---|
ask | Question about this repo (how / what / why / explain). No Task chain. |
feature-development | Product work from chat (“add”, “fix”, “change”, “implement”). |
jira-story / jira-epic / jira-bug | Tracker issue key, if Jira intake is enabled. |
test-knowledge-bootstrap | One-time QA overlay bootstrap. Not the feature ladder. |
Opt-in extras — knowledge, plugins, agent-run observability — are documented under Capabilities. pipeline-kit init does not turn them on.
Requirements
Python 3.11+. The CLI has no other runtime dependencies. Optional plugins (Graphify, Archify) and Langfuse keys are separate.