process_design.md

Iterative Development

1. Main Loop

NVST uses one opinionated development loop:

Define/Refine/Approve Requirement → Create Prototype → Audit Prototype → Refactor Prototype → Approve Prototype

The loop is executed with these commands, in order:

1. bun nvst define requirement --agent <provider>
2. bun nvst refine requirement --agent <provider> [--challenge] (optional, repeatable)
3. bun nvst approve requirement
4. bun nvst create prototype --agent <provider> [--iterations <N>] [--retry-on-fail <N>] [--stop-on-critical]
5. bun nvst audit prototype --agent <provider>
6. bun nvst refactor prototype --agent <provider>
7. bun nvst approve prototype

flowchart LR
  A[define requirement] --> B[refine requirement optional]
  B --> C[approve requirement]
  C --> D[create prototype]
  D --> E[audit prototype]
  E --> F[refactor prototype]
  F --> G[approve prototype]

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2. Command Scope

Public CLI command groups relevant to the workflow are:

• define requirement
• refine requirement
• approve requirement
• create prototype
• audit prototype
• refactor prototype
• approve prototype

Utility commands that are still part of the CLI:

• init
• destroy
• write-json

3. Typical Iteration Example

bun nvst define requirement --agent codex
bun nvst refine requirement --agent codex --challenge
bun nvst approve requirement
bun nvst create prototype --agent codex --iterations 10
bun nvst audit prototype --agent codex
bun nvst refactor prototype --agent codex
bun nvst approve prototype

This example is the canonical order for a normal iteration.