Trellis

What is Trellis?

AI’s capabilities grow like vines: full of vitality but spreading everywhere. Trellis is scaffolding for AI, guiding it along the path of your conventions. Supported platforms: Claude Code, Cursor, OpenCode, Codex, Kiro, Kilo, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Devin, Qoder, CodeBuddy, GitHub Copilot, Droid, Pi Agent, plus any agent that reads the .agents/skills/ standard (Amp, Cline, Deep Agents, Firebender, Kimi Code CLI, Warp, and more).

One-Line Summary

Trellis is training wheels for AI coding assistants. It automatically injects your project specs into every AI session, so the AI writes code following your standards instead of improvising.

AI’s capabilities grow like vines, full of vitality but spreading everywhere. Trellis is scaffolding for AI, guiding it along the path of your conventions.

Comparison with Traditional Approaches

Dimension	`.cursorrules`	`CLAUDE.md`	Skills	Trellis
Spec injection method	Manually loaded each conversation	Auto-loaded but easily truncated	User-initiated	Auto-injection (hooks on capable platforms, prelude on others), precisely loaded per task
Spec granularity	One large file	One large file	One per Skill	Modular files, composed per task
Cross-session memory	None	None	None	Workspace journal persistence
Workflow enforcement	None	None	None	Auto-trigger skills + check sub-agent verify loop
Team sharing	Single user	Single user	Shareable but no standard	Git-versioned Spec library
Platform support	Cursor only	Claude Code only	Per platform	14 configured platforms + shared skill ecosystem

Core Concepts at a Glance

Concept	Description	Location
Spec	Your coding standards, written in Markdown. AI reads specs before writing code	`.trellis/spec/`
Workspace	Each developer’s session logs, letting AI remember what was done last time	`.trellis/workspace/`
Task	A work unit containing requirements docs and context configuration	`.trellis/tasks/`
Skill	Auto-triggered workflow modules: brainstorm, before-dev, check, update-spec, break-loop	platform-specific skills dir
Sub-agent	Specialized AI sub-process: `trellis-research`, `trellis-implement`, `trellis-check`	platform-specific agents dir
Command	Explicit session entries: `finish-work`, `continue`, and manual `start` where needed	platform-specific commands dir
Hook	Auto-triggered scripts that inject context at session start, sub-agent launch, etc. (platforms with hook support)	`.claude/hooks/`, etc.
Journal	Session log files recording what was done in each development session	`.trellis/workspace/{name}/journal-N.md`

Why Trellis?

Feature	Problem Solved
Auto-Injection	Required specs and workflows auto-inject into every conversation. Write once, apply forever
Auto-updated Spec Library	Best practices live in auto-updated spec files. The more you use it, the better it gets
Skill-first Workflow	Most operations are auto-trigger skills. AI picks the right one without manual commands
Team Sync	Share specs across your team. One person’s best practice benefits everyone
Session Persistence	Work traces persist in your repo. AI remembers project context across sessions

Quick Start

Install Trellis and set up your first project in 5 minutes.

Architecture

Understand specs, tasks, hooks, and workspaces.

Commands & Skills

Reference for slash commands (/start, /finish-work) and auto-trigger skills.

Writing Specs

Turn blank templates into executable contracts with trellis-update-spec.

Start Here

Advanced

Use Cases

Resource Marketplace

Community

What is Trellis?

One-Line Summary

Comparison with Traditional Approaches

Core Concepts at a Glance

Why Trellis?

Quick Start

Architecture

Commands & Skills

Writing Specs

​What is Trellis?

​One-Line Summary

​Comparison with Traditional Approaches

​Core Concepts at a Glance

​Why Trellis?

Quick Start

Architecture

Commands & Skills

Writing Specs

What is Trellis?

One-Line Summary

Comparison with Traditional Approaches

Core Concepts at a Glance

Why Trellis?