A disciplined engineering harness that forces AI agents to use ground-truth docs, precise designs, and programmatic verification.

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🚀 What is Hyperstack?

Hyperstack is a disciplined engineering harness for AI coding agents.

It provides the necessary Ground Truth (via 79 specialized MCP tools) and Adversarial Enforcement (via 21 rigorous skills) to transform a generic LLM into a high-precision Senior Engineer.

Unlike standard "polite" instructions, Hyperstack uses Iron Laws and a SessionStart hook to force agents to check real documentation, follow precise design specs, and provide binary verification before shipping.

🚀 Installation

1. Recommended: Agentic (autopilot)

The fastest way to install Hyperstack is to let your AI agent do it for you. This works with Cursor, Windsurf, Roo Code, Claude Code, or Gemini. Simply paste this command:

Fetch and follow the instructions at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/orkait/hyperstack/main/install.md

The autopilot will autonomously detect your environment, install the MCP server (Docker or Local), and automatically link the Skills repository. This is the only step required.

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2. Manual Configuration (Advanced)

If you aren't using the Autopilot, follow the Unified Bootstrap to set up both the MCP server and the Skills:

1. Clone & Initialize:

   git clone https://github.com/orkait/hyperstack.git ~/.hyperstack
   cd ~/.hyperstack && bun install

2. Run the Setup Script:

   bun scripts/setup.ts

3. Follow the CLI: The script auto-detects your IDE, generates the JSON patch, and outputs the symlink command for your skill directory.

Supported platforms (verified April 2026, from official docs):

IDE / CLI	MCP Config Path	Skill Path	Schema
Claude Code	~/.claude.json	~/.claude/skills/hyperstack	JSON mcpServers
Gemini CLI	~/.gemini/settings.json	-	JSON mcpServers
Qwen Code	~/.qwen/settings.json	~/.qwen/skills/hyperstack	JSON mcpServers
Codex CLI	~/.codex/config.toml	-	TOML mcp_servers
Cursor	~/.cursor/mcp.json	.cursor/rules/ (project)	JSON mcpServers
Windsurf	~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json	-	JSON mcpServers
Kiro	~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json	-	JSON mcpServers
Zed	~/.config/zed/settings.json	-	JSON context_servers
VS Code + Copilot	~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json	.vscode/ (project)	JSON mcpServers
Roo Code	.roo/mcp.json (project)	.roo/rules/ (project)	JSON mcpServers
Cline	~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/.../cline_mcp_settings.json	-	JSON mcpServers
Continue.dev	.continue/mcpServers/mcp.json (project)	-	JSON mcpServers

Tip

Run bun scripts/setup.ts and it will auto-detect your platform and output the exact patch - in the right format for your IDE. Codex users get TOML, everyone else gets JSON.

⚡ The Manifesto

It is not just a library; it is a disciplined harness made of three tightly-coupled layers:

1. The Harness: Bootstraps the agent, routes internal specialist roles (hyper, website-builder), and enforces global development invariants.
2. The MCP Ground Truth: 12 TypeScript plugins (80 tools) that provide deterministic data. No hallucinated imports or invented component specs.
3. The Adversarial Gates: 21 skills with "Enforcement Teeth". These aren't suggestions; they are Iron Laws supported by rationalization tables that counter every excuse an agent uses to skip quality gates.

Important

Use Hyperstack if you want to force your agent to check docs, write designs first, and prove its work. Skip Hyperstack if you want frictionless autocomplete. We prioritize intentional friction that catches bugs before they ship.

🏗️ Architecture

graph TD
    User([User Request]) --> Harness[Internal Harness]
    Harness --> Gates{Adversarial Gates}

    subgraph "The Enforcement Layer"
        Gates -->|Iron Laws| Skills[21 Skills with Enforcement Teeth]
        Skills -->|SessionStart| Injection[Auto-Context Injection]
    end

    subgraph "The Knowledge Layer"
        Skills -->|Ground Truth| MCP[12 MCP Plugins / 80 Tools]
        MCP -->|Designer| Design[DESIGN.md Pipeline]
        MCP -->|Verified| Code[Programmatic Compliance Check]
    end

    Code -->|Verification Evidence| User

    linkStyle 0 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 1 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 2 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 3 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 4 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 5 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 6 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px
    linkStyle 7 stroke:#9ca3af,stroke-width:2px

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🤖 Agent Model

If you are an agent reading this, your mental model must be: Process is Priority. You are operating within a system that requires deterministic grounding and formal design before implementation.

• Conductance: hyper owners classification and gate verification.
• Specialization: website-builder handles visual and frontend implementation.
• Persistence: You run in a stable Docker container with a persistent lifecycle.

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🚀 Quickstart

🐳 Docker (Default)

Hyperstack uses a persistent container plus docker exec. This keeps startup cheap across sessions and ensures 100% environment stability.

1. Pull the image:

docker pull ghcr.io/orkait/hyperstack:main

2. Start the persistent container:

docker rm -f hyperstack-mcp 2>/dev/null
docker run -d --name hyperstack-mcp --restart unless-stopped \
  --memory=512m --cpus=1 \
  --entrypoint sleep \
  ghcr.io/orkait/hyperstack:main infinity

3. Add this to your MCP settings (~/.claude.json, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hyperstack": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["exec", "-i", "hyperstack-mcp", "bun", "/app/src/index.ts"]
    }
  }
}

🤖 Agent Autopilot

If you are using Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Roo Code, or Gemini, you can use the autopilot to self-configure. Paste this at your agent:

Fetch and follow the instructions at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/orkait/hyperstack/main/install.md

The autopilot will detect your environment and propose the correct Docker-based configuration block.

🔧 Install the skills

The MCP server gives you tools. The skills give you discipline. Install both:

git clone https://github.com/orkait/hyperstack.git ~/.claude/skills/hyperstack

After installing, the SessionStart hook (at hooks/session-start.mjs) will auto-inject the hyperstack skill into every session. No manual activation needed.

💻 From source

git clone https://github.com/orkait/hyperstack.git
cd hyperstack
bun install
bun bin/hyperstack.mjs   # same entrypoint the published bin uses
bun start                # no build step
bun dev                  # watch mode
bun run build            # tsc --noEmit (type-check only, no dist output)

Node 18+ required.

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🧠 The Three-Layer System

Hyperstack's strength comes from the friction between Ground Truth (MCP), Enforcement (Skills), and Orchestration (Agents).

Layer 1: MCP Plugins (Ground Truth)

Your AI calls these for deterministic data. Memory is not acceptable. Every plugin serves curated TypeScript data and architectural patterns.

Category	Plugins	Domain Coverage
🛠️ System	hyperstack	Autonomous Environment Detection, MCP Configuration Patching, Lifecycle
🎨 UI Engine	designer, design-tokens, ui-ux, shadcn	Design Systems, OKLCH, Typography, Accessibility, Component Specs
⚛️ Frontend	react, reactflow, motion, lenis	Next.js 15, RSC, Animation Curves, Smooth Scroll, DAG Layouts
🐹 Backend	echo, golang, rust	Professional Go Recipes, Rust Borrow Checker patterns, Clean Architecture

Tip

80 Tools Total. Every tool is designed to provide the "Senior Engineer" answer, bypassing the "AI Slop" default.

Layer 2: Skills (Enforcement Teeth)

Markdown with adversarial enforcement. Each skill contains an Iron Law that the agent is bound to follow.

Caution

⚖️ The Iron Laws of Hyperstack

• NO CODE without MCP grounding.
• NO VISUAL CODE without an approved DESIGN.md.
• NO COMPLETION CLAIMS without programmatic verification evidence.
• NO REFACTOR without a failing test first.
• NO PATTERN without a named Force.

These laws are backed by Rationalization Tables-pre-written counters to every excuse an AI agent uses to skip quality gates.

Layer 3: Agents (Orchestration & Routing)

The internal harness is what ties the public layers together by managing process and domains:

• bootstrap is injected at session start from generated runtime context
• hyper owns classification, routing, gates, and verification
• website-builder specializes in website-facing design and implementation work
• roles are internal and auto-called, not user-invoked commands

🧱 Core (13) - workflow, discipline, gates used on every task

Skill	Role
blueprint	Hard gate: no code without an approved design
forge-plan	MCP-verified task-by-task implementation plan
run-plan	Execute an existing plan
engineering-discipline	8-step Senior SDE framework with 5 Iron Laws
ship-gate	No completion claims without fresh verification evidence
deliver	Final verification and delivery
test-first	No production code without a failing test first
debug-discipline	Root cause first, 3-strike escalation
code-review	Dispatch reviewer subagent, handle feedback technically
autonomous-mode	Full end-to-end execution, only stops on failure
subagent-ops	Fresh agent per task, two-stage review
parallel-dispatch	Concurrent agent dispatch for independent tasks
worktree-isolation	Clean workspace isolation before feature work

🎯 Domain (6) - specialized skills for specific contexts

Skill	Role
designer	Intention gate - produces DESIGN.md contract before any visual code
shadcn-expert	shadcn/ui Base UI architect - ONLY when user picks shadcn in designer Q11b
behaviour-analysis	UI/UX state audits, Nielsen heuristics, interaction matrices
security-review	OWASP audits, vulnerability checklists
design-patterns-skill	Clean Code + Pragmatic Programmer patterns
readme-writer	Evidence-based README generation (this skill)

🔭 Meta (2) - skills about skills

Skill	Role
hyperstack	Force-injected at session start via hook - the enforcement payload
testing-skills	RED-GREEN-REFACTOR pressure testing for skills using subagents

Full index at skills/INDEX.md. Regenerate with bash scripts/generate-skills-index.sh after adding or editing any skill.

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🔒 Adversarial Enforcement

Ordinary skill markdown is a polite suggestion. Polite suggestion fails when an AI model is under pressure to "be helpful fast." Hyperstack skills are written adversarially:

• 1% Rule: If there is even a 1% chance a skill applies, the agent must invoke it.
• Rationalization Tables: We have already written down every excuse your AI will use to skip a gate, with a firm technical counter for each.
• Loophole Closure: The "Spirit of the Law" is explicitly defined as the "Letter of the Law" to prevent shortcut-hunting.

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🎨 The designer agent

When you say, “build me a SaaS dashboard”:

1. SessionStart already puts in hyperstack, so AI know system is there.
2. Blueprint skill sees visual job and sends it to hyperstack:designer.
3. Designer skill runs designer_resolve_intent(product) to guess industry, personality, style, density, and mode.
4. Designer asks 3 questions in base mode, or 12 questions in advanced mode.
5. Like Q11b will ask what component library to use: shadcn, raw Tailwind, MUI, Mantine, Chakra, Ant Design, or custom.
6. Designer makes a DESIGN.md contract with 10 parts: theme, colors, type, spacing, components, motion, elevation, do/don’ts, responsive rules, and anti-patterns.
7. User approves the DESIGN.md.
8. Forge-plan reads it and makes one task for each section. If user picked shadcn, it calls shadcn_get_component. If not, it builds from the DESIGN.md spec.
9. Build tasks run with MCP tools as ground truth.
10. designer_verify_implementation checks build against DESIGN.md.
11. Ship-gate blocks final completion unless build passes the DESIGN.md rules.

AI cannot jump ahead. Every step has hard gate. Excuses already blocked by rationalization tables.

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🛠️ Available Tools

📦 Supported Versions

Opinionated stack support for the latest stable stable releases. This prevents "AI Slop" by enforcing modern patterns (e.g., React 19 Actions, Tailwind v4 tokens).

Technology	Supported Version	Role
React	19.x	Core Library
Next.js	15.x	Application Framework
Tailwind CSS	v4.x	Design Tokens & Constraints
Motion	12.x (fka Framer Motion)	Orchestrated Animations
React Flow	12.x	Node-based Systems
Lenis	1.1.x+	Smooth Scroll Engine
Zustand	5.x	State Management
shadcn/ui	Base UI Edition	Component Primitive Patterns
Echo (Go)	v4.x	Backend Framework
Go	1.22+	Backend Language
Rust	1.77+	Systems Language
Bun	1.1.x+	Runtime Environment

🎨 Designer - designer_* (19 tools)

• designer_resolve_intent - Auto-detect industry, personality, style from product description
• designer_list_personalities + designer_get_personality - 6 personality clusters from 58 real company design systems
• designer_list_presets + designer_get_preset - 9 code-ready token presets (Linear, Stripe, Vercel, Apple, Carbon, shadcn, Notion, Supabase, Figma)
• designer_get_industry_rules - 15 industry profiles with must-have/never-use constraints
• designer_get_cognitive_law - 11 laws (Fitts, Hick, Miller, Gestalt, Von Restorff, Serial Position, F-Pattern, Z-Pattern, Jakob, Doherty, Peak-End)
• designer_get_page_template - 13 page types with section anatomy
• designer_get_composition_rules - Visual hierarchy, CRAP, whitespace, fold, reading patterns
• designer_get_interaction_pattern - Form design, navigation, empty states, micro-interactions
• designer_get_ux_writing - Button labels, error messages, confirmation dialogs
• designer_get_landing_pattern - Hero, social proof, pricing, CTA optimization
• designer_get_design_system - Specific values from 7 premium systems
• designer_get_font_pairing - 21 curated pairings with Google Fonts imports
• designer_get_anti_patterns - 50+ anti-patterns (the AI slop fingerprint) filterable by category/industry
• designer_search - Cross-domain search
• designer_generate_design_brief - Assemble structured brief
• designer_generate_implementation_plan - Parse DESIGN.md into executable task list with MCP calls per section
• designer_verify_implementation - Programmatic compliance check against DESIGN.md

🧩 shadcn/ui - shadcn_* (5 tools, optional)

Only invoked when the user explicitly chose shadcn in designer Q11b.

• shadcn_get_rules - Architectural rules and mandatory checklist (call first)
• shadcn_list_components - Curated component catalog
• shadcn_get_component - Full spec: primitive, data-slots, variants, sizes
• shadcn_get_snippet - Canonical usage example
• shadcn_get_composition - Which components compose for a page type (bridge from designer page templates)

✨ Design Tokens - design_tokens_* (7 tools)

• design_tokens_list_categories - 10 token categories (colors, spacing, grid, radius, shadows, motion, z-index, opacity, component sizing, typography)
• design_tokens_get_category - CSS, rules, gotchas per category
• design_tokens_get_color_ramp - OKLCH values + semantic roles
• design_tokens_get_procedure - 8 step-by-step build procedures
• design_tokens_get_gotchas - Aggregate implementation mistakes
• design_tokens_generate - Complete Tailwind v4 token file from a palette
• design_tokens_search - Cross-category search

💅 UI/UX Principles - ui_ux_* (6 tools)

• ui_ux_list_principles - Browse by domain (typography, color, accessibility, responsive, motion)
• ui_ux_get_principle - Rule, detail, CSS examples, anti-patterns
• ui_ux_get_component_pattern - Button, card, badge, form specs
• ui_ux_get_checklist - Pre-ship checklist per domain
• ui_ux_get_gotchas - Common UI mistakes and fixes
• ui_ux_search - Cross-domain search

⚛️ React Flow - reactflow_* (9 tools)

• reactflow_list_apis - Browse 56 APIs by kind
• reactflow_get_api - Full reference: props, usage, tips
• reactflow_search_docs - Full-text search
• reactflow_get_examples - Curated code examples by category
• reactflow_get_pattern - Enterprise patterns (zustand-store, drag-and-drop, SSR)
• reactflow_get_template - Production-ready starters
• reactflow_get_migration_guide - v11 to v12 breaking changes
• reactflow_generate_flow - Generate a flow from prose

🎬 Motion for React - motion_* (7 tools)

• motion_list_apis - Browse 33 APIs
• motion_get_api - Full reference with props and usage
• motion_search_docs - Full-text search
• motion_get_examples - Animation examples by category (gestures, scroll, layout)
• motion_get_transitions - Transition reference for tween, spring, inertia
• motion_generate_animation - Generate animation snippet from description
• motion_cheatsheet - Quick reference

🌊 Lenis - lenis_* (6 tools)

• lenis_list_apis - Options, methods, events
• lenis_get_api - Full reference with snippets
• lenis_get_pattern - Next.js, GSAP, Framer Motion integrations
• lenis_generate_setup - Complete Lenis setup
• lenis_cheatsheet - Required CSS and pitfalls
• lenis_search_docs - Full-text search

⚛️ React + Next.js - react_* (4 tools)

• react_list_patterns - All React/Next.js patterns
• react_get_pattern - Full implementation with anti-patterns
• react_get_constraints - Hard rules (e.g., no useEffect for fetching)
• react_search_docs - Search patterns and rules

🐹 Echo (Go) - echo_* (6 tools)

• echo_list_recipes - Browse 19 recipes
• echo_get_recipe - Full recipe (jwt-auth, websocket, sse)
• echo_list_middleware + echo_get_middleware - 13 middleware components
• echo_decision_matrix - Echo vs standard library
• echo_search_docs - Full-text search

🐹 Golang - golang_* (6 tools)

• golang_list_practices - Browse 18 best practices
• golang_get_practice - Rule, reasoning, good/bad examples
• golang_list_patterns + golang_get_pattern - 10 Go-idiomatic design patterns
• golang_get_antipatterns - Common mistakes and fixes
• golang_search_docs - Search practices and patterns

🦀 Rust - rust_* (4 tools)

• rust_list_practices + rust_get_practice - 18 best practices
• rust_cheatsheet - Ownership rules, pointer types, performance
• rust_search_docs - Search all practices

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🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions that follow the Disciplined Engineering standard.

1. Plugins: Must follow the index.ts + data.ts + tools/ + snippets/ pattern.
2. Skills: Must include category frontmatter and adhere to the Adversarial Enforcement style.
3. Verification: All PRs must pass the full npm run build (Type-check) and CI suite.

# Regenerate the skills index after editing
bash scripts/generate-skills-index.sh

📄 License

MIT © Orkait | Adversarial philosophy inspired by Jesse Vincent's Superpowers.

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🙏 Acknowledgements

The enforcement philosophy behind Hyperstack's gate skills - Iron Laws, 1% Rule, rationalization tables - was adopted from obra/superpowers (MIT © Jesse Vincent). We agreed with how it frames AI compliance: adversarially, not politely. See CREDITS.md.