Most AI coding tools jump straight to writing code. That works for small tasks — but for anything non-trivial, skipping the thinking phase is where bugs, rework, and scope creep come from.
bf enforces a structured workflow between you and Claude: clarify the idea first, produce a spec, review the design for architectural gaps, plan the implementation as a TDD blueprint, execute it, verify tests and lint pass, then open the PR. Each step is a checkpoint — Claude moves forward automatically where it can, and stops for your approval where it matters.
The result: less rework, fewer review surprises, and a paper trail (spec, plan, todo list) that survives context resets.
Three modes:
- Full — for new features: brainstorm → spec → design review → plan → execute → verify → PR
- Quick — for bugfixes and small changes: refine → plan → execute → verify → PR
- Micro — for focused refactors: clarify only if needed, execute with complexity and quality guards
Also includes a standalone design tool (/bf:design) for producing shareable system design documents — useful before any code is written, or when you need to align with teammates first.
| Skill | Kind | What it does | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
/bf:feature <idea> |
Workflow | Full brainstorm → spec → design → plan → execute → verify flow with checkpoints | You have a new idea and want to think it through before touching code |
/bf:quick <idea> |
Workflow | Lightweight plan → execute → verify loop | You know roughly what needs doing and just want it done |
/bf:micro <idea> |
Workflow | Focused refactor with complexity and quality guards | Small, scoped change — one function, one file, clean it up |
/bf:bug-fix <symptoms> |
Workflow | Parallel root-cause hunt, decide-gated diagnose → fix, no user prompts | Something is broken and you want a fast autonomous fix |
/bf:autopilot [skill] <args> |
Workflow | Runs any bf skill end-to-end without stopping to ask you anything | You want to go fully hands-off — decide oracle handles every decision |
/bf:decide <question> |
Oracle | Single decisive verdict with rationale — weighs options, picks one, cites evidence | You need a quick call on one thing and trust a single opinion |
/bf:discuss <question> |
Oracle | Open dialogue to explore a question before committing to a direction | You're not ready to decide yet — you want to think out loud first |
/bf:consilium <question> |
Oracle | 3-critic council: one answers, two challenge from opposing angles, majority wins | The decision is high-stakes or contested and one opinion isn't enough |
/bf:design <idea> |
Utility | Shareable system-design doc with diagrams, via interactive Q&A | You need a design artifact — standalone, no git or PR involved |
/bf:adr-writer [title] |
Utility | Interactive Q&A to draft a numbered ADR citing only tracked source files | You need to record an architecture decision as a real project doc |
/bf:review [PR# | files] |
Utility | Code review against bf conventions and the complexity gate | Before merging — or whenever you want a second set of eyes |
/bf:gh |
Utility | Pick or create a GitHub issue and kick off a workflow | Starting work from an issue tracker |
/bf:jira |
Utility | Pick a Jira ticket and kick off a workflow | Starting work from Jira |
/bf:write-skill [name] |
Utility | Author a new bf-style skill from scratch | You want to extend bf with a new skill |
/bf:onboard-skill <url> <instructions> |
Utility | Fetch an external skill, analyze what to port, adapt to bf conventions, and hand off to bf:write-skill | You want to steal a skill from another plugin and adapt it for bf |
/bf:scan-conventions [task] |
Utility | Discovers and filters user-defined custom conventions relevant to the current task. | Before acting on a task where project/user convention files beyond the predefined set might apply |
/bf:session-summary |
Utility | Summary of what happened this session | End of a work session — capture what changed and why |
/bf:gather <feature or PRD> |
Utility | Iterative requirements gathering and versioned PRD distillation across sessions | You have a fuzzy PRD and need to track open questions, scope a POC, and build a versioned source of truth |
/bf:research <topic> |
Utility | Decision-oriented researcher: clarifies usecase → issue → focus, gathers cited evidence, produces an Options + Recommendation report | You need prior art, library comparison, or decision support before building — and want a cited report saved to .bf/research/ |
/bf:teach <topic> |
Utility | Stateful multi-session tutor: mission-grounded HTML lessons, reference docs, learning records, resources, and a glossary in a per-topic workspace, plus an optional learning profile that tailors lesson delivery | You want to deliberately learn a topic over time, not just get a one-off explanation |
Register the bf marketplace with Claude Code (one-time setup):
/plugin marketplace add fxmaxvl/bf/plugin install bf@fxmaxvlThen run /reload-plugins to activate it.
Fetch the latest plugin listings and update installed plugins:
/plugin marketplace update fxmaxvl/plugin uninstall bf@fxmaxvlclaude --plugin-dir ./path/to/bfThe conventions/ directory contains language- and action-specific guidelines Claude reads before acting:
dev.md— writing and modifying codetesting.md— writing and modifying testsgit.md— commit messages (Conventional Commits)architecture.md— architectural decisionscode-review.md— reviewing codetypescript.md— TypeScript/JavaScript specifics
Overriding conventions: bf supports a 3-level lookup for each convention file (first match wins, fully replaces the plugin default):
<project_root>/.bf/conventions/<name>.md— project-local override~/.bf/conventions/<name>.md— user-global override- Plugin default (bundled in
conventions/)
To override a convention, create the .bf/conventions/ directory in the appropriate location and drop in files using the same names as above (e.g., dev.md, git.md). A matching file fully replaces the plugin default — there is no merging.
- Claude Code
ghCLI (for/bf:ghand PR creation)- Jira MCP server configured (for
/bf:jira) - Excalidraw MCP server (optional, for diagrams in
/bf:design)