ARC

Local-first, AI-agent-optimized project management — a JIRA-lite CLI with both an interactive TUI for humans and clean structured outputs for LLMs.

arc init                              # derive id from cwd: "School Management System" → SMS
arc init . --ai claude                # …and bootstrap Claude Code skill + slash commands
arc init MYPROJ                       # …or pass an explicit JIRA-style id
arc add "Implement login" -P 1        # priority-1 task
arc next --json                       # what should I work on?
arc update SMS-3 IN_PROGRESS
arc log SMS-3 "started"
arc                                   # interactive TUI

arc init — id derivation

Pass . (or no argument) to derive the project id from the current directory name. ARC takes the first letter of each word as a JIRA-style acronym; on collision it cycles through the words again starting at index 1:

| Directory | First init | If taken | If still taken | |----------------------------|------------|----------|----------------| | School Management System | SMS | SMSM | SMSMS | | Recipe Box | RB | RBB | RBBB |

Common stopwords (the, of, and, a, an, to, in, on, for) are dropped. Pass an explicit uppercase id (arc init MYPROJ) any time you want full control.

arc init --ai <claude\|codex\|gemini>

Bootstraps a coding-agent integration in the project directory:

| Provider | Files written | |----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | claude | .claude/skills/arc-pm/SKILL.md, .claude/commands/arc-{pickup,finish,status,add}.md | | codex | AGENTS.md | | gemini | GEMINI.md |

Existing files are preserved unless --force is also passed.

Install (development)

git clone <repo> arc-pm
cd arc-pm
npm install        # also runs the build via "prepare"
npm link           # makes `arc` globally available
arc --help

npm install builds native bindings for better-sqlite3. Prebuilt binaries cover most platforms; if yours isn't covered, npm install --build-from-source.

Storage

A single SQLite file at the platform-appropriate config dir:

| Platform | Path | |----------|------------------------------------| | Linux | ~/.config/arc/arc.db | | macOS | ~/Library/Preferences/arc/arc.db | | Windows | %APPDATA%\arc\arc.db |

Override with ARC_HOME=/some/dir.

Each directory you arc init gets a .arc/project.json marker that pins it to a project ID, so arc list / arc next auto-scope to the project you're sitting in.

Commands

| Command | Description | |---------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | arc | Launch the Ink TUI | | arc init [id] | Create a project (defaults to dir-name acronym); pin cwd to it | | arc add <title...> | Create a task | | arc list | List tasks (cwd-scoped, or -g to group by project) | | arc show <id> | Full task detail + worklog | | arc update <id> <status> | Change status | | arc next | Highest-priority unblocked task(s) | | arc log <id> <msg> | Append a worklog note | | arc link <task> <kind> <target> | Add blocks / depends_on | | arc project list\|show\|set\|delete | Project metadata | | arc schema [--example] | Dump JSON Schema for arc import files (or --example) | | arc import <file> | Batch import JSON | | arc export | Export current project to json / md / csv |

Every command supports --json for machine-readable output.

Generating import-ready payloads with an LLM

arc schema emits a JSON Schema (Draft 7) for the arc import file format, generated directly from the live Zod schemas so it never drifts. Pipe it into your prompt to make agents produce valid payloads on the first try:

arc schema           # JSON Schema for arc import files
arc schema --example # minimal sample payload, useful as a few-shot
arc schema --example > seed.json && arc import seed.json

TUI

The TUI is responsive (single-pane below 80 cols, split layout above) and discoverable — press ? at any time to see the keymap for the current mode, or Ctrl+P for a fuzzy command palette. Every mutating action emits a toast, and u undoes the last status change or edit.

Browse

| Key | Action | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | j / k | Move cursor (also ↓ / ↑) | | Tab | Swap focus between Projects and Tasks | | Enter | Open detail (project or task, depending on focused pane) | | e | Edit (project or task, depending on focused pane) | | a | Quick-add task to the selected project | | s | Cycle task status (TODO → IN_PROGRESS → REVIEW → DONE → BACKLOG) | | Space | Toggle multi-select on a task | | / | Search / filter tasks by id, title, status, or type | | ? | Help overlay (always available) | | Ctrl+P | Command palette (always available) | | u | Undo last status change or edit | | q | Quit |

Task detail

| Key | Action | |----------------|-------------------------------------| | e | Edit title, description, priority, type | | l | Log work (append a worklog message) | | b / d | Add a blocks / depends_on link | | Esc / q | Close |

Project detail

| Key | Action | |----------------|-------------------------------------| | e | Edit name, description, tech_stack | | Esc / q | Close |

Forms (edit, search, palette, etc.)

| Key | Action | |----------------|-------------------------------------| | Tab / Shift+Tab | Move between fields | | ← / → | Cycle picker values (priority, type) | | Ctrl+S | Save | | Esc | Cancel |

Development

npm run dev -- list               # run from source via tsx
npm run build                     # tsc → dist/
npm test                          # vitest

License

MIT.