claude-project-manager

Turn Claude Code into an autonomous project manager.

One command. Claude plans, builds, documents, and tracks your entire project. You never write a line of code.

npx claude-project-manager init

What It Does

claude-project-manager injects a structured memory system and agent rules into any project. When you open Claude Code, it behaves as a fully autonomous project manager that:

• Plans tasks — breaks features into a kanban board and works through them
• Writes code — implements everything, tests it, moves on
• Documents everything — architecture diagrams, file trees, component docs, API surface
• Remembers across sessions — picks up exactly where it left off
• Caches external docs — checks local cache before searching the web
• Logs every decision — architecture decision records with full rationale
• Tracks every change — timestamped changelog, always in sync

Quick Start

# npm
npx claude-project-manager init

# pnpm
pnpm dlx claude-project-manager init

# yarn
yarn dlx claude-project-manager init

Then just open Claude Code and tell it what to build:

"Build me a REST API with user auth and a Postgres database"

That's it. Claude reads the rules, scans your codebase, sets up the task board, and starts building.

What init Creates

your-project/
├── CLAUDE.md                        # Agent rules (your existing rules preserved)
└── .claude/
    ├── codebase/
    │   ├── overview.md              # Architecture + ASCII diagrams
    │   ├── tree.md                  # Auto-updated file tree
    │   ├── stack.md                 # Tech stack & dependencies
    │   ├── components/              # Per-component deep dives
    │   ├── models.md                # Data models & schemas
    │   ├── apis.md                  # API endpoints & interfaces
    │   └── patterns.md              # Coding conventions
    │
    ├── docs/
    │   ├── index.md                 # Doc lookup table
    │   └── cached/                  # Fetched external docs
    │
    ├── tasks/
    │   ├── board.md                 # Kanban: TODO / IN PROGRESS / DONE
    │   ├── backlog.md               # Future ideas
    │   └── changelog.md             # Timestamped change log
    │
    ├── memory/
    │   ├── decisions.md             # Architecture Decision Records
    │   ├── context.md               # Persistent context & gotchas
    │   └── sessions/                # Per-session summaries
    │
    └── config.md                    # PM settings

How It Works

1. Structured Memory

Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md at the start of every session. claude-project-manager injects rules that tell Claude to use the .claude/ folder as persistent memory — reading state on startup, writing state after every action.

2. Session Continuity

Every session ends with a summary written to .claude/memory/sessions/. The next session reads it and picks up where you left off. Close your terminal, come back in a week — Claude knows exactly what's happening.

3. Auto-Updating Docs

After every code change, Claude updates the file tree, component docs, architecture overview, and changelog. Your documentation is always in sync with reality.

4. Cache-First Docs

Before searching the web for library docs, Claude checks .claude/docs/index.md. If the docs are cached and fresh, it uses them instantly. No redundant web searches.

5. Task Board

Claude maintains a kanban board in .claude/tasks/board.md. It moves tasks through TODO → IN PROGRESS → DONE as it works, so you always see project status at a glance.

Existing CLAUDE.md?

claude-project-manager never destroys your existing rules. It wraps them:

<!-- CLAUDE-PM:USER-RULES:START -->
(your original CLAUDE.md content — untouched)
<!-- CLAUDE-PM:USER-RULES:END -->

<!-- CLAUDE-PM:AGENT-RULES:START -->
(project manager rules — managed by claude-project-manager)
<!-- CLAUDE-PM:AGENT-RULES:END -->

Your rules stay. The PM rules are added alongside them.

Commands

| Command | Description | |---|---| | npx claude-project-manager init | Set up project management in current directory | | npx claude-project-manager reset | Re-scaffold missing files + update agent rules to latest |

Options

-d, --dir <path>    Target a different directory (default: cwd)

Using Other Package Managers

# pnpm
pnpm dlx claude-project-manager init
pnpm dlx claude-project-manager reset

# yarn
yarn dlx claude-project-manager init
yarn dlx claude-project-manager reset

Updating

When a new version of claude-project-manager ships with improved agent rules:

# npm
npx claude-project-manager@latest reset

# pnpm
pnpm dlx claude-project-manager@latest reset

# yarn
yarn dlx claude-project-manager@latest reset

This updates the agent rules to the latest version while preserving all your tasks, memory, docs, and custom rules.

Philosophy

The best project management is invisible. You describe what you want in plain English. Claude plans it, builds it, documents it, and tracks it. You review the output.

No tickets. No sprints. No standups. Just describe and ship.

License

MIT