kaji

A CLI for structuring feature docs and tasks as real folders instead of a flat task list. Built for use alongside Claude Code's explore → plan → implement workflow.

Every feature, task, and subtask is a real path under .kaji/. The path is the identifier — no IDs, no parent pointers, no flat list to reconstruct hierarchy from.

.kaji/
  saving/                              # plain org folder, name it however you want
    big-feature/
      sub-feature/
        feature-1/
          FEATURE.md                   # marks this folder as a feature
          docs/                        # feature-level docs
          tasks/
            task-1-onboarding-flow/
              TASK.md                  # goal + inline todo checklist
              EXPLORE.md               # filled in by Claude during the explore phase
              PLAN.md                  # filled in by Claude during the plan phase
              docs/                    # task-specific docs
              subtasks/
                subtask-1-wire-up-api.md

Install

bun install
bun link   # exposes the `kaji` binary, or just run `bun src/cli.ts`

Commands

| Command | Description | |---|---| | kaji init | Create .kaji/ in the current directory | | kaji feature new <path> | Create a feature, e.g. kaji feature new saving/big-feature/sub-feature/feature-1 | | kaji task new <featurePath> <title> | Create a task under a feature (auto-numbered) | | kaji subtask new <taskPath> <title> | Create a subtask under a task (auto-numbered) | | kaji doc new <path> <title> | Create a doc under a feature's or task's docs/ | | kaji status <path> <status> | Set status: todo, in-progress, blocked, or done | | kaji list [path] [--type=feature\|task\|subtask\|doc] [--status=...] | Flat filtered listing | | kaji tree [path] | Recursive tree view with statuses | | kaji show <path> | Print a feature/task/subtask/doc and list its children |

A task's TASK.md (and a subtask's SUBTASK.md-equivalent file) has an inline ## Todo checklist — use that for simple work. Only reach for kaji subtask new when a piece of work needs its own tracked file. Subtasks are intentionally one level deep and simple: a single .md file, no EXPLORE.md/PLAN.md/docs/ of their own.

Using this with Claude Code

kaji only scaffolds folders and templated markdown — it doesn't generate prompts or invoke Claude itself. When you start a session, paste the task folder's path into the conversation. Add this to your project's CLAUDE.md:

This repository uses **Kaji** (`.kaji/`) to structure feature docs and tasks as real folders,
not a flat task list. When working on a task, your focus is locked to the folder path you
were given in this conversation — do not read or modify files outside it unless told to.

Inside a task folder:
- `TASK.md` — the goal and an inline todo checklist. Keep the checklist updated as you go.
- `EXPLORE.md` — read-only investigation. If empty, do exploration first and fill it in
  before writing any plan or code.
- `PLAN.md` — concrete, bite-sized steps. If empty, write the plan here and wait for
  approval before implementing.
- `docs/` — reference material for this task.
- `subtasks/*.md` — only created when a piece of work needs its own tracked checklist;
  otherwise use the inline todo in TASK.md.

If a task needs to be broken down further, add a new file under `subtasks/` rather than
expanding scope inline.

Not in scope (yet)

• No browser/TUI kanban board.
• No automatic claude CLI invocation — kaji only scaffolds files.
• One .kaji/ per repo — no cross-repo/global vault mode.
• Subtasks don't nest further; break a subtask into a new sibling task if it needs more structure.