Quick Start

Before you run it

aspens runs via npx — no global install needed. Requires Node.js 20+ and at least one backend CLI.

Fastest setup

npx aspens doc init --recommended

This is the actual setup command. --recommended is the fastest path:

Reuses existing target config when present
Defaults to improving existing docs instead of prompting
Auto-picks the generation mode based on repo size
Installs hooks and save-tokens setup

Full workflow

Map the repo (optional — just to see what aspens finds. Note, this is a rough scan, for precise mapping and domain discovery we use an LLM.)
Terminal window
```
npx aspens scan
```
Run the setup If you want to customize the setup, run without --recommended and follow the prompts. Later, you also need to manually add (1) agents, (2) doc sync hook, and (3) save-tokens hooks if you want those features. Also, by default --recommended will prioritize Claude (unless only the Codex or OpenCode CLI is installed). Run doc init --target=codex or --target=opencode to generate for those targets as well — one target per run.
Terminal window
```
npx aspens doc init --recommended
```
Verify freshness and coverage. This run a quick scan, checks if you docs are stale, or if you are missing useful funcitonality that aspens offers.
Terminal window
```
npx aspens doc impact
```
Keep it synced on every commit. This is really the bread and butter of aspens — it keeps your docs up to date as your code evolves. You can run this manually, but we recommend installing the git hook so it runs automatically.
Terminal window
```
npx aspens doc sync --install-hook
```

Add agents and commands

npx aspens add agent all             # Install all 11 bundled AI agents
npx aspens customize agents          # Tailor agents with your project's context
npx aspens add command dev-docs      # Add slash commands

What gets created

Directory.claude/
- Directoryskills/
  - base/skill.md Repo-wide context: stack, architecture, conventions
  - auth/skill.md Domain skill: auth patterns, key files, rules
  - billing/skill.md Domain skill: billing integration details
  - …
- Directoryhooks/ Activation hooks, session tracking
  - …
- settings.json Skill rules and Claude settings
CLAUDE.md Top-level repo instructions