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pentaglyph

Profile reference

What this is: the exact list of sections each --profile installs, derived from the CLI source (cli/src/lib/profiles.ts) so it stays accurate. For which profile to pick in a given situation, see how-to/adopt-existing-project.md.

Terminal window
pentaglyph init <target> --profile=<minimal|standard|full>

If --profile is omitted, the default is standard.

Always installed (regardless of profile)

Section titled “Always installed (regardless of profile)”

These sections are unconditional — every profile installs them.

SectionPathPurpose
Root filesdocs/INDEX.md, docs/STRATEGY.md, docs/WORKFLOW.md, docs/AI_INSTRUCTIONS.mdThe four entry-point files. Without them the kit does not function.
templatesdocs/templates/All authoring templates (see template-index.md).

minimal — architecture spine only

Section titled “minimal — architecture spine only”
docs/
├── INDEX.md          STRATEGY.md          WORKFLOW.md          AI_INSTRUCTIONS.md
├── templates/        ← always
└── arc42/            ← §1–§12 stubs + 09-decisions/ (MADR ADRs)

Use when:

  • The project is a library, prototype, or single-team internal tool.
  • You want the lightest possible scaffold to start.
  • You are adopting pentaglyph on an existing codebase (see how-to/adopt-existing-project.md).

Skipped: C4 diagrams, detailed-design, api-contract, design-guide, all Layer B (impl-plans / task-list / postmortems / reports / cost-estimates), user-manual.

standard — recommended default

Section titled “standard — recommended default”
docs/
├── INDEX.md          STRATEGY.md          WORKFLOW.md          AI_INSTRUCTIONS.md
├── templates/        ← always
├── arc42/            ← §1–§12
├── diagrams/         ← C4 Structurizr DSL
├── detailed-design/  ← per-module specs
├── api-contract/     ← OpenAPI / GraphQL / MCP / RPC schemas
├── design-guide/     ← operational conventions
├── impl-plans/       ← dated implementation plans (Layer B)
├── postmortems/      ← incident retrospectives (Layer B)
└── reports/          ← one-shot research / evaluation reports (Layer B)

Use when:

  • A normal product team with multiple modules.
  • You have public APIs / RPC / GraphQL endpoints that need a contract surface.
  • AI agents modify code regularly and you need the code change → doc change loop to bite.

Skipped: task-list/, cost-estimates/, user-manual/.

This is the default profile. If you do not know which to pick, this is it.

full — customer-facing product

Section titled “full — customer-facing product”
docs/                 ← everything in `standard`
├── …
├── task-list/        ← sprint-scoped task breakdowns (Layer B)
├── cost-estimates/   ← cost projections (Layer B)
└── user-manual/      ← Diátaxis quadrants for end-user docs
    ├── tutorials/
    ├── how-to/
    ├── reference/
    └── explanation/

Use when:

  • You ship a UI or API to actual users (internal or external).
  • You need persona-/journey-driven end-user docs (Diátaxis).
  • You track sprint-level work in-repo (rare but legitimate for some teams).

Profile sections at a glance

Section titled “Profile sections at a glance”
Sectionminimalstandardfull
templates/✅✅✅
arc42/✅✅✅
diagrams/ (C4)—✅✅
detailed-design/—✅✅
api-contract/—✅✅
design-guide/—✅✅
impl-plans/—✅✅
postmortems/—✅✅
reports/—✅✅
task-list/——✅
cost-estimates/——✅
user-manual/——✅

The four entry-point root files (INDEX.md, STRATEGY.md, WORKFLOW.md, AI_INSTRUCTIONS.md) are installed unconditionally and are omitted from the table above.

Overriding with --include

Section titled “Overriding with --include”

Use --include to pick an explicit list, ignoring the profile:

Terminal window
pentaglyph init ./my-app --include=arc42,detailed-design,api-contract --ai=claude

--include always installs the unconditional root files and templates/ in addition to whatever you list.

If you find yourself reaching for --include more than once, your real intent is probably a different profile.

Upgrading later

Section titled “Upgrading later”

You do not have to re-init to add a section. pentaglyph add <section> is idempotent and only writes the directory you name:

Terminal window
pentaglyph add user-manual ./my-app
pentaglyph add task-list   ./my-app
pentaglyph add cost-estimates ./my-app

If you find you have run four or more add calls, you have effectively reached the next profile up. Note that in your team handbook so newcomers start at the right level.

Known caveats

Section titled “Known caveats”
  1. service-design, governance, metrics are NOT in any predefined profile. They exist under template/docs/ and are valid --include values, but no profile (including full) installs them by default. Use them explicitly:
    Terminal window
    pentaglyph init ./my-app --profile=full --include=arc42,diagrams,detailed-design,api-contract,design-guide,impl-plans,task-list,postmortems,reports,cost-estimates,user-manual,service-design,governance,metrics
    # or, more typically, add them after init:
    pentaglyph add service-design ./my-app
    pentaglyph add governance ./my-app
    pentaglyph add metrics ./my-app
    They are opt-in because most projects do not need them, but adopting teams should know they are available.
  2. There is no --profile=enterprise or similar tier. Custom mixes of regulated-process scaffolding (heavy governance, SLSA attestations, etc.) are out of scope for the CLI; build them on top of full and check the result into your project’s own repo.
  3. --ai=claude installs more than .claude/rules/documentation.md. It also drops the full .claude/ tree (agents + skills) into the target. See ai-targets.md for details.
Section titled “Related”