Getting Started with MCAF v1.2

This tutorial is the canonical bootstrap flow for humans and agents. It is intentionally separate from README.md:

There is no shell installer in v1.2. The install path is URL-first and simple:

  1. fetch bootstrap templates
  2. fetch the needed skill folders
  3. place them in the right target directories
  4. restart the agent

0. First Prompt to Paste into an AI Agent

Use this prompt first when you want to install or update MCAF in an existing repo:

Install or update MCAF for this repository using the canonical tutorial:
- https://mcaf.managed-code.com/tutorial

Follow the tutorial end-to-end, including template and skill installation steps it references.

Rules:
- install only current skills with prefix mcaf-
- keep AGENTS.md in the repository root
- if this is a multi-project solution, create or update local AGENTS.md files per project

1. Open the Canonical Entry Point

Use the tutorial as the single canonical install surface:

Direct links below are optional shortcuts when you need them:

Use these raw template files for direct download:

2. Bootstrap the Repo Root

Always place AGENTS.md at the repository or solution root.

If you use Claude Code, also place CLAUDE.md at the repository root.

Example:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/managedcode/MCAF/main/docs/templates/AGENTS.md -o AGENTS.md
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/managedcode/MCAF/main/docs/templates/CLAUDE.md -o CLAUDE.md

If you are not using Claude Code, CLAUDE.md is optional.

3. Choose the Agent Skill Directory

Use one of these target directories:

Create the directory if it does not exist:

mkdir -p .codex/skills
mkdir -p .claude/skills

Only create the directory for the agent runtime you actually use.

4. Fetch the Skill Folders

Get the available skills from:

For each selected skill:

  1. Open the skill entry on the Skills page.
  2. Open the Raw SKILL link for that skill.
  3. Fetch SKILL.md into the target skill folder.
  4. Read the skill’s Load References section and fetch only the referenced files you actually need from the same GitHub folder.

This keeps install deterministic without requiring manifests or archives.

For a .NET repository, the usual baseline is:

For .NET repositories, also make these repo-native artifacts explicit:

The intended flow is:

The baseline above is intentionally small. Add tool-specific .NET skills only when the repo standardizes on them:

4.1 Current Skill Catalog (Generated)

The website build generates this list from the actual folders under skills/.

5. Multi-Project Solutions

For multi-project solutions:

Do not create local files ad hoc. Use the mcaf-solution-governance skill to define:

Project-local AGENTS.md files refine root rules. They do not silently weaken root policy.

6. Maintainability Limits Live in AGENTS.md

Numeric limits are repo policy, not framework constants.

Put them in root AGENTS.md under Maintainability Limits:

Project-local AGENTS.md files may tighten these limits for a specific area.

Use the mcaf-solid-maintainability skill for:

7. Where the Authoring Scaffolds Live

v1.2 keeps public templates minimal.

Public templates:

Authoring scaffolds are now loaded through skills:

This keeps public pages small and lets agents fetch only the guidance they need.

8. Restart the Agent

After placing the skill folders in the target directory, restart the agent runtime so it reloads the installed skills.

The bootstrap is complete when:

9. Suggested First Prompt After Install

Use a prompt like this:

Analyze this solution and customize the root AGENTS.md.
If this is a multi-project solution, create project-local AGENTS.md files in each project root.
Then identify which MCAF skills apply to each project and document them in the local AGENTS files.
Finally, update docs/Architecture/Overview.md so agents can scope work without repo-wide scanning.