Install & quick start

Requirements

Node.js ≥ 20
npm, pnpm, yarn, or any other package manager

Install

As a project dev dependency:

npm install -D beacon-docs

Or run without installing:

npx beacon-docs init

Interactive scaffold (recommended)

npx beacon-docs init

The wizard detects your project (reads package.json, suggests add-ons based on installed dependencies like stripe or @prisma/client), then walks you through:

Project type (7 options: web-app, backend-service, library, cli-tool, mobile-app, monorepo, custom)
Categories to enable (6 core + 6 opt-in)
AI agents to support (Claude, Cursor, Codex, Gemini)
Whether to merge or replace existing CLAUDE.md / .cursorrules if present

Non-interactive (CI / scripted setup)

npx beacon-docs init \
  --yes \
  --type=library \
  --with=operations \
  --without=backlog \
  --agents=claude,cursor

Flag	Purpose
`--yes`	Skip the interactive wizard
`--type=<type>`	One of: `web-app`, `backend-service`, `library`, `cli-tool`, `mobile-app`, `monorepo`, `custom`
`--with=a,b`	Add categories beyond your project type’s defaults
`--without=a,b`	Remove categories from defaults
`--agents=a,b`	AI agents to support: `claude`, `cursor`, `codex`, `gemini`
`--language=en`	Docs language (only `en` ships in v0.1)

What gets created

your-project/
├── CLAUDE.md                         ← generated, read by Claude Code
├── .cursorrules                      ← generated, legacy Cursor
├── .cursor/rules/beacon.mdc          ← generated, modern Cursor
├── package.json                      ← gets a `docs:lint` script
└── docs/
    ├── README.md                     ← master index
    ├── _meta/
    │   ├── convention.md             ← single source of truth (you edit this)
    │   └── beacon.config.json
    ├── reference/
    ├── architecture/
    ├── adr/
    ├── plans/
    │   └── _archive/
    ├── backlog/
    └── evaluations/

Categories enabled depend on your project type. See Commands for what to do next.