Frame — Capability Specification Sheet, v2.2.2

Specification Sheet Document 002 Revision 2.2.2 2026-05-13

Status: Shipping

CategoryAgentic Development IDE

SurfaceTerminal-first · Native

CompatibilityClaude · Codex · Gemini

StandardFiles, not databases

A workshop for working alongside AI agents.
Frame brings structure, context, and
memory to the way you ship code with
Claude, Codex, and Gemini.

NB.
Designed around one premise — that the git commit is the only reliable moment to capture what an agent just did.

— Principle I

Git commit as the context anchor

Sessions are fuzzy. Commits are real. Frame's entire context system hangs off the pre-commit moment — STRUCTURE.json refreshes, tasks reconcile, notes get the right boundary. Commit often, stay oriented.

— Principle II

Files over databases

Markdown and JSON on disk. Any AI can read it, any teammate can grep it, git versions it, PRs review it. No proprietary store, no vendor lock-in. Frame is a coordinator, not a silo.

— Principle III

Optional, never forced

Spec-driven mode is opt-in. Telemetry is opt-out. Plugins are off by default. Frame respects existing workflows — hooks append, templates merge, your config is never overwritten without consent.

Project Standardization

7 entries
Init · 5 sec

01.01

AGENTS.md

Single source of truth for project rules. Auto-symlinked as CLAUDE.md and GEMINI.md so every AI tool reads identical instructions.

Core —

01.02

STRUCTURE.json

Module map regenerated on every commit. Tracks exports, dependencies, IPC channels, and a queryable intentIndex of features.

Core AUTO

01.03

PROJECT_NOTES.md

Free-form journal for decisions and architecture rationale. Frame nudges you at the right moments — agent never invents a summary.

Core —

01.04

tasks.json

Structured task tracking with title, description, original user request, acceptance criteria, notes, status, and provenance.

Core —

01.05

.frame/bin/

Per-project tooling shipped at init: parser scripts, AI wrappers, and the fast-lookup binary. Lives inside the project, travels with it.

Infra —

01.06

Initialize on existing code

Detects existing CLAUDE.md / GEMINI.md / AGENTS.md, merges their content forward. Never overwrites — appends and asks.

Safety —

01.07

First-fill scan

After init, STRUCTURE.json is populated in one shot — modules, exports, IPC channels, and intent index ready before you type a thing.

Quality NEW

AI Tool Orchestration

5 entries
3 tools native

02.01

Claude Code integration

Launches with CLAUDE.md context already wired. Usage tracking, session history, and Plugins panel built natively into the IDE.

Multi-AI —

02.02

Codex CLI wrapper

Wrapper script injects AGENTS.md as initial prompt. Codex behaves as if it natively understood Frame's standard.

Multi-AI —

02.03

Gemini CLI integration

GEMINI.md symlinked to AGENTS.md so Gemini reads your project rules without configuration.

Multi-AI —

02.04

AI Tool Selector

Hot-swap between agents from the sidebar. Menu adapts, shortcuts adapt, terminal context follows.

UI —

02.05

Prompt history logger

Every prompt you type into an AI session is captured with timestamp and project context. Searchable across sessions.

Memory —

Terminal Workbench

6 entries
Up to 9 PTYs

03.01

Real PTY engine

node-pty backend with full VT100/ANSI support. Not a shell-out, not a shim — a proper terminal that runs anything zsh/bash can run.

Engine —

03.02

Up to 9 terminals

Tab view or 2×1, 2×2, 3×1, 3×2, 3×3 grid layouts. Resize borders by drag. One AI agent per pane is the canonical pattern.

Layout —

03.03

Project-aware sessions

Every new terminal opens in the active project directory. Switch projects → new terminals follow. No more cd-ing into nested folders.

UX —

03.04

Per-project terminal cap

The 9-terminal limit is scoped per project, not global. You can keep four projects open with four agents each running in parallel.

UX 2.2.1

03.05

Cheat sheet overlay

Quick keyboard-shortcut reference summoned on demand. Ctrl-K launches an AI, Ctrl-1..9 jumps between panes, Ctrl-Shift-G toggles grid.

UX —

03.06

Command palette

Spotlight-style launcher with a registry of project, terminal, git, and AI commands. Extensible — registries take new entries at runtime.

UX —

Tasks & Specifications

7 entries
spec → plan → tasks → outcome

04.01

Tasks dashboard

Kanban-style board with pending / in-progress / completed columns. Drag cards across columns; order persists to tasks.json.

UI —

04.02

Discuss a task

One click opens a fresh AI terminal scoped to the task. Agent interviews you to flesh out empty fields, then writes back to tasks.json.

AI NEW

04.03

Send-to-AI handoff

Per-card "Run" action drops a templated prompt into your AI of choice — task title, acceptance criteria, and notes pre-loaded.

AI —

04.04

Spec-driven workflow

Each spec is four markdown files: spec · plan · tasks · outcome. Auto-imports tasks into tasks.json tagged with provenance.

Method —

04.05

Outcome journaling

After each implemented task, the agent appends 2-3 sentences to outcome.md — what shipped, what diverged, what to follow up on.

Memory —

04.06

Phase lifecycle watcher

Status reconciles from filesystem state. Write spec.md → phase = specified. Write plan.md → planned. No manual state-flipping.

Infra —

04.07

Slash-command surface

/spec.new, /spec.plan, /spec.tasks, /spec.implement — natural-language gates between phases your AI agent already understands.

UX —

Git & Source Control

6 entries
commit = checkpoint

05.01

Pre-commit STRUCTURE sync

Hook regenerates STRUCTURE.json against staged changes and folds it into the same commit. Map is always exactly one commit fresh.

Auto FLAGSHIP

05.02

Safe hook installation

Detects husky, lefthook, custom vanilla hooks. Appends idempotently for husky, leaves config tools alone, never overwrites user content.

Safety NEW

05.03

Branches panel

List, switch, create, delete branches from the sidebar. Live status indicator on the current branch.

UI —

05.04

Worktrees

Spin up a parallel worktree for an experiment, ship-blocker, or AI spike. Manage adds/removes without leaving Frame.

UI —

05.05

GitHub panel

Issues, pull requests, branches, and labels surfaced directly in the IDE. Open an issue → drop it into a fresh AI terminal in one click.

UI —

05.06

Git status indicator

Repo state polled and surfaced in the status bar — staged, modified, untracked counts always visible while you work.

UX —

Navigation & Memory

5 entries
O(1) feature lookup

06.01

intentIndex

Concept-to-file mapping in STRUCTURE.json. Type a feature name, get the exact files instantly. No grep, no scan.

Speed —

06.02

find-module CLI

node .frame/bin/find-module <keyword> — designed for AI agents. Walks intentIndex, falls back to deep-search across descriptions and exports.

CLI —

06.03

Overview panel

Visual map of modules and their relationships drawn from STRUCTURE.json. See architecture at a glance, click a node to open the file.

UI —

06.04

File tree

Standard tree view rooted at project. Renders large repos with virtualization, syncs with editor.

UI —

06.05

Session notes capture

Agent watches for decision moments — "let's go with X", "we'll defer Y" — and asks once whether to log to PROJECT_NOTES.md.

Memory —

Power Tools

6 entries
Opt-in surfaces

07.01

Claude Code plugins

Browse, install, enable, and disable Claude Code plugins from a dedicated panel. Plugin discovery without leaving the IDE.

Ext —

07.02

Claude Code sessions

List and resume past Claude Code conversations. Every session in your project, indexed and reopenable.

Ext —

07.03

Usage tracking

Live token-burn meter for Claude Code. Know when a session is nearing the limit before it cuts off mid-task.

Insight —

07.04

Workspace manager

Multiple projects open simultaneously, each with its own isolated context, task list, and notes. Quick-switch via the sidebar.

Core —

07.05

Settings & preferences

User-level overrides — preferred AI tool, telemetry opt-out, terminal defaults, panel layouts. Persisted across launches.

UX —

07.06

Update checker

Polls releases passively; surfaces a non-blocking dot when a new version ships. In-app auto-update on the roadmap.

Infra —

Fig. A — system schematic · main process / renderer / project filesystem

   ┌─ MAIN  PROCESS  (Node.js) ───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │                                                                          │
   │   ptyManager    tasksManager   specManager     githubManager          │
   │   aiToolManager frameProject   workspace       gitBranchesManager     │
   │   fileTree      fileEditor     pluginsManager  claudeUsageManager     │
   │   structureBootstrap ◀──── new ── ships parser + hook to .frame/bin/      │
   │                                                                          │
   └──┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      │
      │   115+ IPC channels · bidirectional · typed via shared/ipcChannels.js
      ▼
   ┌─ RENDERER  (browser) ────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │                                                                          │
   │   multiTerminalUI  terminalGrid    tasksDashboard   specsDashboard    │
   │   githubPanel      overviewPanel   structureMap     historyPanel      │
   │   commandPalette   aiToolSelector  pluginsPanel     cheatSheet        │
   │                                                                          │
   └──┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
   ┌─ PROJECT  FILESYSTEM ────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │   AGENTS.md            project rules · single source · symlinked          │
   │   STRUCTURE.json       module map · intentIndex · auto-updated on commit  │
   │   tasks.json           kanban state · with provenance + acceptance fields  │
   │   PROJECT_NOTES.md     decision journal · agent-prompted, human-curated    │
   │   .frame/specs/<slug>/ spec · plan · tasks · outcome (markdown only)       │
   │   .frame/bin/          parser scripts · find-module · ai wrappers          │
   │   .git/hooks/          pre-commit · safe append-mode for husky/lefthook    │
   └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

49^↗

Features
Indexed

Source
Modules

115⁺

IPC
Channels

AI Tools
Supported

Terminals
Per Project

Shipped & in-flight

Live snapshot
v2.2.2 · 2026-05

Multi-terminal grid (up to 9 panes)Shipped

Spec-driven dev — spec · plan · tasks · outcomeShipped

Frame project standard (AGENTS, STRUCTURE…)Shipped

Plugins panel for Claude CodeShipped

Multi-AI: Claude Code, Codex, GeminiShipped

Overview / visual structure mapShipped

STRUCTURE.json bootstrap for user projectsShipped

GitHub panel — issues, PRs, branchesShipped

In-app auto-update via electron-updaterSpec'd

Non-standard layouts (monorepo, TS, Python)Spec'd

Web platform (IPC → WebSocket migration)Planned

Drag-image into terminal for AI visionDiscussed