CRAM ESSENTIAL - AI-Powered Development Team for VS Code
Turn Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, and any AI into a full software development company that builds your projects autonomously.
CRAM ESSENTIAL orchestrates multiple AI models as a virtual software development company with 12 specialized roles, 4 orchestration strategies, and a full SDLC pipeline — all inside VS Code.
One click. Multiple AIs. Complete projects.
Why CRAM ESSENTIAL?
| Feature |
CRAM ESSENTIAL |
Single AI Tools |
| Multiple AIs working together |
Yes |
No |
| AI team with specialized roles |
12 roles |
None |
| Full project lifecycle (SDLC) |
6 stages |
None |
| AI meetings with debates |
Yes |
No |
| Decision tracking |
Yes |
No |
| Works with Claude + GPT + Gemini |
All at once |
One at a time |
Features
12 AI Team Members
Your AI company has specialized employees:
| Role |
Default AI |
Responsibility |
| CEO |
Claude |
Vision & strategy |
| CTO |
Claude |
Technology decisions |
| Lead Architect |
Claude |
System design |
| Senior Developer |
GPT-4 |
Core implementation |
| Frontend Developer |
GPT-4 |
UI/UX code |
| Backend Developer |
GPT-4 |
APIs & databases |
| QA Engineer |
Gemini |
Testing & bugs |
| Security Auditor |
Gemini |
Vulnerability analysis |
| DevOps Engineer |
Gemini |
CI/CD & deployment |
| SEO Specialist |
GPT-4 |
Search optimization |
| Marketing Strategist |
Claude |
Go-to-market |
| Performance Engineer |
Gemini |
Speed optimization |
4 Orchestration Strategies
- Collaborative — Architect designs, Developer codes, Reviewer critiques, then refine. Best for complex projects.
- Sequential — Pipeline chain: each AI builds on the previous output. Best for step-by-step tasks.
- Parallel — All AIs work independently, then results are synthesized. Best for speed.
- Competitive — AIs compete, a judge scores and picks the best. Best for quality.
Full SDLC Pipeline
Discovery --> Architecture --> Implementation --> QA --> SEO/Marketing --> Deployment
Each stage runs an AI meeting where your team:
- Debates approaches and trade-offs
- @mentions each other to ask questions
- Makes tracked decisions with rationale
- Produces code, docs, and reports
AI Meetings
Real multi-turn conversations between AI team members. They debate algorithms, review each other's code, challenge assumptions, and reach consensus — just like a real development team.
Custom Providers
Add any OpenAI-compatible API: Ollama, Mistral, Together AI, LM Studio, Cohere, and more.
"cramEssential.customProviders": [
{
"name": "ollama",
"baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
"model": "llama3",
"apiKey": ""
}
]
Quick Start
- Install CRAM ESSENTIAL from the VS Code Marketplace
- Click the CRAM ESSENTIAL icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
- Add at least one API key (Claude, GPT-4, or Gemini)
- Run
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Company Project from the Command Palette
You only need one AI provider to get started. Add more for multi-AI collaboration.
All Commands
| Command |
Description |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Company Project |
Run your project through the full SDLC pipeline |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Start Meeting |
Start an AI team meeting on any topic |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Set Orchestration Strategy |
Switch between Collaborative/Sequential/Parallel/Competitive |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Assign Company Roles |
Reassign which AI plays which role |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: View Decision Log |
See all decisions made by your AI team |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Export Session |
Save the full session to disk |
CRAM ESSENTIAL: Welcome |
Open the welcome & setup guide |
Configuration
| Setting |
Description |
Default |
cramEssential.claude.apiKey |
Anthropic API key |
— |
cramEssential.gpt.apiKey |
OpenAI API key |
— |
cramEssential.gemini.apiKey |
Google AI API key |
— |
cramEssential.defaultStrategy |
Default orchestration strategy |
collaborative |
cramEssential.meetingMaxTurns |
Max conversation turns per meeting |
8 |
cramEssential.maxTokensPerRequest |
Max tokens per AI request |
4096 |
cramEssential.timeoutMs |
Timeout per request (ms) |
120000 |
cramEssential.logLevel |
Logging level |
info |
Get Your API Keys
License
MIT - Alen Thomas
