AI-DLC Workflow

Runs the AI-DLC software development lifecycle — a structured, phase-gated process for planning, designing, building, testing and releasing software — directly inside your AI coding assistant. Works with GitHub Copilot in VS Code, Copilot CLI, Claude Code, and Codex, all driven by the same workflow so behaviour is identical no matter which one you use.

What it does

Ask for anything — "build me a small app," "add a feature," "refactor this" — and the workflow takes over: it asks the clarifying questions it needs, walks through its phases in order, and stops for your approval at each gate rather than generating code straight away. Optional extensions (e.g. extra rigor around testing, resiliency, or security) can be turned on when the workflow offers them.

Everything the workflow produces for you — requirements, designs, state and audit records, code — is written normally into your project as your own files.

Getting started

1. Install this extension.
2. In VS Code with Copilot, just start a chat and describe what you want built — it works immediately.
3. For Claude Code, Codex, or Copilot CLI, run AI-DLC: Enable for Claude Code, Codex and Copilot CLI from the Command Palette once. This registers the workflow for those tools; AI-DLC: Disable… reverses it at any time.
4. AI-DLC: Show Status reports whether everything is set up correctly.

Content and privacy

The workflow's rules are encrypted and unlocked at runtime through an authenticated service — they are never written to your workspace, never appear in your file explorer or search, and never show up in git status. Nothing about how you use this extension is transmitted anywhere beyond what's needed to unlock the workflow content itself.

Support

For questions or issues, contact your AI-DLC administrator.