rqmd — AI Agent Bundle
Local-First Requirements Driven Development for Copilot Chat. The rqmd extension brings the rqmd workflow into VS Code as installable prompts, skills, and agent modes for GitHub Copilot Chat.
See also Local-First Software: You Own Your Data, in spite of the Cloud
Requirements
- VS Code 1.115 or later
- GitHub Copilot Chat installed and signed in
- rqmd CLI installed (
uv tool install rqmd or pipx install rqmd)
- mermaid-cli (optional) — required only if you use the
rqmd-diagrams skill to validate Mermaid diagrams. Install instructions →
What's included
Once installed, the following are immediately available in Copilot Chat.
Slash commands (prompts)
| Command |
What it does |
/refine |
Refine existing requirements through focused discussion |
/brainstorm |
Turn loose ideas into ranked requirement proposals |
/go |
Start or continue the implementation loop |
/next |
Suggest the next logical step from session context, blockers, and priority tiebreakers |
/bug |
File a tracked bug requirement from the current chat context |
/commit |
Create a well-structured git commit for the current work |
/commit-and-go |
Commit each validated slice and keep going |
/docs-polish |
Run a documentation quality or sync pass |
/refactor |
Improve readability, maintainability, or performance |
/pin |
Capture durable context or decision notes |
/ship-check |
Release readiness pass — call out blockers |
/feedback |
Submit improvement feedback to the rqmd team |
Agent modes
| Agent |
Role |
rqmd |
Unified primary agent — brainstorm, triage, refine, hand off with /go, implement, and ship. |
Skills
14 domain skills available in agent mode, including rqmd-implement, rqmd-triage, rqmd-brainstorm, rqmd-verify, rqmd-changelog, rqmd-doc-sync, and more.
What rqmd is for
rqmd is built for requirement-first development with Copilot Chat:
- Capture product and implementation work as tracked requirements.
- Brainstorm and refine proposals before coding.
- Hand implementation slices to a focused coding agent.
- Keep requirement docs, changelogs, and shipped behavior aligned.
Getting started
Install the rqmd CLI:
uv tool install rqmd
# or
pipx install rqmd
Install this extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
⚠️ After updating: VS Code resets the chat mode to "Agent" when extensions reload. Re-select rqmd in the chat mode picker after updating or reloading — otherwise you'll be chatting without rqmd context and wondering why nothing works right.
Initialize a project via the Command Palette (⇧⌘P):
rqmd: Initialize Project
This sets up the project-side rqmd structure so the extension and CLI can work against the same requirement catalog.
Start working with /brainstorm or /next to shape and select work, then use /go to execute implementation slices.
How it works
The extension contributes prompts, skills, and agent definitions via VS Code's declarative chatPromptFiles, chatSkills, and chatAgents contribution points. VS Code core discovers them automatically — no proposed API, no runtime overhead.
Per-project overrides such as custom /dev and /test skills can still live alongside your repo-specific Copilot instructions. Upgrading the shared rqmd bundle is just an extension update.
Version sync
Extension version numbers are kept in sync with the rqmd Python CLI package. Extension 0.2.4 pairs with rqmd CLI 0.2.4.
Links
