nWave
A Claude Code framework: seven stages from idea to code with specialist agents, reviewers and TDD enforcement
Install
uv tool install nwave-ai
nwave-ai installpipx install nwave-ai also works. Restart Claude Code afterwards.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
nWave splits feature work into seven waves: discovery, divergence, requirements, architecture, infrastructure, acceptance tests and TDD delivery. Each wave has an agent that produces artifacts, and a human reviews them before moving on. It ships specialist agents paired with reviewers, a skill set and slash commands like /nw-discuss and /nw-deliver. Hooks enforce TDD phases and keep an audit log, and /nw-buddy reads the project and suggests where to start.
Who it is for. For developers and teams who want a strict TDD and review process instead of free-form code generation.
Good fit when
- You want a feature taken from requirements to code with checks at each step
- Your team wants a shared process with acceptance tests and TDD
- You need to fix a bug via a failing test and implementation
Not a fit when
- You need a quick small edit without documents and stages
- You do not use Claude Code, OpenCode or Codex CLI
Example request
/nw-buddy Where should I start on email and password login?Limitations
Requires Python 3.10 and Claude Code; Windows only via WSL. The plugin marketplace install lacks the TDD enforcement hooks, so the authors recommend the CLI installer. The process creates many artifacts and uses more tokens; document density is configurable.
How to disable. Run nwave-ai uninstall --force, or turn nWave off for one repository with nwave-ai project disable.
Security check
- Installs global hooks into Claude Code settings
- Agents write code and run commands in the project
README in short
The README explains the wave model where an agent produces an artifact and a human approves it. It has a table of waves with commands and agents and entry point rules for greenfield, features, bugs and refactoring. Install is via a script or manually with uv, pipx and pip, with separate notes for OpenCode, Codex CLI and offline setups. It includes per-version release notes; MIT licensed.
FAQ
Do I have to go through all seven waves?
No. A brownfield feature can start at requirements, a bug fix at acceptance tests and delivery, a refactor at delivery only.
Why not install via /plugin?
The marketplace ships only agents, commands and skills, without the hooks that enforce TDD phases and keep the log.
Related
A skills library that gives coding agents a development process: brainstorming, planning, TDD, subagents and code review
Skills for real engineers by Matt Pocock
Skills For Real Engineers
Small composable skills for engineering with agents: plan grilling, TDD, bug diagnosis, code review and architecture
Reference MCP servers
Model Context Protocol servers
Official reference MCP servers: Filesystem, Fetch, Git, Memory, Sequential Thinking, Time and Everything
Up-to-date, version-specific library docs and code examples in your agent's context, via MCP or a CLI plus skill