ortim.dev
Documentation menu

Getting started

This walks you from install to a finished project in about 15 minutes.

1. Install

pip install ortim

Ortim requires Python ≥ 3.11. Verify your environment at any time:

ortim doctor

2. Pick a provider

The interactive wizard writes ~/.ortim/config.toml. No .env is required, and it works from any directory:

ortim config init          # pick provider → model → key, once
ortim config show          # verify what's resolved, with the source per field

No API key at hand? Choose Ollama to run fully local at zero API cost. See Providers & cost for routing and pricing.

3. Initialize a project

Go to a project directory — greenfield or an existing codebase — and initialize. Ortim creates a .ortim/ namespace and auto-detects whether the directory is a fresh start or a brownfield project.

mkdir ~/dev/task-tracker && cd ~/dev/task-tracker

ortim init "A small task tracker CLI in Python with SQLite, single user, local only."

In a directory that already contains package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, or pubspec.yaml, ortim init enters brownfield mode: it extracts the import graph and generates scope-aware tasks against your existing code.

4. Draft and approve the PRD (gate G1)

ortim run                  # Babel + Analyst draft a PRD from the brief
ortim show --artifact prd  # review it
ortim advance prd_approved # approve gate G1

G1 is mandatory — the LLM never proceeds to architecture without your approval.

5. Draft and approve the RFC (gate G2)

ortim run                  # Architect produces an RFC (tier, stack, modules, risks)
ortim show --artifact rfc  # review it
ortim advance rfc_approved # approve gate G2

The Architect does not pick the architecture tier — an agent extracts characteristics from the PRD and a deterministic scorer chooses. Same inputs, same architecture, every time. See Concepts.

6. Generate and execute the task DAG

ortim run                  # Orchestrator generates the task DAG
ortim run-all --phase 1    # Worker × N execute the MVP tasks; Reviewer chain checks each

7. Observe

ortim status               # state + history
ortim retro                # token + USD cost rollup
ortim drift-check          # RFC ↔ DAG ↔ status integrity
ortim audit-verify         # confirm the audit log is untampered

Try it with no input

For a quick end-to-end walkthrough that needs no brief and no API key:

ortim demo --provider ollama

Next steps

  • Concepts — understand the gates, the deterministic scorer, and the audit chain.
  • CLI reference — the full command surface.