ryanmaclean ac-ideate — Auto-Claude Ideation Runner
Runs the Auto-Claude ideation pipeline against a project directory and writes
spec ideas to <project>/.auto-claude/ideation/.
Binary location
/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend/runners/ideation_runner.py
Always set PYTHONPATH to the backend root:
PYTHONPATH=/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend
Basic usage
# Ideate on current directory
PYTHONPATH=/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend \
python3 /Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend/runners/ideation_runner.py \
--project /path/to/project
# With options
PYTHONPATH=/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend \
python3 /Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend/runners/ideation_runner.py \
--project /path/to/project \
--types low_hanging_fruit,high_value_features \
--thinking-level high \
--max-ideas 8 \
--refresh
All flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
--project PATH |
cwd | Project directory to analyze |
--output PATH |
<project>/.auto-claude/ideation |
Where to write results |
--types LIST |
all | Comma-separated: code_improvements, ui_ux_improvements, documentation_gaps, security_hardening, performance_optimizations, code_quality |
--thinking-level |
medium |
low / medium / high |
--max-ideas N |
5 | Max ideas per type |
--model |
sonnet |
haiku, sonnet, opus, or full model ID |
--refresh |
false | Force regenerate even if results exist |
--append |
false | Add to existing session instead of replacing |
--no-roadmap |
false | Skip roadmap context |
--no-kanban |
false | Skip kanban context |
--fast-mode |
false | Faster Opus 4.6 output |
Open a Zellij tab for ideation
# New tab — runs ideation then drops to shell
zellij --session $ZELLIJ_SESSION_NAME action new-tab --name "ideation" \
-- sh -c 'cd /path/to/project && \
PYTHONPATH=/Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend \
python3 /Applications/Auto-Claude.app/Contents/Resources/backend/runners/ideation_runner.py \
--project . --thinking-level high --max-ideas 8 --refresh; exec $SHELL'
$ZELLIJ_SESSION_NAME is set automatically inside any Zellij session. If running outside, replace with the session name from zellij list-sessions.
Typical workflow
- New project — run with
--types low_hanging_fruit,high_value_features --refresh - Read results —
ls <project>/.auto-claude/ideation/ - Promote to specs — copy ideas into
.auto-claude/specs/<NNN>-<slug>/spec.md - Dispatch —
./dispatch.nu run --wave N --yesor via Auto-Claude UI
Projects
| Project | Path |
|---|---|
| dub (EFI bootloader) | $HOME/efi |
| bop (jobcard system) | $HOME/bop |
| zam (unikernel VM reader) | $HOME/zam |
Notes
- Ideation reads
PLAN.md, existing specs, andCLAUDE.mdfor context automatically. --refreshis safe to run repeatedly — it overwrites the previous session.- Does not require an API key — uses Auto-Claude's OAuth session (Claude Code subscription).
- Inside an agent session,
CLAUDECODEenv var is already set; no need to unset it for this runner.