Use ess with an agent
The agent plugin is ess@b10x in beyond10x/agentplugins.
It teaches a coding agent (Claude Code or Codex) to install ess, write and validate a
specification with it, and hold an implementation to the suite the specification obliges. The
agent runs the same ess commands these pages show; the plugin decides when to run them.
Set it up
Tell the agent:
Set up Beyond10x for specifications: follow https://github.com/beyond10x/agentplugins/releases/latest/download/SETUP.md
The setup installs the plugin and the ess CLI, prebuilt or with cargo. It lists every change
and asks before applying any of them. The plugin loads in the next session.
Take the first step
Run /ess:init in your project. It checks that ess is installed, explains what ESS does, and
takes the first step of a specification with you.
What the plugin does after that
| Skill | When the agent uses it |
|---|---|
ess:specifying | a specification is written, validated or projected into a schema or OpenAPI document, or a new noun needs a typed home |
ess:retrofitting | an existing system with no specification needs one, derived from its OpenAPI contract, its cluster or its code |
ess:testing-conformance | a conformance suite exists and the question is whether it tests anything, and how to raise what it runs |
ess:upgrade | the plugin or the CLI is behind its latest release |
More columns: swipe horizontally, or focus the table and use the arrow keys.
Everything the agent writes is an ordinary file in your repository: ess-inputs.yaml, the
specification files, generated artifacts and the conformance package. Install
ess and the tutorials that follow it are the same path by hand.