ac-ideate

name	ac-ideate
description	Run Auto-Claude AI-powered ideation for any project directory. Generates low-hanging fruit, high-value features, and UI/UX ideas using the Auto-Claude backend. Use when brainstorming new specs, features, or architectural directions for a project.

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

1. New project — run with --types low_hanging_fruit,high_value_features --refresh
2. Read results — ls <project>/.auto-claude/ideation/
3. Promote to specs — copy ideas into .auto-claude/specs/<NNN>-<slug>/spec.md
4. Dispatch — ./dispatch.nu run --wave N --yes or 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, and CLAUDE.md for context automatically.
• --refresh is 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, CLAUDECODE env var is already set; no need to unset it for this runner.