/apex add authentication middleware

/apex -a -s implement user registration

/apex -a -x -s fix login bug

• -a

  (auto): Skip confirmations

• -s

  (save): Save outputs to

  .claude/output/apex/

• -x

  (examine): Include adversarial code review

• -t

  (test): Create and run tests

• -pr

  (pull-request): Create PR at end

<parameters>

-A

--no-auto

-X

--no-examine

-S

--no-save

-T

--no-test

-E

--no-economy

-B

--no-branch

-PR

--no-pull-request

Autonomous (skip confirmations)

Save outputs + examine

Full workflow with tests

With PR creation

Resume previous task

Economy mode (save tokens)

Interactive flag config

Disable flags (uppercase)

</examples>

<parsing_rules>
**Flag parsing:**

1. Defaults loaded from `steps/step-00-init.md` `<defaults>` section
2. Command-line flags override defaults (enable with lowercase `-x`, disable with uppercase `-X`)
3. Flags removed from input, remainder becomes `{task_description}`
4. Task ID generated as `NN-kebab-case-description`

For detailed parsing algorithm, see `steps/step-00-init.md`.
</parsing_rules>

</parameters>

<output_structure>
**When `{save_mode}` = true:**

All outputs saved to PROJECT directory (where Claude Code is running):

**00-context.md structure:**
```markdown
# APEX Task: {task_id}

**Created:** {timestamp}
**Task:** {task_description}

## Flags
- Auto mode: {auto_mode}
- Examine mode: {examine_mode}
- Save mode: {save_mode}
- Test mode: {test_mode}

## User Request
{original user input}

## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] AC1: {inferred criterion}
- [ ] AC2: {inferred criterion}

-r {task-id}

1. Locate the task folder in

   .claude/output/apex/

2. Restore state from

   00-context.md

3. Find the last completed step
4. Continue from the next step

-r 01

01-add-auth-middleware

steps/step-00-init.md

{task_description}

{feature_name}

add-auth-middleware

{task_id}

01-add-auth-middleware

{acceptance_criteria}

{auto_mode}

{examine_mode}

{save_mode}

{test_mode}

{economy_mode}

{branch_mode}

{pr_mode}

{interactive_mode}

{resume_task}

{output_dir}

{branch_name}

steps/step-00-init.md

• Flag parsing (-a, -x, -s, -r, --test)
• Resume mode detection and task lookup
• Output folder creation (if save_mode)
• 00-context.md creation (if save_mode)
• State variable initialization

steps/step-00-init.md

steps/step-01-analyze.md

steps/step-02-plan.md

steps/step-03-execute.md

steps/step-04-validate.md

steps/step-05-examine.md

steps/step-06-resolve.md

steps/step-07-tests.md

steps/step-08-run-tests.md

steps/step-09-finish.md

• Load one step at a time - Only load the current step file
• ULTRA THINK before major decisions
• Persist state variables across all steps
• Follow next_step directive at end of each step
• Save outputs if

  {save_mode}

  = true (append to step file)
• Use parallel agents for independent exploration tasks

🧠 Smart Agent Strategy in Analyze Phase

• explore-codebase

  - Find existing patterns, files, utilities

• explore-docs

  - Research library docs (use when unfamiliar with API)

• websearch

  - Find approaches, best practices, gotchas

{save_mode}

scripts/setup-templates.sh

templates/

1. Run

   scripts/update-progress.sh {task_id} {step_num} {step_name} "in_progress"

2. Append findings/outputs to the pre-created step file
3. Run

   scripts/update-progress.sh {task_id} {step_num} {step_name} "complete"

• Reduces token usage by ~75% (1,350 tokens saved per workflow)
• Templates in

  templates/

  directory (not inline in steps)
• Scripts handle progress tracking automatically
• See

  templates/README.md

  for details

• Each step loaded progressively
• All validation checks passing
• Outputs saved if

  {save_mode}

  enabled
• Tests passing if

  {test_mode}

  enabled
• Clear completion summary provided </success_criteria>