Build real software step-by-step with Claude, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, Cursor, and other agents

Primer

Primer helps you build real software with AI agents one verified milestone at a time.

The main work happens inside your AI coding agent. The primer CLI sets up the workspace, verifies prerequisites, and powers the milestone workflow under the hood.

Instead of handing an agent a huge vague task, Primer gives you a milestone contract, a verification step, and a clear next action.

Primer is a good fit if you want to:

• start from a real workspace instead of a blank prompt
• keep the agent focused on the current step
• verify progress before moving on
• learn the system as you build it

Current recipes:

• cli-tool: build a practical task tracker CLI in Python
• interpreter-mini: build a small expression language in Python
• operating-system: build an x86 operating system from bootloader to shell

Table of Contents

• Start Here
• Guides
• 5 Minute Demo
• How Primer Works
• Why Primer
• Is Primer Beginner-Friendly?
• Who It's For
• Installation
  • Recommended quick install (macOS/Linux)
  • Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
  • npm / npx
  • Cargo
  • Native binaries
  • Build from source
  • Install from local source
  • Sanity check after install
  • Shell completions
• AI Tool Integration
• Available Recipe
• Tracks
• Agent Workflow Actions
• CLI Setup Commands
• JSON Examples
• Workspace Model
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License

Start Here

If you want the fastest path from zero to building inside yo