AI-Mentored Development
AI guides, you build. You own the result.
v2.7.0 · MIT License
---
## The Problem
AI coding tools optimize for **shipping**. The risk: code that works but isn't truly yours. Hard to debug without context. Hard to extend without asking again. Hard to defend when it matters.
**OwnYourCode flips this.** AI becomes your mentor, not your coder. It guides, questions, and reviews — but you write the code.
**The result:** Code you understand. Code you can extend. Code that's actually yours.
---
## Who This Is For
**Profile selection is part of `/own:init`.** Choose your profile and OwnYourCode adapts its teaching style.
| Profile | Design Thinking | Career Extraction | Unique Feature |
| ------------------- | --------------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Junior** | **Required** | On request | No shortcuts: you design first, then build |
| **Career Switcher** | On request | On request | Concepts explained through what you already know — your past is a learning advantage |
| **Interview Prep** | On request | **Default ON** | Every task becomes interview ammunition — S.T.A.R story and resume bullet extraction |
| **Experienced** | On request | On request | You have the experience, get direct feedback and peer-level collaboration |
| **Custom** | On request | On request | Mix and match to fit how you learn |
_Profiles adapt HOW we teach. The core (6 Gates, code reviews, quality) stays the same. Change anytime with `/own:profile`._
---
## Quick Start
**macOS / Linux**
```bash
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/main/scripts/base-install.sh | bash
cd your-project && ~/ownyourcode/scripts/project-install.sh
```
**Windows (PowerShell)**
```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/main/scripts/base-install.ps1 | iex
cd your-project
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DanielPodolsky/ownyourcode/main/scripts/project-install.ps1 | iex
```
**Initialize**
```
/own:init
```
---
## How It Works
### The 4 Protocols
| Protocol | Rule |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Active Typist** | You write all code. AI provides patterns (max 8 lines), guidance, and reviews. |
| **Socratic Teaching** | AI asks questions instead of giving answers. |
| **Evidence-Based** | AI verifies with official docs before answering. |
| **Systematic Debugging** | READ → ISOLATE → DOCS → FIX. |
### The 6 Gates
Before completing any task, your code passes through 6 quality checkpoints:
> **Gate 1 blocks completion.** Can't explain your code? Don't ship it.
### The Flywheel
Learnings compound across projects. Patterns that worked. Mistakes you won't repeat. Career value extracted from every task.
---
## Commands
### Core Workflow
| Command | Purpose |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `/own:init` | Set your profile, stack, and goals |
| `/own:feature` | Plan with spec-driven development — and, for the Junior profile, build it via the predict-before-reveal loop (Phase 6) |
| `/own:advise` | Query past learnings before starting |
| `/own:guide` | Optional implementation help (for the Junior profile the gym now runs inline in `/own:feature` Phase 6) |
| `/own:stuck` | Debug systematically |
| `/own:done` | Complete with gates + code review |
| `/own:retro` | Capture learnings |
> **Junior profile note:** implementation for juniors happens inside `/own:feature` (Phase 6) as a *predict-before-reveal* loop — you commit a prediction before the AI reveals code, then get graded on it. `/own:guide` remains available for ad-hoc help but is no longer the primary path to writing code.
### Utilities
| Command | Purpose |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `/own:status` | Check progress, tasks, and career stats |
| `/own:profile` | View or change your profile |
| `/own:theme` | Restyle your project dashboard |
| `/own:test` | Guide through writing tests |
| `/own:docs` | Guide through writing documentation |
---
## MCP Setup (Recommended)
MCPs provide real-time documentation and production code examples.
```bash
# Context7 — Official documentation lookup
claude mcp add context7 --transport http https://mcp.context7.com/mcp
# Octocode — GitHub code search
https://octocode.ai/#installation
```
Without MCPs, OwnYourCode operates at reduced capability — guidance relies on AI's training data rather than verified, up-to-date documentation.
---
## Philosophy
> "Won't this slow me down?"
Yes. That's the point.
Building with someone else's code means you can't build the next thing alone. Building yourself takes longer — but now you can build anything.
[Full Philosophy →](guides/philosophy.md)
---
## The Dashboard
Your project's plan isn't scattered across a dozen Markdown files — it's a single
**dashboard** you open in your browser. Mission, stack, and roadmap up top; every
phase opens **Spec / Design / Tasks** tabs (acceptance criteria, a real
architecture diagram, a kanban board with a live progress ring). The `/own:*`
commands keep it in sync as you work.
**How it stays in sync:** all state lives in one data file
(`ownyourcode/dashboard/dashboard-data.js`); `dashboard.html` is a stable view that renders
it. No server — you double-click the file. Want a different look? `/own:theme`
re-skins it from a design brief.
---
MIT License