Pagent Usage Guide
Pagent orchestrates specialist AI agents to transform Product Requirement Documents (PRDs) into working code.
Quick Start
# Interactive TUI (recommended)
pagent ui
# Run with a PRD file
pagent run ./prd.md
# Check agent status
pagent status
Agents
Pagent runs 5 specialist agents in dependency order:
| Agent | Output | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
architect | architecture.md | Technical design, API specs, data models |
qa | test-plan.md | Test cases, acceptance criteria |
security | security-assessment.md | Threat model, security requirements |
implementer | code/* | Working code implementation |
verifier | *_test.go, verification-report.md | Tests and validation |
Execution Order
Level 0: architect
Level 1: qa, security (parallel)
Level 2: implementer
Level 3: verifier
Commands
Run Agents
# Run all agents (parallel by default)
pagent run ./prd.md
# Run specific agents
pagent run ./prd.md --agents architect,qa
# Sequential mode
pagent run ./prd.md --sequential
# Resume (skip up-to-date outputs)
pagent run ./prd.md --resume
# Force regeneration
pagent run ./prd.md --force
# Custom output directory
pagent run ./prd.md -o ./docs/
Interactive TUI
pagent ui # Start fresh
pagent ui ./prd.md # Pre-fill with PRD
pagent ui --accessible # Screen reader support
Monitor & Control
pagent status # Check running agents
pagent logs <agent> # View agent output
pagent message <agent> "text" # Send guidance
pagent stop <agent> # Stop specific agent
pagent stop --all # Stop all agents
MCP Server
pagent mcp # Stdio (Claude Desktop)
pagent mcp --transport http --port 8080 # HTTP mode
pagent mcp --transport http --oauth \
--issuer https://company.okta.com \
--audience api://pagent # With OAuth
Personas
Control implementation style:
| Persona | Use Case |
|---|---|
minimal | MVP, prototype - ship fast |
balanced | Standard projects (default) |
production | Enterprise - comprehensive testing, security |
pagent run ./prd.md --persona production
Configuration
Initialize config:
pagent init
Creates .pagent/config.yaml:
output_dir: ./outputs
timeout: 300
persona: balanced
preferences:
api_style: rest # rest | graphql | grpc
language: go # go | python | typescript
testing_depth: unit # none | unit | integration | e2e
containerized: true
include_ci: true
stack:
cloud: aws
compute: kubernetes
database: postgres
cache: redis
Writing a PRD
A good PRD includes:
# Product: [Name]
## Problem Statement
What problem are we solving?
## Features
- Feature 1: description
- Feature 2: description
## Requirements
- Functional requirements
- Non-functional requirements (performance, security)
## Constraints
- Technology constraints
- Timeline constraints
Workflows
Quick Architecture Review
pagent run ./prd.md --agents architect
# Review architecture.md, iterate on PRD
Full Pipeline
pagent ui ./prd.md
# Select production persona
# Run all agents
cd outputs/code && go build ./...
Iterative Development
pagent run ./prd.md --agents architect
# Review architecture.md
pagent run ./prd.md --resume # Run remaining agents
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Fix |
|---|---|
| Timeout | pagent run ./prd.md --timeout 600 |
| Port in use | pagent stop --all |
| Incomplete output | pagent message <agent> "Please complete..." |
| Agent stuck | pagent stop <agent> then re-run |
