Get started

Claude Code (via the JUXT plugin marketplace)

/plugin marketplace add juxt/claude-plugins
/plugin install allium

Cursor, Windsurf, Aider, Continue and other skills-compatible tools

npx skills add juxt/allium

GitHub Copilot

Copilot reads skills and agents from the repository automatically. No installation needed.

Manual installation

Allium is just markdown files. If your tool isn’t listed above, or you prefer to manage things yourself, grab the files from the GitHub repository and place them wherever your LLM reads custom instructions from.

The command line tool

The allium CLI is optional, but strongly advised. It validates, parses and analyses your specification files, and some of Allium’s most compelling benefits arise from it. With the CLI installed, your LLM checks every .allium file after writing or editing it, catching structural errors before they accumulate, and can run process-level analysis such as data flow, reachability and deadlock detection.

Pick the method that suits your platform. Pre-built binaries for macOS, Windows and Linux, along with source, live in the Allium-Tools repository; grab the latest from the releases page.

macOS

Homebrew is the simplest route:

brew tap juxt/allium && brew install allium

If you already have a Rust toolchain, you can install from crates.io instead:

cargo install allium-cli

Windows

Download the latest .exe from the releases page and place it somewhere on your PATH. With a Rust toolchain installed, cargo install allium-cli also works.

Linux

Install from crates.io with a Rust toolchain:

cargo install allium-cli

Arch users can install from the AUR. Pre-built binaries are also on the releases page.

From source

Clone the Allium-Tools repository and build with cargo build --release. The binary lands in target/release.

Using Allium

Type /allium to get started. This is an entry point that examines your project and guides you toward the right skill, whether that’s distilling a spec from existing code or building one through conversation. Once you’re familiar with the individual skills, you’ll likely invoke them directly.

Skill Purpose
/allium Entry point. Examines your project and routes you to the right skill.
/allium:elicit Build a spec through structured conversation.
/allium:distill Extract a spec from existing code.
/allium:propagate Generate tests from a spec.
/allium:tend Targeted changes to existing specs.
/allium:weed Find and fix divergences between spec and code.

Skills use the fully qualified form /allium:skill across all editors. Some editors also allow the short form (/tend, /elicit) when there’s no ambiguity. The /allium entry point may not be available in all editors; if it isn’t, reach for /allium:elicit or /allium:distill directly.

Claude Code
> /allium
✻ I can see you have an existing codebase with order processing, inventory management and a shipping module, but no Allium spec yet. I can distill from code to capture what your implementation currently does, or start from intent to build a spec through conversation. Which would you prefer?

Allium determines whether to distill from existing code or build a new spec based on your project and what you ask for. See the usage examples for what happens next.