What the kickoff says
KICKOFF.md is short on purpose. Under the heading, a line telling you where to paste it and a rule, the prompt reads: Read docs/spec.md and docs/plan.md in full before doing anything else. Start in plan mode: produce an implementation plan for Milestone 1 as defined in docs/plan.md, then wait for my approval before writing any code. That is the whole file. A template renders it with your project name in the heading; no model writes it, so it says the same thing every time.
On the done screen, Copy kickoff prompt puts the file on your clipboard and the label flips to Copied ✓ for about two seconds.
What CLAUDE.md adds
The kickoff gets Claude Code started; CLAUDE.md, the file the landing calls project memory, keeps it honest. It states the goal in one line, points at @docs/spec.md for the specification and docs/flows/ for the exact step order and branching, and names both as the source of truth over anything inferred from code. It includes Runic's reading legend, so a .runic file is read correctly: a caption after a colon is an arrow label, .fail is an outcome the path continues past, .back is a transition arrow.
Four rules close the file. The acceptance criteria in docs/spec.md are binding; a story is done only when all of them pass. Each finished story gets tests covering its criteria. An ambiguous requirement means consulting Open Questions and asking you, never inventing an answer. Architecture decisions beyond the spec need your sign-off first.
How Milestone 1 is defined
docs/plan.md opens with one rule: milestones are ordered; finish and verify one before starting the next. Milestone 1 lists the entities from the data model, names the first ticked process as the core flow, and takes the first third of the user stories. That first process is whichever sits highest in your sidebar among the ticked ones, so the order you keep in Runic decides what gets built first.
Screens go to Claude Design
Copy design brief on the same done screen copies docs/design-brief.md: the product in one line, the screen inventory with purpose, key elements and states, the flow order, the personas, and a closing line telling the designer to work from the .runic files, not a paraphrase. The done screen says where it goes: for Claude Design, paste the brief.
Limits and gotchas
Copy kickoff prompt copies the whole of KICKOFF.md, heading and all. Plan mode and the approval pause are things the prompt asks Claude Code to do; Runic does not run Claude Code or watch what it does. The package is a snapshot of your flows at export time. For a live connection where Claude reads and edits documents as they change, use the MCP server instead.
How to use it
- Finish the wizardComplete the Build Package interview and click Generate package. On the Package ready screen, click Download .zip.
- UnzipUnzip the archive into an empty folder. CLAUDE.md and KICKOFF.md sit at the root; the spec, plan, brief and flows are under docs/.
- Run claudeOpen a terminal in that folder and run claude.
- Paste the kickoffBack in Runic, click Copy kickoff prompt — the label flips to Copied ✓ — and paste into Claude Code. Or open KICKOFF.md and copy the text under the rule.
- Review the planThe prompt asks Claude Code to read docs/spec.md and docs/plan.md and return a plan for Milestone 1 before it writes code. Approve or redirect it there; Runic is not involved after the paste.
- Hand off the screensClick Copy design brief and paste it into Claude Design.
Commands & shortcuts
| Copy kickoff prompt | Copies the contents of KICKOFF.md; shows Copied ✓ for a moment. |
| Copy design brief | Copies docs/design-brief.md; the same file is in the zip. |
| claude | Run in the unzipped folder to start Claude Code, as the done screen says. |
| KICKOFF.md | The prompt plus one line saying to paste it into Claude Code from the project root. |
| CLAUDE.md | Goal, pointers to @docs/spec.md and docs/flows/, the reading legend, four binding rules. |
| docs/plan.md | Three ordered milestones; finish and verify one before the next. |
Tips
- Reorder the sidebar before you export. The first ticked process becomes the Milestone 1 core flow, and the kickoff prompt points Claude Code at that plan.
- Read docs/plan.md before you paste. Stories are split into contiguous thirds; move them in the file if the cut is wrong, and the kickoff still points at the same file.
- Keep docs/flows/ in the repo. CLAUDE.md names it, with docs/spec.md, as the source of truth over anything inferred from code.
- When flows keep changing after kickoff, connect Claude Code to Runic over MCP so it reads the current text instead of the snapshot in the zip.
Questions
Is the kickoff prompt AI-generated?
No. It is fixed text from a template with your project name in the heading. Only the spec object comes from the AI; every file in the zip is rendered deterministically.
Why plan mode and a pause?
The prompt tells Claude Code to produce a plan for Milestone 1 and wait for your approval before writing any code, so the first thing it is asked for is a plan, not a diff. CLAUDE.md then keeps the acceptance criteria binding for every story after that.
What if the clipboard is blocked?
The Copy buttons fail silently on purpose. KICKOFF.md and docs/design-brief.md are in the zip; open them and copy from there.
Does Runic talk to Claude Code directly?
Not through the package: it is files you paste. For a live connection, create a token under the avatar menu → Claude & MCP and add Runic as an MCP server.