feat: agent-driven setup — drop the manual steps

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,6 +1,26 @@
 # Changelog
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
+## [0.1.7] - 2026-03-11
+
+
+### Features
+
+- agent-driven setup via `SETUP.md` — paste one prompt and let the agent configure your IDE
+- add submodule path as primary rule-details resolution in core-workflow.md, keeping legacy paths as fallbacks
+
+
+### Documentation
+
+- add dedicated `SETUP.md` with two-step setup instructions
+- replace verbose per-platform manual setup with a single prompt
+- remove manual setup instructions
+- add folder structure preservation guidance to CONTRIBUTING.md
+
+
+### Miscellaneous
+
+- remove unused setup images from `assets/images/`
 ## [0.1.6] - 2026-03-05
 
 

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -12,17 +12,34 @@ Before contributing, familiarize yourself with our [tenets](README.md#tenets).
 
 AI-DLC rules live in `aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rule-details/`. When contributing:
 
-- **Be reproducible**: Changes should be consistently reproducible either via test case or a series of step
+- **Be reproducible**: Changes should be consistently reproducible either via test case or a series of steps.
 - **Single source of truth**: Don't duplicate content. If guidance applies to multiple stages, put it in `common/` and reference it.
 - **Keep it agnostic**: The core methodology shouldn't assume specific IDEs, agents, or models. Tool-specific files are generated from the source.
 
+### Directory Structure — Do Not Rename or Move
+
+The folder names `aws-aidlc-rules/` and `aws-aidlc-rule-details/` under `aidlc-rules/` are part of the public contract. Workshops, tests, and the `core-workflow.md` path-resolution logic all depend on these exact names. Do not flatten, rename, or reorganize them.
+
+```
+aidlc-rules/
+├── aws-aidlc-rules/            # Core workflow entry point
+│   └── core-workflow.md
+└── aws-aidlc-rule-details/     # Detailed rules referenced by the workflow
+    ├── common/
+    ├── inception/
+    ├── construction/
+    ├── extensions/
+    └── operations/
+```
+
 ### Rule Structure
 
-Rules are organized by phase:
+Rules are organized by phase inside `aws-aidlc-rule-details/`:
 - `common/` - Shared guidance across all phases
 - `inception/` - Planning and architecture rules
 - `construction/` - Design and implementation rules
 - `operations/` - Deployment and monitoring rules
+- `extensions/` - Optional cross-cutting constraint rules
 
 ### Testing Changes
 

README.md

@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ AI-DLC is an intelligent software development workflow that adapts to your needs
 
 ## Table of Contents
 
-- [Quick Start](#quick-start)
+- [Experimental: AI-Assisted Setup](#-experimental-ai-assisted-setup)
+- [Common](#common)
 - [Platform-Specific Setup](#platform-specific-setup)
 - [Usage](#usage)
 - [Three-Phase Adaptive Workflow](#three-phase-adaptive-workflow)
@@ -17,7 +18,58 @@ AI-DLC is an intelligent software development workflow that adapts to your needs
 
 ---
 
-## Quick Start
+### Experimental: AI-Assisted Setup
+
+> Instead of manually copying files, let your AI agent handle the setup. This is an experimental workflow — currently validated with Kiro, Claude code, Cursor, Antigravity.
+
+**Step 1** — Add AI-DLC as a git submodule in your project root:
+
+```bash
+git submodule add https://github.com/awslabs/aidlc-workflows.git .aidlc
+```
+
+**Step 2** — Paste this prompt into your AI agent:
+
+```
+Set up AI-DLC in this project by doing the following:
+
+1. Create the appropriate rules/steering file for your IDE using the options below.
+   Pick the one that matches the agent you are running in:
+
+   - Kiro IDE or Kiro CLI     → create `.kiro/steering/ai-dlc.md`
+   - Amazon Q Developer       → create `.amazonq/rules/ai-dlc.md`
+   - Antigravity              → create `.agent/rules/ai-dlc.md`
+   - Cursor                   → create `.cursor/rules/ai-dlc.mdc` with frontmatter:
+                                  ---
+                                  description: "AI-DLC workflow"
+                                  alwaysApply: true
+                                  ---
+   - Cline                    → create `.clinerules/ai-dlc.md`
+   - Claude Code              → create `CLAUDE.md`
+   - GitHub Copilot           → create `.github/copilot-instructions.md`
+   - Any other agent          → create `AGENTS.md`
+
+2. The file content should be:
+   When the user invokes AI-DLC, read and follow
+   `.aidlc/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rules/core-workflow.md` to start the workflow.
+
+3. Add `.aidlc` to `.gitignore` unless I explicitly ask you not to.
+
+4. Confirm what file you created and that `.aidlc` is gitignored.
+```
+
+The agent will create the correct config file for your IDE and gitignore the submodule automatically.
+
+**Updating AI-DLC** — To pull the latest rules:
+
+```bash
+git submodule update --remote .aidlc
+```
+
+
+---
+
+## Common
 
 1. Download the latest release zip from the [Releases page](../../releases/latest) to a folder **outside** your project directory (e.g., `~/Downloads`).
 2. Extract the zip. It contains an `aidlc-rules/` folder with two subdirectories:
@@ -86,6 +138,7 @@ Run `kiro-cli`, then `/context show`, and confirm entries for `.kiro/steering/aw
 
 ---
 
+
 ### Amazon Q Developer IDE Plugin/Extension
 
 AI-DLC uses [Amazon Q Rules](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/context-project-rules.html) within your project workspace. 

aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rules/core-workflow.md

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ The AI model intelligently assesses what stages are needed based on:
 
 ## MANDATORY: Rule Details Loading
 **CRITICAL**: When performing any phase, you MUST read and use relevant content from rule detail files. Check these paths in order and use the first one that exists:
+- `.aidlc/aidlc-rules/aws-aidlc-rule-details/` (submodule setup)
 - `.aidlc-rule-details/` (Cursor, Cline, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot)
 - `.kiro/aws-aidlc-rule-details/` (Kiro IDE and CLI)
 - `.amazonq/aws-aidlc-rule-details/` (Amazon Q Developer)