A hands-on guide to the Robo Architect Lite desktop app, step by step from scratch: turn a one-line requirement into a proposal, break it down with domain-driven design (DDD), set a project constitution and a plan, have Claude Code implement it in a sandbox, then validate it against acceptance criteria and merge it back into the design.
What Robo Architect is#
Robo Architect is a spec-driven development (SDD) tool. The spec, not the code, is the source of truth. You write requirements in plain language, and AI breaks them down into the vocabulary of domain-driven design (DDD) — bounded contexts, aggregates, commands, events, and acceptance criteria in Given-When-Then form. Claude Code writes the code from that design, and the finished code is checked against the design again.
Every change is handled as one proposal. A proposal moves through these stages.
| Stage | What happens | In this tutorial |
|---|---|---|
| INTENT | Breaks a plain-language requirement into a strategic design (processes, bounded contexts, features, user stories, acceptance criteria) | Chapter 3 |
| PLAN | Decides the tactical design, architecture and impact, based on the project constitution | Chapters 4 · 5 |
| IMPLEMENTING | Claude Code implements it in a separate Git worktree (the sandbox) | Chapter 6 |
| VALIDATING · Pending Acceptance | Runs structural validation and acceptance-criteria tests | Chapter 7 |
| ACCEPTED | On acceptance, the code is merged into the main branch and written into the design graph | Chapter 7 |
This tutorial uses Robo Architect Lite, a desktop app you use on your own computer. It stores the design not in Neo4j but in a graph in Ontological DB, one graph per project. There is no sign-in screen, and AI work is done by Claude Code on your computer.
The story#
You will build Hanbit Delivery, a delivery service that connects neighborhood restaurants with customers. You play Jinyoung Jang, who is in charge of designing the service.
| Who | Role |
|---|---|
| Jinyoung Jang | Hanbit Delivery's architect — the person you play in this tutorial |
| Store owner | Registers the store's menu items and accepts incoming orders |
| Customer | Picks menu items and orders, and can cancel before the store accepts |
| Claude Code | The AI teammate that follows skills to break down the design, make the plan and write the code |
- Getting started — install the app, create your first project and tour the screens.
- The proposal lifecycle — turn the “register menu items and order” requirement into a proposal and get a strategic design, set the project constitution and make a plan, then implement in a sandbox, validate and accept.
- Design and change — view the accepted design in the Requirements, Process, Design and Data tabs, read how a second requirement affects the existing design in the Impact Map, and look inside the engine's skill files.
- Legacy and data — connect Hanbit Delivery's existing order DB as a data source, start a design from a requirements document, and analyze the old order system's code to design a new feature on the evidence of its business rules.
- Final project — add a review feature yourself, from start to finish.
Learning path#
Each chapter follows the order why → hands-on → quiz. Later chapters build on what you made in earlier ones, so it's best to follow them in order. The quiz answers are folded; try the questions yourself first, then expand them.
Who this tutorial is for#
- Developers who have built a web service at least once, or planners and architects who work with requirements and design.
- You don't need to know DDD. Terms like bounded context and aggregate are explained in the chapter where they first appear.
- You won't write code yourself. Claude Code writes it. You read, choose and check the design.
What you need#
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Computer | macOS or Windows 10/11. 16 GB of memory or more, 20 GB of free disk space or more |
| Docker Desktop | The graph DB and analysis services run as containers. It must be running |
| Claude Code | claude must run in a terminal and be signed in. All AI work in a proposal runs through it |
| Git | Creates the project folder and the sandbox worktrees |
About the screens in this tutorial#
Every screen and result in this tutorial comes from actually running the Robo Architect Lite desktop app (macOS) in English. AI-generated designs and code differ a little on every run, so the text on your screen doesn't have to match the pictures exactly. It's enough that the items listed under What to check in each chapter are there.