Getting Started: Pathway for Engineers

Pathway is your interface to the agent-aligned engineering standard. Browse job definitions, explore career progression, and generate AI agent teams matched to your role.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22+
• npm

Install

npm install @forwardimpact/pathway

Initialize standard data

If your organization hasn't provided a standard data bundle, bootstrap starter data to explore with:

npx fit-map init

This creates ./data/pathway/ with a complete starter agent-aligned engineering standard. If your organization distributes an agent-aligned engineering standard bundle, follow their installation instructions instead — typically a one-line curl | bash install script that places data at ~/.fit/data/pathway/.

Data directory resolution

The CLI resolves the data directory by walking upward from the current working directory looking for a data/pathway/ folder. To override, use the --data flag:

npx fit-pathway discipline --list --data=./my-data/pathway

Browse your job definition

Use the Pathway CLI to explore the agent-aligned engineering standard your organization has defined.

npx fit-pathway discipline --list    # See available disciplines
npx fit-pathway level --list         # See available levels
npx fit-pathway track --list         # See available tracks

Generate a complete job definition by combining a discipline, level, and optional track:

npx fit-pathway job software_engineering J040 --track=platform

This produces a full view of the skills, behaviours, and expectations for that role.

Generate agent teams

Create AI agent definitions matched to your role's skill profile:

npx fit-pathway agent software_engineering --track=platform --output=./agents

This generates a .claude/ directory (and a matching .vscode/) under ./agents/ containing one <persona>.md per agent profile under .claude/agents/, a SKILL.md per skill under .claude/skills/<skill>/, shared team instructions at .claude/CLAUDE.md, and matching editor settings. The skill files are the same skill definitions humans reference, formatted for AI consumption.

To install into a project, copy the generated .claude/ and .vscode/ directories from ./agents/ into your project root — or re-run with --output=<your-project-root> so they land there directly.

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What's next