Question 1

Do I need a special IDE to use AXEA?

Accepted Answer

No. You keep the IDE you already use: Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex, OpenCode, Cursor, or any editor that speaks the standard Model Context Protocol (MCP) with an HTTP bearer token. AXEA is the hosted kernel behind your editor, not an IDE replacement.

Question 2

Do I install AXEA into my codebase as an SDK or CLI?

Accepted Answer

No. You do not install a fat CLI, local runtime, or SDK into your repository. You simply add the AXEA Cloud MCP URL and your project-scoped API key to your IDE config. Official phase prompts (/axea, /axea-design, etc.) execute directly on the kernel.

Question 3

What if my IDE does not display /axea in its slash command menu?

Accepted Answer

Simply run the MCP prompt named "axea" from your IDE’s prompt picker, or prompt your assistant directly: "Call the axea tool." The kernel will immediately return your current turn bundle and next instructions.

Question 4

Can we keep our source code completely off AXEA servers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For security-critical organizations, AXEA provides an Enterprise Sealed Sidecar container. The sidecar runs inside your private VPC or local machine to answer code graph search and blast radius queries locally. The methodology and lifecycle gates still run remotely, but your source code never leaves your perimeter.

Question 5

Which programming languages does the code graph understand?

Accepted Answer

The AXEA AST graph engine natively indexes TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Python, and PHP. It maps symbol hierarchies, call chains, dependent imports, and calculates blast radius scores across packages.

Question 6

Can we customize the schema, artifact types, or workflow order?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A schema declares artifact types, dependencies, section structure, validation rules, and agent instructions. The default is @axea/schema-std (proposal → specs → verify → design → tasks). Teams can fork or extend this DAG. In addition, you can bring company skills under .agents/skills/ for custom domain rules.

Question 7

Is AXEA verification the same as running CI tests?

Accepted Answer

No. Tests check whether code behaves as programmed. Verification checks whether the implementation satisfies the original spec requirements (WHEN/THEN). Many changes have no unit tests (infrastructure, config, documentation), yet verification remains mandatory. Passing tests are not a substitute for the contract.

Question 8

What happens if the AI agent attempts to skip a required lifecycle step?

Accepted Answer

The AXEA kernel rejects the transition with a server-side error. Because the lifecycle rules and schema gates are hosted on the kernel rather than in a prompt, the agent cannot bypass gates or skip verification by hallucinating or arguing.

Question 9

How do we connect our Git repository for auto-reindexing?

Accepted Answer

You connect your GitHub or GitLab repository in the AXEA Cloud dashboard. Git push webhooks automatically enqueue fetch and AST graph-reindexing jobs so graph_search and impact tools always reflect your latest committed changes.

Question 10

Is AXEA open source or proprietary?

Accepted Answer

AXEA uses a split license model. The public protocol and client libraries (@axea/protocol, @axea/client, thin MCP client) are open-source under MIT. The hosted engine, kernel lifecycle server, AST code graph compiler, and cloud adapters are proprietary commercial software operated by AtlasX Technologies Inc.

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