What is slc-trellis?

slc-trellis is an independent, community-maintained version of a tool called Trellis, originally built by mindfold-ai. It is not an official release and is not affiliated with the original maker. Instead it tracks the upstream project and keeps syncing with it over time, while adding its own extra features on top. It uses the AGPL-3.0 license, which means the source code stays open and any required legal notices from the original project are kept in place. Trellis itself is a command line tool that helps teams plan and manage software tasks, using a folder called trellis for its project files, task lists, and specifications. slc-trellis installs alongside the original Trellis without conflicting with it, using its own command names so both can exist on the same machine. One of the main additions is a feature called PRD Grill, which stress tests a product requirements document after it has been drafted. It checks whether the document clearly states goals, roles, scope, limits, dependencies, failure recovery, and what counts as done. It asks one important question at a time and suggests an answer, then records the review. If the requirements document changes later, the check automatically becomes invalid again so it has to be reviewed once more. Another addition is a Visual Companion, a local tool for viewing diagrams, architecture sketches, and side by side comparisons of options during early planning. It only listens on the local machine by default and any output the user does not choose to keep is not saved to version control. The project also ships two ready made planning templates: one for Java and Vue enterprise applications using Spring Boot and Vite, and one for Java streaming applications built on Apache Flink. Both describe conventions for structuring code, handling errors, and testing. To use it, developers run an init command with a chosen template name. Building it from source uses pnpm for installing, building, and testing. The full README is longer than what was shown.