Tiers

Tierward uses four tiers, each one adding more structure and enforcement. Start at the tier that fits your current risk level and move up when you need more.

Overview

Tier	Pipeline	Best for
0 — Discovery	Stop hook only	First exploration, zero process overhead
S — Fast Lane	4 steps, scope-confirm	Solo dev, low-risk changes, quick fixes
M — Standard	13 phases, 3 STOP gates	Feature blocks, 1–2 collaborators
L — Full	14 phases, 4 STOP gates	Team projects, complex domain changes

Every tier includes the Stop hook. Process adds on top, not instead.

Tier 0 — Discovery

The lightest possible setup. You get a Stop hook that mechanically blocks Claude from completing a task until your tests pass. No pipeline, no audit skills, no governance files beyond what's strictly necessary.

Use Tier 0 when you're exploring Tierward for the first time, running a solo spike, or working on a codebase where the cost of process outweighs the benefit.

npx tierward init   # select Tier 0 in the wizard

Tier S — Fast Lane

For a single developer moving quickly. Adds four pipeline steps and a scope-confirm gate:

1. Scope confirm: Claude states what it's about to do; you approve or redirect
2. Implementation
3. /simplify: early returns, dead code removal, nesting reduction
4. Stop hook: tests must pass

Use Tier S for personal projects, bugfixes, and any work where a lightweight review contract is enough. Most solo projects live here.

npx tierward upgrade --tier=s

Tier M — Standard

For small teams building features together. Adds 13 development phases with three explicit STOP gates:

• Gate 1: after requirements, spec reviewed before any code
• Gate 2: after implementation, code reviewed before tests
• Gate 3: after testing, QA sign-off before merge

Also enables the team skills library: /pr-review, /dependency-scan, /migration-audit, /accessibility-audit, /test-audit, and more.

Use Tier M when you're working with at least one other person, shipping features to users, or when the cost of a regression is meaningful.

npx tierward upgrade --tier=m

Tier L — Full

The tier for team projects with complex domain changes. Adds a fourth STOP gate and the context-review pipeline skill (/context-review) that runs after block closure to recompact CLAUDE.md and detect context drift before the next block opens.

Use Tier L for regulated environments, large feature sets, or any project where a mistake in one block can silently break another.

npx tierward upgrade --tier=l

Upgrading

You can move up a tier at any time:

npx tierward upgrade --tier=m        # promote to Tier M
npx tierward upgrade                  # upgrade template files at your current tier
npx tierward upgrade --anthropic      # preview diff for Anthropic-influenced files
npx tierward upgrade --anthropic --apply  # apply with .bak backup

Upgrades are non-destructive. Custom files (anything prefixed custom-) are never overwritten.

Which tier should I use?

• You're trying Tierward for the first time → Tier 0
• Solo project or bugfix → Tier S
• Feature work with a collaborator → Tier M
• Team of 3+, regulated environment, or high-stakes codebase → Tier L

When in doubt, start one tier lower. The upgrade path is cheap; the overhead of a tier you don't need is not.