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Quickstart — Adopt Morphism in Your Repo

NON-NORMATIVE. Get governance running in under 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 18+ and npm
  • Python 3.10+ (for the category theory engine)
  • Git

1. Install the CLI

npm install -g @morphism-systems/cli

Or use npx without installing:

npx @morphism-systems/cli doctor

2. Initialize governance

Navigate to your project root and run:

morphism init

This creates:

  • .morphism/config.json — governance configuration with default tenets, invariants, and metrics thresholds

To add governance documents (AGENTS.md, SSOT.md, GUIDELINES.md), copy them from the templates directory and customize for your project.

3. Run your first audit

morphism doctor

This checks that all governance files are in place. You should see:

  [+] .morphism/ config exists
  [+] AGENTS.md exists
  [+] SSOT.md exists
  [+] Python available
  [+] Governance scripts exist

All checks passed

4. Validate governance

morphism validate

This runs the full governance validation pipeline and reports:

  • Maturity score (0–125)
  • Policy compliance
  • Documentation coverage

Add --full for categorical validation with proof witness generation:

morphism validate --full

5. Check status anytime

morphism status

One-line summary: Maturity: 125/125 | Drift: 0 items | Proofs: 3

6. Detect governance drift

morphism diff

Shows which governance files changed since your last commit and whether drift was introduced.

7. Set up MCP server (optional)

For AI-assisted governance in Claude, Cursor, or other MCP-compatible tools:

npm install -g @morphism-systems/mcp-server

Add to your MCP config (.claude/mcp.json or equivalent):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "morphism-governance": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@morphism-systems/mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Available MCP tools:

Tool Description
governance_validate Run full validation pipeline
governance_score Compute maturity score
governance_status Quick status summary
governance_diff Governance delta since last commit
governance_heal Dry-run healing for detected drift
compute_kappa Convergence metric
compute_delta Drift metric
ssot_verify SSOT integrity check

8. Add to CI (optional)

Add a governance check to your CI pipeline:

# .github/workflows/governance.yml
name: Governance
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with: { node-version: 22 }
      - run: npx @morphism-systems/cli doctor
      - run: npx @morphism-systems/cli validate

Next steps