> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ironoctopus.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Iron Octopus works

> The path from an idea to a released feature, and what Iron Octopus checks along the way.

Every feature takes the same path, whether it's a new screen, a change, or a fix. You describe what you want. Iron Octopus plans it, builds it, checks it against every requirement, and gets it ready to release.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  A[You describe it] --> B[Planning]
  B -->|you approve the plan| C[Building]
  C -->|all work done| D[Acceptance]
  D -->|you approve the release| E[Released]
  C -. review sends issues back .-> C
  D -. a requirement falls short .-> C
```

## The steps

**1. You describe it**

Tell Iron Octopus what you want, in plain words: a new feature, a change, or a fix.

**2. Iron Octopus plans it**

It turns your idea into a plan: what it will build, in what order, and the [requirements](https://docs.ironoctopus.ai/building-blocks/requirements.md) that define done. Each plan is made to fit your app's architecture. The feature is in **Planning**.

**3. Iron Octopus builds it**

It does the work in small pieces called [work items](https://docs.ironoctopus.ai/building-blocks/work-items.md) and reviews each one. The riskier the change, the higher the bar the review must clear. Issues go back for rework. The feature is in **Building**.

**4. Iron Octopus checks it**

Nothing counts as done until every requirement is verified, with the evidence saved and auditable. Anything that falls short goes back for more work. Anything Iron Octopus can't verify comes to you. The feature is in **Acceptance**.

**5. It's released**

The finished work joins your app's code, with a full record of what was asked for, built and checked. The feature is **Released**.

## What you decide

Out of the box, two decisions are yours:

* **Approving the plan**, before any work starts.
* **Approving the release**, before the work joins your code.

Everything else runs on its own. When Iron Octopus needs you, for example to answer a question or review something it couldn't verify, it asks under **Needs you** on your [Home page](https://docs.ironoctopus.ai/home/needs-you.md).

## The rules behind it

Every step follows rules refined over decades of shipping production-ready software: plans before work, requirements that define done, review matched to risk, and a full record. They come built in and work from day one. You can change any rule, or leave them all as they are.


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