periodic — CLI for the Software Periodic Table 🧪

A command-line companion for the Software Periodic Table — 115 recurring software elements across 6 families.

"Most application software is not invented from scratch. It is composed from a recurring set of nouns, attributes, verbs, views, AI primitives, and automation rules."

This CLI gives you instant access to the Periodic Table: search elements, explore families, and compose features by wiring existing atoms instead of regenerating the same patterns.

Install

npm install -g @shift-zero/periodic-table-cli

Or run directly:

npx @shift-zero/periodic-table-cli list

Usage

periodic <command> [args]

Commands

Command	Description
list [family]	List all 115 elements, or filter by family
search <query>	Find elements by name, symbol, or description
family [name]	Show family info or list elements in a family
show <id>	Show detailed info about a specific element
compose <desc>	Suggest atoms for a feature description
plan	Display the composition plan schema
families	List all 6 families with element counts
version	Show version info

Examples

# Browse all elements
periodic list

# Search for task-related atoms
periodic search task

# Browse a specific family
periodic family objects
periodic family actions

# Get details on an element
periodic show User
periodic show Us

# Get composition suggestions for a feature
periodic compose "Build a task board with assignees and status tracking"

# See the composition plan schema
periodic plan

Example Output

$ periodic compose "Build a task board with assignees"

  Composition suggestion for: "Build a task board with assignees"

  Objects (Nouns)
    Tk  Task            Unit of work ········
    Us  User            Authenticated system user ··
    St  Subtask         Child unit of work under a Task ·
    Tm  Team            Group of users with shared context ·
    ...

  Properties (Attributes)
    Ss  Status          Lifecycle or state value ···
    Ow  Owner           Responsible user or entity ···
    Py  Priority        Relative importance ranking ··
    ...

  Actions (Verbs)
    Cr  Create          Instantiate a new object ···
    Up  Update          Modify an existing object ···
    As  Assign          Associate an object with an owner or target ···
    ...

  Interfaces (Views)
    Kb  Kanban          Column-based status board ·······
    Tb  Table           Structured rows and columns ···
    ...

Composition Philosophy

The CLI is built on the composition-over-generation principle:

1. Identify the Objects (nouns) your feature needs
2. Select Properties (attributes) from existing atoms
3. Choose Actions (verbs) that operate on those objects
4. Pick Interfaces (views) to surface the data
5. Add Intelligence or Rules if needed
6. Emit a plan referencing atoms — then wire them together

No regenerating User models, Status enums, or CRUD handlers from scratch. Compose from the table.

Data Source

Contains the full 115-element ontology from NullLabTests/software-periodic-table (MIT licensed).

• Objects (1–35): User, Task, Invoice, Project, Contact, Product, etc.
• Properties (36–60): Status, Date, Currency, Owner, Priority, AI, etc.
• Actions (61–85): Create, Update, Assign, Notify, Approve, Filter, etc.
• Interfaces (86–100): Table, Kanban, Form, Chart, Calendar, Card, etc.
• Intelligence (101–108): Search, Summarize, Classify, Recommend, Generate
• Rules (109–115): Permission, Policy, Trigger, Condition, Audit

License

MIT — see LICENSE.