New Project

New Project Skill

Step 1: Gather requirements

Ask (if not already clear):

1. Project name (kebab-case)
2. Tech stack: Next.js / Python FastAPI / Python CLI / Static HTML
3. Deploy target: Vercel / Render / Docker / None
4. Needs database? (Supabase / Postgres / SQLite)
5. Needs auth?
6. Needs payments?

Step 2: Create the repo

# ALWAYS private by default
gh repo create <owner>/<name> --private --clone
cd <name>

Step 3: Scaffold by stack

Next.js (most common)

pnpm create next-app . --typescript --tailwind --eslint --app --src-dir --import-alias "@/*"

Python FastAPI

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install fastapi uvicorn python-dotenv
cat > main.py << 'EOF'
from fastapi import FastAPI
app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/api/health")
def health():
    return {"status": "ok"}
EOF
cat > requirements.txt << 'EOF'
fastapi==0.115.0
uvicorn==0.32.0
python-dotenv==1.0.1
EOF

Python CLI

python -m venv .venv
# Add entry_points to pyproject.toml

Step 4: Create project CLAUDE.md

Every project gets a CLAUDE.md in root with:

• Project description and purpose
• Tech stack
• Key commands (dev, build, test, deploy)
• Architecture notes
• Known gotchas

Step 5: Environment setup

# Create .env.example (tracked) with placeholder keys
# Create .env.local (gitignored) with real values
echo ".env.local" >> .gitignore
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

NEVER commit real secrets. Only .env.example with placeholders.

Step 6: Git setup

cat >> .gitignore << 'EOF'
node_modules/
.next/
.env
.env.local
.env.production
__pycache__/
.venv/
*.pyc
.DS_Store
WORKPLAN-*.md
EOF

git add -A
git commit -m "Initial scaffold"
git push -u origin main

Step 7: Platform setup (if applicable)

Vercel

vercel link --token $VERCEL_TOKEN
# Set env vars in Vercel dashboard

Supabase

supabase init
supabase link --project-ref <ref>

Checklist before done

• Repo is PRIVATE on GitHub
• .gitignore covers secrets and build artifacts
• CLAUDE.md exists in project root
• .env.example has placeholder keys
• .env.local has real keys (gitignored)
• Build passes locally
• First commit pushed