Project Bootstrap

Project Bootstrap

Automated setup skill for bootstrapping Claude Code in any project. Detects whether you're in a greenfield or brownfield project, identifies the tech stack, copies relevant skills from your skill library, and creates specialized engineer agents.

Configuration

This skill uses hardcoded paths for personal use:

• Skill Library: C:\Users\coper\Documents\GitHub\agent-skills\skills
• Unpack Destination: .claude/skills/ in the current project

Workflow

Phase 1: Project Detection

1. Check if .claude/ exists (indicates brownfield with some setup)
2. Check for common project files: package.json, pyproject.toml, go.mod, Cargo.toml, etc.
3. If no project files found → greenfield project
4. If project files found → brownfield project

Phase 2: Information Gathering

For Greenfield Projects:

1. Search for README.md, specs, or planning documents
2. If found, extract project intent from those files
3. If not found or unclear, use AskUserQuestion to interview user about:
   • What are you building?
   • Primary language/framework?
   • Backend, frontend, or full-stack?
   • Any specific libraries or tools needed?

For Brownfield Projects:

1. Spawn Explore sub-agent to analyze codebase (stack, structure, patterns)
2. Spawn Explore sub-agent to check existing .claude/ setup (agents, skills, commands)
3. Wait for both reports before proceeding

Phase 3: Skill Selection

1. Read references/skill-categories.md for available skills mapping
2. Match project stack to relevant skills using keyword matching
3. Always include best-practices skill if available
4. Present selections to user via AskUserQuestion for confirmation
5. User can add/remove skills from the selection

Phase 4: Skill Deployment

1. Create .claude/skills/ directory if needed
2. Copy selected .skill files from skill library
3. Unpack each skill (extract zip to folder, delete .skill file)
4. Verify unpacked structure (SKILL.md exists)

Phase 5: Agent Creation

Automatically create agents without further confirmation (per user preference).

CRITICAL: Agent Prompt Quality

Each agent must have a rich, comprehensive system prompt following the agent creation architect framework. DO NOT create basic or minimal prompts. Each agent prompt should include:

1. Expert Persona: A compelling identity with deep domain knowledge
2. Core Intent: Clear purpose and success criteria
3. Comprehensive Instructions: Methodologies, best practices, edge case handling
4. Decision Frameworks: How to approach choices and trade-offs
5. Quality Control: Self-verification steps and output expectations
6. Workflow Patterns: Step-by-step process for task execution

Agent Types to Create:

Engineer Agents (1-3 based on stack):

• Create stack-specific engineers (e.g., typescript-engineer, python-engineer)
• Include best-practices skill reference
• Include relevant library skills
• Use rich prompts from references/agent-templates.md

Code Quality Agents:

• Create code-quality agent for the primary language
• Include linting/formatting skills (biome, ruff, etc.)
• Include best-practices skill
• Define clear quality checklist and verification steps

Library-Specific Agents (if applicable):

• Create agents for major frameworks (react, angular, express, etc.)
• Only if corresponding skill was copied
• Keep minimal (don't create agent for every skill)
• Include framework-specific patterns and best practices

See references/agent-templates.md for comprehensive agent creation patterns with rich prompts.

Phase 6: Validation & Summary

1. Run scripts/validate_setup.py to check all skills and agents
2. Report any issues found
3. Print summary of what was set up:
   • Skills copied and unpacked
   • Agents created
   • Any issues or warnings

Decision Framework

When to Ask vs. Automate

Stack Detection Keywords

Scripts

scripts/validate_setup.py

Validates all unpacked skills and agents in .claude/:

• Checks SKILL.md exists in each skill folder
• Validates agent YAML frontmatter
• Reports missing or malformed files

scripts/unpack_skill.py

Unpacks a .skill file to a directory:

python scripts/unpack_skill.py <source.skill> <destination-dir>

References

• references/skill-categories.md - Complete mapping of skill library categories and stacks
• references/agent-templates.md - Templates for creating engineer and quality agents