# Guild Specialize

> Explores a project's real stack and enriches Guild configuration files with detected architecture, conventions, and agent-specific context.

- Skill: `guild-agents/guild-specialize` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add guild-agents/guild-specialize`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/guild-agents/guild-specialize/raw
- Safety review: CAUTION (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools, DevOps & Infra, Dev Tooling
- Tags: Agent Specialization, Claude Md, Git Commit, Guild, Project Configuration, Stack Detection
- Author: Guild-Agents (https://skillmd.com/u/guild-agents)
- Updated: 2026-08-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/guild-agents/guild-specialize

---


# Guild Specialize

Explores the user's real project and enriches the entire Guild configuration with concrete information about the detected stack, architecture, and conventions.

This skill runs once after `guild init`. It transforms generic placeholders into real project information.

## When to use

- Immediately after running `guild init`
- When a new stack is added to the project (new database, new framework)
- When the project structure has changed significantly

## Process

### Step 1 — Read base context

Read the Guild configuration files:

- `CLAUDE.md` — current instructions (contains `[PENDING: guild-specialize]` placeholders)
- `PROJECT.md` — identity and stack declared during init

### Step 2 — Explore the real project

Investigate the real project structure looking for:

**Dependencies and versions:**

- `package.json` (Node.js/frontend)
- `pom.xml` or `build.gradle` (Java)
- `requirements.txt` or `pyproject.toml` (Python)
- `Gemfile` (Ruby)
- `go.mod` (Go)
- `Cargo.toml` (Rust)

**Architecture and structure:**

- Folders `src/`, `app/`, `lib/`, `pkg/`, `internal/`
- Organization pattern: by layers, by features, by domain
- Project entry points

**Configuration and conventions:**

- `tsconfig.json`, `eslint.config.*`, `.prettierrc`
- `.env.example`, `.env.local` (environment variables — do NOT read real `.env`)
- `Dockerfile`, `docker-compose.yml`
- CI/CD: `.github/workflows/`, `.gitlab-ci.yml`

**Database and migrations:**

- Folder `migrations/`, `db/`, `prisma/`, `drizzle/`
- Configured ORM or query builder
- Existing schema

**Existing documentation:**

- `README.md` — project overview
- Internal documentation in `docs/`

### Step 3 — Enrich CLAUDE.md

Invoke the Tech Lead agent using Task tool with `model: "opus"` (reasoning tier) to replace all `[PENDING: guild-specialize]` placeholders in CLAUDE.md with real information:

- **Stack with exact versions**: extracted from dependency files
- **Folder structure explained**: what each main folder does
- **Detected code conventions**: linter, formatter, import style
- **Identified architecture patterns**: MVC, hexagonal, modular, etc.
- **Known environment variables**: listed from `.env.example`
- **Visible limitations and technical debt**: outdated dependencies, TODOs found
- **Useful project commands**: detected npm/make/cargo scripts

CLAUDE.md now uses zone markers (`<!-- guild:auto-start:ID -->` / `<!-- guild:auto-end:ID -->`) to delimit auto-generated sections. When enriching:

- Replace content BETWEEN the markers, preserving the markers themselves
- The following zones exist: `structure`, `architecture`, `conventions`, `env-vars`
- Do NOT modify content outside of zone markers (user-owned sections)
- If markers are missing (legacy project), replace `[PENDING: guild-specialize]` placeholders directly

### Step 4 — Specialize agents

Invoke the Tech Lead agent using Task tool with `model: "sonnet"` (execution tier) to add project-specific context for each agent in `.claude/agents/*.md`:

- **advisor.md**: real project domain, target users
- **tech-lead.md**: specific stack, detected patterns, architecture decisions
- **developer.md**: code conventions, main framework, file structure
- **code-reviewer.md**: lint rules, project patterns, anti-patterns to watch
- **qa.md**: testing framework, commands to run tests, current coverage
- **bugfix.md**: debugging stack, logs, available tools

When specializing agents, append a zone at the bottom of each agent file:

```markdown
<!-- guild:auto-start:agent-context -->
## Project-Specific Context
- Stack: [detected stack]
- Architecture: [detected patterns]
- Conventions: [detected conventions]
<!-- guild:auto-end:agent-context -->
```

This zone allows `guild-re-specialize` to update agent context later without touching the agent's core role definition.

Use the `Task` tool with `model: "sonnet"` to invoke each agent by reading their `.claude/agents/[name].md` if you need a specialized perspective to enrich their configuration.

The `model` parameter is resolved from the step's `model-tier`: reasoning→`"opus"`, execution→`"sonnet"`. System/gate steps run inline (no Task tool).

### Step 5 — Confirm

Present a summary of what was detected:

```text
Guild v1 specialized for [project-name]

Detected stack:
- [list of technologies with versions]

Architecture:
- [identified pattern]
- [main structure]

Updated agents:
- [list of agents with their applied specialization]

Use /resume or /build-feature to continue work.
```

### Step 6 — Commit enrichment immediately

**CRITICAL:** After enriching CLAUDE.md and agent files, commit the changes immediately as their own atomic commit. Do NOT leave them as unstaged changes — they are vulnerable to `git stash` and other operations.

```bash
git add CLAUDE.md .claude/agents/*.md
git commit -m "chore: enrich CLAUDE.md and agents via guild-specialize"
```

This ensures enrichment survives any subsequent git operations (stash, checkout, rebase).

## Example Session

```text
User: /guild-specialize

Guild Specialize analyzing project...

Tech Lead (opus) — Enriching CLAUDE.md...
Stack detected:
- Node.js 20.11.0, TypeScript 5.3.3
- React 18.2.0, Next.js 14.1.0
- PostgreSQL via Prisma 5.9.0

Architecture:
- Next.js App Router (src/app/)
- API routes in src/app/api/
- Shared components in src/components/

Tech Lead (sonnet) — Specializing agents...
Agents updated:
- developer.md: Specialized for Next.js + TypeScript
- qa.md: Configured for Vitest + Playwright

Use /resume or /build-feature to continue work.
```

## Important Notes

- NEVER read real `.env` files — only `.env.example` or `.env.local`
- If you cannot detect something with certainty, ask the user instead of assuming
- Prioritize accuracy over completeness — it is better to say "not detected" than to fabricate
- Agents should be specialized to the real stack, not generic
- NEVER use `git stash` in automated pipelines — use `wip:` commits instead
- CLAUDE.md changes must always be committed separately from feature code