Dia Setup

DIA Setup

This skill is the activation and configuration entry point for the Digital Innovation Agents plugin in a user project. It manages a single configuration file (.dia/config.toml) and a set of anchor blocks in agent-facing files. It does not run any phase skill, does not read or modify the backlog, and does not invoke flow.py. The only external command it may run is a read-only gh project view reachability check when the user configures a GitHub Project number.

The skill is split into two paths driven by a single check at the start: does .dia/config.toml already exist? If no, run the activation flow. If yes, run the reconfigure flow.

Modes

The plugin supports three modes, written into .dia/config.toml as the field mode:

• off: plugin is neutral. Anchor blocks are removed from agent-facing files, the SessionStart hook does not inject the bootstrap skill, and phase-skills that probe the mode skip their GitHub-side calls.
• git-only: anchor blocks are present, the SessionStart hook injects the bootstrap, the local git hooks (pre-commit, pre-merge-commit) and scripts/merge-to-dev.sh are recommended. No GitHub issue or PR synchronization.
• github-sync: as git-only, plus flow.py is invoked from phase-skills to mirror backlog state to GitHub issues and project cards, run promote-to-epic after requirements engineering, and keep status in sync.

Activation flow (no .dia/config.toml yet)

1. Mode question. Use AskUserQuestion with three options: git-only (recommended for most projects with a single developer), github-sync (recommended for teams that already work with GitHub Issues / Projects), off (recommended when the user wants to install the plugin without active behavior). Each option must list a + Pro: line and a - Con: line in its description per the project User Interaction Protocol.

1b. Profile question (only if mode != off). Use AskUserQuestion with two options:

• full (Recommended for a complete V-Model cycle): every phase skill is binding as written.
• lean ("only durable decisions and stable navigation"): rules consolidated in AGENTS.md with CLAUDE.md as pointer, _devprocess/SYSTEM-MAP.md, post-hoc ADRs behind decisions/README.md, status in GitHub Issues (github-sync) or a thin BACKLOG (git-only). All other phase skills stay available but advisory. Modeled on a downstream project; pick it when the team will not run BA/RE ceremony anyway.

In the lean profile, step 6 (structure seed) uses the SYSTEM-MAP and DECISIONS-README templates from skills/architecture/templates/ instead of the three RULES files, and the anchor block carries the anti-duplication rule.

2. Anchor file detection. Scan the repo root for the known agent files. Show the user which files were detected and ask (single AskUserQuestion, multiSelect) which ones should carry the anchor block. Pre-select all detected files. Known list:

   • CLAUDE.md
   • AGENTS.md
   • GEMINI.md
   • .cursorrules
   • .github/copilot-instructions.md
   • .windsurfrules

3. Source branch question (only if mode != off). Default develop. Ask the user via AskUserQuestion whether to keep develop or use a different branch (main, dev, custom). This value goes into .dia/config.toml as source_branch.

4. GitHub Project question (only if mode = github-sync). Ask the user via AskUserQuestion whether they want backlog Status mirrored to a GitHub Project Status field. If yes, ask for the ProjectV2 number (the integer at the end of the project URL, for example 7 for github.com/users/X/projects/7). Optionally ask for the project owner login (when empty, flow.py resolves it from the repository) and the status field name (default Status). These values go into .dia/config.toml under [github]. If the user skips, leave project_number = 0; the issue itself still syncs, only the project Status field stays untouched.

   Pre-flight (only when a project number was given). Before writing the config, verify the project is reachable:

   gh project view <N> --owner <owner-or-resolved-repo-owner> --format json
   

   • Success: continue, mention the project title back to the user.
   • Failure mentioning a missing scope (gh says the token lacks the project scope): tell the user to run gh auth refresh -s project, then offer to retry or to write the config anyway (the number is stored regardless; the sync just stays a no-op until the scope is granted).
   • Other failure (wrong number, no access, project under a different owner): surface the gh error verbatim, ask whether to correct the number / owner now or store it as-is.

   Do not block on this check; its only job is to catch the gh auth refresh -s project stumbling block at setup time instead of at the first sync.

5. Write configuration. Create .dia/ directory if missing and write .dia/config.toml from the template skills/dia-setup/templates/dia-config.toml.tmpl, substituting {{mode}}, the chosen anchor_files, source_branch, and the [github] block.

6. Write anchor blocks (only if mode != off). Run python3 tools/dia-setup/anchor.py write --mode <mode> --files <selected list>. The script is idempotent; it creates or replaces blocks in the selected files.

7. Confirmation. Print a short confirmation to the user:

   • mode now active
   • which files received an anchor block
   • that /dia-setup can be re-run any time to change the mode
   • a hint that /dia-guide is the natural next step for actual work
   • when mode = github-sync AND _devprocess/context/BACKLOG.md already has rows (a brownfield project just migrated or reverse-engineered): point at python3 tools/github-integration/flow.py preflight (read-only checks) and ... flow.py initial-sync (bulk onboarding) rather than syncing items one by one.

Reconfigure flow (.dia/config.toml exists)

1. Read current state. Parse .dia/config.toml, extract mode, profile (print full (implicit) when the field is absent), and anchor_files. Print the current state to the user.

2. Action question. Use AskUserQuestion with these options:

   • Change mode (Recommended if user invoked the skill to toggle behavior).
   • Change profile (full <-> lean; updates the config field and refreshes the anchor blocks with the new profile).
   • Refresh anchor blocks (rewrites blocks against the current mode and profile, useful after a template update).
   • Add or remove anchor files (multi-step, see below).
   • Deactivate (set mode to off and remove all anchor blocks).
   • Cancel.

   Each option requires a + Pro: and - Con: line.

3. Apply the chosen action.

   • Change mode: ask new mode (Pro/Con per option), update .dia/config.toml, run python3 tools/dia-setup/anchor.py write --mode <new>. When the new mode is github-sync and a project number is configured (or the user supplies one now), run the same gh project view pre-flight as activation step 4 and surface the result.
   • Refresh anchor blocks: run anchor.py write with the existing mode and existing anchor_files list.
   • Add or remove anchor files: ask multiSelect with all known targets, mark currently anchored files as pre-selected, write the diff (anchor.py write for new entries, anchor.py remove for unselected entries), update .dia/config.toml.
   • Deactivate: write mode = "off" to .dia/config.toml, run python3 tools/dia-setup/anchor.py remove --all. Anchor files list in the config remains, so a later reactivation restores the same surface.
   • Cancel: do nothing.

4. Confirmation. Print which files changed and what the new state is.

Verification (built-in self-check)

After every write or reconfigure flow, the skill calls python3 tools/dia-setup/anchor.py verify and reports the result. A non-zero exit code signals drift between .dia/config.toml and the actual anchor blocks; if it occurs, surface the missing files to the user and offer a refresh.

Idempotency

The skill must be safe to invoke multiple times. The anchor script detects existing blocks via a stable marker pair and replaces them in place. Running /dia-setup twice with the same answers must produce no diff in the working tree.

Hand-off

/dia-setup does not invoke any phase skill, does not write to BACKLOG.md, and does not start any handoff ritual. After a successful run, the user typically continues with /dia-guide for orientation or with a phase skill of their choice.

Files written or removed

• .dia/config.toml (created or updated)
• one or more of: CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, GEMINI.md, .cursorrules, .github/copilot-instructions.md, .windsurfrules (anchor block written, replaced, or removed)

The skill never touches files outside this list.

Settings file format

mode = "git-only"
profile = "full"

anchor_files = [
  "CLAUDE.md",
  "AGENTS.md",
  "GEMINI.md",
  ".cursorrules",
]

source_branch = "develop"

[github]
project_number = 7
status_field = "Status"
project_owner = ""

mode is the only mandatory field. profile defaults to full when absent (zero behavior change for existing configs); lean makes only architecture artifacts and backlog state binding. anchor_files defaults to the list of files that carry a managed anchor block. source_branch controls the base for new feature branches /dia-guide creates. Pass the profile to anchor.py write --mode <m> --profile <p> so the anchor block renders it.

The [github] section is honored only when mode = "github-sync":

• project_number is the GitHub ProjectV2 number (the integer at the end of the project URL, e.g. 7 for github.com/users/X/projects/7). Leave 0 to skip project-status mirroring; the issue itself still syncs, only the project Status field stays untouched.
• status_field is the single-select field name on the project that represents item status. Default Status.
• project_owner is optional. When empty, flow.py resolves the owner from the repository. Set explicitly when the project lives under a different owner than the repo (org-level projects, etc.).

Reference

Full anchor format and idempotency rules: skills/dia-setup/references/anchor-format.md.