# Cboone Agent Harness Plugins Scaffold New Repo > Scaffold New Repo - Skill: `tomevault-io/cboone-agent-harness-plugins-scaffold-new-repo` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/cboone-agent-harness-plugins-scaffold-new-repo` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/cboone-agent-harness-plugins-scaffold-new-repo/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/cboone-agent-harness-plugins-scaffold-new-repo --- # Scaffold New Repo Generate the language-agnostic foundation files that every new repository starts with. ## Workflow ### 1. Gather Project Information If the user provided a project name in their request, use it directly instead of detecting from git remote or README. If they specified a project type (one of `go-cli`, `go-library`, `javascript`, `pascal`, `python`, `ruby`, `rust`, `shell`, `swift`, `zig-cli`, `generic`), use it instead of inferring from `.gitignore`. Any remaining parameters should still be gathered normally. Derive what you can automatically, then ask for only what's missing: - **Project name** -- derive from the git remote URL or `README.md` h1 heading, not from the directory or branch name (those are often misleading, e.g. worktree paths). Detection order: 1. `git remote get-url origin` -- extract the repo name from the URL (strip the trailing `.git` if present, take the last path segment). If the command exits non-zero, returns empty output, or the URL cannot be parsed into a repo name, treat this as "no remote" and continue to step 2. 1. If there is no usable remote, check for an existing `README.md` and use its h1 heading (converted to kebab-case) 1. Only if both the remote and README detection fail, ask the user for the project name - **Short description** -- ask the user for a one-sentence description. - **Project type** -- check the existing `.gitignore` first (GitHub often generates one when creating the repo). Infer the project type from its contents: Check heuristics in the order listed below. The first match wins. - `go.work` or `*.test` → Go CLI or Go library - `node_modules/` → JavaScript - `__pycache__/` or `*.pyc` → Python - `*.gem` or `.bundle/` → Ruby - `*.ppu` or `*.compiled` → Pascal - `xcuserdata/` alone, or both `.build/` and `*.ipa` together → Swift - `.zig-cache/` or `zig-out/` → Zig CLI - `target/` with no other language markers matched → Rust - Minimal or macOS-only entries → Shell or Generic - Only ask the user for the project type if the `.gitignore` does not make it clear. - **Project type options**: Go CLI, Go library, JavaScript, Pascal, Python, Ruby, Rust, Shell, Swift, Zig CLI, Generic ### 2. Detect User Identity Detect the user's GitHub username and full name for use in templates: ```bash # GitHub username (for module paths, URLs, clone commands) gh api user -q .login ``` ```bash # Full name (for LICENSE copyright) git config user.name ``` If either command fails or returns empty output, ask the user to provide the value. Use the GitHub username wherever templates reference `GITHUB-USERNAME` and the full name wherever they reference `COPYRIGHT-HOLDER`. ### 3. Prepare the Directory If the current directory is empty or the user specifies a directory name: ```bash mkdir -p PROJECT-NAME cd PROJECT-NAME ``` If the current directory already has files, confirm with the user before adding boilerplate alongside existing content. ### 4. Initialize Git Skip if already inside a git repository. ```bash git init ``` ### 5. Generate LICENSE Read `./references/license.md` for the MIT license template and create a `LICENSE` file from it. - Replace `YEAR` with the current year (run `date +%Y` to get it) - Replace `COPYRIGHT-HOLDER` with the detected full name ### 6. Generate README.md Read `./references/readme.md` for the README template and create a `README.md` from it. - Replace the heading with the exact binary or repository name (kebab-case) - Insert the short description - Tailor the Installation section placeholder to the project type - Replace `GITHUB-USERNAME` with the detected GitHub username ### 7. Generate CHANGELOG.md Read `./references/changelog.md` for the CHANGELOG template and create a `CHANGELOG.md` from it. No replacements needed. This is a static file ready for the first release. ### 8. Generate .gitignore Read `./references/gitignore-templates.md` for the curated language templates. If a `.gitignore` already exists (e.g., generated by GitHub), merge the appropriate template entries into it, avoiding duplicates. If no `.gitignore` exists, create one using the appropriate template based on the project type. #### GitHub Fallback for Unlisted Types When the user explicitly specifies a project type that is NOT in the curated list above: 1. Attempt to fetch the template from GitHub's gitignore repository using WebFetch: ```text https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/gitignore/main/{TemplateName}.gitignore ``` Derive `{TemplateName}` from the user-specified language using these candidates, tried in order until one succeeds: - Title-cased with spaces removed (e.g., `visual studio` → `VisualStudio`) - Title-cased with spaces replaced by `-` (e.g., `objective c` → `Objective-C`) - The user's input as-is (e.g., `C++`) URL-encode special characters in the URL (e.g., `C++` → `C%2B%2B`). Stop at the first successful (non-404) response. 1. **If any fetch succeeds**: merge the fetched entries with the common entries (`.DS_Store`, `.env`, `.claude/settings.local.json`), avoiding duplicates. Use the combined result as the `.gitignore`. 1. **If all candidate fetches fail** (404 or network error): fall back to the Generic template and inform the user that no template was found for that language. This fallback is ONLY used when the user explicitly specifies a type not in the curated list. It is never used during auto-detection from an existing `.gitignore`. ### 9. Bootstrap Agent Config Files Set up the hub-and-spoke agent configuration pattern (see the clean-up-agent-config skill for the full rationale). Create these files: #### AGENTS.md Read `./references/agents-md.md` for the AGENTS.md template and create the canonical instruction file from it. - Replace the heading with the exact binary or repository name (kebab-case) - Insert the short description in the Overview section #### CLAUDE.md (symlink) ```bash ln -sfn AGENTS.md CLAUDE.md ``` #### .claude/settings.json Create a minimal team-shared settings scaffold: ```json { "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-settings.json", "permissions": { "allow": [], "deny": [] } } ``` #### .github/copilot-instructions.md Read `./references/copilot-instructions.md` for the Copilot instructions template and create a `.github/copilot-instructions.md` file from it. - Replace the heading with the exact binary or repository name (kebab-case) - The file cross-references AGENTS.md for full project conventions ### 10. Create docs/plans/ Use the Write tool to create empty `.gitkeep` files in both subdirectories: - `docs/plans/todo/.gitkeep` - `docs/plans/done/.gitkeep` The Write tool creates parent directories automatically. The `todo/` subdirectory holds active plans; `done/` holds completed plans preserved for reference. ### 11. Create Initial Commit Stage all generated files and create the initial commit: ```bash git add -A git commit -S -m "feat: scaffold new repository" ``` ### 12. Summary Print a summary of what was created: - List every file generated - Note the project type used for `.gitignore` - Note the agent config files and symlink - Suggest running the add-community-files skill to add CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, .github/SECURITY.md, and .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md ## Error Handling - If the target directory already contains a `LICENSE` or `README.md`, ask the user before overwriting - If a `.gitignore` already exists, merge new entries rather than overwriting - If `git init` fails, continue generating files but warn the user - If the user provides an unrecognized project type, attempt the GitHub fallback (see Step 8). If that also fails, fall back to Generic and mention it ## Reference Templates - `./references/license.md` -- MIT license template - `./references/readme.md` -- README template - `./references/changelog.md` -- CHANGELOG template (Keep a Changelog format) - `./references/gitignore-templates.md` -- Per-language `.gitignore` templates - `./references/agents-md.md` -- AGENTS.md template - `./references/copilot-instructions.md` -- `.github/copilot-instructions.md` template --- > Source: [cboone/agent-harness-plugins](https://github.com/cboone/agent-harness-plugins) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).