Init — Scaffold Genesis Spec-Kit

Set up the kit's file-backed scaffolding in a project and establish its mode. Everything the kit does afterward reads from the files this step creates.

Process

1. Check for an existing install. If .genesis/ already exists, ask whether to reinitialize (overwrite kit system files, preserve all user artifacts) or stop. On reinitialize, preserve: constitution/, project-state.md, discovery/, design/, features/.

2. Determine the mode. If --mode is given, use it. Otherwise scan the directory and recommend:

   • Empty (only .git) → Greenfield — a new project from scratch.
   • Files present → Brownfield — an existing codebase needing structure.
   • Lowfield — a content or creative project (novel, research corpus, knowledge base). Lowfield is always an explicit choice, never auto-detected.

   Present all three and let the user confirm.

3. Resolve the project name from package.json / Cargo.toml / pyproject.toml / etc., or ask.
4. Create the directory structure:

   .genesis/
   ├── constitution/          # supreme law (populated by /genesis-constitute)
   ├── discovery/             # project profile (populated by /genesis-discover)
   ├── design/                # project-level design docs
   │   ├── technical/
   │   ├── user-journeys/
   │   ├── systems/
   │   └── decisions/         # ADRs
   ├── features/              # per-feature artifacts
   ├── templates/             # copied from the kit
   ├── hooks/                 # optional git hooks
   ├── furnace.json           # deferred-idea backlog (starts empty)
   └── project-state.md       # the live state file

5. Copy the kit templates into .genesis/templates/ (constitution, spec, micro-spec, feature-design, north-star, discovery-{greenfield,brownfield,lowfield}, design-inputs).
6. Seed furnace.json: { "entries": [] }.
7. Write project-state.md from the template: project name, mode, init date, current phase Initialized, and empty sections for Active Features, Completed Features, Key Decisions, Constitutional Amendments, Open Questions, Blockers.
8. Generate or update CLAUDE.md with: the project name, the mode, an instruction to read the constitution and project-state.md at session start, and a one-line command reference pointing at /genesis-help.
9. Git: if no repo exists, git init and write a .gitignore. Stage only the kit scaffolding and commit: genesis: initialize spec-kit scaffolding.
10. Print a mode-specific welcome with next steps (constitute → discover → brainstorm).

Mode additions

• Brownfield: run the codebase scan from discovery-brownfield.md and pre-populate the discovery findings; note brownfield audit-scoping rules (audits scoped to changed files; findings classified inherited vs introduced).
• Lowfield: use the content-oriented templates; the work-unit registry is built later by /genesis-discover.

Constraints

• MUST NOT modify any existing non-kit files (no edits to package.json, source files, etc.).
• MUST NOT run builds, tests, or install dependencies.
• MUST NOT create files outside .genesis/, .claude/, and CLAUDE.md.
• MUST preserve all user artifacts on reinitialize.
• MUST commit only kit scaffolding, never unrelated changes.

Next step

Run /genesis-constitute to establish the project's constitution.

Natural language triggers

- "initialize genesis"
- "set up the spec kit"
- "start a new project"
- "onboard this project"