Start — Guided Project Onboarding

🌱 ShiningPlague-adopted. Originally Donchitos (barebones stub); battle-tested on a shipped Godot project. Upstream was a pointer-only file; the studio version is the full implementation — state detection, 4-path routing, review-mode setup.

Routes the designer to the right onboarding path based on what exists — fresh projects take Path A/B/C; existing projects take Path D, which hands off to /adopt.

If an artifact named here is absent: say so plainly in one line, skip that step, and continue. Never invent the file to satisfy a checklist, and never fail a close because an optional artifact was never created.

Phase 1: Detect Project State

Existence is not evidence. The installer seeds the whole document stack, so on a brand-new project stage.txt, game-concept.md, review-mode.txt, the registry and docs/adr/TEMPLATE.md all exist and are all still empty. Judge every signal below on content, never on the file being present — otherwise a stranger's first /start reports "already onboarded" at an untouched install.

The mechanical test is one grep. Every seeded document carries scaffold-seed: unwritten on a line near the top, and the author deletes that line when they write real content. A file still carrying it is absent for every judgement below. Contract: .claude/docs/doc-stack.md § Seeded is not written.

Read silently:

1. production/stage.txt — read the value. It is seeded not-started, which is not a phase name: no gate has been cleared. Any real phase word (concept, systems-design, …) means /gate-check passed and real work has happened.
2. data/_schemas/system_registry.json — the built-state authority. A non-empty systems[] is the strongest "this project is already in flight" signal there is.
3. docs/gdd/game-concept.md — concept written? Still carrying the scaffold-seed marker, or with the elevator pitch still in bracketed […] prompt text, means it is the blank seed — treat it as absent.
4. .claude/docs/technical-preferences.md — engine configured? (Not scaffolded — presence here is a real signal.)
5. Glob src/**/* for engine source files — source code exists?
6. Glob docs/adr/[0-9]*.md — real ADRs exist? (NNN-<slug>.md only; the leading digit excludes the seeded docs/adr/TEMPLATE.md, which is a skeleton, not a decision.)
7. docs/adoption-plan-*.md — prior adoption plan?

Fresh project = none of 1–3, 5 or 6 carry content. Route to Path A/B/C. Existing project = any of them does. Route to Path D.

Phase 2: Route to Path

Based on findings, present the appropriate path. Frame it as a friendly roadmap, not a checklist to be enforced — the designer can describe their game in plain words at any point, and steps can be skipped or reordered if they ask:

Path A: "I have no idea what to build" (nothing exists)

1. /brainstorming — guided creative exploration
2. /setup-engine — configure engine + version
3. /design-review — validate concept
4. /map-systems — decompose into systems
5. /design-system [system] — author per-system GDDs
6. prototyper agent dispatch — test core mechanic
7. /sprint-plan new — plan first sprint

Path B: "I know what I want to build" (concept clear, no artifacts)

1. /setup-engine [engine] [version]
2. Delegate to creative-director for game pillars
3. /map-systems
4. /design-system [system] per system
5. /architecture-decision
6. /sprint-plan new

Path C: "I know the game but not the engine" (concept clear, engine undecided)

1. /setup-engine (no args — asks about needs, recommends engine)
2. Follow Path B from step 2

Path D: "I have an existing project" (artifacts detected)

1. /project-stage-detect — analyze what exists
2. /adopt — audit format compliance, build migration plan
3. /setup-engine if not configured
4. /gate-check — validate phase readiness
5. /sprint-plan new — plan next sprint

Phase 3: Confirm Review Mode

production/review-mode.txt is seeded by the installer as lean (it has to hold a value the gates can act on, so it carries no scaffold-seed marker), so it always exists — its presence is not a sign the designer ever chose. On a fresh project (Phase 1 found no content), confirm the default rather than assuming it:

"You're set to lean review — director specialists weigh in at phase gates only. Want to change that?"

• Full — Director specialists review at each workflow step. Recommended for solo devs who want the full agent team experience.
• Lean — Directors only at phase gates. Balanced. (the seeded default)
• Solo — No director reviews. Maximum speed.

Write the choice to production/review-mode.txt only if they pick something other than what is already there. If the file is absent (a --no-scaffold install), ask the open question instead and write the answer.

Re-invocation Note

• If /start is invoked on an already-onboarded project — Phase 1 found content, not merely files: stage.txt holding a real phase name rather than the seeded not-started, a non-empty systems[], a written concept, or a real docs/adr/[0-9]*.md — report: "Project already onboarded. Current phase: [stage]. Run /adopt to re-audit, /gate-check to validate readiness, or /help for what to do next."
• Never report "already onboarded" because the seeded document stack exists. A fresh install has every one of those files and an empty project; that is the day-one state, not prior work. If the only evidence you can point at is a file that still carries the scaffold-seed marker, you have no evidence.