project-init

Bootstrap a project to a universal documentation standard, or retrofit an existing project to it.

Modes

If the user phrases intent as "prod-ready from the start" → treat as full. "Minimal for now, document properly later" → lite.

Bundled resources (same directory as this file): templates/ (copy + substitute tokens) and references/ (read for the detailed spec — conventions.md, headers.md).

Workflow

Step 0 — Confirm with the user (required)

Before creating anything, ask and confirm. Propose defaults; skip anything the user already answered:

1. Project name and one-line purpose (infer from folder name / conversation).
2. Mode: full documentation now, or lite now + upgrade later.
3. Author name: propose git config user.name; if unset, OS username; ask only if both fail.
4. Extras: README.md (default yes), LICENSE (default MIT — ask which), initial git commit (default yes).

Step 1 — Git

• If .git/ is absent: git init -b main (older git: git init then git checkout -b main).
• If .git/ exists: leave history untouched.
• Write .gitignore from templates/GITIGNORE; if one exists, merge missing entries — never replace.

Step 2 — Resolve tokens

• {{PROJECT_NAME}} — confirmed name
• {{ONE_LINER}} — confirmed purpose
• {{AUTHOR}} — per Step 0
• {{ISO_DATE}} — current local time, ISO 8601 with timezone offset (2026-11-14T10:35:00+05:30). Bash: date -Iseconds. PowerShell: Get-Date -Format o.
• {{DATE}} — YYYY-MM-DD; {{YEAR}} — YYYY
• {{AGENT_TOOL}} — your tool + model, e.g. "Devin CLI / SWE-2", "Claude Code / Opus", "Cursor / GPT-5"
• {{MODE}} — full or lite

Step 3 — Root documents

Copy templates/PRD.md, templates/TRD.md, templates/EXECUTED.md to the project root, substituting tokens. Draft real content — fill PRD/TRD sections from the user's description and codebase evidence; where info is genuinely unknown, leave a > TODO: marker rather than fabricating. Add the first EXECUTED.md entry recording this initialization (action, files created, outcome).

Step 4 — Knowledge base

Create the docs/ tree per templates/docs/:

• docs/README.md — index linking all four tracks
• docs/ai/ — dense, structured, machine-optimized docs (architecture map, API surface, invariants, glossary)
• docs/technical/ — engineer-facing (setup, architecture, APIs, runbooks)
• docs/layman/ — plain-language explanation with analogies
• docs/non-technical/ — business/product framing for stakeholders

Seed each track README with project context plus a "what goes here" guide. Audience rules are in references/conventions.md.

Step 5 — Conventions file

Copy templates/AGENTS.md to the project root — merge if one exists (append the conventions section; never delete user content). This file re-teaches the standard to every future agent session. For maximum coverage also create CLAUDE.md and GEMINI.md, each containing a single line: See AGENTS.md.

Step 6 — Document the tree (full mode only — skip in lite)

• Every existing folder: a README.md per references/conventions.md (folder README format).
• Every existing source file: prepend a header comment per references/headers.md — pick the comment syntax by file extension. Skip binaries, generated files, and formats that cannot hold comments (JSON, lockfiles) — the folder README covers them.
• Large repo? Work folder-by-folder and ask the user to scope (e.g. start with src/).

Step 7 — Finish

• Create README.md (from templates/README.md) and LICENSE (if the user opted in — copy templates/LICENSE for MIT, substituting {{YEAR}} + {{AUTHOR}}; if they chose another license, write its standard text instead).
• lite: report what is skeletal and tell the user to run /project-init upgrade when ready.
• If commits were approved: git add -A && git commit -m "chore: initialize project docs and structure".
• Append the final EXECUTED.md entry.
• Report: what was created, which > TODO: markers need user input, how to invoke the upgrade later.

Upgrade mode (upgrade / full on an existing repo)

Idempotent pass — never overwrite existing docs:

• Missing root docs → create from templates (record "retroactive init" in EXECUTED.md).
• Missing docs/ tracks → create; existing → keep content, ensure docs/README.md links them.
• Missing AGENTS.md → create; present → merge the conventions section if absent.
• Files/folders lacking headers/READMEs → add per references/.
• Append an EXECUTED.md entry; offer a commit.

Standing rules

• Timestamps: ISO 8601 with offset, always. Bump Last-Updated on every file/doc edit.
• Traceability: every header links to a docs/ reference; every doc links back to the index.
• Never destroy: merge or append; never delete user content.
• No fabrication: unknowns become > TODO: markers.