Project Setup Skill

Use this skill when creating a new project. It establishes a consistent structure across all projects.

When to Use

• Starting a new project
• User asks to "set up a project" or "create a new project"
• Bootstrapping a workspace for a new initiative

Project Location

All projects live in: ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}/

Use kebab-case for project names (e.g., site-editor-navigation, wp-cowork-plugin).

Standard Structure

{project-name}/
├── .git/                 # Initialized git repo
├── .gitignore            # Standard ignores (see below)
├── README.md             # Project overview, quick start
├── CLAUDE.md             # Guidance for Claude Code / AI agents
├── docs/                 # Documentation
│   ├── overview.md       # Project overview (always create this)
│   └── (other docs)
└── logs/                 # Session logs, dev notes (git-ignored)
    └── (daily logs)

File Templates

README.md

# {Project Name}

{One-line description}

## Overview

{Brief explanation of what this project does and why it exists}

## Quick Start

```bash
cd ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}
# Add setup commands here

Documentation

Structure

{project-name}/
├── docs/          # Documentation
├── logs/          # Development logs (git-ignored)
└── README.md      # This file

Related

• {Links to related issues, PRs, projects}

### CLAUDE.md

```markdown
# CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

## Project Overview

{One-line description of what this project is and its goal}

## Development

```bash
# Add common commands here

Architecture

{Brief description of tech stack, key patterns, important files}

Documentation

The /docs/ folder contains:

• {List key docs}

Scope

• In scope: {What this project covers}
• Out of scope: {What it doesn't cover}

### docs/overview.md

Always create this file. It's the canonical project overview document — the first thing someone reads to understand the project.

```markdown
# {Project Name} — Overview

## What Is This?

{2-3 paragraphs explaining what the project does, why it exists, and how it works}

## Architecture

{How the project is structured — tech stack, key patterns, data flow}

## Links

- **Repo:** {URL}
- **P2/Discussion:** {URL if applicable}
- **Related:** {Other relevant links}

## Key People

- **{Name}** — {Role/context}

## What's Next

{Current focus, open questions, next steps}

Required sections: What Is This, Links. Other sections should be included when the information is available. Always capture links — they go stale fast and are hard to recover later.

.gitignore

# Logs - development session logs, not for version control
logs/

# Dependencies
node_modules/
vendor/
.venv/
__pycache__/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
*.egg-info/

# Environment
.env
.env.local
.env*.local

# IDE / Editor
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp
*.swo
*~

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Package manager locks (uncomment if not needed)
# package-lock.json
# pnpm-lock.yaml
# composer.lock

Setup Procedure

1. Create project directory

   mkdir -p ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}
   cd ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}

2. Create folder structure

   mkdir -p docs logs

3. Create .gitignore (use template above)
4. Create README.md (use template above, fill in project details)
5. Create CLAUDE.md (use template above, fill in project details)
6. Create docs/overview.md (use template above — always include What Is This and Links sections at minimum)
7. Initialize git

   git init
   git add -A
   git commit -m "Initial project setup"

8. Report to user
   • Confirm project location
   • List created files
   • Suggest next steps (e.g., "Ready for docs, or should I scaffold something specific?")

Optional Additions

Depending on project type, may also create:

• package.json — For Node.js projects
• requirements.txt — For Python projects
• composer.json — For PHP projects
• Makefile — For projects with build steps
• docker-compose.yml — For containerized projects

Ask the user if they want any of these, or infer from context.

Dev Server Projects

For projects with a dev server (Vite, webpack, Next.js, etc.):

1. Reserve a Port

Use portkeeper to avoid conflicts:

portman reserve {PORT} --name "{project-name}" --desc "{description}" --tags {tags}

2. Configure Network Access

Always expose dev servers on the local network so they're accessible from phones/tablets.

Vite (vite.config.js):

export default defineConfig({
  server: {
    port: {PORT},
    host: true,  // Expose on local network
  },
})

Next.js (package.json):

"scripts": {
  "dev": "next dev -p {PORT} -H 0.0.0.0"
}

Webpack (webpack.config.js):

devServer: {
  port: {PORT},
  host: '0.0.0.0',
}

Generic Node/Express:

app.listen(PORT, '0.0.0.0', () => { ... })

3. Document Access

In README.md, include:

## Development

Dev server: http://localhost:{PORT}
Network: http://{machine-ip}:{PORT} (for mobile testing)

The network IP can be found with ipconfig getifaddr en0 (macOS).

Logs Convention

The logs/ folder is for development session notes:

• Format: MM-DD-YYYY-HHMM.md (e.g., 02-06-2026-1015.md)
• Git-ignored so they don't clutter history
• Useful for tracking decisions, debugging sessions, progress
• Create an initial log entry during project setup

Sample Log (logs/MM-DD-YYYY-HHMM.md)

# {MM-DD-YYYY} {HH:MM}

## Session Focus

{What was worked on this session — one line}

## Notes

- {Key decisions, observations, or context}
- {Things tried, what worked, what didn't}

## Changes

- {Files created/modified}
- {Features added or bugs fixed}

## Next

- {What to pick up next time}
- {Open questions or blockers}

After Setup

Once project is created:

1. Add the project to any project registry the user has configured
2. Add to memory if significant
3. Proceed with project-specific work