project-setup

Project Setup Skill

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when:

• User asks to "set up a new project"
• User asks to "create a CLAUDE.md"
• User asks to "initialize Claude Code" for a project
• User asks to "scaffold" a project
• User wants to add Claude Code support to existing code

Do NOT use for:

• General coding questions
• Editing existing CLAUDE.md (see optimize-claude-md skill)
• Running or testing projects

Prerequisites

• Write access to target directory
• For existing projects: ability to read config files (package.json, pyproject.toml, etc.)

Instructions

Step 1: Determine Project Type

Analyze the target directory:

# Check for Node.js/TypeScript
ls package.json 2>/dev/null && echo "Node.js project"

# Check for Python
ls pyproject.toml requirements.txt setup.py 2>/dev/null && echo "Python project"

# Check for Go
ls go.mod 2>/dev/null && echo "Go project"

# Check for Rust
ls Cargo.toml 2>/dev/null && echo "Rust project"

If no config files exist, ask the user what type of project they want to create.

Step 2: Gather Project Information

For new projects, ask:

1. Project name
2. Project description
3. Primary language/framework
4. Any special requirements

For existing projects, extract from:

• README.md (description)
• Package config (dependencies, scripts)
• Existing folder structure

Step 3: Generate CLAUDE.md

Use the appropriate template:

• React/TypeScript → /templates/claude-md/react-typescript.md
• Python API → /templates/claude-md/python-api.md
• Full Stack → /templates/claude-md/fullstack.md
• Other → /templates/claude-md/minimal.md

Fill in all {{PLACEHOLDER}} values with actual project information.

Step 4: Create Slash Commands

Set up .claude/commands/ with useful commands:

Essential commands:

• review.md - Code review
• test-and-commit.md - Quality check and commit

Copy from /templates/commands/ and customize.

Step 5: Verify Setup

1. Ensure CLAUDE.md is valid markdown
2. Check that referenced commands/paths exist
3. Test that any scripts are executable