espalier-init

Espalier Init

Discover the actual patterns, conventions, and architecture of an existing codebase, then generate a structured constraint system that ensures AI agents produce code matching those standards.

When to Use

• "Set up Espalier for this project"
• "Create Espalier structure for my codebase"
• "Make AI code production-ready for this repo"
• "Build agent constraints for this project"
• "/espalier-init"

Philosophy

When an agent makes an error, engineer its elimination — not with prompt tweaks, but with files, rules, automated checks, and system structure.

Core insight: The problem isn't model intelligence. It's that models don't know the unwritten rules — patterns every experienced developer on the team knows but nobody documented.

This skill discovers those rules from the code itself, then encodes them as machine-enforceable constraints. Like an espalier trains a fruit tree to grow along a wall, this skill trains your AI coder to grow along the patterns already in your codebase.

File Layout of This Skill

espalier-init/
├── SKILL.md                       # this file — overview + phase index
├── templates/                     # markdown templates emitted into target project
│   ├── rules/                     # → espalier/rules/ in target
│   ├── skills/                    # → espalier/skills/<name>/SKILL.md
│   ├── agents/                    # → espalier/agents/ in target
│   ├── agent.md                   # → espalier/agent.md (orchestrator)
│   └── pipeline.md                # → espalier/pipeline.md
├── hook-templates/                # shell scripts emitted into espalier/hooks/
└── references/                    # deep-dive content read on demand
    ├── discovery-checklist.md     # Phase 1 detail
    ├── wiring.md                  # Phase 10 detail
    ├── validation.md              # Phase 11 detail
    └── wiki-templates.md          # Phase 6 wiki stubs

Rule: Every phase below tells you which template/reference to read. Open them with the Read tool when the phase fires — do NOT invent template content from memory.