scaffold

Ops Scaffold

Set up a new non-code project management repo, or adjust an existing one to match the ops conventions.

Detect Mode

Check the current directory:

• If CLAUDE.md exists → Adjust mode: read it, compare against the template below, and propose specific changes. Don't overwrite — use Edit to patch. Ask before creating missing folders.
• If no CLAUDE.md → New repo mode: run the full interview and scaffold from scratch.

Interview (New Repo Mode)

Ask the user:

1. Project name — what the project is called
2. One-paragraph description — what the project does, who it's for
3. Constraints — team size, budget, timeline, key limitations
4. Goals — 2-4 strategic goals for the near term
5. Initial domain areas — what topics will the project cover? These become the initial subfolders. Examples:
   • Marketing, legal, fundraising, partnerships, technical research
   • Or more specific: grants, audience growth, competitor analysis
6. Connected to a coding repo? — ask if this ops repo is paired with a codebase. If yes, ask for the relative path from this repo to the code repo root (e.g., ../ if sibling directories, ../app/ if nested). This enables read-only access to the code for context.

Interview (Adjust Mode)

Read the existing structure (CLAUDE.md, MEMORY.md, folder listing). Then ask:

1. What needs changing? — or just check against the template and propose fixes
2. Missing folders? — offer to create any missing standard folders with INDEX.md files
3. CLAUDE.md drift? — show specific differences from the template and offer to patch

Directory Structure

<project-dir>/
├── .claude/
│   └── settings.json
├── state/
│   └── INDEX.md
├── backlog/
│   └── INDEX.md
├── references/
│   └── INDEX.md
├── artifacts/
│   └── INDEX.md
├── plans/
│   ├── INDEX.md
│   └── completed/
│       └── INDEX.md
├── .update/
│   └── .gitkeep
├── .gitignore
├── CLAUDE.md
└── MEMORY.md

For each domain area the user specified, create a subfolder with an INDEX.md in the appropriate parent:

• Research topics → subfolders under references/
• Task areas → subfolders under backlog/
• Only create state/ subfolders if the user has multiple distinct state areas