init

/init

Mandatory entry point for the plugin. Do not run any other skill before init completes.

Instructions

Step 1 — State Detection

Before any other detection, check for an empty directory:

Scan for: package.json, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.toml,
          pyproject.toml, Gemfile, composer.json, mix.exs

If NONE of these files are found:
  "This looks like an empty project. Handing you off to
   /shipwithai-starter:new-project for a better setup experience."
  → invoke /shipwithai-starter:new-project
  → stop

If stack files are found, continue with normal state detection:

Before asking anything, read the project state:

CLAUDE.md              → populated / has [PLACEHOLDER] / missing
.claude/settings.json  → exists / missing
.mcp.json              → exists / missing
.claude/agents/        → exists / missing
docs/architecture.md   → exists / missing

Auto-detect tech stack:

package.json           → Node/TypeScript
pyproject.toml         → Python
go.mod                 → Go
Cargo.toml             → Rust
pom.xml / build.gradle → Java
Gemfile                → Ruby

Detect existing tools:

.eslintrc* / eslint.config.*   → ESLint
prettier.config* / .prettierrc → Prettier
jest.config*                   → Jest
pytest.ini / conftest.py       → pytest
Makefile                       → make
docker-compose.yml             → Docker Compose

If --update is provided: skip to Update Mode below — do not run the full interview.

If CLAUDE.md is already populated and --redo is not set and --update is not set: "Harness is already set up. Want to redo? (use --redo) or answer new questions only? (use --update)"

If --tier argument is provided, skip the tier selection prompt in Step 2 and use the given value directly.

Update Mode (--update)

Run when review detects schema is outdated, or user runs init --update directly.

Step 1: Read .claude/starter-context.json
        → Not found: "No context found. Run /shipwithai-starter:init for full setup."
        → Found: continue

Step 2: Compare existing fields against current schema (v1.4)
        → Find all fields that are null or absent

Step 3: For each missing field, ask the corresponding interview question only
        → Same wording as full interview
        → Skip all fields that already have answers

Step 4: Update starter-context.json
        → Merge new answers in
        → Set version to "1.4"

Step 5: Invoke setup-memory (merge mode)
        → Adds/updates only sections with new data
        → Existing sections preserved