initialize-sdlc-directory

Initialize SDLC Directory

Creates the .sdlc/ directory structure in the project root (or $1 if provided) and populates it with default templates. Already-existing files are never overwritten — this is safe to run on a project that has partially adopted the structure.

Prerequisites

• Apply the shared SDLC conventions in skills/sdlc/references/shared.md.
• Write access to the project root
• The canonical templates at ../sdlc/templates/ relative to this skill file (i.e. skills/sdlc/templates/)

Steps

1. Determine the project root: use $1 if provided, otherwise use the current working directory.

2. Resolve the SDLC write location per sdlc/references/shared.md: default <project-root>/.sdlc/; if it cannot be created and SDLC_DIR is set, use $SDLC_DIR/{owner}/{repository}/.sdlc/; mirror created files to the external store when set. Record which location was used in the report.

3. Pre-approve the external SDLC stores in the agent CLI. Most harnesses prompt before reading or writing outside the workspace; grant read/write for ~/.sdlc/** and /tmp/sdlc/** up front. Detect which config(s) exist and add only missing entries, preserving all other fields:

   • opencode (~/.config/opencode/opencode.json): set permission.external_directory entries "~/.sdlc/**": "allow" and "/tmp/sdlc/**": "allow".
   • Claude Code: add Read(~/.sdlc/**), Edit(~/.sdlc/**), Read(/tmp/sdlc/**), Edit(/tmp/sdlc/**) to permissions.allow in its user settings file.

   For any other harness, add the equivalent entry following its own schema. Record what was created, updated, or skipped (already present), and remind the user to restart their CLI.

4. For each directory below, create it (under the resolved write location) if it does not already exist:

   .sdlc/
   .sdlc/context/
   .sdlc/features/
   .sdlc/templates/
   .sdlc/templates/features/
   .sdlc/templates/knowledge/
   .sdlc/knowledge/
   .sdlc/knowledge/assumptions/
   .sdlc/knowledge/decisions/
   .sdlc/knowledge/learnings/
   .sdlc/knowledge/questions/