Bootstrap

Value: Communication -- establish shared understanding of environment, capabilities, and workflow before any work begins.

Purpose

Single entry point for configuring the SDLC workflow on any harness. Detects the project environment and harness capabilities, configures TDD mode (guided or automated), generates harness-appropriate instruction files, and recommends skills. Never silently installs or modifies anything.

Practices

Step 1: Detect the Environment

Gather project context silently before asking questions:

!test -f package.json && echo "js" || true
!test -f Cargo.toml && echo "rust" || true
!test -f pyproject.toml && echo "python" || true
!test -f go.mod && echo "go" || true
!test -f mix.exs && echo "elixir" || true
!git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree 2>/dev/null && echo "git" || true
!ls skills/*/SKILL.md 2>/dev/null | sed 's|skills/||;s|/SKILL.md||' || true

Record: languages detected, git available, skills already installed.

Step 2: Detect Harness Capabilities

Probe for delegation primitives. See references/capability-detection.md for the full detection procedure.

Step 3: Detect Harness Type

Identify the harness to generate the correct instruction files:

Step 4: Configure TDD Mode

Recommend based on detected capabilities:

• Subagents or teams available: Recommend automated mode (/tdd).
• No delegation primitives: Recommend guided mode (/tdd red, /tdd green, etc.).
• Let the user override. Record the choice.

If Claude Code is detected and the user wants maximum enforcement, offer to install optional hook templates from skills/tdd/references/hooks/.

Step 5: Ask the User

Question 1: What are you trying to do?

• "Start a new project" -- recommend Understand + Decide + Build phases
• "Add a feature or fix a bug" -- recommend Build + Ship phases
• "Set up team workflow" -- recommend all phases plus ensemble team

Question 2: How much process structure?

• "Minimal" -- recommend tdd, domain-modeling
• "Standard" -- recommend core + ship skills
• "Full" -- recommend all skills

See references/skill-recommendations.md for the full skill list by phase.

Step 6: Generate Instruction Files

Generate harness-appropriate files. See references/agents-md.md for AGENTS.md best practices (small routing document, progressive disclosure, managed markers) and references/harness-files.md for harness-specific generation rules.

Step 7: Optional Ensemble Team

If the user selected "Set up team workflow" or "Full" process structure, offer to invoke the ensemble-team skill for AI team formation. Present the three presets (solo-plus, lean, full). If accepted, invoke the skill and record the preset in configuration.

Step 8: Commit and Display

Stage generated files, commit with a descriptive message, and display:

• What was configured (harness, TDD mode, skills recommended)
• Next steps (/tdd to start a TDD cycle, or phase-specific commands)
• If ensemble team was configured, note the preset and member count

Enforcement Note

This skill is purely advisory. It generates configuration and instruction files but cannot install skills or modify harness settings without user confirmation.

Verification

• Environment was detected before asking questions
• Harness capabilities were probed (not assumed)
• No more than 2-3 questions were asked
• TDD mode recommendation matched detected capabilities
• Generated files use managed markers for safe re-runs
• Nothing was installed without user confirmation

Dependencies

This skill works standalone. It recommends but does not require other skills. It generates configuration that references the tdd skill for TDD workflow.