Initialize Requirements Project

Initialize a GitHub Project for requirements management. This command is idempotent - safe to run multiple times without creating duplicates.

Instructions

Load the shared-patterns skill for error handling and recovery patterns.

Step 1: Check GitHub CLI

Verify gh command exists: command -v gh

If not found: "GitHub CLI (gh) is not installed. Install it: brew install gh (macOS) or https://cli.github.com/"

Step 2: Check Authentication

Run: gh auth status

If command fails: "Not authenticated with GitHub. Run: gh auth login"

Check output for required scopes: repo and project

If missing project scope: "Refresh authentication with: gh auth refresh -s project"

Step 3: Detect Repository

Run gh repo view --json nameWithOwner. Extract owner from nameWithOwner. If fails: exit with guidance to navigate to git repo.

Step 4: Get Project Name

Ask Project Name: "What should we name the GitHub Project for requirements tracking?" (options: [Repository Name] Requirements (recommended), [Repository Name] Backlog, [Repository Name] Roadmap)

Replace [Repository Name] with actual repository name from nameWithOwner. Store user's choice.

Step 5: Check for Existing Project

Run gh project list --owner [owner] --format json. Search for project with matching title.

If found: inform user "Found existing project '[title]' at [url]", extract number field, skip to step 7.

If not found: proceed to create project.

Step 6: Create GitHub Project

Run gh project create --owner [owner] --title "[name]" --format json. Extract number and url.

If creation fails: Apply Standard Recovery Flow from shared-patterns skill with 3 options (Retry, Check permissions, Exit). For "Check permissions" option, run gh auth status and show refresh command: gh auth refresh -s project.

If succeeds: inform user "Created project: [name] at [url]".

Step 7: Check Existing Fields

Run gh project field-list [project-number] --owner [owner] --format json once. Extract and store existing field names.

If command fails: log warning "Could not retrieve existing fields, will attempt to create all fields" and set field names list to empty.

Step 8: Create Custom Fields

For each field (Type, Priority, Status):

Check if field name exists in stored field names from step 7.

If exists: inform user "[Field] field already exists, skipping creation".

If not exists: create field with single command:

Type field:

gh project field-create [project-number] --owner [owner] \
  --name "Type" \
  --data-type SINGLE_SELECT \
  --single-select-options "Vision,Epic,Story,Task" \
  --format json

Priority field:

gh project field-create [project-number] --owner [owner] \
  --name "Priority" \
  --data-type SINGLE_SELECT \
  --single-select-options "Must Have,Should Have,Could Have,Won't Have" \
  --format json

Status field:

gh project field-create [project-number] --owner [owner] \
  --name "Status" \
  --data-type SINGLE_SELECT \
  --single-select-options "Not Started,In Progress,Completed" \
  --format json

If creation fails: note failure but continue (user can add manually).

Step 9: Provide Views Setup Instructions

Inform user: "Project views require manual setup in the GitHub web interface at [project-url]. See GitHub's project views documentation for instructions."

Recommend creating views: "By Type" (board), "By Priority" (board), "Active Work" (table, Status=In Progress), "Backlog" (table, Status=Not Started).

Step 10: Display Success Message

Display summary:

• Confirmation: GitHub Project initialized successfully
• Project name and URL
• Custom fields created: Type (Vision/Epic/Story/Task), Priority (MoSCoW), Status (Not Started/In Progress/Completed)
• Next steps: run /re:discover-vision to create product vision, then /re:identify-epics to identify major capabilities, use /re:status anytime for project overview