create-project

Create Project — Scaffold a New Project

Scaffold a new project, either standalone or as a subproject in an existing repo.

Pipeline DAG

This skill owns Pipeline 1 (init-project) from PIPELINES.md:

scaffold → setup-dev → init-hero → first-commit

Print the DAG line at the start of each step. Format:

[N/4] (✓) scaffold → (▶) setup-dev → ( ) init-hero → ( ) first-commit

Now running: setup-dev

This skill drives the scaffold step and then invokes hero-skills:setup-dev, then hero-skills:init-hero, and finally a git commit of HERO.md + CLAUDE.md. Each chained skill renders its own internal DAG when it has one.

Naming note for first-commit: When scaffolding a standalone repo, Step 6 below already creates the literal first commit (the scaffold). The pipeline's first-commit node refers specifically to the commit that lands HERO.md and CLAUDE.md — that's a follow-up commit on standalone repos, or simply the next commit when adding to an existing repo. See PIPELINES.md for the canonical definition.

Arguments

• $ARGUMENTS — Project name (required) and optional description

Instructions

Step 0: Load Configuration

ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)
cat "$ROOT/HERO.md" 2>/dev/null || echo "NO_HERO_CONFIG"

Read HERO.md for repo type (single vs monorepo), code quality tools, and coding conventions. If missing, suggest hero-skills:init-hero and proceed with defaults.

Step 1: Parse Arguments

• Project name (required): First word. Ask if missing.
• Description (optional): Remaining text.

Step 2: Determine Context

git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree 2>/dev/null && echo "IN_REPO" || echo "STANDALONE"
ls */pyproject.toml */package.json 2>/dev/null | head -5

Ask based on context:

Context	Question
Not in a repo	Create standalone repo, or add to an existing one?
In a repo with siblings	Add as a new subproject?
Empty repo	Initialize this repo with the new project?

Step 3: Choose Project Type

Ask the user:

1. Python backend — FastAPI with uv
2. Python library — Reusable package (uv)
3. Python CLI — Command-line tool (uv)
4. Full-stack — FastAPI + Next.js or Vite with shadcn
5. Frontend only — Next.js or Vite with shadcn
6. Node.js service — Express/Fastify backend

Step 4: Scaffold

Python Backend (FastAPI)

Read uv FastAPI guide at https://docs.astral.sh/uv/guides/integration/fastapi/

uv init PROJECT_NAME
cd PROJECT_NAME
uv add fastapi uvicorn[standard]

Structure:

PROJECT_NAME/
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── main.py
│   ├── routers/__init__.py
│   ├── services/__init__.py
│   └── schemas/__init__.py
├── pyproject.toml
└── uv.lock

Python Library

uv init --lib PROJECT_NAME

Python CLI

uv init PROJECT_NAME

Add entry point in pyproject.toml:

[project.scripts]
PROJECT_NAME = "project_name:main"

Full-stack

PROJECT_NAME/
├── backend/    # FastAPI
└── frontend/   # Next.js or Vite

Backend: same as Python Backend above.

Frontend (ask Next.js or Vite):

• Next.js: Follow https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/installation/next

  npx create-next-app@latest frontend --typescript --tailwind --eslint --app --src-dir --import-alias "@/*"
  cd frontend && npx shadcn@latest init -d
  

  Add API proxy in next.config.js:

  async rewrites() {
    return [{ source: '/api/:path*', destination: 'http://localhost:8000/api/:path*' }];
  }
  

• Vite: Follow https://ui.shadcn.com/docs/installation/vite

  Add API proxy in vite.config.ts:

  server: {
    proxy: { '/api': { target: 'http://localhost:8000', changeOrigin: true } }
  }
  

Frontend Only

Same as full-stack frontend, at project root instead of frontend/.

Node.js Service

mkdir PROJECT_NAME && cd PROJECT_NAME
npm init -y
npm install express typescript @types/node @types/express tsx
npx tsc --init

Step 5: Create CLAUDE.md

# PROJECT_NAME

DESCRIPTION

## Development

### Prerequisites
- [Python 3.12+ and uv | Node.js 20+]

### Setup
[How to install dependencies]

### Run
[How to start dev servers]

### Test
[How to run tests]

## Project Structure
[Brief description of key directories]

Step 6: Initialize Git (if standalone)

git init
git add -A
git commit -m "$(cat <<'EOF'
chore: initialize PROJECT_NAME

DESCRIPTION

Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
EOF
)"

Step 7: Chain to setup-dev → init-hero → first-commit

The init-project pipeline does not stop at scaffolding. After Step 6, render the DAG:

[2/4] (✓) scaffold → (▶) setup-dev → ( ) init-hero → ( ) first-commit

Now running: setup-dev

Then run hero-skills:setup-dev to install required CLIs and authenticate. After that completes, render:

[3/4] (✓) scaffold → (✓) setup-dev → (▶) init-hero → ( ) first-commit

Now running: init-hero

Run hero-skills:init-hero to investigate the freshly scaffolded project and write HERO.md. (Pipeline 3 runs as a nested DAG inside this step.)

Finally render:

[4/4] (✓) scaffold → (✓) setup-dev → (✓) init-hero → (▶) first-commit

Now running: first-commit

If the repo was initialized standalone in Step 6 with an initial commit, the first-commit step folds HERO.md and CLAUDE.md (written by init-hero) into a follow-up commit:

git add HERO.md CLAUDE.md
git commit -m "chore: add HERO.md and CLAUDE.md from hero-skills:init-hero"

If the project was added to an existing repo, defer the commit to hero-skills:commit-changes (the user's normal flow).

Step 8: Summary

Create Project Summary
======================
Project: PROJECT_NAME
Type: [Python Backend | Full-stack | ...]
Location: PATH

Pipeline:
  (✓) scaffold → (✓) setup-dev → (✓) init-hero → (✓) first-commit

Created:
  - Project structure
  - CLAUDE.md
  - HERO.md
  - [Git repo initialized]

Next steps:
  cd PROJECT_NAME
  hero-skills:preflight        # Step 0.3 — sanity-check tooling, .env, ports
  hero-skills:plan-work        # Steps 1–2 — plan and implement the first task
  hero-skills:one-shot         # …or chain Steps 1–12 in a single invocation

Notes

• Always creates CLAUDE.md. Uses uv for all Python projects. Uses shadcn for frontend UI.
• Does not push or create remote repos — local scaffolding only.