templatize-workspace

Templatize Claude Workspace

Given a list of existing repos that share a common Claude Code workspace pattern, extract the commonalities into a new template repo and publish it to GitHub.

Inputs to gather

1. Source repos — list of paths or GitHub URLs the user considers representative of the pattern. Require at least 2; more is better.
2. Template name — slug for the new repo (suggest one from the pattern if the user doesn't provide).
3. Visibility — ask explicitly: public or private. Do not assume.
4. Destination — default to ~/repos/github/<name>/. Confirm if different.

If any of these are missing, ask before proceeding.

Procedure

1. Survey the sources

   • For each source repo, read: CLAUDE.md, .claude/ (settings.json, agents/, commands/, skills/, hooks/), .mcp.json, README.md, top-level structure, and any .gitignore / tooling configs.
   • Do not read deep into application code — this skill templates the workspace scaffolding, not the domain logic.

2. Identify commonalities

   • Files that appear (byte-identical or near-identical) across most sources → include verbatim.
   • Files that appear everywhere but with project-specific content → include as a template with {{placeholders}} for the varying parts (project name, description, domain-specific sections).
   • Patterns that appear in only one source → exclude unless the user flags them as worth keeping.
   • Present a short summary of what will and will not be templated, and wait for confirmation before writing files.

3. Build the template locally

   • Create the destination directory and git init.
   • Write the templated files. Prefer {{PROJECT_NAME}}, {{PROJECT_DESCRIPTION}} style placeholders — keep them consistent across files.
   • Add a README.md explaining: what the template is for, which source repos it was derived from, what placeholders exist, and how to instantiate it (gh repo create --template ...).
   • Add a .gitignore merged from the sources.
   • If the pattern includes .claude/settings.json with machine-specific paths, sanitize them.

4. Publish to GitHub

   • Use gh repo create <name> --<public|private> --source=. --remote=origin --push.
   • After creation, enable template-repo mode: gh repo edit <owner>/<name> --template=true.
   • Report the URL.

Safety rules

• Always ask visibility. Never default to public.
• Never copy secrets. Scan for .env, API keys, tokens, or hardcoded credentials before writing template files. If found in a source, omit and flag to the user.
• Never modify the source repos.
• Confirm the file list before writing and before pushing.