Scaffolder

Generate complete, MCS-1-valid project structure for any product type with guidance comments baked in.

When to use: Starting a new product — any of the 13 types.

When NOT to use: When the product already exists in workspace/ and you want to add content (use /fill). Do not use to overwrite an existing scaffold unless --force is specified.

Activation Protocol

0. Shared preamble: Load references/quality/activation-preamble.md — context assembly, persona adaptation, deterministic routing rules.
1. Read creator.yaml — load defaults. Check schema_version:
   • < 3 → invoke /onboard skill to run Phase 2.5d silent migration first. Migration is atomic + backed up to creator.yaml.bak.v2. After migration succeeds, re-read the v3 file and continue.
   • Missing → micro-onboard: scan silently, infer defaults, ask ONE name question, generate minimal creator.yaml (v3). Never block.
2. Persona: Adapt to profile.type + technical_level. Load references/quality/engine-voice-core.md. Load the full references/quality/engine-voice.md only when composing peak moments (scaffold celebration, Step 10 proposal rendering, first-product WOW). 2c. Exemplar load: Load references/quality/exemplar-outputs.md section E3 only — the scaffold celebration reference. Your scaffold announcement MUST carry the same visual rhythm (Frame + pipeline position + portfolio context + 🎯 next action). Adapt to this creator's language and journey position. 2d. Load proactives: Load references/engine-proactive.md — wire #1 (pipeline guidance: after scaffold, guide to /fill), #18 (WOW moment for first product scaffold), #21 (portfolio pattern detection on brownfield check). 2b. Load architectural DNA: Read structural-dna.md. The 10 architectural principles and the Tier 1 DNA patterns (D1-D4, D13, D14) govern every scaffold — the skill applies them during Step 11 template generation and flags any violation before the scaffold is written to disk.
3. Discovery Mode Routing (W3.2 — PRIMARY ROUTER): Load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/create-router.md Section 0 — the 12-step discovery walk. Apply the Mode Selection table (Express vs Guided) based on creator.profile.technical_level + creator.preferences.workflow_style + any --express/--discovery flag.
   • Express mode → run the "12 Steps — Express Mode Fast Path" section of create-router.md Section 0. Reads type + sub-type flags, applies defaults from config.yaml routing.{type}.intent_topology, skips interactive questions, derives the full 19-field intent_declaration in one pass, and writes it at Step 11 of the walk.
   • Guided mode → run the "12 Steps — Guided Mode Walk". Asks Q1 (verb family) interactively, reads creator.intent_profile silently for Steps 2/3/6, escalates at Step 6 if cognitive justification incomplete, proposes form at Step 10 with confirmation, writes intent_declaration at Step 11.
   • Discovery returns unroutable (Step 9 zero-match) → fall through to create-router.md Section 1 legacy Q1/Q2/Q3 tree (Contract C4). The creator is never blocked. unroutable: true + unroutable_reason recorded in intent_declaration.
   • Creator chose "I don't know yet" at Step 1 → route to /scout suggestion OR legacy tree, at creator's choice.
4. Gates: Read config.yaml → gates.confirm_create. Confirm if true; proceed if false.
5. Brownfield check: Glob workspace/*/. If same product.type or overlapping tags found, surface slugs and ask before continuing.
6. Exemplar guard: Glob references/exemplars/{category}*. If found: show condensed preview. If not: skip gracefully — never halt.
7. Load product-dna/{category}.yaml → DNA requirements. 7b. Load entity ontology (squad/system/agent/workflow/minds): If type ∈ {squad, system, agent, minds, workflow}, read references/entity-ontology.md. This substrate governs:
   • Which agent ROLES to suggest during composition discovery (§AGENT_ROLES — 7 functional archetypes with tool boundaries)
   • The heritage chain — what this type inherits from and composes with (§HERITAGE, §COMPOSITION)
   • The 8 squad anatomy components that MUST appear in the scaffold (§SQUAD_ANATOMY)
   • The intelligence gradient — where this type sits in the determinism↔autonomy spectrum (§INTELLIGENCE_GRADIENT)
   • The distinction between workflow (YAML decides) and squad (LLM decides) coordination (§WORKFLOW_VS_SQUAD)
   • Promotion/demotion heuristics — is this really the right type? (§HEURISTICS)
   • Runtime behavior — how this type activates and its token cost (§RUNTIME_BEHAVIOR)
   • For /scout-informed creates: type recommendation matrix (§SCOUT_INTELLIGENCE)
   • Isomorphic human↔CC mapping for creator-facing explanations (§ISOMORPHIC)
   • For type=system ONLY: the 13 functional gears (§SYSTEM_ENGINES) — ask which gears the creator wants active, scaffold coupling declarations
   • The intelligence pipeline that governs how scout research enters the product (§INTELLIGENCE_PIPELINE)
   • The foundational thesis: restrictions generate intelligence flow — ask "What should this NEVER do?" (§FOUNDATIONAL_THESIS)
   • Transversal axes: after type selection, calibrate Delivery × Nature × Depth (§TRANSVERSAL_AXES)
   • Composition principles: how products think together — convergence by independence, symbiosis > aggregation (§COMPOSITION_PRINCIPLES)
8. Load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/discovery-questions.md → category questions.
9. Load references/product-specs/{category}-spec.md + templates/{category}/.
10. Load workspace/domain-map.md if exists → prefill scaffold sections. 10b. Link scout report if used — scout_source is already recorded in intent_declaration.scout_source by Section 0 Step 11. No additional action needed here; the canonical home for scout_source is intent_declaration, not a parallel field. 10c2. CLI contract: Load references/cli-contract.md for unified error handling. This skill has minimal CLI surface — one command at Step 1.5. Severity map:

• Silent-skip: search --category {type} --sort downloads --limit 3 — marketplace scan for competitive context. Skip without warning on failure. First-product guard: skip entirely if is_first_product (already documented at Step 1.5)
• All queries: append --json 2>/dev/null, 15s timeout 10c. Portfolio intelligence (back-reference from /validate): Read STATE.yaml → workspace.products[] AND STATE.yaml → mcs_results. Group by domain. If domain has existing products:
• Show: "Your {domain} portfolio: {slugs}. This will be product #{N}."
• If N >= bundle threshold (config.yaml → intelligence.portfolio.bundle_suggestion_threshold): suggest bundling.
• If complementary type opportunity exists: surface composition suggestion.
• MCS target calibration: If domain has 0 products → default MCS-1 (ship fast, test market). If domain has 2+ validated products → default MCS-2 (quality matters, audience exists).
• Record intelligence.domain and intelligence.market_position in .meta.yaml.

11. Generate scaffold in workspace/{product-slug}/ with DNA patterns + WHY comments. The scaffold's type + structure come from the matched_cell.canonical_form decided at Section 0 Step 10. Ontology-aware scaffold verification (requires entity-ontology.md loaded at step 7b): For type=squad: verify scaffold contains all 8 anatomy components from entity-ontology.md §SQUAD_ANATOMY:
    1. Agent roster (agents/) — each specialist as separate .md file with role-appropriate frontmatter
    2. Routing table (config/routing-table.md) — IF intent → agent mapping with judgment points
    3. Handoff protocols (config/handoff-protocol.md) — structured envelope format (from, to, task, state, constraints)
    4. Workflows (workflows/) — multi-agent sequences with gates and loops
    5. Skills-as-instruments (skills/) — reusable