Project Scaffolding Skill

Creates the non-component parts of an SDD project: root files and specs directory.

Modes

Minimal Mode (Default for /sdd I want to initialize a new project)

Creates only the essential structure needed to start. Additional components are scaffolded during implementation when the plan includes a scaffolding phase.

mode: minimal
project_name: my-app
target_dir: /path/to/project

Creates:

project/
├── sdd/
│   └── sdd-settings.yaml     # Minimal settings
├── specs/
│   └── INDEX.md              # Empty spec registry
├── package.json              # Root project (from tech pack template)
├── README.md
├── CLAUDE.md
└── .gitignore

NOT created in minimal mode:

• changes/ directory
• specs/domain/ subdirectories
• specs/architecture/
• specs/SNAPSHOT.md

Full Mode (Legacy)

Creates the complete structure. Used when upgrading or explicitly requested.

mode: full
project_name: my-app
project_description: My application
primary_domain: Task Management
target_dir: /path/to/project

Creates:

project/
├── sdd/
│   └── sdd-settings.yaml
├── specs/
│   ├── INDEX.md
│   ├── SNAPSHOT.md
│   └── domain/
│       ├── glossary.md
│       ├── definitions/
│       └── use-cases/
├── changes/
│   └── INDEX.md
├── README.md
├── CLAUDE.md
├── package.json
└── .gitignore

Non-Destructive Behavior (CRITICAL)

This skill NEVER overwrites existing files:

• Before writing any file, check if it exists
• If exists: skip (log that file was skipped)
• If missing: create

This makes it safe to run multiple times for repair/upgrade scenarios.

When to Use

Use during:

• /sdd I want to initialize a new project in minimal mode
• Upgrade/repair workflows in full mode

Template Variables

Minimal sdd-settings.yaml Template

Use the minimal template defined in the project-settings skill (see its "Minimal Template" section). That skill is the authoritative source for the sdd-settings.yaml schema and template format.

Minimal specs/INDEX.md Template

# Specifications Index

This file tracks all specifications in the project.

## Changes

No changes yet. Create your first change with:

/sdd I want to create a new feature

## Domain Knowledge

Domain knowledge (glossary, personas, use cases) is populated when you create changes.

Input

Schema: schemas/input.schema.json

Accepts scaffolding mode, project name, target directory, and optional description and domain.

Output

Schema: schemas/output.schema.json

Returns success status and list of created files.

Templates Location

Templates are in this skill's templates/ directory:

skills/project-scaffolding/templates/
├── project/
│   ├── package.json        # Root project package.json
│   ├── README.md
│   └── CLAUDE.md
├── specs/
│   ├── SNAPSHOT.md
│   └── glossary.md
└── changes/
    └── INDEX.md

.gitignore Rules

CRITICAL: The sdd/ directory MUST be version controlled.

The generated .gitignore should:

• Include standard ignores (node_modules, build artifacts, IDE files)
• NEVER include sdd/ or any sdd/* patterns
• NEVER include specs/ or changes/ directories

Required .gitignore Content

# Dependencies
node_modules/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
*.tsbuildinfo

# IDE
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Environment
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local

# Logs
*.log
logs/

# Test coverage
coverage/

# IMPORTANT: sdd/ is NOT ignored - it contains version-controlled SDD artifacts
# Do NOT add sdd/ to this file

Repair Behavior

When running in repair/upgrade mode, check existing .gitignore:

1. If .sdd or sdd/ pattern exists, remove it
2. If specs/ pattern exists, remove it
3. If changes/ pattern exists, remove it
4. Log warning: "Removed .sdd from .gitignore - SDD artifacts must be version controlled"

Scaffold Spec

Project scaffolding uses the scaffolding engine internally. The scaffolding project command builds a spec from the project config and calls executeSpec. You do not need to invoke scaffolding apply separately for project-level files — the CLI handles it.

Engine Integration

The project scaffolding CLI:

1. Translates ScaffoldingConfig into a ScaffoldSpec
2. Maps each component to template_dir operations (using colocated templates in each component skill)
3. Generates inline content (.gitignore, .claudeignore, architecture overview) as write_file operations
4. Computes per-component scripts and adds package_json_scripts operations
5. Executes the full spec via the engine

Example Spec (generated internally)

{
  "target_dir": "<project-root>",
  "base_dir": "<plugin-root>/skills",
  "variables": {
    "PROJECT_NAME": "my-app",
    "PROJECT_DESCRIPTION": "My application",
    "PRIMARY_DOMAIN": "Task Management"
  },
  "operations": [
    {
      "type": "template_dir",
      "source": "project-scaffolding/templates/project",
      "dest": "."
    },
    {
      "type": "write_file",
      "path": ".gitignore",
      "content": "<computed-content>",
      "if_exists": "skip"
    }
  ]
}

Related Skills

Component scaffolding skills are provided by the active tech pack. Invoke techpacks.routeSkills(phase: project-scaffolding) to load the tech-specific scaffolding orchestration skill. For each component type, the manifest's components.<type>.scaffolding field points to the scaffolding skill. Use techpacks.resolvePath to get absolute paths for template directories passed to the scaffolding engine.