Project Todo Init - Auto-Scaffold Task Management Structure

Skill Description: Automatically verify and scaffold the standardized todo folder structure when commands like /start-work are run on projects that lack the structure.

PURPOSE

This is NOT a standalone command. It's a verification and auto-scaffold utility that other commands should invoke before creating tasks.

Integration point: Commands like /start-work, /create-bugfix, /resume-todo should check for todo structure and scaffold if missing.

VERIFICATION LOGIC

When to Trigger

Before any command that creates or references todo/current/:

•/start-work - Creates new work (any phase)
•/create-bugfix - Creates fix task
•/resume-todo - Resumes existing task
•/claude-start - Session resume (warning only)

Verification Steps

bash

# Step 1: Check if todo/ exists
if [ ! -d "[project-path]/todo" ]; then
    echo "Todo structure missing. Scaffolding..."
    # Proceed to scaffold
fi

# Step 2: Check for required subdirectories
REQUIRED_DIRS="backlog current completed"
for dir in $REQUIRED_DIRS; do
    if [ ! -d "[project-path]/todo/$dir" ]; then
        echo "Missing: todo/$dir"
        # Scaffold missing directories
    fi
done

AUTO-SCAFFOLD STRUCTURE

When scaffolding is needed, create:

Directory Structure

code

[project]/todo/
├── backlog/
│   ├── features/
│   ├── enhancement/
│   ├── infrastructure/
│   ├── refactoring/
│   └── research/
├── current/
│   ├── feature/
│   ├── fix/
│   ├── infrastructure/
│   ├── refactor/
│   └── debug/
├── completed/
│   ├── feature/
│   ├── fix/
│   ├── infrastructure/
│   └── refactor/
├── review/
└── recurring-bugs/

Template Files

•README.md - Guidelines and quick reference
•architecture-map-template.md - Template for task architecture docs
•todo-workflow-guidelines.md - Claude workflow rules

INTEGRATION WITH /start-work

The /start-work command includes this verification at the start of the Implementation flow:

markdown

### Step 0: Verify Todo Structure (BEFORE any other steps)

1. **Check for todo directory:**
   ```bash
   ls [project-path]/todo/ 2>/dev/null

•
If missing or incomplete:
- •Display: "Todo structure missing. Creating..."
- •Run scaffold (see SKILL.md for structure)
- •Display: "Todo structure ready."
•
If exists:
- •Continue to next step

code


---

## SCAFFOLD COMMAND (for internal use)

```bash
# Full scaffold command
mkdir -p [project-path]/todo/{backlog/{features,enhancement,infrastructure,refactoring,research},current/{feature,fix,infrastructure,refactor,debug},completed/{feature,fix,infrastructure,refactor},review,recurring-bugs}

README.md TEMPLATE

markdown

# Todo Task Management

## Quick Start

1. **New task:** Create folder in `current/[category]/[task-name]/`
2. **Use 7-file structure:** README.md, plan.md, progress.log, debug.log, notes.md, architecture-map.md, user-documentation.md
3. **Track progress:** Update progress.log daily
4. **Complete:** Move to `completed/[category]/` when done

## Categories

| Folder | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| `feature/` | New functionality |
| `fix/` | Bug fixes |
| `infrastructure/` | DevOps, deployment |
| `refactor/` | Code improvements |
| `debug/` | Investigation sessions |

## Task Status Flow

backlog/ -> current/ -> review/ -> completed/

## For Claude

- **Always know current todo** before starting work
- **Include todo path** in /claude-save commands
- **Ask if unclear** which task to work on
- **Never guess** task context from previous sessions

WHEN CLAUDE SHOULD APPLY THIS SKILL

Automatically verify todo structure when:

•Running /start-work on any project
•Running /create-bugfix on any project
•Project path is referenced that lacks todo/

Keywords that trigger verification:

•"start work", "new feature", "start task", "new task"
•Any reference to todo/current/ path that doesn't exist

REFERENCE IMPLEMENTATION

Canonical source: /Users/brent/scripts/CB-Workspace/requestdesk-app/todo/

Copy structure and guidelines from requestdesk-app when scaffolding new projects.