Project Setup Skill

Use this skill when creating a new project. It establishes a consistent structure across all projects.

When to Use

• •Starting a new project
• •User asks to "set up a project" or "create a new project"
• •Bootstrapping a workspace for a new initiative

Project Location

All projects live in: ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}/

Use kebab-case for project names (e.g., site-editor-navigation, wp-cowork-plugin).

Standard Structure

{project-name}/
├── .git/                 # Initialized git repo
├── .gitignore            # Standard ignores (see below)
├── README.md             # Project overview, quick start
├── CLAUDE.md             # Guidance for Claude Code / AI agents
├── docs/                 # Documentation
│   └── (project docs)
└── logs/                 # Session logs, dev notes (git-ignored)
    └── (daily logs)

File Templates

README.md

# {Project Name}

{One-line description}

## Overview

{Brief explanation of what this project does and why it exists}

## Quick Start

```bash
cd ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}
# Add setup commands here

Documentation

Structure

{project-name}/
├── docs/          # Documentation
├── logs/          # Development logs (git-ignored)
└── README.md      # This file

Related

• •{Links to related issues, PRs, projects}

### CLAUDE.md

```markdown
# CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

## Project Overview

{One-line description of what this project is and its goal}

## Development

```bash
# Add common commands here

Architecture

{Brief description of tech stack, key patterns, important files}

Documentation

The /docs/ folder contains:

• •{List key docs}

Scope

• •In scope: {What this project covers}
• •Out of scope: {What it doesn't cover}

### .gitignore

```gitignore
# Logs - development session logs, not for version control
logs/

# Dependencies
node_modules/
vendor/
.venv/
__pycache__/

# Build outputs
dist/
build/
*.egg-info/

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

# IDE / Editor
.idea/
.vscode/
*.swp
*.swo
*~

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# Package manager locks (uncomment if not needed)
# package-lock.json
# pnpm-lock.yaml
# composer.lock

Setup Procedure

1. •

   Create project directory

   bash

   mkdir -p ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}
   cd ~/Developer/Projects/{project-name}
   

2. •

   Create folder structure

   bash

   mkdir -p docs logs
   

3. •

   Create .gitignore (use template above)

4. •

   Create README.md (use template above, fill in project details)

5. •

   Create CLAUDE.md (use template above, fill in project details)

6. •

   Initialize git

   bash

   git init
   git add -A
   git commit -m "Initial project setup"
   

7. •

   Report to user

   • •Confirm project location
   • •List created files
   • •Suggest next steps (e.g., "Ready for docs, or should I scaffold something specific?")

Optional Additions

Depending on project type, may also create:

• •package.json — For Node.js projects
• •requirements.txt — For Python projects
• •composer.json — For PHP projects
• •Makefile — For projects with build steps
• •docker-compose.yml — For containerized projects

Ask the user if they want any of these, or infer from context.

Logs Convention

The logs/ folder is for development session notes:

• •Format: YYYY-MM-DD-{topic}.md or YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md
• •Git-ignored so they don't clutter history
• •Useful for tracking decisions, debugging sessions, progress

After Setup

Once project is created:

1. •Update Moneypenny (~/Developer/Projects/moneypenny/projects.json) if it's a tracked project
2. •Add to memory if significant
3. •Proceed with project-specific work