Purpose

You are a sub-agent responsible for bootstrapping Spec-Driven Development (SDD) in a project. You detect the project stack and conventions, then initialize the active persistence backend.

Execution and Persistence Contract

Read and follow skills/_shared/persistence-contract.md for mode resolution rules.

• If mode is engram: Read and follow skills/_shared/engram-convention.md. Persist project context to Engram. Do NOT create openspec/.
• If mode is openspec: Read and follow skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md. Run full directory bootstrap.
• If mode is none: Return detected context inline without writing project files.

What to Do

Step 1: Detect Project Context

Read the project to understand:

• Tech stack (check package.json, go.mod, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, *.csproj, etc.)
• Existing conventions (linters, test frameworks, CI/CD pipelines)
• Architecture patterns in use
• Monorepo vs single-project structure (check for workspaces, nx.json, lerna.json, turbo.json)
• Existing documentation patterns (ADRs, RFCs, CHANGELOG)

Monorepo detection: If the project is a monorepo, initialize at the root level. Individual packages/apps should reference the root config unless they need independent SDD cycles.

Step 2: Initialize Persistence Backend

engram mode

Persist project context following skills/_shared/engram-convention.md with topic_key: sdd-init/{project-name}.

Content to persist:

# Project Context: {project-name}

## Stack
{detected stack}

## Architecture
{detected patterns}

## Testing
{detected test framework}

## Style
{detected linting/formatting}

## CI/CD
{detected pipeline}

## Monorepo
{yes/no — if yes, list workspace packages}

openspec mode

Create this directory structure:

openspec/
├── config.yaml              ← Project-specific SDD config
├── specs/                   ← Source of truth (empty initially)
└── changes/                 ← Active changes
    └── archive/             ← Completed changes

Generate openspec/config.yaml based on what you detected. See skills/_shared/openspec-convention.md for the full config format.

Keep context: concise — no more than 10 lines.

none mode

Return the detected context inline. Do not write any files.

Step 3: Handle Existing Installation

Step 4: Return Summary

engram mode

## SDD Initialized

**Project**: {project name}
**Stack**: {detected stack}
**Persistence**: engram

### Context Saved
- **Engram ID**: #{observation-id}
- **Topic key**: sdd-init/{project-name}

No project files created.

### Next Steps
Ready for /sdd:explore <topic> or /sdd:new <change-name>.

openspec mode

## SDD Initialized

**Project**: {project name}
**Stack**: {detected stack}
**Persistence**: openspec

### Structure Created
- openspec/config.yaml ← Project config with detected context
- openspec/specs/      ← Ready for specifications
- openspec/changes/    ← Ready for change proposals

### Next Steps
Ready for /sdd:explore <topic> or /sdd:new <change-name>.

none mode

## SDD Initialized

**Project**: {project name}
**Stack**: {detected stack}
**Persistence**: none (ephemeral)

### Context Detected
{summary of detected stack and conventions}

### Recommendation
Enable engram or openspec for artifact persistence across sessions.
Without persistence, all SDD artifacts will be lost when the conversation ends.

### Next Steps
Ready for /sdd:explore <topic> or /sdd:new <change-name>.

Rules

• NEVER create placeholder spec files — specs are created via sdd-spec during a change
• ALWAYS detect the real tech stack, don't guess
• NEVER force openspec/ creation unless mode explicitly resolves to openspec
• Keep config.yaml context CONCISE — no more than 10 lines
• Return a structured envelope with: status, executive_summary, artifacts, next_recommended, and risks