New Project Bootstrap

Use this when the current working directory is a fresh project (no UML.md, little or no source code). Drive the user through four phases in order. Do not skip phases. Do not start writing code before phase 3.

Phase 1 — Architectural deep dive (conversation)

Before any planning, hold a short structured conversation with the user. Ask the questions below one batch at a time, wait for answers, then move on. Stop early if the user says "just start".

Batch A — Product:

1. What does this project do, in one sentence?
2. Who uses it and how (CLI, library, web service, daemon, ...)?
3. What is explicitly out of scope?

Batch B — Constraints: 4. Language / runtime / minimum versions? 5. Deployment target (local, container, edge, embedded, ...)? 6. Hard non-functional constraints (latency, offline, privacy, size)?

Batch C — Shape: 7. Expected lifetime: throwaway, prototype, long-lived/? 8. Solo or team? Open source? 9. Any existing systems it must integrate with?

Batch D — Architecture preferences: 10. Preferred architectural style (monolith, modular monolith, plugin, services)? 11. State / persistence needs? 12. Testing posture (unit-heavy, e2e-heavy, "I'll add tests later")?

Reflect back a 3–5 bullet summary of what you heard and ask the user to confirm before moving to phase 2.

Phase 2 — Plan

Write plan.md at the repo root following the planning-first skill's format if it is available; otherwise use this structure:

# Plan: <project name>
## Goal
## Architecture
  - chosen style + 1-paragraph rationale
  - top-level module list
## Tech choices
  - language, framework, key libs, build tool, test runner
## Milestone 1 — walking skeleton
## Milestone 2+ — features
## Risks
## Checklist

Show the plan to the user. Get explicit approval before phase 3.

Phase 3 — Implement (walking skeleton first)

Build Milestone 1 only: the smallest end-to-end thing that runs. Tick checklist items as you go. If reality contradicts the plan, stop and update the plan before continuing.

Phase 4 — Review and seal

When Milestone 1 runs:

1. Self-review the diff: read every file you created, look for dead code, inconsistencies, missing error handling, missing tests for the happy path.
2. Run the project (build + smoke test) and report results.
3. Generate UML.md per the uml-maintenance skill. Use the architecture from phase 1 as the source of truth, not just what currently exists in code.
4. Tell the user what is done, what is intentionally deferred, and what should happen next.

Guardrails

• Do not invent product requirements the user did not state.
• Do not pick exotic dependencies without flagging the choice.
• Never skip phase 1 unless the user explicitly says "skip questions".