| name | scaffold-caffeine-project |
| description | Start a new Caffeine app from a plain-language brief and hand back the draft and chat links. Use when someone wants to spin up a fresh project. |
Scaffold a Caffeine project
When to use
- Someone describes an app they want and there is no project yet.
- You need a running, deployed starting point rather than a local skeleton.
What you have to work with
Caffeine builds full-stack apps on the Internet Computer: a Motoko backend with a web frontend, built and deployed by Caffeine's own agent. There is no stack picker. If the brief implies particular screens, data, or behavior, write it into the prompt in plain words.
Creation is two steps, not one. caffeine_create_project takes no arguments — it returns an empty project whose name is derived automatically. The brief only reaches the agent when you send it as the first chat message.
Steps
- Turn the brief into one concrete prompt: what the app is for, the main screens, and the first thing a visitor can do. Describe behavior, not adjectives.
- Call
caffeine_create_project and keep the returned id.
- Call
caffeine_chat_start_session with that projectId and your prompt as message. Let it wait for a stable state rather than passing detach.
- If the session comes back still working, follow it with
caffeine_chat_watch_session until it settles. If it blocks on a question, answer with caffeine_chat_reply; if it returns a form, answer with caffeine_chat_submit_form.
- Call
caffeine_show_project and read draftState. Wait for deployed before sharing anything — deploying is not ready.
- Hand back the
draftUrl and, from caffeine_chat_url, the browser link for continuing the conversation on caffeine.ai.
Writing a good first prompt
- Say what the app is for, not just what it is. "A booking page where a client picks a time slot and leaves a deposit" beats "a scheduling app."
- Name the first screen and the primary action on it.
- Say what data the app stores. The backend is Motoko with persistent state, so being explicit about entities up front saves a rebuild.
- Mention authentication if visitors need accounts, so it is planned in rather than bolted on.
If creation fails
Accounts have a per-plan project limit and creation fails once it is reached. caffeine_list_projects shows what already exists; deleting is permanent, so ask before removing anything to make room.
After it exists
Hand off to iterate-with-caffeine-agent to refine it, or caffeine-local-development if the user wants to edit the Motoko source directly.
