project-scaffold

name	project-scaffold
description	Scaffold a new project using a four-document engineering framework — PRD, Architecture, AI Rules, and Plan — that turns "vibe coding" into disciplined engineering. Use when the user starts a new project, app, or major feature, or asks to scaffold, plan, or set up a project with proper structure and guardrails against scope creep and spaghetti code.

Project Scaffold

Bootstrap a project with the four-document framework. Each document has one job; together they keep an AI-assisted build on rails instead of producing a pile of bugs.

Document	Job	Prevents
docs/PRD.md	What the project IS and is NOT	Scope creep
docs/ARCHITECTURE.md	Folder layout + data structure	Spaghetti code
docs/AI_RULES.md	Non-negotiable constraints	Quality drift
docs/PLAN.md	Ordered, one-step-at-a-time roadmap	Getting lost in code

Process

1. Gather context

Read any project description passed in the skill arguments. If the project's purpose, scope, stack, or hard constraints are still unclear, ask the user with AskUserQuestion:

• Project name and one-line purpose
• What it should explicitly NOT do (non-goals)
• Platform / language / framework
• Hard constraints (security, performance, deadline, dependencies)

Do not invent answers. The non-goals and constraints are the whole point of the framework — get them from the user.

2. Create the documents

Create a docs/ directory. For each document, copy the matching file from this skill's templates/ directory into docs/, then fill every placeholder with concrete, project-specific content and delete the <!-- --> guidance comments. Generate them in this order, because each builds on the previous:

1. PRD.md — write it, then show the user the "What it is NOT" section and get explicit confirmation of scope before continuing.
2. ARCHITECTURE.md — derive the folder layout and data model from the confirmed PRD.
3. AI_RULES.md — capture the user's non-negotiables; ask if any are unclear.
4. PLAN.md — break the build into small, ordered, independently verifiable steps. Each step names the files it touches and a concrete "done when" check.

3. Persist the rules

Mirror the key items from AI_RULES.md into a root CLAUDE.md (create it, or append a section if it exists) so the constraints apply automatically in every future session — not just while this skill is running.

4. Hand off

Summarize the four documents and tell the user the build will now follow docs/PLAN.md one step at a time.

Execution discipline (after scaffolding)

When implementing the project, follow docs/PLAN.md strictly:

• Work the current step (the first unchecked one) only. Do not jump ahead.
• When a step's "done when" check passes, mark its checkbox [x] in docs/PLAN.md.
• Stop and confirm with the user before starting the next step.
• If new scope appears mid-build, add it to docs/PRD.md (in scope or non-goals) before writing any code for it.