| name | alignfirst-setup-guide |
| description | Setup-time companion to install or upgrade any subset of {docmap, workspace, alignfirst skills} in a consumer repo. Use when asked to install, set up, or upgrade docmap, the workspace worktree system, or the AlignFirst skills. |
| compatibility | Requires git and a Node.js package manager (npm, pnpm, yarn, or bun). |
| license | CC0 1.0 |
| metadata | {"author":"Paleo","version":"0.20.1","repository":"https://github.com/paleo/alignfirst"} |
AlignFirst Setup Guide
A one-time companion for setting up a consumer repository. It installs any subset of three independent tools:
- docmap — agent-discoverable documentation under
docs/.
- workspace — worktree-based concurrent local dev environments.
- alignfirst skills — collaborative spec/plan/AAD/review protocols.
Pick any combination. Each has its own reference; this skill investigates the repo, agrees on scope, then follows the matching reference(s).
Follow these four steps in order. Do not skip ahead: complete each before starting the next.
Step 1 — Investigate
Detect the stack and package manager: check the packageManager field in package.json, else the root lockfile — package-lock.json → npm, pnpm-lock.yaml → pnpm, yarn.lock → yarn, bun.lockb/bun.lock → bun — falling back to npm. Record the result — every reference in Step 3 reuses this one detection rather than repeating it.
Commands in this guide are written for npm; convert each one to the detected manager — both when you run it and when you write it into project files. Only npm needs a -- separator to pass flags to a script (npm run docmap -- --guide); pnpm and yarn drop the run and the separator (pnpm docmap --guide), and bun keeps run but needs no separator (bun run docmap --guide). Install verbs differ too (npm install -D vs pnpm add -D / yarn add -D / bun add -D).
Then detect each tool's existing footprint:
- docmap: a
docmap script, a @paleo/docmap dependency, or a docs/ directory.
- workspace: a
workspace script or a @paleo/workspace dependency.
- alignfirst skills: an installed alignfirst skill, a
.plans/ directory, or an ## AlignFirst section in AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md.
Step 2 — Discuss
Present the findings and agree with the user on which tools to install or upgrade. Any combination is valid.
Step 3 — Set up
Require a clean working tree first (git status). If it isn't clean, stop and ask the user to commit or stash. Then follow the matching reference(s):
Upgrading from an older AlignFirst (v1/v2): route through alignfirst-upgrade.md, which detects the version and follows alignfirst-upgrade-from-v1.md or alignfirst-upgrade-from-v2.md.
Step 4 — After setup
This skill is temporary. Once setup is done, the user can uninstall it. Provide them the command:
npx skills remove alignfirst-setup-guide --yes
node --input-type=module -e 'import {readFileSync as r,writeFileSync as w} from "node:fs";const f="skills-lock.json",j=JSON.parse(r(f));delete j.skills["alignfirst-setup-guide"];w(f,JSON.stringify(j,null,2)+"\n")'