gh-repo-create

name

gh-repo-create

description

Create and initialize a new GitHub repository with sensible defaults using the gh CLI. Defaults to private. Sets up README, .gitignore, license, and .claude directory structure. Chains naturally into architect-plan-for-dispatch and any code-writing skill that needs a repo to target. Activates when the user says "create a repo", "new repo", "set up a GitHub repo", "gh-repo-create", or when another skill needs a fresh repository to write code into.

gh-repo-create

Establish a new GitHub repository under the ryankolean org with production-ready defaults so that downstream skills (architect-plan-for-dispatch, Dispatch workers, Claude Code sessions) have a clean, consistent target to write into. Private by default because Summit and client work should never be accidentally public.

When to Activate

Manual triggers:

• "Create a repo"
• "New repo"
• "Set up a GitHub repo"
• "gh-repo-create"
• "Spin up a repo for this"
• "I need a new repo"

Auto-detect triggers:

• architect-plan-for-dispatch is about to run and no repo exists yet for the project
• A design document or project scope references a repo that doesn't exist
• User describes a greenfield project and there's no target repo mentioned
• Any skill in the pipeline needs to write code but has no repo to push to

Do NOT activate when:

• The target repo already exists (check with gh repo view first)
• The user is working within an existing repo
• The user says "I'll create the repo myself"

Input

The skill needs the following. If not provided, ask one question at a time to fill gaps.

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
repo_name	Yes	—	kebab-case repository name (e.g., carrot-hire, dtst)
visibility	No	private	private or public
description	No	—	One-line repo description for GitHub
license	No	MIT	SPDX license identifier. Use MIT for open-source, NONE for client/proprietary work
gitignore_template	No	Node	GitHub .gitignore template name (e.g., Node, Go, Python, Rust)
clone_locally	No	true	Whether to clone the repo after creation
init_branch	No	main	Default branch name

Process

Step 1: Validate Prerequisites

# Confirm gh is authenticated
gh auth status

# Confirm the repo doesn't already exist
gh repo view ryankolean/<repo_name> 2>/dev/null && echo "REPO EXISTS — aborting" && exit 1

If the repo already exists, inform the user and stop. Do not overwrite or re-create.

Step 2: Create the Repository

gh repo create ryankolean/<repo_name> \
  --private \                          # or --public if visibility=public
  --description "<description>" \
  --license <license> \
  --gitignore <gitignore_template> \
  --clone

Visibility rule: Default to --private. Only use --public if the user explicitly states the repo should be public. When creating a public repo, confirm with the user before proceeding: "This will be a public repository visible to everyone. Confirm?"

Step 3: Initialize Project Structure

After cloning, set up the standard Summit directory scaffold:

cd <repo_name>

# Create .claude directory for Dispatch plans and code reports
mkdir -p .claude/dispatch/plans
mkdir -p .claude/dispatch/reports

# Create a minimal README if gh didn't generate one
if [ ! -f README.md ]; then
cat > README.md << 'EOF'
# <Repo Name>

<description>

## Getting Started

TODO

## License

<license>
EOF
fi

# Create CLAUDE.md project instructions file
cat > CLAUDE.md << 'EOF'
# Project Instructions

## Overview

<description>

## Conventions

- Follow existing code patterns and naming conventions
- All environment variables go in .env (never committed)
- Tests live alongside source files or in a dedicated __tests__ / tests directory

## Structure

.claude/
  dispatch/
    plans/       # Dispatch execution plans
    reports/     # Code reports from architect-plan-for-dispatch
EOF

# Commit the scaffold
git add -A
git commit -m "chore: initialize project scaffold"
git push origin main

Step 4: Verify and Report

# Confirm the repo is live
gh repo view ryankolean/<repo_name> --json name,visibility,url,description

Report back to the user with:

• Repository URL: https://github.com/ryankolean/<repo_name>
• Visibility: private/public
• Default branch: main
• Scaffold contents: what was created
• Next step suggestion: "Ready for architect-plan-for-dispatch" or "Ready for code"

Output

A fully initialized GitHub repository with:

<repo_name>/
├── .claude/
│   └── dispatch/
│       ├── plans/          # Empty, ready for Dispatch plans
│       └── reports/        # Empty, ready for code reports
├── .gitignore              # From GitHub template
├── CLAUDE.md               # Project instructions for Claude Code / Dispatch
├── LICENSE                 # From selected license
└── README.md               # Minimal project README

Plus a confirmation message with the repo URL and suggested next action.

Rules

• Always default to private. Summit client work, internal tools, and anything without an explicit "make it public" directive must be private. Public repos require explicit user confirmation.
• Never overwrite an existing repo. Always check gh repo view first. If the repo exists, report it and ask the user what they want to do.
• Always create the .claude/dispatch structure. This is the standard scaffold that architect-plan-for-dispatch expects. Omitting it forces a later task to create it, wasting tokens.
• Always create CLAUDE.md. Dispatch workers and Claude Code sessions read this file for project context. A missing CLAUDE.md means every worker starts blind.
• Use ryankolean as the default org/owner. Unless the user specifies a different GitHub org or personal account, all repos go under ryankolean.
• kebab-case repo names only. Reject names with spaces, underscores, or camelCase. Suggest a kebab-case alternative if needed.
• Never commit secrets. If the project needs environment variables, create a .env.example with placeholder keys, never a .env with real values.
• Confirm public visibility before creating. If the user says "public", ask once to confirm. This prevents accidental exposure of client work.

Examples

Good example:

User: "I need a new repo for the Carrot Hire project"

gh repo view ryankolean/carrot-hire 2>/dev/null  # Check — doesn't exist

gh repo create ryankolean/carrot-hire \
  --private \
  --description "Job coordination app for Carrot Fertility" \
  --license MIT \
  --gitignore Node \
  --clone

cd carrot-hire
mkdir -p .claude/dispatch/plans .claude/dispatch/reports
# ... create README.md, CLAUDE.md ...
git add -A && git commit -m "chore: initialize project scaffold" && git push origin main

Response: "Done — ryankolean/carrot-hire is live and private at https://github.com/ryankolean/carrot-hire. The .claude/dispatch scaffold is in place. Ready for architect-plan-for-dispatch whenever you are."

Bad example (what to avoid):

• Creating a public repo without confirming with the user
• Skipping the .claude/dispatch directory scaffold
• Using gh repo create carrot-hire without the ryankolean/ prefix (creates under the wrong account)
• Not checking if the repo already exists first

Cross-Surface Behavior

In Claude Code (has git + gh access):

• Execute all commands directly
• Clone the repo into the current working directory or a specified path
• Commit and push the scaffold automatically

In Claude.ai (no git access):

• Output the full sequence of commands for the user to run
• Provide the commands as a copyable code block
• Remind the user to run gh auth status first if they haven't recently

Chaining

• interrogate → gh-repo-create: After scoping a greenfield project, create the repo before planning
• gh-repo-create → architect-plan-for-dispatch: Repo is created, now analyze it and build the execution plan
• gh-repo-create → [any code-writing skill]: Any skill that produces code can target the new repo
• design-doc-review → gh-repo-create → architect-plan-for-dispatch: Full pipeline from design doc to repo to dispatch plan