init-project

name	init-project
description	This skill should be used when the user asks to "set up composable stack", "initialize project", "configure environment", "connect MCP services", or needs to set up all MCP connections and environment variables for the Composable Stack v1.

Initialize Composable Stack v1

Set up environment variables, verify all MCP connections, and create project configuration for the Composable Stack.

Architecture Overview

Layer	Service	MCP Server	Transport
Data	PostgreSQL + NocoDB	nocodb	HTTP
Data	PostgreSQL (direct)	postgresql-mcp	HTTP
Logic	n8n	n8n-mcp-external + n8n-native-mcp	stdio + HTTP
Logic	Trigger.dev	trigger-dev	stdio
Interface	NocoBase (prod)	— (via NocoBase API with NOCOBASE_URL + NOCOBASE_API_KEY)	—
Interface	NocoBase (dev sandbox)	nocobase-dev	HTTP
Interface	NocoDB	— (covered by the nocodb MCP above)	—

NocoBase: Two Instances

This stack uses two NocoBase instances for a safe develop-then-promote workflow:

Instance	Env Vars	Purpose
Production	NOCOBASE_URL, NOCOBASE_API_KEY	Stable collections, released UI, live data
Development	NOCOBASE_DEV_URL, NOCOBASE_DEV_API_KEY	Sandbox for building/testing new tables, UX elements, menus, pages, workflows; also used for test-app API and MCP calls

Rule of thumb:

• Build new tables, fields, collections, menus, pages, blocks, and workflows on the dev instance first.
• Test API flows and test apps against the dev instance — safe to break.
• Promote validated schema and UI to prod via export/import or migration.

The nocobase-dev MCP server in this plugin points at ${NOCOBASE_DEV_URL}/api/mcp, so the full nc-mcp toolset (~146 tools: collections, fields, resources, workflows, flow-surfaces, RBAC, data sources) is available for the dev instance out of the box.

Step 1: Environment Variables

Using Infisical (recommended)

Pull all secrets from Infisical in one command:

./scripts/setup.sh dev .env .claude/settings.local.json

This writes .env and injects variables into .claude/settings.local.json for MCP resolution.

Manual Setup

Copy the template and fill in values:

cp templates/.env.example .env

Required variables:

Variable	Service	Description
TRIGGER_SECRET_KEY	Trigger.dev	Dev environment secret key (tr_dev_xxx)
TRIGGER_API_URL	Trigger.dev	Self-hosted instance URL
N8N_API_URL	n8n	Instance base URL
N8N_API_KEY	n8n	API authentication key
N8N_NATIVE_MCP_URL	n8n	Full native MCP URL ({N8N_API_URL}/mcp-server/http)
N8N_MCP_TOKEN	n8n	Native MCP bearer token
NOCODB_MCP_URL	NocoDB	MCP server URL (full URL with /mcp path)
NOCODB_TOKEN	NocoDB	MCP authentication token
POSTGRESQL_MCP_URL	PostgreSQL MCP	MCP server URL (full URL with /mcp path)
POSTGRESQL_MCP_TOKEN	PostgreSQL MCP	MCP bearer token
POSTGRESQL_API_URL	PostgREST	PostgREST base URL (no trailing slash)
POSTGRESQL_API_TOKEN	PostgREST	PostgREST bearer token
NOCOBASE_URL	NocoBase (prod)	Production instance URL
NOCOBASE_API_KEY	NocoBase (prod)	API key for production NocoBase
NOCOBASE_DEV_URL	NocoBase (dev)	Dev-sandbox instance URL — used for building/testing tables, UX, menus, pages, workflows, and dev/test apps
NOCOBASE_DEV_API_KEY	NocoBase (dev)	API key for dev NocoBase (also auth for the nocobase-dev MCP server)

Step 2: Verify MCP Connections

Test each service connection in order.

2a. NocoDB (Data layer)

Tool: mcp__nocodb__getTablesList

Expected: returns a list of tables from the connected NocoDB base.

2b. n8n External MCP (Logic layer)

Tool: mcp__n8n-mcp-external__searchNodes
Input: { "query": "webhook" }

Expected: returns matching n8n node types.

2c. n8n Native MCP (Logic layer)

Tool: mcp__n8n-native-mcp__listWorkflows

Expected: returns workflows from the n8n instance.

2d. Trigger.dev (Logic layer)

Tool: mcp__trigger-dev__list_runs

Expected: returns recent task runs.

2e. PostgreSQL MCP (Data layer — direct)

Tool: mcp__postgresql-mcp__database_overview

Expected: returns PostgreSQL server version, uptime, connection counts, and replica status.

2f. PostgREST API (Data layer — REST)

Verify with a direct HTTP call:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${POSTGRESQL_API_TOKEN}" \
  "${POSTGRESQL_API_URL}/"

Expected: HTTP 200 with OpenAPI spec of available endpoints.

2g. NocoBase dev instance (Interface layer — sandbox)

The nocobase-dev MCP server in this plugin targets ${NOCOBASE_DEV_URL}/api/mcp. Verify with any nc-mcp tool:

Tool: mcp__nocobase-dev__collections_list

Expected: returns the collections defined on the dev NocoBase instance.

Also verify HTTP API access:

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer ${NOCOBASE_DEV_API_KEY}" \
  "${NOCOBASE_DEV_URL}/api/collections:list" | head -c 500

Expected: HTTP 200 with a JSON list of collections.

2h. NocoBase production instance (Interface layer)

Production NocoBase is accessed via HTTP API only (no MCP transport in this plugin — keeps prod safe from accidental MCP mutations):

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${NOCOBASE_API_KEY}" \
  "${NOCOBASE_URL}/api/collections:list"

Expected: HTTP 200.

If you need MCP against production, the nocobase-dev technology plugin can be re-pointed at NOCOBASE_URL — but prefer to build on the dev instance and promote.

Step 3: Create CLAUDE.md

Copy the template:

cp templates/CLAUDE.md.template CLAUDE.md

Replace {{PROJECT_NAME}} with your project name.

Step 4: Verify Installed Plugins

Confirm all technology plugins are enabled in .claude/settings.json:

• trigger-dev@agents-store-claude-plugins
• n8n-dev@agents-store-claude-plugins
• nocodb-ops@agents-store-claude-plugins
• nocobase-dev@agents-store-claude-plugins
• postgresql-external-dev@agents-store-claude-plugins
• n8n-provision@agents-store-claude-plugins

These provide tool-specific knowledge. The stack plugin provides integration patterns between services.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
MCP connection refused	Service not running or wrong URL	Verify URL in .env, check service health
401 on NocoDB	Invalid token	Regenerate token in NocoDB settings
401 on n8n	Expired API key	Create new API key in n8n settings
Trigger.dev timeout	Wrong TRIGGER_API_URL	Verify the self-hosted instance URL
n8n native MCP 403	Wrong MCP token	Generate new MCP token in n8n → Settings → API
401 on PostgreSQL MCP	Invalid MCP token	Regenerate bearer token in MCP server settings
401 on PostgREST	Invalid API token	Check PostgREST JWT secret and regenerate token