Add OSS-standard files (README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, SECURITY, GitHub templates) and run an 8-section readiness audit. Use for 'make this open source', 'OSS readiness', 'public release'. Skip for marketing pages or closed code.
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
A direct command skips the review prompt. Inspect the source before running it.
Add OSS-standard files (README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, CODE_OF_CONDUCT, SECURITY, GitHub templates) and run an 8-section readiness audit. Use for 'make this open source', 'OSS readiness', 'public release'. Skip for marketing pages or closed code.
effort
high
metadata
{"version":"1.8.0","author":"Montimage"}
OSS Ready
Transform projects into professional open-source repositories with standard components, GitHub templates, and an 8-section OSS readiness audit.
Prerequisites
Verify before running. Stop and tell the user if any check fails.
Target directory is a git repository (git rev-parse --git-dir succeeds)
gh CLI is installed and authenticated for Section 3 and 6 audits (gh auth status)
Working tree has no unrelated uncommitted edits โ run git status first; if dirty, ask the user whether to stash or abort
Skill assets directory is reachable: test -d "$SKILL_DIR/assets"
Write access to the target repo
If gh is missing, the audit still runs but Sections 3 and 6 are marked n/a โ gh CLI not available rather than skipped silently.
Repo Sync Before Edits (mandatory)
Before making any changes, sync with the remote to avoid conflicts:
branch=
git fetch origin
git pull --rebase origin
"$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)"
"$branch"
If the working tree is dirty, stash first, sync, then pop. If origin is missing or conflicts occur, stop and ask the user before continuing.
Workflow
0. Create Feature Branch
Before making any changes:
Check the current branch - if already on a feature branch for this task, skip
Check the repo for branch naming conventions (e.g., feat/, feature/, etc.)
Create and switch to a new branch following the repo's convention, or fallback to: feat/oss-ready
1. Analyze Project
Identify:
Primary language(s) and tech stack
Project purpose and functionality
Existing documentation to preserve
Package manager (npm, pip, cargo, etc.)
Use sub-agents for parallel discovery. Launch multiple Agent tool calls concurrently to keep the main context clean:
Agent 1 โ Stack detection: Scan for package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, pom.xml, and identify the primary language(s), build tools, and package manager. Return a structured summary.
Agent 2 โ Existing docs inventory: List all existing documentation files (README, CONTRIBUTING, LICENSE, docs/, .github/) and summarize their current state โ present, missing, or outdated. Return a checklist.
Agent 3 โ Project purpose: Read the main entry point, existing README, and any project description fields to determine the project's purpose and key features. Return a short project summary.
Collect the results from all three agents before proceeding.
2. Create/Update Core Files
Use sub-agents for parallel file creation. The files below are independent of each other. Dispatch them concurrently using the Agent tool, then collect results:
Agent A โ README.md: Enhance the existing README (or create one) with the sections listed below. Use the project summary from Step 1.
Agent B โ CONTRIBUTING.md: Generate the contributing guide with the sections listed below. Use the stack info from Step 1.
Agent C โ Asset files: Copy LICENSE, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, and SECURITY.md from the skill assets directory using cp commands only (never read+write โ content triggers filtering). Replace placeholders with sed after copying.
Each agent should return the path(s) of files it created or updated.
README.md - Enhance with:
Project overview and motivation
Key features list
Quick start (< 5 min setup)
Prerequisites and installation
Usage examples with code
Project structure
Technology stack
Contributing link
License badge
CONTRIBUTING.md - Include:
How to contribute overview
Development setup
Branching strategy (feature branches from main)
Commit conventions (Conventional Commits)
PR process and review expectations
Coding standards
Testing requirements
LICENSE - Default to MIT unless specified.
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md - Contributor Covenant.
SECURITY.md - Vulnerability reporting process.
IMPORTANT โ Copy asset files using shell commands only. Some asset files (CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, SECURITY.md) contain language about harassment, abuse, and vulnerability disclosure that will trigger content filtering if you attempt to read and re-write the content. Always use cp to copy these files. Never read their contents into context and write them back out.
Destructive-overwrite caution.cp clobbers existing files silently. Before each copy, check the target with test -f <path> โ if it exists with non-default content, ask the user before overwriting (cp -i will prompt) or back the file up first (cp <path> <path>.bak). The audit step (5) is read-only by design; the modification window is steps 2โ4 only.
# Copy from the skill's assets directory โ use cp, do NOT read+write
SKILL_ASSETS="{SKILL_DIR}/assets"for f in LICENSE-MIT:LICENSE CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md:CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md SECURITY.md:SECURITY.md; do
src="${f%%:*}"; dst="${f##*:}"test -f "$dst" && cp"$dst""$dst.bak"# backup any existing filecp"$SKILL_ASSETS/$src""$dst"done
After copying, only use sed to replace placeholders (e.g., [INSERT CONTACT METHOD], [INSERT EMAIL]) with project-specific values. Do not rewrite the full file.
For history rewrites (git filter-repo in Step 5 / Section 2): always run with --dry-run first, confirm the diff with the user, and require an explicit git push --force-with-lease rather than --force. Never rewrite history without user confirmation.
3. Create GitHub Templates
Copy from the skill's assets/.github/ using shell commands:
4. Create Documentation Structure, Metadata, and .gitignore
Use sub-agents for parallel execution. These tasks are independent โ dispatch them concurrently:
Agent D โ Documentation structure: Create the docs/ directory and populate the relevant files based on the project type identified in Step 1. Target structure:
docs/
โโโ ARCHITECTURE.md # System design, components
โโโ DEVELOPMENT.md # Dev setup, debugging
โโโ DEPLOYMENT.md # Production deployment
โโโ CHANGELOG.md # Version history
Agent E โ Project metadata: Update the package file with OSS-standard fields based on the tech stack:
Agent F โ .gitignore: Verify and update .gitignore with comprehensive patterns for the detected tech stack.
Each agent should return a summary of what it created or updated.
5. OSS Readiness Audit
Run the full Open Source Project Checklist against the target repo. Each item is binary (done / not done). For each item, mark the status and capture a one-line justification or pointer (file path, command, screenshot URL, etc.).
Drop the checklist into the repo so maintainers can track progress between sessions:
Use sub-agents to run the audit in parallel. Each section is independent โ dispatch concurrently and collect results. The eight sections plus bonus items map to eight + one sub-agents:
Audit-1 License
Audit-2 Codebase Cleanup
Audit-3 Repository Setup (requires gh CLI for GitHub-side checks)
Check each checklist item using shell tools (grep, gh, ls, git).
Return a structured result: {item, status: done|missing|n/a, evidence}.
Never modify the repo โ auditing is read-only here.
Open Source Project Checklist
The full checklist (8 sections + bonus items + GitHub Community Standards validation pointer) lives in references/checklist.md to keep SKILL.md within the agent's context budget. Each audit sub-agent reads only its assigned section from that file.
# Copy the drop-in checklist into the target repo so maintainers can track progresscp"$SKILL_ASSETS/OSS_READINESS_CHECKLIST.md" docs/OSS_READINESS_CHECKLIST.md
See references/checklist.md for every audit item, the gh command that verifies it, and the bonus "Great" items list.
6. Present Final Status Report
After steps 1โ5, output a Step Completion Report:
Audit before fixing: run Step 5 read-only first, then offer to fix
Acceptance Criteria
The skill run is complete when all of the following are verifiable:
A feature branch exists and is checked out (or the user explicitly confirmed working on main)
LICENSE, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, SECURITY.md exist at the repo root and are byte-identical to the asset templates except for sed-replaced placeholders
README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md exist and contain every required section listed in Step 2
.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md, .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md, and a PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md (root or .github/) exist
docs/OSS_READINESS_CHECKLIST.md is present in the target repo
The audit step (5) was run read-only โ no files were modified during audit; modifications happen only in steps 1โ4
The Step Completion Report (step 6) emits one line per section with a done/total count and a final PASS | FAIL | PARTIAL verdict
No file content sourced from assets/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md or assets/SECURITY.md was read into context (only cp + sed were used) to avoid content filtering on harassment/disclosure language
Expected Output
The Step Completion Report at the end of the run must match this shape exactly (counts vary per repo):
Files created/updated โ each path listed with one line of context
Items still requiring manual action โ each with the precise remediation step (e.g., "Enable Dependabot: commit .github/dependabot.yml (template available at )")
Recommended next commands โ gh calls the maintainer can run themselves (e.g., gh repo edit --add-topic open-source,documentation)
Edge Cases
Existing files preserved: if a LICENSE, README.md, or other root file already exists with non-default content, the skill must enhance, not overwrite. Diff the current file against the asset template; only add missing sections. Ask the user before any destructive replacement.
Closed-source / private repo: when the target repo is private and the user did not explicitly say "make this open source", warn and ask before proceeding โ Section 3's "Public" check will always fail, which is expected.
Marketing-only repos with no source code: not in scope. Refuse and route to a docs-site skill.
Non-MIT license already chosen: do not overwrite. Detect existing LICENSE headers (Apache 2.0, GPLv3, etc.) and skip the LICENSE copy step; record done against Section 1 with the existing license name.
Monorepo / multi-package repos: ask the user which package(s) to target โ running the skill at the monorepo root vs. inside a sub-package gives different results. Default to the directory the user invoked from.
Asset content filtering: if any agent attempts to read CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md or SECURITY.md content into context (vs. cp-ing it), the run must abort that sub-task with a clear error and re-issue the copy as a shell command.
gh not installed: Sections 3 and 6 emit n/a โ gh CLI not available for each gh-dependent item; rest of audit proceeds.
Dirty working tree at start: stop and ask before any edit โ never auto-stash without confirmation.
Assets
Templates in assets/:
LICENSE-MIT โ MIT license template
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md โ Contributor Covenant
SECURITY.md โ Security policy template
OSS_READINESS_CHECKLIST.md โ Drop-in checklist for the target repo
