bootstrapper

name	bootstrapper
description	Project Context Bootstrapper. Loads ONLY the relevant context for the current task using Selective Context Loading. Returns a focused briefing — current objective, current state, allowed scope, no-go zones, next safe action. Master Plan §7.1.
user-invocable	true

/bootstrapper — Project Context Bootstrapper

Language: Communicate in Hebrew. All code, paths, identifiers in English.

Authority: Context Governance framework (see ~/.claude/docs/GOVERNANCE-AGENT-GUIDE.md §5). This is the FIRST skill that runs at session start (after context-governance lite). It produces the briefing that Claude reads before doing any work.

Core principle: Load relevant context, NOT all context. Selective loading is mandatory.

This skill works on ANY project that has been initialized with /init-governance.

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When to invoke

• Auto: pre-session.sh hook
• Manual: /bootstrapper at session start
• After: importing a session from another agent (alongside parallel-session-merge)
• When in doubt about what the current state is

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Inputs

The skill reads these from the user's first message or from the calling hook:

• goal — what is the user trying to do? (free text, optional)
• candidate_scope — directory/file hints from the user (optional)
• last_handoff — path to the active handoff if known (auto-detected from docs/context/HANDOFF.md)

If goal is empty, the skill assumes "general awareness" mode and produces a baseline briefing without scope-specific context.

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Execution steps

Step 1 — Read the orchestration tier (mandatory)

1. CLAUDE.md (project orchestration — should be <500 lines)
2. docs/context/CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md — meta-index of all context files
3. Plans/PLAN.md — active sub-plan router
4. docs/context/OPEN-PROBLEMS.md first 80 lines (P1 + start of P2)
5. docs/context/HANDOFF.md (pointer check; if it points to another file, read that target ONLY if status: active)

Ungoverned project fallback: If docs/context/CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md does NOT exist:

• The project is NOT governed. Suggest /init-governance to the user.
• Produce a minimal briefing from CLAUDE.md alone (skip Steps 2-3).
• Note the missing governance structure in the briefing output.

Token budget for Step 1: ~25,000 tokens. This is the mandatory baseline.

Step 2 — Selective Context Loading (scoped to goal)

Uses the algorithm from ~/.claude/docs/GOVERNANCE-AGENT-GUIDE.md §5:

1. Read the CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md "Canonical Files" table — this lists ALL available context files with their path, role, and description fields.
2. Extract keywords from the user's goal — tokenize into meaningful terms.
3. Match keywords against manifest entries:
   • Compare goal keywords against each file's role and description fields
   • Score by keyword overlap (exact match > partial match > stem match)
   • Select the top 3-5 matching files
4. Load matched files:
   • For large files (GOTCHAS, CONVENTIONS): grep by goal keywords, do NOT read in full
   • For focused files (SCHEMAS-INDEX sections, architecture sections): read only the relevant section
   • For small files (<5KB): read in full
5. If no manifest entries match the goal keywords:
   • Load docs/context/CONVENTIONS.md (general code writing context)
   • Grep docs/context/GOTCHAS.md for any terms from the user's goal
   • Note limited context in the briefing output

Token budget for Step 2: ~30,000 tokens additional.

Step 3 — Stale signal detection

Quickly verify:

• Active handoff is status: active and consumed_at: pending (NOT consumed)
• Plans/PLAN.md has at least one status: IN_PROGRESS sub-plan, or note that none is active
• docs/context/MEMORY.md Active Summary is current (mentions the current version from version.json or equivalent)
• If any sub-plan is BLOCKED, surface the blocker

Step 4 — Compose briefing

Output a structured briefing:

[bootstrapper]
Project: <project name> (v<version> per version.json or equivalent)
Current rollout phase: <from PLAN.md active sub-plan status>

## Current Objective
<one sentence from PLAN.md or from user goal>

## Current State
- Active sub-plans: <list with status>
- Active handoff: <name + status + age>
- Recent milestones: <last 3 from PLAN.md milestone log>

## Allowed Scope (for this task)
<list of files/directories the user goal touches>

## No-Go Zones
<project-specific constraints extracted from CLAUDE.md — e.g., frozen deployments, read-only dirs, release gates>

## Stale Signals
<list, or "none">

## Next Safe Action
<one specific next step, with file paths>

## Read-These-First (if user wants to dive deep)
<top 3-5 file paths most relevant to the goal, sourced from CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md matches>

Total briefing output: ~400-800 tokens visible to user.

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Behavior contract

• Read-only. Never writes any file.
• Token-bounded. Step 1 <= 25K tokens, Step 2 <= 30K tokens, total <= 60K tokens.
• Hebrew briefing. All user-facing output in Hebrew. File paths and code in English.
• Honest about gaps. If a referenced file is missing or unreadable, surface it explicitly — do not silently skip.
• No assumptions about intent. If goal is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question before loading scoped context.
• Idempotent. Safe to invoke multiple times in a session — produces the same briefing for the same goal.
• Project-agnostic. Works with ANY governed project. All paths are discovered dynamically from CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md.

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Stop conditions

The skill stops and asks the user when:

1. Plans/PLAN.md has multiple sub-plans IN_PROGRESS (ambiguous current focus)
2. The active handoff is consumed but Plans/PLAN.md has not absorbed it
3. The user goal cannot be matched to any file in CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md AND no reasonable fallback exists
4. A canonical file referenced by the manifest is missing from disk
5. The project is not governed (no CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md) and CLAUDE.md is also absent

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Reference

• ~/.claude/docs/GOVERNANCE-AGENT-GUIDE.md §5 (Selective Context Loading algorithm)
• ~/.claude/docs/GOVERNANCE-AGENT-GUIDE.md §2 (Canonical File Layout)
• docs/context/CONTEXT-MANIFEST.md (project-specific canonical files list)
• Plans/PLAN.md (current sub-plans)