js-project-init

name	js-project-init
description	Initialize a new JavaScript project with ES modules, functional style, prettier, eslint, editorconfig, vitest, and gitignore. Use this skill whenever the user wants to start a new JS project, scaffold a Node.js app, create a new package, bootstrap a JavaScript repo, or says things like "init a new project", "set up a JS project", "create a new node app", "start a new frontend project", or "bootstrap a new package". Also trigger when the user asks to add standard JS tooling (linting, formatting, testing) to an empty or near-empty directory.
user-invocable	true

JavaScript Project Initializer

Scaffold a new JavaScript project with opinionated defaults for ES modules, functional development, and modern tooling. Goal: zero to working/linted/tested in under a minute, with every config file explained and customizable.

Defaults:

• Package manager: npm
• Module system: ES Modules ("type": "module")
• Style: functional — no classes, prefer const, no mutation
• Formatter: Prettier (2-space indent, single quotes, trailing commas, 100-char width)
• Linter: ESLint flat config with functional rules
• Editor: EditorConfig (2-space, UTF-8, LF, trim trailing whitespace, final newline)
• Tests: Vitest
• E2E (frontend only): Playwright
• Git hooks: Husky pre-push (lint + format check + test)
• .gitignore: node_modules, dist, build, coverage, .env, .env.*, OS files

This skill scaffolds the base tooling layer. It does not replace framework-specific CLIs (npx sv create, ng new, npm create vite@latest). For a full framework scaffold, run the framework CLI first, then layer on these configs.

Workflow

Step 1: Present defaults and confirm

Present the defaults above to the user and ask: "Want to change anything, or should I go ahead?" Include Playwright in the summary only if the user mentions a frontend project (React, Svelte, Angular, Vue, Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, UI, web app, dashboard). Wait for confirmation before writing files.

Step 2: Initialize package.json

npm init -y

Read the generated package.json, then edit to:

• Add "type": "module"
• Add the scripts block below
• Remove fields that don't apply (e.g., "main" for non-libraries)

{
  "scripts": {
    "test": "vitest run",
    "test:watch": "vitest",
    "test:coverage": "vitest run --coverage",
    "lint": "eslint .",
    "lint:fix": "eslint . --fix",
    "format": "prettier --write .",
    "format:check": "prettier --check .",
    "prepare": "husky"
  }
}

Frontend projects also add: "test:e2e": "playwright test".

Step 3: Install dependencies

npm install -D eslint prettier vitest @eslint/js eslint-config-prettier husky

eslint-config-prettier disables ESLint rules that conflict with Prettier. Do NOT install eslint-plugin-prettier — run Prettier as a separate step (npm run format:check), not through ESLint.

Frontend projects also:

npm install -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install

Step 4: Create config files

Templates: references/configs.md. Required files:

1. eslint.config.js — flat config with functional rules (no classes, prefer const, no var, no param reassign)
2. prettier.config.js — 2-space, single quotes, trailing commas, 100-char width
3. .editorconfig — 2-space, UTF-8, LF, trim trailing whitespace, final newline
4. .gitignore — node_modules, dist, build, coverage, .env, .env.*, OS files (DS_Store, Thumbs.db)
5. vitest.config.js — minimal config pointing at test files
6. (frontend) playwright.config.js — chromium, sensible defaults

Step 5: Create starter files

src/index.js        — single exported pure function with JSDoc (e.g., greet or add)
src/index.test.js   — one passing vitest test for the starter function

Frontend projects also create e2e/example.spec.js — one Playwright placeholder.

Step 6: Git hooks

git init  # skip if already a git repo
npx husky init

Create the pre-push hook (template in references/configs.md):

echo 'npm run lint
npm run format:check
npm test' > .husky/pre-push

Remove Husky's default pre-commit hook (we use pre-push instead):

rm .husky/pre-commit

Frontend projects append e2e:

echo 'npm run test:e2e' >> .husky/pre-push

Pre-push gates what goes upstream while keeping the local commit loop fast.

Step 7: Verify

npm run lint
npm run format:check
npm test

If any command fails, fix it before reporting success. Show the user the test output.

Step 8: Summary

After everything passes, give the user:

• List of files created
• Available npm scripts
• One-line next-step suggestion (e.g., npm run test:watch to develop with live tests)

Customization handling

If the user changes Step 1 defaults:

Request	Update
Different indent size	prettier config, editorconfig, eslint indent rule
Tabs instead of spaces	prettier (useTabs: true), editorconfig (indent_style = tab)
Double quotes	prettier (singleQuote: false)
Different print width	prettier config
Semicolons	prettier (semi: true/false)
Yarn / pnpm	substitute the package manager in all install commands; adjust scripts if needed
TypeScript	This skill is JS-only — suggest a TS-specific scaffold
Additional ESLint plugins	install and add to the flat config array