| name | spar-init |
| description | After install or on demand, complete the repo-local spar-kit setup by checking version freshness, AGENTS.md, .spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml, and .gitignore hygiene; make safe repairs or recommendations, then finish with a short handoff to spar-specify. |
Init
Run after spar-kit is installed in a project, or when the user wants a setup check. Treat this as a post-install verification and light repair pass for the repo-local SPAR bundle.
What this skill delivers
Work through these areas in order unless blocked:
- Version check - compare upstream
VERSION to local .spar-kit/VERSION.
- Tool verify-install-sync - seed or update
.spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml.
AGENTS.md recommendation - encourage a short, effective AGENTS.md for lower token usage and clearer agent behavior..gitignore hygiene check - recommend ignoring .spar-kit/.local/ when needed.- Closeout - a short summary and a recommendation to use
spar-specify.
1. Version check
First confirm repository root and note .spar-kit/VERSION.
- Canonical: fetch
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Jed-Tech/spar-kit/main/VERSION
- Local:
<repo>/.spar-kit/VERSION
- Compare using SemVer ordering, not string sorting.
- If local is missing, invalid, unreadable, or behind upstream: treat the install as stale.
- If canonical cannot be fetched: warn that the version check was skipped and continue the rest of init.
When stale:
- Do not hand-edit
.spar-kit/VERSION.
- Recommend rerunning the current install path:
- If the user wants help, explain that reinstall is the supported way to refresh the repo-local SPAR bundle.
2. Tool verify-install-sync
Use only .spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml.
Tool state file
- Run checks across the full tool set and record missing tools.
- If
.spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml includes optional recommended tools, check and record their installation status as well.
- Batch checks into one command when practical so the user is not prompted separately for each tool.
- Continue checking the remaining tools even if one tool is missing or fails.
- Capture
checked_at in the same batched command when practical so the user is not prompted separately for the timestamp.
- Prefer Node for cross-platform UTC timestamp generation:
new Date().toISOString().replace(/\.\d{3}Z$/, "Z").
- Do not run a second timestamp command if the first timestamp capture succeeds.
- If required tools are missing, install them automatically when your permissions allow.
- Do not auto-install optional recommended tools unless the user explicitly asks.
- Re-check tools that had install attempts, then communicate the final post-install result.
- Preserve the existing
tools.yaml structure and update entries in place.
- For each tool entry, maintain
installed, version (when available), and reason (when missing/failing) consistently.
- Update
checked_at once after the completed full pass.
- Respect
when rules (for example, uv when the repo uses Python tooling).
- Missing optional recommended tools should be recorded with
installed: false and a short reason, but should not be reported as blockers.
If .spar-kit/.local/ cannot be written, summarize tool presence in chat instead.
3. AGENTS.md recommendation
AGENTS.md includes a brief description of how to use spar-kit. That guidance is essential and should be kept.
Check how many lines AGENTS.md contains. If it is longer than 60 lines, give this lightweight recommendation (using natural language):
- shorter
AGENTS.md files are usually better for agent focus and lower token usage
- keep instructions crisp, specific, non-redundant, and relevant to most agent communications.
- avoid turning
AGENTS.md into a long instruction list.
If AGENTS.md is longer than 60 lines, surface this recommendation when found instead of saving it only for closeout, and ask whether the user wants help trimming it.
If the user wants help optimizing AGENTS.md, keep the guidance brief and preserve the intended SPAR instructions.
4. .gitignore hygiene check
Treat .gitignore as a follow-up hygiene check, not part of install.
- If this is a git repo, check whether
.spar-kit/.local/ is ignored.
- If it is not ignored, recommend that the user add it as ignored.
- Offer the exact line to add, then modify
.gitignore only after explicit user consent.
5. Closeout
Keep the wrap-up short:
- what was verified or fixed
- what still needs user action, if anything
- briefly confirm SPAR is ready, note any remaining user action, and recommend
spar-specify for the next change
Example shape:
SPAR initialization is complete. Verified version, AGENTS.md length, and tool state. You are ready to start utilizing SPAR-kit. Mention spar-specify when starting your next feature or change.
Stop conditions
Stop and ask when:
.spar-kit/VERSION cannot be checked and the repo-local SPAR bundle is obviously incompleteAGENTS.md is missing or malformed and a safe repair source is not available; explain the issue with an enthusiastic, constructive recommendation for the safest next step.spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml cannot be seeded and the local directory cannot be written
Do not use destructive workarounds.
Completion
Initialization is complete when:
- version check ran or was skipped with warning
AGENTS.md length was checked and a recommendation was given when useful.spar-kit/.local/tools.yaml was updated or tool state was summarized- the closeout is short and points to
spar-specify
