| name | pacto-init |
| description | Agent contract for the Pacto init workflow. |
Pacto Init Skill
Use this skill as an agent contract for the init workflow in Pacto projects.
Objective
Initialize a project-local Pacto workspace.
When To Use
Use once per project to create canonical .pacto/plans workspace scaffolding.
Input Contract
Required Inputs
- User intent answers captured through a short interview (problem, users, goals, constraints, success criteria).
Optional Inputs
--root <path> to initialize a specific project root.
--with-agents to manage optional AGENTS.md hand-off block.
--force to overwrite init-managed files.
- Optional product context details (non-goals, risks, rollout notes) to enrich
prd.md.
Execution Contract
- Tool target: Cursor Agent and Codex (project skills under .agents/skills/)
- Recommended command: pacto init
Output Contract
- Creates canonical state directories and template files under
.pacto/plans.
- Reports created/updated/skipped items.
PACTO.md under plans root remains canonical; AGENTS.md is optional hand-off only.
- Optionally creates or updates managed Pacto block in
AGENTS.md.
- Creates or updates project-root
prd.md with a basic PRD skeleton based on user interview answers.
Validation Checklist
- Confirm
.pacto/plans/{current,to-implement,done,outdated} exist.
- Confirm core docs (
README.md, PACTO.md) exist.
- When
--with-agents, confirm managed block markers are present in AGENTS.md.
- Confirm the agent asked clarifying intent questions before drafting
prd.md.
- Confirm
prd.md includes at least: problem, goals, non-goals, users, scope, success metrics, open questions.
Failure Modes and Handling
- State path already exists as non-directory.
- Filesystem permission errors while creating workspace.
- Force-less init skips existing managed files by design.
- Insufficient product intent from user to draft a useful PRD.
Implementation Status
- Status: Implemented
- Fallback: If intent is unclear, ask follow-up questions and create
prd.md with explicit assumptions/open questions before proceeding.