cl-project-init

name

cl-project-init

description

Initialize a new company project from scratch. Use when creating any new project for YourCompany — SaaS web apps (Next.js), Python scripts/tools, or standalone libraries. Sets up directory structure, CLAUDE.md, .gitignore, .env.example, JetBrains IDE support, brand conventions, and gets you coding immediately. Triggers on "start a new project", "create a new CL project", "initialize a project", "new SaaS app", "set up a Python tool for CL", "scaffold a project".

YourCompany Project Initializer

Spins up any YourCompany project with consistent structure, brand conventions, and tooling.

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Project Info

Ask for ONLY what's missing. If the user's message already provides it, skip asking.

Required:

• Project name (e.g., "QuickSort", "MarketWatch")
• Project type: nextjs-saas | python | library

Infer these (only ask if genuinely ambiguous):

• Short description → default to "A company [type] project"
• Needs database → default yes for SaaS, no for Python
• GitHub repo name → kebab-case of project name

Never ask about brand colors, fonts, or standard tooling — always the same.

Step 2: Load the Reference

Read the relevant reference based on project type before creating files:

• Next.js SaaS → read references/saas-nextjs.md
• Python → read references/python.md
• UI/frontend work → also read references/brand.md

Step 3: Create the Project

Run the project creation script to scaffold everything:

python3 ~/.claude/skills/cl-project-init/scripts/create_project.py \
  --name "PROJECT_NAME" \
  --type nextjs-saas|python|library \
  --description "SHORT DESCRIPTION" \
  [--path /target/directory]

The script creates the base structure. Then apply type-specific content from the reference file.

Step 4: Finalize & Commit

cd [project-dir]
git init
git add .
git commit -m "chore: initialize [project-name] project"

Step 5: Report Results

Give the user:

• List of created files/dirs
• Next steps (install deps, set env vars, GitHub repo creation, AWS Amplify setup)
• Any manual steps (e.g., creating GitHub repo, provisioning RDS, configuring Amplify)

Quick Decisions

Decision	Answer
Package manager	npm (consistent with CL main project)
Language	TypeScript, strict mode
CSS framework	Tailwind CSS with CL brand colors
Auth	NextAuth v5
ORM	Prisma + PostgreSQL
Python version	3.12
.env	Always .env.example, never commit .env
IDE	JetBrains — covered by .gitignore, no extra files needed