project-health

name	project-health
description	All-in-one project configuration and health management. Sets up new projects (settings.local.json, CLAUDE.md, .gitignore), audits existing projects (permissions, context quality, MCP coverage, leaked secrets, stale docs), tidies accumulated cruft, captures session learnings, and adds permission presets. Uses sub-agents for heavy analysis to keep main context clean. Trigger with 'project health', 'check project', 'setup project', 'kickoff', 'bootstrap', 'tidy permissions', 'clean settings', 'capture learnings', 'audit context', 'add python permissions', or 'init project'.
compatibility	claude-code-only

Project Health

One skill for everything about your project's Claude Code configuration. Run it at the start, middle, or end of a project — it figures out what's needed.

Goal: Zero permission prompts, well-organised context files, no cruft.

When to Use

You say...	What happens
"project health" / "check project"	Full audit: permissions + context + docs
"setup project" / "kickoff" / "bootstrap"	New project setup from scratch
"tidy permissions" / "clean settings"	Fix permissions file only
"capture learnings" / "update CLAUDE.md"	Save session discoveries
"add python" / "add docker permissions"	Add a preset to existing settings
"audit context" / "audit memory"	Context-focused audit only

Architecture: Sub-Agents

Heavy analysis runs in sub-agents to keep the main conversation clean. The main agent orchestrates; sub-agents do the scanning and return summaries.

Agent 1: Permission Auditor

Launched with Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose"). Prompt:

Read .claude/settings.local.json. Use ToolSearch to discover all connected MCP servers
(search "mcp" and extract unique server prefixes from tool names like mcp__vault__secret_list → vault).

Report:
1. MCP servers connected but NOT in settings (missing)
2. MCP servers in settings but NOT connected (stale)
3. Leaked secrets: entries containing API keys, tokens, bearer strings, hex >20 chars
4. Legacy colon syntax: entries like Bash(git:*) instead of Bash(git *)
5. Shell fragments: Bash(do), Bash(fi), Bash(then), Bash(else), Bash(done)
6. Duplicates: entries covered by a broader pattern (e.g. Bash(git add *) redundant if Bash(git *) exists)
7. Missing presets: based on files present, suggest presets from [permission-presets.md]

Return a structured summary, not raw data.

Agent 2: Context Auditor

Launched with Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose"). Prompt:

Audit the project context landscape at [repo-path]:

1. Find all CLAUDE.md files. For each:
   - Count lines (target: root 50-150, subdirs 15-50)
   - Score quality on 6 criteria (see quality-criteria.md)
   - Check for stale file/path references
   - Flag oversized files

2. Find .claude/rules/ topic files. Check sizes (target: 20-80 lines).

3. Detect project type from files present (see project-types.md).
   Check expected docs exist (ARCHITECTURE.md, DATABASE_SCHEMA.md, etc.)

4. Find public markdown (README.md, LICENSE, CONTRIBUTING.md).
   Check for overlap with CLAUDE.md content.

5. Check auto-memory at ~/.claude/projects/*/memory/MEMORY.md

Return: project type, quality scores, missing docs, stale refs, overlaps,
size violations, and total markdown footprint.

Parallel Execution

For a full health check, launch both agents in parallel:

Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", name: "permission-audit", prompt: "...")
Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", name: "context-audit", prompt: "...")

Both return summaries. The main agent combines them into one report and proposes fixes.

Mode 1: Full Health Check

The default. Run this anytime.

Steps

1. Launch Permission Auditor and Context Auditor agents in parallel

2. Combine findings into a single report:

   ## Project Health Report
   
   **Project type**: [detected type]
   **CLAUDE.md quality**: [score]/100 ([grade])
   
   ### Permissions
   - Missing MCP servers: [list]
   - Leaked secrets: [count] found
   - Legacy syntax: [count] entries
   - Missing presets: [list]
   
   ### Context
   - Oversized files: [list]
   - Stale references: [list]
   - Missing docs: [list]
   - Overlaps: [list]
   
   ### Recommended Fixes
   1. [fix 1]
   2. [fix 2]
   ...
   

3. Apply fixes after single yes/no confirmation

Mode 2: New Project Setup

When: No .claude/settings.local.json exists, or user says "setup" / "kickoff".

Steps

1. Detect project type from files present:

   Indicator	Type
   wrangler.jsonc or wrangler.toml	cloudflare-worker
   vercel.json or next.config.*	vercel-app
   package.json (no deploy target)	javascript-typescript
   pyproject.toml or setup.py or requirements.txt	python
   Cargo.toml	rust
   go.mod	go
   Gemfile or Rakefile	ruby
   composer.json or wp-config.php	php
   Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml	docker
   .claude/agents/ or operational scripts	ops-admin
   Empty directory	Ask the user

   Types stack (e.g. cloudflare-worker + javascript-typescript).

2. Generate .claude/settings.local.json:

   • Read references/permission-presets.md
   • Always include Universal Base
   • Add detected language + deployment presets
   • Launch Permission Auditor agent to discover MCP servers and add per-server wildcards
   • Always include WebSearch, WebFetch
   • Always include explicit gh subcommands (workaround for Bash(gh *) bug)
   • Write with // comment groups

3. Generate CLAUDE.md:

   • Read references/templates.md

Mode 3: Tidy Permissions

When: User says "tidy permissions" or health check found permission issues.

Launch the Permission Auditor agent, then apply its recommended fixes.

Mode 4: Capture Learnings

When: End of session, "capture learnings", "save what we learned".

This runs in the main context (not a sub-agent) because it needs access to the conversation history.

1. Review conversation for discoveries worth preserving
2. Decide placement:

   Applies to all projects?
   ├── YES → ~/.claude/rules/<topic>.md
   └── NO  → Specific to a subdirectory?
       ├── YES → <dir>/CLAUDE.md
       └── NO  → Reference or operational?
           ├── Reference → docs/ or ARCHITECTURE.md
           └── Operational → ./CLAUDE.md (root)
   

3. Draft all changes as diffs in a single batch
4. Apply after single yes/no confirmation

Keep it concise: one line per concept.

Mode 5: Add Preset

When: "add python permissions", "add docker", "add MCP servers".

1. Read the preset from references/permission-presets.md
2. Read existing .claude/settings.local.json
3. Merge without duplicating
4. Remind: session restart required

Mode 6: Restructure Context

When: Root CLAUDE.md over 200 lines, "restructure memory".

1. Launch Context Auditor agent first
2. Based on findings:
   • Split oversized CLAUDE.md into .claude/rules/<topic>.md
   • Extract directory-specific content to sub-directory CLAUDE.md
   • Move reference material to docs/
   • Resolve overlaps
   • Create missing docs for project type
3. Present plan, apply after approval

Size Targets

File	Target	Maximum
Root CLAUDE.md	50-150 lines	200
Sub-directory CLAUDE.md	15-50 lines	80
Rules topic file	20-80 lines	120

Permission Syntax Quick Reference

Pattern	Meaning
Bash(git *)	Preferred — space before * = word boundary
Bash(nvidia-smi)	Exact match, no arguments
WebFetch	Blanket web fetch
WebSearch	Blanket web search
mcp__brain__*	All tools on one MCP server

What Does NOT Work

Pattern	Why
mcp__*	Wildcard doesn't cross __ boundary
mcp__*__*	Still doesn't work
Bash(git:*)	Deprecated colon syntax (works but prefer space)

Important Behaviours

• Not hot-reloaded: settings.local.json edits need session restart
• "Don't ask again" injects at runtime (no restart) using colon format — normal
• Shadows, not merges: Project settings completely replace global
• gh bug: Bash(gh *) sometimes misses subcommands — include explicit Bash(gh issue *) etc.

Autonomy

• Just do it: Detect project type, launch audit agents, discover MCP servers
• Brief confirmation: Write/update files (single batch yes/no)
• Ask first: git init, GitHub repo, delete existing content, major restructures

Reference Files

When	Read
Building permission presets	references/permission-presets.md
Generating CLAUDE.md, .gitignore	references/templates.md
Scoring CLAUDE.md quality	references/quality-criteria.md
Detecting project type + expected docs	references/project-types.md
Setting up commit capture hook	references/commit-hook.md