| name | newbook |
| description | Scaffold a new book project — folders, memoir-based LaTeX skeleton, custom style with voiced sidebars, bibliography stub, CLAUDE.md, README, and a chapter-per-file structure that converts cleanly to HTML later. Use at the start of a book project to get a compileable skeleton in one step. Parallel to /newproject and /bibcheck. |
| allowed-tools | Bash(mkdir*), Bash(cp*), Bash(ls*), Bash(pdflatex*), Bash(touch*), Read, Write, Edit |
| argument-hint | [book-slug] [optional --title="Title"] [optional --chapters=N] |
Newbook: Scaffold a Book Project
Scaffold the standard structure Scott uses for a long-form book: memoir-based LaTeX, Palatino body, Gov-2001 palette, voiced-sidebar callouts, one chapter per file, a bibliography stub, a CLAUDE.md with voice and lineage rules, and a README.
This is the skill that produced AI Agents and the Research Worker. Use it any time a book-shaped project is starting.
When this skill is invoked
The user is starting a book or book-shaped manuscript. They will give a slug (the folder name) and optionally a title and a chapter count.
Step 1: Get the arguments
- Slug (required): the folder name. Convert spaces to dashes; lowercase. If absent, ask.
- Title (optional, default = title-case of the slug): the book's working title.
- Chapter count (optional, default = 11): how many numbered chapters to scaffold (plus
00_frontmatter and an unnumbered conclusion).
If unclear, ask before scaffolding. Do not guess.
Step 2: Confirm location
Default location is the current working directory. Confirm if the user has not stated where. If a folder with the slug already exists and is non-empty, stop and ask whether to continue (this skill never overwrites).
Step 3: Create the directory structure
mkdir -p <slug>/{chapters,style,bibliography,correspondence,decks,figures,code,drafts,progress_logs,substacks}
Step 4: Write the core files
Each file below is written from a template in this skill's templates/ directory. Substitute __TITLE__, __SLUG__, __AUTHOR__, __DATE__, and __CHAPTERS__ per the arguments.
| File | Source template |
|---|
<slug>/book.tex | templates/book.tex.tmpl |
<slug>/style/<slug>.sty | templates/style.sty.tmpl |
<slug>/CLAUDE.md | templates/CLAUDE.md.tmpl |
<slug>/README.md | templates/README.md.tmpl |
<slug>/bibliography/<slug>.bib | templates/bib.bib.tmpl |
<slug>/decks/README.md | templates/decks_README.md.tmpl |
<slug>/chapters/00_frontmatter.tex | templates/00_frontmatter.tex.tmpl |
<slug>/chapters/NN_<name>.tex (one per chapter) | templates/chapter.tex.tmpl |
<slug>/progress_logs/__DATE__-setup.md | templates/progress_log.md.tmpl |
For the chapter stubs, generate 01.tex through <N>.tex (default 11) with placeholder titles like Chapter <n> that the user will replace. Each stub contains a \chapter{}, a % SUBSTACK MAP: placeholder block, a TODO bullet list, and one example \voice{Verifier}{...} sidebar.
Step 5: Sanity compile
Run pdflatex book.tex once and report whether it compiled. Do not require zero warnings on the first compile — the skeleton is a starting point, not a finished book.
Step 6: Report
Show the user:
<slug>/ scaffolded.
Title: <title>
Chapters: <N> + frontmatter + conclusion stub
Compile: <pdflatex book.tex> succeeded / had warnings (see book.log)
Next steps:
- Open CLAUDE.md and edit the voice cast and lineage rules for this book.
- Open chapters/01.tex and replace the placeholder title.
- Run /bibcheck bibliography/<slug>.bib once you have real entries.
Design decisions baked into the templates
- memoir as the document class. Maximum flexibility; converts cleanly to HTML for online versions.
- Palatino via
mathpazo (Palatino math is included; no eulervm because it's not in TinyTeX by default).
- Gov 2001 palette (charcoal, slate, ocean, forest, crimson, warmgray, lightbg).
- Voiced sidebars via
\voice{<name>}{<text>} — named voices have fixed colors; unknown voices fall to charcoal.
idea and warn callouts as tcolorbox environments.- One chapter per file under
chapters/, all \input-ed from book.tex. Enables HTML conversion later.
\graphicspath{{figures/}{substacks/}} — figures from either folder work without per-include path.\flushbottom + \emergencystretch=3em — fewer overfull-hbox warnings on book-length text.\documentclass[..., openany]{memoir} — chapters do not force right-side opens (cleaner page count for skeleton).
Voice cast (default — user customizes via CLAUDE.md)
| Voice | Color |
|---|
| Fisher | slate |
| Ricardo / Thompson | warmgray |
| Skeptic | charcoal |
| Manager | ocean |
| IC | forest |
| Verifier | crimson |
| Goldin / Katz / Autor / Acemoglu | ocean |
| Schumpeter | warmgray |
User adds or renames voices in style/<slug>.sty and documents the cast in CLAUDE.md.
What this skill does NOT do
- It does not write prose. It writes stubs.
- It does not invent citations. The
.bib is empty until the user provides entries.
- It does not run
biber or process bibliography. The first compile is pdflatex only; once entries exist, the user runs the full chain.
- It does not push to GitHub. That is a separate user action.
