Scaffolds the minimum repository structure required by session-orchestrator. Invoked automatically by the Bootstrap Gate when CLAUDE.md, Session Config, or bootstrap.lock is missing. Also available as /bootstrap for manual invocation. Three intensity tiers: fast (demos/spikes), standard (MVPs), deep (production/team).
This skill runs when the Bootstrap Gate is closed (missing CLAUDE.md, Session Config, or .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock) or when the user invokes /bootstrap directly. It scaffolds the minimum structure required by all session-orchestrator skills, commits it, and writes the lock file that opens the gate for all future invocations.
Anti-bureaucracy contract: At most ONE AskUserQuestion call in the normal case (tier confirmation). A second question is only asked when the archetype is truly ambiguous on the Public Path for Standard/Deep tiers. No wizard, no multi-step flow.
Before starting, determine how this skill was invoked:
/bootstrap): User invoked manually. Parse for flags: , , , , . See for flag semantics.$ARGUMENTS--fast--standard--deep--upgrade <tier>--retroactivecommands/bootstrap.mdStore INVOCATION_MODE = transitive | direct.
Mode dispatch (direct invocation only):
--upgrade <tier> is present in $ARGUMENTS: jump to Upgrade Flow section. Do not proceed to Phase 1.--retroactive is present in $ARGUMENTS: jump to Retroactive Flow section. Do not proceed to Phase 1.Before dispatching to any tier template, read skills/bootstrap/public-fallback.md and execute Step 1 (PATH_TYPE detection). Store the result as PATH_TYPE = private | public. This detection is silent — no user interaction.
private: plan-baseline-path is present in Session Config AND the path exists on disk. Baseline templates will be used for CLAUDE.md generation and archetype file sourcing.public: plan-baseline-path is absent, empty, or points to a non-existent path. Plugin-bundled templates from templates/ will be used.Pass PATH_TYPE into Phase 1 and all subsequent phases. All tier templates (fast-template.md, standard-template.md, deep-template.md) must consult public-fallback.md for CLAUDE.md generation and archetype file sourcing when PATH_TYPE = public.
Read skills/bootstrap/intensity-heuristic.md and execute the tier + archetype recommendation algorithm.
Inputs to the heuristic:
basename $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) (secondary signal)ls -la of repo root (presence of package.json, pyproject.toml, etc. shifts archetype)--fast, --standard, or --deep is present, skip heuristic and use the specified tier directlyOutput from Phase 1:
RECOMMENDED_TIER = fast | standard | deepRECOMMENDED_ARCHETYPE = static-html | node-minimal | nextjs-minimal | python-uv | nullHEURISTIC_REASON = one-sentence explanation of why this tier was chosen (shown to user)PATH_TYPE = private (plan-baseline-path configured and path exists) | public (no baseline)Detecting PATH_TYPE: Already determined in Phase 0.5 — use the stored PATH_TYPE value. Do not re-run detection.
Fast tier: RECOMMENDED_ARCHETYPE is always null. No stack selection needed.
Present exactly one AskUserQuestion unless:
$ARGUMENTS includes --fast, --standard, or --deep (tier pre-selected, skip question)--retroactive flag (no scaffolding at all, skip to Phase 4)AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "Leeres Repo erkannt. Basierend auf '<HEURISTIC_REASON>' empfehle ich **<RECOMMENDED_TIER>**. Passt das?",
header: "Bootstrap",
options: [
{ label: "<RECOMMENDED_TIER> (Empfohlen)", description: "<one-line description of what this tier scaffolds>" },
{ label: "fast", description: "Nur CLAUDE.md + .gitignore + README. Für Demos, Spikes, Playgrounds." },
{ label: "standard", description: "Fast + package.json/Manifest + TypeScript + Linting + Tests. Für MVPs und echte Produkte." },
{ label: "deep", description: "Standard + CI + CODEOWNERS + CHANGELOG. Für Production, Team, Langlebige Repos." },
{ label: "Abbrechen", description: "Bootstrap abbrechen. Das ursprüngliche Kommando wird ebenfalls abgebrochen." }
],
multiSelect: false
}]
})
If user selects "Abbrechen": stop. Report "Bootstrap abgebrochen. Kein Kommando wird ausgeführt." Do not continue.
Store confirmed tier as CONFIRMED_TIER.
If ALL of the following are true:
PATH_TYPE = publicCONFIRMED_TIER is standard or deepintensity-heuristic.md returned ARCHETYPE_CONFIDENCE = low (truly ambiguous)Then ask one more question — and only then:
AskUserQuestion({
questions: [{
question: "Welchen Tech-Stack soll ich für das Grundgerüst verwenden?",
header: "Archetype",
options: [
{ label: "node-minimal", description: "package.json + TypeScript + Vitest. Für CLIs, Tools, Libraries." },
{ label: "nextjs-minimal", description: "Next.js bare setup. Für Web Apps, SaaS, Fullstack." },
{ label: "static-html", description: "HTML/CSS/JS, kein Build-Step. Für Animationen, Landingpages, Visualisierungen." },
{ label: "python-uv", description: "pyproject.toml + uv + pytest. Für Python Scripts, APIs, ML." }
],
multiSelect: false
}]
})
Store as CONFIRMED_ARCHETYPE. Maximum interactions in bootstrap flow: 2 questions total.
--upgrade <tier>)Entered when $ARGUMENTS contains --upgrade <tier>. No scaffolding questions are asked.
Steps:
Read existing lock. Read .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock. If missing, abort with: Error: No bootstrap.lock found. Run /bootstrap first to bootstrap this repo.
Parse current and target tier.
CURRENT_TIER = value of tier: field in the lock file.TARGET_TIER = the <tier> argument supplied after --upgrade.fast | standard | deep.Refuse downgrade. Tier order: fast < standard < deep. If TARGET_TIER ranks lower than or equal to CURRENT_TIER, abort with:
Error: Cannot downgrade from <CURRENT_TIER> to <TARGET_TIER>. Upgrade path is one-directional (fast → standard → deep).
Exit non-zero.
Compute delta. Determine which files the target tier adds over the current tier:
fast → standard: all Standard-tier files (package.json/pyproject.toml, tsconfig.json, eslint.config.mjs, .prettierrc, .editorconfig, tests/, src/)standard → deep: all Deep-tier files (CI pipeline, CODEOWNERS, CHANGELOG.md, issue templates, MR/PR template, branch protection)fast → deep: union of both deltas (apply Standard first, then Deep)Check idempotency. For each file in the delta, skip if it already exists on disk. Only write files that are absent. This makes the operation safe to run twice.
Apply delta files. Execute only the relevant template steps for the missing files. Read the appropriate template (standard-template.md and/or deep-template.md) and execute ONLY the steps that produce the delta files. Do NOT re-run already-completed steps.
Update bootstrap.lock atomically. Overwrite .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock with tier: <TARGET_TIER>. Preserve archetype, timestamp (update to now), and source from the existing lock.
Commit. Stage only the delta files that were just written and commit:
# DELTA_FILES must be populated with the explicit list of files written in step 6
for _f in "${DELTA_FILES[@]}"; do
[[ -e "$_f" ]] && git add -- "$_f"
done
git commit -m "chore: bootstrap upgrade to <TARGET_TIER>"
Report. Print a one-line summary: Bootstrap upgraded from <CURRENT_TIER> to <TARGET_TIER>. <N> files added.
--retroactive)Entered when $ARGUMENTS contains --retroactive. No scaffolding changes are made — only the lock file is written.
Purpose: Adopt an existing repo that already has CLAUDE.md + ## Session Config but was bootstrapped manually (no bootstrap.lock). Writes the lock so the gate passes on all future invocations.
Steps:
Verify preconditions. Confirm CLAUDE.md (or AGENTS.md) exists and contains ## Session Config. If not, abort: Error: CLAUDE.md with Session Config required for retroactive bootstrap.
Check lock not already present. If .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock already exists and has valid version + tier fields, report: bootstrap.lock already present (tier: <tier>). Nothing to do. and exit 0 (idempotent).
Infer tier from file inventory. Examine the repo root:
| Condition (evaluated in order) | Inferred Tier |
|---|---|
CI file present (.gitlab-ci.yml OR .github/workflows/) AND CHANGELOG.md present | deep |
Package manifest present (package.json OR pyproject.toml) | standard |
| Neither of the above | fast |
Store as INFERRED_TIER.
Infer archetype. Best-effort detection from existing files:
pyproject.toml present → python-uvpackage.json with next in dependencies → nextjs-minimalpackage.json without next → node-minimalnullStore as INFERRED_ARCHETYPE.
Write bootstrap.lock. Create .orchestrator/ if needed, then write:
# .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock
version: 1
tier: <INFERRED_TIER>
archetype: <INFERRED_ARCHETYPE or null>
timestamp: <current ISO 8601 UTC>
source: retroactive
Commit. Stage lock file only and commit:
mkdir -p .orchestrator
git add .orchestrator/bootstrap.lock
git commit -m "chore: bootstrap lock (retroactive)"
Report. Print: Retroactive bootstrap complete. Lock written (tier: <INFERRED_TIER>, source: retroactive). No files were changed.
Based on CONFIRMED_TIER, read and execute the corresponding template file:
| Tier | Template File |
|---|---|
fast | skills/bootstrap/fast-template.md |
standard | skills/bootstrap/standard-template.md |
deep | skills/bootstrap/deep-template.md |
Pass the following context into the template execution:
CONFIRMED_TIERCONFIRMED_ARCHETYPEPATH_TYPEREPO_ROOT = $(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)REPO_NAME = $(basename "$REPO_ROOT")PLATFORM = detected platform from skills/_shared/platform-tools.mdFollow the template's instructions precisely. The template is responsible for creating all files and the initial git commit.
Platform note for CLAUDE.md generation:
When PATH_TYPE = public, read skills/bootstrap/public-fallback.md for the full platform-specific CLAUDE.md generation logic (claude init path for Claude Code; _minimal template synthesis for Codex/Cursor). When PATH_TYPE = private, use the baseline scripts at $BASELINE_PATH.
Closes session-orchestrator issue #110.
After the tier template completes scaffolding (Phase 3), the Standard and Deep templates run an optional rules-fetch step that pulls canonical .claude/rules/*.md (and optionally .claude/agents/*.md) directly from the baseline GitLab project. The step is opt-in and only fires when:
baseline-ref is present in Session ConfigGITLAB_TOKEN env var is setscripts/lib/fetch-baseline.sh is present in the pluginWhen triggered, the step:
scripts/lib/fetch-baseline.sh (defines fetch_baseline_file, fetch_baseline_files_batch, write_baseline_fetch_lock)baseline-project-id (default 52) at the configured baseline-ref.claude/.baseline-fetch.lock recording what was fetched.claude/.baseline-cache/ for offline fallback on subsequent invocationsWhen the fetch fails (network error, auth, missing file), bootstrap does not abort. Rules will arrive in the repo via Clank's weekly baseline sync MRs (the legacy path). A warning is printed.
Why opt-in: Repos without baseline-ref continue to receive rules via the existing Clank sync flow. The fetch bridge is a faster on-demand alternative for newly-bootstrapped repos that want current rules immediately.
Local edits: Re-running bootstrap with baseline-ref set will overwrite .claude/rules/*.md (rules are canonical). Repo-specific extensions belong in .claude/rules/local/*.md (not fetched, not overwritten).
See standard-template.md (Step S99) and deep-template.md (Step D99) for the implementation, and docs/session-config-reference.md for the baseline-ref and baseline-project-id field definitions.
.claude/.baseline-fetch.lock SchemaThe lock file is committed to git and records what was fetched.
# .claude/.baseline-fetch.lock