---

name: init description: Bootstrap .adlc/ structure in a new repo or subdirectory argument-hint: Optional target directory (defaults to current directory)

/init — Bootstrap ADLC Structure

You are setting up the .adlc/ directory structure for spec-driven development.

Ethos

!sh .adlc/partials/ethos-include.sh 2>/dev/null || sh ~/.claude/skills/partials/ethos-include.sh

Input

Target: $ARGUMENTS

Instructions

Step 1: Determine Target Directory

1. If given a path, use that as the target
2. If no argument, use the current working directory
3. Check if .adlc/ already exists — if so, report what's already there and ask if the user wants to reinitialize or fill gaps

Step 2: Gather Project Context

Ask the user for the following (skip any that are already known from existing files):

1. Project name — What is this project called?
2. What it does — One paragraph description
3. Tech stack — Languages, frameworks, databases, cloud providers
4. Project scope — What's in scope vs out of scope
5. Key architectural patterns — Layered? Microservices? Monolith?

If a CLAUDE.md, README.md, or package.json exists, extract this info automatically and confirm with the user instead of asking.

Step 3: Create Directory Structure

.adlc/
  ETHOS.md               # Copy of ~/.claude/skills/ETHOS.md — ensures skills work inside git worktrees
  context/
    project-overview.md    # What the project does, tech stack, scope
    architecture.md        # System diagram, layers, key patterns, ADRs
    conventions.md         # File organization, naming, testing, git conventions
    taxonomy.md            # Retrieval tag vocabulary (component/domain/stack/concerns)
  specs/
    .gitkeep
  bugs/
    .gitkeep
  knowledge/
    assumptions/
      .gitkeep
    lessons/
      .gitkeep
  templates/             # Copies of ~/.claude/skills/templates/*.md — ensures skills work inside git worktrees
    assumption-template.md
    bug-template.md
    lesson-template.md
    requirement-template.md
    task-template.md
  partials/              # Copies of ~/.claude/skills/partials/*.sh — shared shell snippets sourced by SKILL.md files
    ethos-include.sh
  workflows/             # Copies of ~/.claude/skills/workflows/ RUNTIME files only — Dynamic Workflow scripts used by the workflow engine
    adlc-sprint.workflow.js   # ONE self-contained file: meta first, schemas + pure helpers inlined behind // ==== BEGIN/END PURE ==== (runtime has no require)
    README.md            # NOTE: workflows/tests/ is intentionally NOT copied — those are toolkit-internal node:test files (CommonJS require) that break Jest in "type":"module" consumer repos (see Step 6)

Why the local copies of ETHOS.md, templates, partials, and workflows? Claude Code's sandbox blocks the Read tool from accessing paths outside the current working directory. When a skill runs inside a git worktree (e.g., .claude/worktrees/<name>/), ~/.claude/skills/ETHOS.md, ~/.claude/skills/templates/*.md, ~/.claude/skills/partials/*.sh, and ~/.claude/skills/workflows/* become unreadable by subagents and any tool that uses Read mid-skill. Keeping copies under .adlc/ makes the toolkit work identically in main checkouts and worktrees.

Step 4: Populate Context Files

project-overview.md — Based on user input or existing docs:

# {Project Name} — Project Overview

## What It Does
{description}

## Tech Stack
{tech stack table or list}

## Project Scope
{in scope / out of scope}

architecture.md — Initial structure:

# {Project Name} — Architecture

## System Diagram
{ASCII diagram of major components}

## Layers
{description of architectural layers}

## Key Patterns
{important patterns used in the codebase}

## ADRs
(Add architectural decision records here as decisions are made)

conventions.md — Based on project analysis:

# {Project Name} — Conventions

## File Organization
{directory structure}

## Naming
{naming conventions per language}

## Testing
{test framework, conventions, coverage requirements}

## Error Handling
{error handling patterns}

## Git Conventions
{branch naming, commit messages, PR process}

Step 5: Update .gitignore

Add the following entries to the project's .gitignore (create it if it doesn't exist):

# ADLC worktrees (used by /proceed for parallel session isolation)
.worktrees/

# Claude Code per-user permission overrides (team settings live in .claude/settings.json)
.claude/settings.local.json

# ADLC ID counters are global (~/.claude/.global-next-req, ~/.claude/.global-next-bug, ~/.claude/.global-next-lesson) — not per-project
# Legacy per-project counters (deprecated, no longer read/written — ignored if present)
.adlc/.next-bug
.adlc/.next-req
.adlc/.next-lesson

Step 6: Copy ETHOS.md and Templates Into the Project

Copy the canonical ETHOS.md and all templates from the toolkit into the project so skills keep working inside git worktrees (where Read is sandboxed to the worktree root).

# Verify source exists
if [ ! -f ~/.claude/skills/ETHOS.md ] || [ ! -d ~/.claude/skills/templates ] || [ ! -d ~/.claude/skills/partials ] || [ ! -d ~/.claude/skills/workflows ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Toolkit not found at ~/.claude/skills/. Ensure ~/.claude/skills is symlinked to the adlc-toolkit repo."
  exit 1
fi

# Copy ETHOS.md (overwrite — canonical is source of truth)
cp ~/.claude/skills/ETHOS.md .adlc/ETHOS.md

# Copy templates (overwrite — canonical is source of truth)
mkdir -p .adlc/templates
cp ~/.claude/skills/templates/*.md .adlc/templates/

# Copy partials (overwrite — canonical is source of truth). These are POSIX
# shell snippets sourced by SKILL.md files (e.g., ethos-include.sh).
mkdir -p .adlc/partials
cp ~/.claude/skills/partials/*.sh .adlc/partials/
chmod +x .adlc/partials/*.sh

# Copy workflows (overwrite — canonical is source of truth). These are the
# Dynamic Workflow scripts the workflow engine runs (e.g.,
# adlc-sprint.workflow.js — ONE self-contained file with schemas + pure helpers
# inlined, since the runtime has no require). Resolved via the two-level fallback
# (.adlc/workflows/... -> ~/.claude/skills/workflows/...) so the engine works
# inside git worktrees where Read is sandboxed to the worktree root.
#
# Copy ONLY the runtime files: the workflow script(s) and the top-level README.
# Do NOT copy workflows/tests/ — those are toolkit-internal `node:test` unit
# tests for the inlined PURE helpers (CommonJS `require('node:test')`). They have
# no purpose in a consumer repo, and shipping a `*.test.js` under .adlc/ is a
# trap: in any "type":"module" repo running Jest, the DEFAULT testMatch
# (**/?(*.)+(spec|test).[jt]s?(x)) discovers .adlc/workflows/tests/helpers.test.js,
# runs it as ESM, and fails it with "ReferenceError: require is not defined" —
# reddening `npm test` and any CI gate that runs it. The engine is ONE
# self-contained file (no require/import/fs), so globbing *.workflow.js captures
# everything the runtime ever resolves.
mkdir -p .adlc/workflows
cp ~/.claude/skills/workflows/*.workflow.js .adlc/workflows/
cp ~/.claude/skills/workflows/README.md .adlc/workflows/
# Idempotent cleanup: remove a stale tests/ dir left by an OLDER /init that did
# `cp -R` of the whole workflows tree. Heals already-initialized repos on re-run;
# safe no-op when absent. (Belt-and-suspenders to the explicit-file copy above.)
rm -rf .adlc/workflows/tests

# Clean up Finder-style duplicates if present. Matches:
#   - .md files: "requirement-template 2.md"
#   - non-.md files: "pipeline-state 2.json", ".next-bug 2"
#   - directories: "knowledge 2", "specs 2"
# The `-depth` flag processes directory contents before the directory itself,
# so `rm -rf` on a "* 2" dir doesn't fail due to prior deletions.
find .adlc -depth \( -name "* 2" -o -name "* 2.*" \) -exec rm -rf {} + 2>/dev/null

# Advisory (Jest repos): the copy above ships NO test files under .adlc/, so the
# default Jest testMatch stays green with no config change. Only a repo with a
# custom BROAD testMatch (e.g. "**/*.js") would pick up .adlc/ — those repos
# should add "<rootDir>/.adlc/" to testPathIgnorePatterns. Purely informational;
# this does not edit package.json or any jest config.
if grep -q '"jest"' package.json 2>/dev/null || find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'jest.config.*' 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
  echo "ADVISORY (Jest detected): .adlc/ contains no test files by design — default 'npm test' is unaffected. If you use a custom broad testMatch, add \"<rootDir>/.adlc/\" to testPathIgnorePatterns."
fi

If the user has previously made intentional customizations to their local .adlc/ETHOS.md, .adlc/templates/*.md, .adlc/partials/*.sh, or .adlc/workflows/adlc-sprint.workflow.js, confirm before overwriting. Use /template-drift to surface what differs (it also flags a stale .adlc/workflows/tests/ left by an older /init — the Jest landmine fixed above). Typical drift (stale copies) should be overwritten silently.

Vendored sync surfaces (drift-detection contract with /template-drift)

The four surfaces this step copies are the project's vendored sync surfaces — copied once at init time, never auto-updated afterward. /template-drift is the tool that detects when a toolkit update to any of them has not yet landed in this project. The two lists MUST stay in agreement: every surface added here must get a matching check in /template-drift (see its <!-- sync-surfaces: template-drift --> list). The toolkit's tools/lint-skills sync-surface-parity check fails the build if they diverge.

<!-- sync-surfaces: init -->

• ethos — cp ~/.claude/skills/ETHOS.md .adlc/ETHOS.md
• templates — cp ~/.claude/skills/templates/*.md .adlc/templates/
• partials — cp ~/.claude/skills/partials/*.sh .adlc/partials/
• workflow-runtime — cp ~/.claude/skills/workflows/*.workflow.js + README.md → .adlc/workflows/

<!-- /sync-surfaces -->

(Note: /template-drift checks one additional surface — workflow-test-landmine, a stale *.test.js an older /init left under .adlc/. That is a drift symptom this step deliberately does NOT copy, so it has no entry here; the parity check accounts for that asymmetry.)

Step 7: Scaffold Retrieval Taxonomy

Copy the canonical taxonomy template to .adlc/context/taxonomy.md so authors of new REQs, bugs, and lessons have a reference vocabulary for retrieval tags.

This step is idempotent — skip if the file already exists (preserve any project-local customizations).

# Verify source exists
if [ ! -f ~/.claude/skills/templates/taxonomy-template.md ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Taxonomy template not found at ~/.claude/skills/templates/taxonomy-template.md. Ensure ~/.claude/skills is symlinked to the adlc-toolkit repo."
  exit 1
fi

# Ensure destination directory exists (safe if Step 3 already created it)
mkdir -p .adlc/context

# Idempotent copy: only copy if destination does not already exist
if [ ! -f .adlc/context/taxonomy.md ]; then
  cp ~/.claude/skills/templates/taxonomy-template.md .adlc/context/taxonomy.md
  echo "Created .adlc/context/taxonomy.md from canonical template."
else
  echo "Preserved existing .adlc/context/taxonomy.md (idempotent — not overwritten)."
fi

Advise the user: "Open .adlc/context/taxonomy.md and customize the example values for this codebase. Authors of new REQs, bugs, and lessons will reference this file when choosing tag values (component, domain, stack, concerns). The tags dimension stays free-form."

Step 8: Scaffold Claude Code Permissions Allowlist

Copy the canonical Claude Code settings template to .claude/settings.json so /proceed (and every other skill in this toolkit) can run end-to-end without prompting for permission on every routine git, gh, test, and agent-dispatch operation. This is the single biggest mitigation against per-phase gating in long-running pipelines.

This step is idempotent — skip if the file already exists (preserve any project-local customizations).

# Verify source exists
if [ ! -f ~/.claude/skills/templates/claude-settings-template.json ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Settings template not found at ~/.claude/skills/templates/claude-settings-template.json. Ensure ~/.claude/skills is symlinked to the adlc-toolkit repo."
  exit 1
fi

# Ensure destination directory exists
mkdir -p .claude

# Idempotent copy: only copy if destination does not already exist
if [ ! -f .claude/settings.json ]; then
  cp ~/.claude/skills/templates/claude-settings-template.json .claude/settings.json
  echo "Created .claude/settings.json from canonical template."
else
  echo "Preserved existing .claude/settings.json (idempotent — not overwritten)."
fi

The template pre-approves the routine git, gh, npm, Read/Write/Edit, and agent-dispatch operations the ADLC pipeline fires. Destructive operations (rm -rf, git reset --hard, gh pr merge, ./deploy.sh, terraform apply/destroy, force-push to main) remain on the ask list so a human still confirms the one-way moves. Customize for project-specific commands (e.g., add Bash(cd app && ./deploy.sh:*) for iOS deploys) by editing .claude/settings.json directly.

Advise the user: ".claude/settings.json was scaffolded with a default allowlist. Commit this file — it is team-shared. Use .claude/settings.local.json (gitignored by Claude Code) for personal overrides."

Step 9: Scaffold Cross-Repo Config (Optional)

Ask the user: "Will this repo ever share features with other repos you also work on (e.g., an admin app + its API + an iOS app)? If yes, /proceed can coordinate REQs across them — this repo needs a .adlc/config.yml to list its siblings."

Conceptual note — explain if the user seems uncertain: "Primary" is per-REQ, not a fixed role. The current repo is primary for REQs that originate here (/proceed invoked from this repo). The siblings you list are other repos that might participate when a cross-repo REQ starts here. If you also originate REQs from one of those siblings, you'll run /init there too — each repo that hosts REQs gets its own .adlc/ and its own config.yml listing the others as siblings (mirror images of each other).

If the user confirms cross-repo and .adlc/config.yml does not already exist, copy the template:

# Verify source exists
if [ ! -f ~/.claude/skills/templates/config-template.yml ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Config template not found at ~/.claude/skills/templates/config-template.yml."
  exit 1
fi

if [ ! -f .adlc/config.yml ]; then
  cp ~/.claude/skills/templates/config-template.yml .adlc/config.yml
  echo "Created .adlc/config.yml from template — edit it to match your repo layout."
else
  echo "Preserved existing .adlc/config.yml."
fi

Advise the user:

• "Edit .adlc/config.yml. The entry for THIS repo should have primary: true and no path (path is implicit since it's this repo). Each sibling entry gets a path: (relative to this repo root, or absolute). Every sibling must already be cloned locally at that path."
• "If you also run REQs from one of the siblings, run /init there too. That repo's config will mark itself as primary and list the others as siblings — the structure is symmetric."
• "If this is a single-repo project (REQs only ever originate here and never touch other repos), skip this step. ADLC skills fall back to single-repo behavior when no config or no siblings are declared."
• "After editing, verify with cat .adlc/config.yml and make sure each sibling path resolves: git -C <sibling-path> rev-parse --git-dir."

If the project is single-repo, skip the copy (no config file needed).

Step 10: Summary

1. Display the created directory structure
2. Explain the ADLC workflow: /spec → /validate → /architect → /validate → implement → /reflect → /review → /wrapup (or use /proceed to run the full pipeline automatically)
3. If cross-repo config was scaffolded, remind the user that /proceed will create worktrees in every touched sibling and open one PR per repo
4. Suggest adding ADLC skill references to the project's CLAUDE.md if one exists