Repository Initialization is a development claude skill built by Diego Rodrigues de Sa e Souza. Best for: Developers starting new projects or onboarding existing repos to Claude Code workflows get standardized infrastructure in minutes..

What it does
Initialize new repositories with git, gitignore, CLAUDE.md, justfile, mise, and beads scaffolding.
Category
development
Created by
Diego Rodrigues de Sa e Souza
Last updated
Claude Skilldevelopment GitHub-backed CuratedbeginnerClaude Code

Repository Initialization

Initialize new repositories with git, gitignore, CLAUDE.md, justfile, mise, and beads scaffolding.

Skill instructions


name: repo-init description: Initialize a new repository with standard scaffolding - git, gitignore, CLAUDE.md, justfile, mise, and beads. Use when starting a new project or setting up an existing repo for Claude Code workflows.

Repository Initialization

Scaffold a new or existing repository with standard project infrastructure.

Related skills:

  • just-pro - Build system patterns and templates
  • mise - Tool version management
  • go-pro, rust-pro, typescript-pro - Language-specific setup (run after repo-init)

What This Skill Does

Creates universal scaffolding that works across all project types:

| File | Purpose | |------|---------| | .gitignore | Standard ignores + language-specific patterns | | CLAUDE.md | Project conventions for Claude Code | | justfile | Build system skeleton | | .mise.toml | Tool version pinning (empty, ready for mise use) | | .beads/ | Issue tracking database | | .envrc.example | Environment variable template |

Flow

1. Gather context (language, project type)
2. Create scaffolding
3. Initialize beads
4. Point to language skill for next steps

Step 1: Gather Context

Before scaffolding, clarify:

  1. Project language(s): Go, Rust, TypeScript, Python, or multi-language?
  2. Project type: Library, CLI, web app, API, monorepo?
  3. Existing files: Is this a fresh repo or adding to existing code?

Use AskUserQuestion if unclear from context.


Step 2: Git Setup

# Initialize git if needed
git init

# Create .gitignore with common patterns

.gitignore Templates

Each language skill provides a comprehensive .gitignore in its references/ directory. These include common patterns (.env, .envrc, .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, IDE files) plus language-specific ignores.

Copy from the appropriate language skill:

| Language | Source | |----------|--------| | Go | go-pro/references/gitignore.gitignore | | Rust | rust-pro/references/gitignore.gitignore | | TypeScript | typescript-pro/references/gitignore.gitignore | | Python | python-pro/references/gitignore.gitignore |

For multi-language repos: Start with the primary language's gitignore, then merge patterns from others as needed.

Minimal fallback (if language skill unavailable):

# Environment
.env
.env.local
.env.*.local
.envrc

# OS
.DS_Store
Thumbs.db

# IDE
.idea/
.vscode/

# Build (customize per language)
dist/
build/
target/
node_modules/
__pycache__/

Step 3: CLAUDE.md

Create project conventions file for Claude Code:

# Project Name - Claude Instructions

## Overview

Brief description of what this project does.

## Development

```bash
just setup    # First-time setup
just check    # Run all quality gates

Conventions

  • [Add project-specific patterns here]
  • [Coding standards, naming conventions, etc.]

Architecture

  • [Key directories and their purposes]
  • [Important abstractions]

Keep it minimal initially. Add conventions as they emerge.

---

## Step 4: Justfile Skeleton

```just
# Project Build System
# Usage: just --list

default:
    @just --list

# First-time setup
setup:
    mise trust
    mise install
    @echo "Ready. Run 'just check' to verify."

# Quality gates - add language-specific checks
check:
    @echo "Add fmt, lint, test recipes"

# Remove build artifacts
clean:
    @echo "Add clean commands"

For language-specific recipes, see:

  • just-pro skill references (package-go.just, package-rust.just, etc.)

Step 5: Mise Configuration

Create empty .mise.toml ready for tool pinning:

[tools]
# Add tools with: mise use <tool>@<version>
# Examples:
# node = "22"
# go = "1.25"
# rust = "1.83"
# just = "latest"

Step 6: Beads Initialization

bd init -q

This creates .beads/ directory with issue tracking database.

For teams, consider:

  • bd init --team - Interactive team workflow setup
  • bd init --stealth - Personal use without affecting collaborators

Step 7: Environment Template

Create .envrc.example (committed) as template for .envrc (gitignored):

# Copy to .envrc and fill in values
# cp .envrc.example .envrc && direnv allow

# Mise integration
if command -v mise &> /dev/null; then
  eval "$(mise hook-env -s bash)"
fi

# Project-specific environment
# export DATABASE_URL="postgres://localhost/myapp"
# export API_KEY=""

Step 8: Next Steps

After scaffolding, point user to language-specific setup:

| Language | Next Step | |----------|-----------| | Go | Invoke go-pro skill, run go mod init, copy .golangci.yml | | Rust | Invoke rust-pro skill, run cargo init, copy clippy.toml | | TypeScript | Invoke typescript-pro skill, run npm init | | Multi-language | Follow each lang skill for respective packages |


Quick Reference

# Full init sequence
git init
# Create .gitignore, CLAUDE.md, justfile, .mise.toml, .envrc.example
bd init -q
mise use just@latest
# Then follow language skill for specifics

Monorepo Variant

For monorepos, the root gets:

  • Root justfile with module imports (see just-pro monorepo patterns)
  • Root .mise.toml with shared tooling
  • Single .beads/ at root

Each package gets:

  • Package-local justfile
  • Language-specific configs (Cargo.toml, package.json, etc.)

Use this skill

Most skills are portable instruction packages. Claude Code supports SKILL.md directly. Other agents can use adapted files like AGENTS.md, .cursorrules, and GEMINI.md.

Claude Code

Save SKILL.md into your Claude Skills folder, then restart Claude Code.

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/repository-initialization && curl -L "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/diegosouzapw/awesome-omni-skill/a6b3c3005cedf056a48b084671c6282426d6e9fc/skills/tools/repo-init/SKILL.md" -o ~/.claude/skills/repository-initialization/SKILL.md

Installs to ~/.claude/skills/repository-initialization/SKILL.md.

Use cases

Developers starting new projects or onboarding existing repos to Claude Code workflows get standardized infrastructure in minutes.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this skill.

No signup required

Stats

Installs0
GitHub Stars28
Forks9
UpdatedMar 23, 2026