Ar init skills

Initialize Skills

Set up user-specific configuration for Claude skills.

When to Use

• First time using skills in this project
• skill.config is missing
• New developer joining project

Standard Conventions (Enforced Internally)

IMPORTANT: These conventions are standardized across all users. Do NOT ask users for these - derive them automatically.

Directory Structure

{coding_tasks_root}/                   # User provides this (e.g., .../{project_name}_Coding_Tasks)
├── Backend/                           # Backend platform
│   ├── OnGoingTasks/                  # Auto-created
│   └── DoneTasks/                     # Auto-created
├── Frontend/                          # Frontend Web platform
│   ├── OnGoingTasks/
│   └── DoneTasks/
├── iOS_Frontend/                      # iOS Frontend platform
│   ├── OnGoingTasks/
│   └── DoneTasks/
├── Android_Frontend/                  # Android Frontend platform
│   ├── OnGoingTasks/
│   └── DoneTasks/
├── TasksSummary/                      # Auto-created
│   ├── Backend.md                     # Auto-created based on platform
│   ├── Frontend.md                    # For web frontend
│   ├── iOS_Frontend.md                # For iOS frontend
│   └── Android_Frontend.md            # For Android frontend
└── WeeklySummaries/                   # Auto-created
    └── (weekly summary files organized by date)

{docs_root}/                           # User provides this (optional)
├── PublishedDocs/Engineering/Templates/    # Standard templates location
└── AI_Workflows/SkillUpdates/              # Standard skill updates location

Platform Types

Supported platforms and their directory names:

• Backend → Directory: Backend/
• Frontend Web → Directory: Frontend/
• iOS Frontend → Directory: iOS_Frontend/
• Android Frontend → Directory: Android_Frontend/

Path Derivation Rules

Only store in config:

• tasks_root (user-provided, e.g., /path/to/Backend)
• docs_root (user-provided, optional)
• platform (auto-detected and stored for quick reference)

Auto-derive at runtime: From tasks_root:

• coding_tasks_root = dirname({tasks_root})
• tasks_folder = {tasks_root}/OnGoingTasks
• done_folder = {tasks_root}/DoneTasks
• task_summary_folder = {coding_tasks_root}/TasksSummary
• weekly_summaries_folder = {coding_tasks_root}/WeeklySummaries
• platform = basename({tasks_root}) (also stored in config)

From docs_root (if provided):

• templates_folder = {docs_root}/PublishedDocs/Engineering/Templates
• skill_updates_folder = {docs_root}/AI_Workflows/SkillUpdates

Steps

1. Check Prerequisites

cat .claude/skill.config 2>/dev/null || echo "CONFIG_MISSING"

If skill.config exists, check version against framework:

current=$(jq -r '._schema_version // ""' .claude/skill.config 2>/dev/null)
expected=$(jq -r '.framework_version // ""' .claude/config_hints.json 2>/dev/null)

If current == expected: config is current, tell user and stop (unless they explicitly want to reconfigure). If current != expected: config is outdated, continue with setup to update it. At the end, set _schema_version to match framework_version.

Check GitHub CLI:

command -v gh >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "GH_OK" || echo "GH_MISSING"

If gh is missing:

GitHub CLI (gh) is recommended for creating PRs and GitHub integration.

Install:
  macOS:    brew install gh
  Ubuntu:   sudo apt install gh
  Windows:  winget install GitHub.cli

Then authenticate:  gh auth login

Install now or skip? (install/skip)

If skip, continue, skills that need gh will warn at runtime. If install, wait for user and re-check.

If gh exists but not authenticated (gh auth status fails):

gh is installed but not logged in. Run:  gh auth login

2. Ask for Platform Type

Ask user to select their platform:

Setting up skill configuration.

What platform are you working on?

1. Backend
2. Frontend Web
3. iOS Frontend
4. Android Frontend

Select (1-4):

Map user selection to directory name:

• 1 → Platform: Backend → Directory: Backend/
• 2 → Platform: Frontend → Directory: Frontend/
• 3 → Platform: iOS_Frontend → Directory: iOS_Frontend/
• 4 → Platform: Android_Frontend → Directory: Android_Frontend/

3. Ask for Tasks Root Path

Ask user for the coding tasks root path:

I need the path to your coding tasks directory.

This should be the parent folder that contains all platform folders.
Example: /path/to/{project_name}_Coding_Tasks

The platform folder "{selected_platform}" will be created inside this directory.

Tip: Make this folder a Git repo to track task history and collaborate with your team.

What is your coding tasks root path?

After user provides the path, construct tasks_root:

tasks_root="{user_provided_path}/{platform_directory_name}"
# Example: /path/to/your-project-coding-tasks/Backend
# Example: /path/to/your-project-coding-tasks/Frontend
# Example: /path/to/your-project-coding-tasks/iOS_Frontend

4. Create Platform Structure

After user provides the path and platform is selected:

1. Use platform from user selection (already determined in step 2):

   # Platform variable already set from user selection
   # Examples: "Backend", "Frontend", "iOS_Frontend", "Android_Frontend"
   

2. Construct tasks_root:

   tasks_root="{user_provided_coding_tasks_root}/{platform}"
   coding_tasks_root="{user_provided_coding_tasks_root}"
   

3. Create platform task directories:

   mkdir -p "$tasks_root/OnGoingTasks"
   mkdir -p "$tasks_root/DoneTasks"
   

4. Create TasksSummary, WeeklySummaries, and CodeReviews root folders:

   mkdir -p "$coding_tasks_root/TasksSummary"
   mkdir -p "$coding_tasks_root/WeeklySummaries"
   mkdir -p "$coding_tasks_root/CodeReviews"
   

   Gitignore CodeReviews (local review artifacts, never committed):

   if ! grep -q "CodeReviews/" "$coding_tasks_root/.gitignore" 2>/dev/null; then
     echo "CodeReviews/" >> "$coding_tasks_root/.gitignore"
   fi
   

   Note: WeeklySummaries will contain week-specific folders (created by ar-taskflow):

   • Format: WeeklySummaries/YYYY-MM-DD/ (Friday dates)
   • Example: WeeklySummaries/2026-01-30/{namespace}-195.md

5. Create platform-specific summary file if it doesn't exist:

   summary_file="$coding_tasks_root/TasksSummary/{platform}.md"
   if [ ! -f "$summary_file" ]; then
     echo "# {platform} Tasks Summary" > "$summary_file"
   fi
   

5. Ask for Docs Path (Optional)

Do you have a separate documentation project?
If yes, provide the path. If no, just say "skip".

Example: /path/to/{project_name}_DocsProject

This is optional but recommended for maintaining engineering specs and templates.

If user provides path:

• Derive templates_folder and skill_updates_folder automatically

If user says skip/no:

• Set docs paths to empty/null

6. Create skill.config

Based on user input, create .claude/skill.config:

{
  "_user": "{git_user_email}",
  "_schema_version": "{framework_version}",
  "paths": {
    "tasks_root": "{constructed_tasks_root}",
    "docs_root": "{user_provided_docs_path_or_null}"
  }
}

Note: No comments or preferences in user's config - those are internal concerns in config_hints.json.

7. Update config_hints.json

Update .claude/config_hints.json with detected platform:

{
  "_comment": "Project-specific configuration hints. Can be committed to git.",
  "_schema_version": "{framework_version}",

  "platform": "{detected_platform}",
  "standards_location": "{detected_standards_dir}",

  "project": {
    "namespace": "{detected_namespace}",
    "name": "{detected_project_name}",
    "tracker": { "type": "{detected_tracker_type}", "url": "{detected_tracker_url}" }
  },

  "_platform_options": ["java-spring-boot", "react", "ruby-rails", "go", "python"],

  "path_derivation_rules": {
    "_comment": "How to derive paths from skill.config at runtime (for documentation only)",
    "coding_tasks_root": "dirname(tasks_root)",
    "tasks_folder": "{tasks_root}/OnGoingTasks",
    "done_folder": "{tasks_root}/DoneTasks",
    "task_summary_folder": "{coding_tasks_root}/TasksSummary",
    "weekly_summaries": "{coding_tasks_root}/WeeklySummaries/{YYYY-MM-DD}",
    "weekly_summaries_root": "{coding_tasks_root}/WeeklySummaries",
    "templates_folder": "{docs_root}/PublishedDocs/Engineering/Templates",
    "skill_updates_folder": "{docs_root}/AI_Workflows/SkillUpdates"
  }
}

Purpose:

• Stores project-level metadata (platform) that's the same for all users
• Contains NO absolute paths (can be committed to git)
• Documents path derivation rules for skills
• Skills compute actual paths at runtime from skill.config

8. Update .gitignore

# Only ignore skill.config (user-specific)
grep -q "skill.config" .gitignore || echo ".claude/skill.config" >> .gitignore

# config_hints.json IS committed (project-level metadata)

9. Setup MCP Servers (Optional)

To enable Jira and Confluence integration, you can set up MCP servers.
This allows starting tasks from Jira tickets and fetching ticket details.

Would you like to set this up now? (y/n)

If yes → Run: claude mcp add --scope user --transport http atlassian https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp If no → Mention they can run "ar-init-mcps" anytime

10. Confirm

Skills initialized!

Created: .claude/skill.config

Configuration:
  Platform: {platform}
  Coding Tasks Root: {coding_tasks_root}
    - Tasks: {tasks_root}
      - OnGoing: OnGoingTasks/
      - Done: DoneTasks/
    - Summary: TasksSummary/{platform}.md
    - Weekly: WeeklySummaries/
  Docs: {docs_root or "Not configured"}

Next steps:
  1. Run "ar-init-mcps" to set up Jira/Confluence integration (optional)
  2. Run "ar-taskflow" to begin a new task

You're all set!

Reading Config (For Other Skills)

Two-file approach:

1. skill.config - User-specific paths (NOT committed)
2. config_hints.json - Project metadata (IS committed, no absolute paths)

Reading configuration:

# Read user config (absolute paths)
if [ ! -f ".claude/skill.config" ]; then
  echo "Run 'ar-init-skills' first"
  exit 1
fi

tasks_root=$(jq -r '.paths.tasks_root' .claude/skill.config)
docs_root=$(jq -r '.paths.docs_root' .claude/skill.config)

# Read project hints (platform, derivation rules)
platform=$(jq -r '.platform' .claude/config_hints.json)

# Derive all paths at runtime
coding_tasks_root=$(dirname "$tasks_root")
tasks_folder="$tasks_root/OnGoingTasks"
done_folder="$tasks_root/DoneTasks"
task_summary_folder="$coding_tasks_root/TasksSummary"
weekly_summaries_folder="$coding_tasks_root/WeeklySummaries"

Benefits:

• skill.config = user-specific, never committed
• config_hints.json = project-level, committed to git
• No absolute paths in git
• Each user has their own paths via skill.config
• All users share same platform metadata via config_hints.json

Adding New Platforms (Future)

When a new platform is needed (e.g., Android_Frontend):

1. User creates tasks folder: .../project-coding-tasks/Android_Frontend
2. Run "ar-init-skills" with that path
3. Platform is auto-detected from folder name
4. Summary file Android_Frontend.md is auto-created

Supported platforms:

• Backend
• Frontend
• Android_Frontend (future)
• iOS_Frontend (future)