Oss bootstrap

Skill olgaiv39/claude-oss-skills/skills/oss-bootstrap

Prepare a new public open-source repository, or convert a small existing directory into a clean publishable starting point. Use for an empty or nearly empty repo, a first local commit, or a first remote push. Do not use for routine feature work or releasing an established project. Never commits, creates a remote, or pushes unless explicitly requested.From its SKILL.md

Install

npx -y skills add olgaiv39/claude-oss-skills --skill oss-bootstrap

Assembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.

One thing to look at

12 stars12 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.

SKILL.md

5.7 KB, ~1.2k tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it

oss-bootstrap

Prepare the smallest publishable repository from a new or nearly empty directory. Inspect before writing. Never overwrite existing README, LICENSE, or .gitignore, and never commit, add a remote, or push without an explicit request.

Activate when

Starting a new open-source project
The repository is empty or nearly empty
Converting a private prototype into a clean public starting point
Preparing the first local commit or first remote push

Do not activate when

Doing routine feature work in an established repository -> use implement-minimal
Releasing or deploying an existing project -> use release-deploy
Migrating a large repository or history
Copying a proprietary codebase into public Git

Required inputs

Target directory (confirm before any write)
Intended project type, if the user already knows it
Whether this session may commit, add a remote, or push (default: no)
Chosen license, if the user already has one

Low-resource policy

Read the first of these that exists, then follow it:

${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.claude/shared/LOW_RESOURCE.md
$HOME/.claude/shared/LOW_RESOURCE.md

If neither exists, apply this fallback: run one expensive command at a time, prefer the narrowest validation, disable watch mode, reuse existing environments, and run full validation only at a milestone boundary. Do not scan the whole filesystem to locate the policy.

Context-efficiency policy

Read the first of these that exists, then follow it:

${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.claude/shared/CONTEXT_EFFICIENCY.md
$HOME/.claude/shared/CONTEXT_EFFICIENCY.md

If neither exists, apply this fallback: select files before reading; use targeted searches and bounded ranges; do not preload references; do not reread unchanged files; finish one atomic increment and stop; create a compact handoff before context is exhausted.

Facts that must not be assumed

Whether Git is already initialized
The default branch name
That the directory is empty
The stack, package manager, or test runner
That files with common names are safe to overwrite
That a remote exists or is empty

Preflight

Confirm the absolute target directory with the user
Run git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree to detect an existing repo
List top-level entries without reading large binaries
If the directory already contains a substantial project, stop and hand off to oss-plan or public-code-review

Workflow

Confirm the target directory
Detect Git state and existing files -> see references/project-detection.md
Classify the project: Python, JavaScript or TypeScript, Rust, mixed stack, documentation-only, or a Claude Code skills repository
Identify existing manifests and conventions; do not replace them
Define the smallest publishable structure for that stack -> references/stack-bootstrap.md
Scan for public-release risks: secrets, personal information, proprietary names, private URLs, accidental binaries, generated output
Select or confirm license, README, .gitignore, .env.example (only when secrets are required), and a minimal validation path
Create only missing files; never overwrite an existing README, LICENSE, or .gitignore
Preserve executable permissions on existing scripts
Prepare the staged diff and verify the exact file list -> references/git-first-publish.md
Commit only when explicitly requested
Add a remote only when explicitly requested
Push only when explicitly requested
Produce the report -> templates/bootstrap-report.md

Decision branches

Existing README, LICENSE, or .gitignore present -> keep it, record it as preserved, and note any gap instead of rewriting
Secret or private data found -> stop, report the exact path and line, do not stage it, do not commit
Binary or generated output found -> propose a .gitignore entry, do not add it to the commit
No test or runnable path exists -> add the minimal validation described for the stack; do not scaffold a framework
Git already initialized with commits -> do not re-initialize; treat as an existing project

Validation escalation

Run the narrowest available check for the detected stack, in this order, only as far as needed to prove the repo is runnable:

syntax or parse check on created files
single smoke test or example run
stack lint or typecheck on changed files only

Do not run a full build or full suite during bootstrap.

Stop conditions

Target directory is ambiguous or unconfirmed
A secret or private datum would be committed
An existing README, LICENSE, or .gitignore would be overwritten
Git would be initialized in the wrong directory
The user has not authorized commit, remote, or push for those steps

Human review boundaries

Final license choice
Whether the project name and contents are cleared for public release
Remote URL and account ownership
Any file the risk scan flagged as uncertain

Final report

Fill in templates/bootstrap-report.md with detected type, created files, preserved files, skipped files, validation performed, unresolved public-release risks, Git operations performed, Git operations not performed, and the next manual action.