Adopt

Adopt — bring an existing repo onto the doc model

repo-init's sibling for repos that already have a life: code, history, and a pile of docs written before the shelf existed. Archaeology first, questions second, writes last — and never a code change. The target model is <plugin-root>/references/shelf-spec.md.

Boundaries: evidence before questions (never ask what git can answer); propose every doc move (never silently delete — git mv preserves history); the only commands you run are read-only git/inspection plus the build/test commands in step 2 (to verify them, not to fix anything).

Non-destructive by contract — state this up front if the migration looks scary (to the owner or to you): every move is git mv, every write is confirm-gated, nothing is ever deleted. And a repo that already has a working doc model (homegrown or an older version of this one) gets mapped, not flattened — apply "Conformance without loss" from the shelf spec: rich existing content becomes a linked satellite, shelf formats govern only new entries. Don't balk at the conversion; shrink it.

1. Archaeology — read everything, change nothing

In parallel batches:

git log --oneline -30
git log --format="%cs" -1          # last activity — the dormancy signal
git shortlog -sn --since="6 months ago"
git remote get-url origin
git branch -a && git worktree list

Glob the tree; read README.md, every root/scoped AGENTS.md and paired CLAUDE.md, everything under docs/, the manifest (package.json / pyproject.toml / …), CI config, and enough code entry points to know what the thing is. Note the candidate build/test/run commands the evidence suggests.

2. Verify the commands by running them

The one write-nothing exception to "read-only": actually run the candidate build and test commands (not deploys, not migrations — nothing with side effects beyond a build dir). Record what really works; a drafted AGENTS.md must never claim a command you didn't see pass. If a command fails, record it as "documented but currently failing" — that's evidence, not something to fix here.

3. Draft L0–L2 from evidence

Draft — show the user before writing:

• Root AGENTS.md (L0, ≤40 lines) from templates/AGENTS.md: identity line from what the code actually does; verified commands from step 2; the doc-model block stamped verbatim from templates/doc-model-block.md; deploy: only if a target is evidenced. Existing AGENTS.md content is triaged, not clobbered: rules worth keeping go to the hard-rule slots (≤7 — if there are more, run the rules-audit classification from repo-align and propose promote/keep/demote), the rest to the step-4 triage. CLAUDE.md becomes the thin @AGENTS.md shim (fold any content it grew into AGENTS.md first, on confirmation).
• Scoped instruction overlays: preserve an existing scoped AGENTS.md only when its subtree has materially different commands, constraints, or ownership. Pair it with a one-line CLAUDE.md containing @AGENTS.md; fold duplicate root facts upward and propose archiving redundant overlays.
• docs/handoff.md (L1) from the template: last completed from recent commits, next action from wherever the evidence points (or "unknown — owner to confirm"), an empty Deferred section.
• docs/decisions.md (L2) — only if the archaeology surfaced clearly settled decisions (in old ADRs, READMEs, commit messages). Append one dated line each, marked with their source. Don't invent decisions.
• docs/architecture.md — a brownfield repo has always fired its trigger (>1 moving part), and adopt just read the whole tree, so seed it here at near-zero marginal cost: a ## Module map table per the shelf-spec format — one row per top-level source module (name · what it owns · public entry point · LOCKED flag where a decision record pins a boundary) — plus at most a few lines of prose. If a usable architecture doc already exists, don't clobber it: triage it in step 4 and propose adding the module-map section to it instead. Draft only what the code evidences — no aspirational structure.

4. Triage every existing doc onto the shelf

For every doc in the repo (root .mds beyond the standard furniture, everything under docs/), read it and propose exactly one disposition — the same closed set as repo-align: route (append content to decisions/ideas/lessons/design), fold (merge into a shelf doc), keep (it already is a shelf doc — rename/move into place with git mv if needed), satellite (no shelf slot but still useful — stays in docs/, linked from the nearest core doc, per the shelf spec's satellite rule), archive (git mv to docs/archive/ + banner).

After any moves, grep the repo (code, CI, scripts, remaining docs) for the old paths and fix every reference in the same pass — a triage that ships dead links isn't done. Present the whole triage as a table, get the owner's call per row, then execute the approved rows. Never silently delete anything.

5. Ask only what evidence can't answer

5–10 questions, one AskUserQuestion round where possible. Always include:

• Active or dormant? Dormant → stamp Status: dormant — maintenance only in AGENTS.md's identity line and skip fit-out extras that only matter for active work.
• The genuinely unanswerable: current goal still true? which of two conflicting old docs was right? deploy target? who else works here (agent scope for shims)?

6. Fit-out

Run the fit-out step (<plugin-root>/references/fit-out.md): detect traits from the code you just read, propose the equipment menu once, install what's approved, record the fit-out line in AGENTS.md.

7. Hand off

If the repo needs its plan reconstructed — no trustworthy docs/plan.md, unclear state, half-built direction — hand off to /rad-planner:rescue: adopt built the container and shelf (structure archaeology); rescue rebuilds intent and the plan (content archaeology). If a usable plan exists, /rad-planner:replan re-baselines it instead.

Output format

Adopt:
Repo:               <name — what it is, from evidence>
Activity:           <active / dormant (last commit <date>)>
Commands verified:  <build/test results — ran and passed / ran and failed / not found>
L0-L2 written:      <AGENTS.md, handoff.md, decisions.md (N entries) — after approval>
Architecture:       <module map seeded (N modules, N locked) | map added to existing doc | owner declined>
Doc triage:         <N docs: N routed, N folded, N kept, N archived, N skipped by owner>
Fit-out:            <installed items | declined | skipped (dormant)>
Next step:          </rad-planner:rescue | /rad-planner:replan | none needed>

What this skill does NOT do

• Never changes, formats, or "fixes" code — archaeology only.
• Never deletes a doc — every removal is a git mv to docs/archive/, confirmed.
• Never invents decisions, goals, or commands that evidence didn't show.
• Never writes docs/prd.md or docs/plan.md — that's the planner's lane (rescue/plan birth them from the owner's own answers).
• No commits, no pushes.

References

• <plugin-root>/references/shelf-spec.md — the target model
• <plugin-root>/references/fit-out.md — trait table + menu procedure
• <plugin-root>/templates/ — AGENTS.md skeleton, doc-model block, handoff stub, shims