Gov Init

Gov Init

Overview

Install the mz-gov governance policy into CLAUDE.md so Claude proactively reaches for the govern pipeline on substantial, ambiguous decisions. The policy is injected as a single sentinel-wrapped block — idempotent on re-run, cleanly removable on --uninstall. This is the only delivery mode: the block goes into CLAUDE.md, nothing else.

When to Use

Triggers: "gov init", "install governance policy", "set up governance", "add govern policy to CLAUDE.md".

When NOT to use

• The user wants to run a governance decision on a change — use govern.
• The user wants to audit existing artifacts — use gov-review.
• The user wants to edit the policy text itself — open the injected block in CLAUDE.md directly, or re-run with --force after editing the source.
• CLAUDE.md is managed by another tool and must not be touched.

Arguments

• project (default) → inject into ./CLAUDE.md
• global → inject into ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
• --force → replace the existing policy block in place (only between the sentinels)
• --uninstall → remove the policy block previously installed by this skill

Parse from $ARGUMENTS. Unknown or conflicting tokens → AskUserQuestion; never guess.

Core Process

| Phase | Goal | Details | | ----- | ---------------------------- | --------------- | | 0 | Setup | Inline below | | 1 | Install / update / uninstall | phases/run.md |

Phase 0: Setup

1. Parse $ARGUMENTS: scope (project/global, default project), --force, --uninstall. Unknown or conflicting token → AskUserQuestion.
2. task_name = _gov-init_ where ` is today's date (underscores) and is a snake_case summary of the args (e.g. project, globaluninstall, max 20 chars). On same-day collision append v2, _v3`.
3. Create .mz/task//.
4. Write state.md with schema_version: 2 as its first line, then Status: running, Phase: 0, Started: , phase_complete: false, what_remains: [], Scope: , Force: , Uninstall: , Action: , Target: .
5. Emit setup block: task_name, scope, resolved target path, mode flags.

The approval gate in phases/run.md must run before any write to CLAUDE.md. A single run-level confirmation covers the write.

Read phases/run.md and proceed to Phase 1.

Techniques

Techniques: delegated to phase file — see the Phase Overview table above.

Common Rationalizations

N/A — this is a setup/reference skill, not a discipline gate.

Red Flags

Red Flags: delegated to phase file — see the Phase Overview table above.

Verification

Verification: delegated to phase file — after install, grep CLAUDE.md for exactly one mz-gov:governance-policy start sentinel (zero after uninstall). See phases/run.md.

Error Handling

• Empty / ambiguous / conflicting argument → AskUserQuestion; never guess.
• Missing tooling — if ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT} is unset or skills/gov-init/policy/governance-policy.md is not readable, AskUserQuestion with the failing path.
• CLAUDE.md unreadable or unwritable → AskUserQuestion with the exact path and error; never fall back silently.
• Duplicate mz-gov:governance-policy sentinels found (manual edit or prior bug) → stop, report the conflicting lines, ask the user to resolve before re-running.
• Plugin version unreadable → use the literal unknown for the version tag and note it in the report.

State Management

State persists to .mz/task//state.md. Schema is v2: the file's first line is schema_version: 2, and alongside the skill's existing Status / Phase / Started keys it carries phase_complete (boolean) and what_remains (YAML list of strings). Set phase_complete: false on phase entry and true once the phase's artifacts are written and its gates pass; refresh what_remains on every phase transition; what_remains MUST be [] when Status: complete. On reading a schema_version: 1 or unversioned file, add the missing keys, set schema_version: 2, and log the upgrade.

Record Action: (installed | replaced | skipped | removed) and the resolved Target: after Phase 1. Never rely on conversation memory for cross-phase state — context compaction destroys specific paths and decisions.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: DoctorMozg
• Source: DoctorMozg/claude-pipelines
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.