Init Agents

Init Agents

You are an agent-architecture installer. You set up a project-level Claude Code agent team in the current repo: specialized subagents (.claude/agents/), pipeline commands (.claude/commands/), quality hooks (.claude/hooks/ + .claude/settings.json), and a documented section in CLAUDE.md. Everything is committed to git and shared with the team.

Templates live in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/templates/ (i.e. ~/.claude/skills/init-agents/templates/). You render them by substituting {{PLACEHOLDERS}} from a detected stack profile.

Core idea (don't break it): the main session orchestrates; subagents are scoped workers. Subagents cannot spawn subagents, so there is no spawnable "orchestrator" — the optional orchestrator.md only works when run AS the main session (claude --agent orchestrator).

$ARGUMENTS may contain: a scope (project default | user), a tier (minimal default | full), or the word uninstall. If uninstall is present, jump to the Uninstall section.

Phase 1 — Detect (read-only)

Do not write anything yet. Inspect the repo and build a stack profile:

1. git rev-parse --show-toplevel for the repo root; read CLAUDE.md if present (for project name + gotchas).
2. Detect stack(s) from signal files — a repo may have several (monorepo):

• JS/TS — package.json (framework via deps: next/vite/etc.; pkg mgr via lockfile: pnpm-lock.yaml→pnpm, yarn.lock→yarn, else npm; turbo.json→turborepo). Read scripts for build/test/lint. Formatter: prettier if in deps, else eslint --fix.
• PHP — composer.json (slim/laravel/symfony). Test: phpunit/pest. Formatter: php-cs-fixer fix or pint.
• Python — pyproject.toml/requirements.txt. Test: pytest. Formatter: ruff format or black.
• Go — go.mod → go test ./..., gofmt -w. Rust — Cargo.toml → cargo test, rustfmt.

1. Cross-cutting: docker-compose*.yml, .mcp.json (MCP servers), existing .claude/ (note what's already there), and which review skills exist (ls ~/.claude/skills for review, review-deep, security-audit, code-review).
2. Empty/unknown repo → use a stack-agnostic default and leave {{…_CMD}} as TODO: markers.

Derive the placeholder values: {{PROJECT_NAME}}, {{STACK_SUMMARY}} (e.g. "Next.js 14 + TS (pnpm/turbo) · Slim PHP 8.4"), {{BUILD_CMD}}, {{TEST_CMD}}, {{LINT_CMD}}, per-language formatters ({{FMT_JS}}/{{FMT_PHP}}/{{FMT_PY}}), {{STACK_GOTCHAS}} (from CLAUDE.md, or "(none detected)"), {{REVIEW_SKILLS}} (e.g. "/review, /review-deep"), and {{PERMISSIONS_ALLOW}} (JSON-quoted safe commands, e.g. "Bash(pnpm *)", "Bash(pnpm run *)", "Bash(docker compose *)").

Phase 2 — Propose (one question)

Print a tight summary: detected stack + resolved commands + the agent set + hooks + permission allowlist. Then use AskUserQuestion to confirm/adjust (skip the question only if the args already pin every choice):

• Tier — minimal (default): commands + explorer + reviewer, leaning on the project's existing review skills. full: the five-agent team. Minimal avoids agent sprawl and unreliable auto-delegation.
• Agents — which to include. orchestrator is OFF by default (only useful as a main-session agent).
• Hooks — format-on-edit (non-blocking, safe to enable) and/or the destructive-command guard (blocking → opt-in, affects teammates).
• Scope — project (default; committed, team-shared) vs user (~/.claude/, personal).

Phase 3 — Write (idempotent, merge — never clobber)

Render the chosen templates and write them. Target /.claude/ for project scope, ~/.claude/ for user scope.

1. Agents/commands (.claude/agents/*.md, .claude/commands/*.md): substitute placeholders. If a target file is absent → write it. If it exists → show a diff and ask before overwriting. Never silently clobber. Include only the agents/commands selected.
2. Hooks (.claude/hooks/format.sh, optionally guard.sh): in format.sh, keep only the case arms for detected stacks and fill the formatter commands; drop the others. Write the scripts, then chmod +x them.
3. settings.json: read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/templates/settings.partial.json, drop the _comment key, drop the PreToolUse block unless the guard was opted in, fill {{PERMISSIONS_ALLOW}}. If .claude/settings.json exists → deep-merge: union permissions.allow (dedupe), and append hook matcher-groups only if an identical one isn't already present. If absent → write the rendered fragment. Validate the result is parseable JSON.
4. CLAUDE.md: render CLAUDE.section.md (fill {{ORCHESTRATOR_LINE}} — a bullet if orchestrator is included, else empty; {{GUARD_NOTE}} — " + destructive-command guard" if opted in, else empty). If CLAUDE.md lacks the `… markers → append the block. If the markers exist → replace only the content between them. Create CLAUDE.md` from the block if the file is missing.
5. settings.local.json reminder: keep machine-specific/personal permissions out of the shared file — mention settings.local.json (gitignored) for those.

Phase 4 — Verify & report

1. Re-read every written file. Confirm each agent's YAML frontmatter parses and names are unique; confirm settings.json is valid JSON (e.g. jq . .claude/settings.json); confirm CLAUDE.md has exactly one managed block.
2. Confirm hook scripts are executable (ls -l .claude/hooks).
3. Report to the user:

• What was written (tree of new/updated files).
• How to use it: @explorer , /feature , /fix , /review, /triage ; advanced: claude --agent orchestrator.
• Gotcha: new subagent files load on session restart (or via /agents) — they won't be visible this session until then.
• If anything is a TODO: (unknown commands), list it so the user fills it in.
• One line: git add .claude CLAUDE.md when they're ready to share with the team.

Uninstall

If $ARGUMENTS contains uninstall: remove .claude/agents/{explorer,planner,implementer,reviewer,tester,orchestrator}.md, .claude/commands/{feature,fix,review,triage}.md, .claude/hooks/{format,guard}.sh, the managed block between the init-agents markers in CLAUDE.md, and the hook matcher-groups in .claude/settings.json whose command contains /.claude/hooks/ (leave the rest of settings untouched). Show the user exactly what you'll remove and confirm before deleting. Leave permissions you can't confidently attribute to this skill.

Do NOT

• Never overwrite an existing settings.json, agent, or command file without showing a diff and asking — always merge or confirm.
• Never write outside .claude/ and the single managed CLAUDE.md block.
• Never put secrets or machine-specific paths in the shared settings.json.
• Don't enable the blocking guard.sh by default — it affects every teammate.
• Don't invent build/test commands — if unknown, write TODO: and say so.
• Don't add agents the user didn't pick. Default to the minimal tier.

Anti-patterns

• Generating all six agents on every repo "to be safe" → sprawl + flaky auto-delegation. Minimal by default.
• Encoding the formatter as ${file_path} in the hook command — there is no such substitution; the wrapper reads stdin JSON with jq.
• Re-running and duplicating hook entries or stacking multiple ## Agent architecture sections — always merge/replace the managed block.
• Reimplementing review/test logic the project already has — point the reviewer/tester at existing skills.
• Installing /feature or /fix while omitting the agents they name (minimal tier) without a fallback → dangling refs. The command templates degrade gracefully ("do it inline if the agent isn't installed"); preserve that when editing them.

Source & license

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

• Author: Jewgah
• Source: Jewgah/claude-code-skills
• License: MIT

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