Setup Repo

Setup

User gate first

Before any write, user approves a plan naming the target, the exact keep/create/adapt/conflict diff and, for GitHub, the Project board. Confirm permission. Ask for an unnamed target; never infer it from cwd.

Inspect and classify

Inventory MAINTAINING.md, docs layout, .github/**, the work-item runbook and board. Classify each action as keep (exact match), create (absent), adapt (compatible; propose the merge) or conflict (semantic mismatch; STOP and ask). Never overwrite; amend the declarations block per heading. A re-run against an already-set-up repository must produce no diff.

Choose tracker

Ask: Use GitHub issues? If yes, use the GitHub branch, confirming the remote host before any gh command. If no, record the chosen tracker or none; skip labels, ruleset, issue forms and board. Tracker-specific setup remains out of scope: a documented skip, not alternate-tracker scaffolding.

Declare repository process

Amend the fixed-heading Repository process block in target MAINTAINING.md, creating it if absent, from [templates/repo-declarations.md](templates/repo-declarations.md). Record the tracker choice, docs-layout homes, merge policy/authority and work-item runbook pointer. Use pointers only; never duplicate runbook or policy content. This block, not the GitHub scaffolding, is the completion gate.

Docs layout

Ask where specs, runbooks and ADRs live. Defaults: reference engineering-docs's Default homes table by skill name; do not invoke it. setup-repo owns the declaration.

GitHub branch: steps 1-7

Only when the tracker is GitHub issues and the remote host is confirmed:

1. Labels: copy [templates/labels.yml](templates/labels.yml) and

[templates/workflows-labels.yml](templates/workflows-labels.yml) to .github/labels.yml and .github/workflows/labels.yml; warn that skip-delete: false prunes undeclared labels.

1. Ruleset: add the [ci-status aggregate](templates/ci-status-aggregate.yml),

then create the ruleset per [ruleset guidance](references/ruleset-and-ci.md), confirming its app id.

1. Issue forms/security: copy [templates/SECURITY.md](templates/SECURITY.md)

to the root, or verify existing policy has a valid private route. Copy templates/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/*.yml to .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/; adapt gate wording and replace owner/repo. Confirm private vulnerability reporting is enabled, or replace `` with a working confidential contact method. Publish only when the placeholder is gone and both routes work.

1. PR template: copy

[templates/pull_request_template.md](templates/pullrequesttemplate.md) into .github/ and adapt evidence rows; retain decision and review sections.

1. Work-item runbook: copy [the doctrine](references/doctrine.md) into the

target, adding its mechanics; the project decides merge authority.

1. Project board: create the [six-status board](references/project-board.md).
2. CODEOWNERS/Dependabot: adapt to the stack; the

[Dependabot template](templates/dependabot.yml) keeps its dependency label.

Stop conditions

Stop for an unnamed target, unconfirmed write permission, an unconfirmed remote host before any gh command, replacement of an existing ruleset or labels file, semantic conflict, or ambiguous ci-status dependencies. Ask which jobs it should needs:.

Source & license

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

• Author: mblauberg
• Source: mblauberg/provenant
• License: MIT

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