Init

adr-kit init

You are running the one-shot project bootstrap for adr-kit. Your job is to take a project that has either no ADRs or only legacy-shaped ADRs and:

1. Hook the kit into the project's CLAUDE.md and drop the canonical guide at .claude/adr-kit-guide.md.
2. Discover decision-shaped artefacts in the source and documentation, propose a starter set of ADRs reflecting decisions already in effect, and let the user accept them in batches.
3. Install the pre-commit hook so future commits are guarded against ADR drift.
4. Lint everything to confirm the resulting ADR set passes the four verification gates.

This is a deep, one-shot operation. Do not skip steps. Do interact with the user — batched approval beats silent autopilot every time.

Step 0 — Verify Python 3

adr-kit requires Python 3.9 or later. Before doing anything else, verify it is available.

Detection

Run these checks in order:

python3 --version 2>/dev/null || python --version 2>/dev/null || py --version 2>/dev/null

Parse the output. Acceptable: any Python 3.9+ version string. Not acceptable: Python 2.x, command not found, or no output.

If Python 3 is found: print [adr-kit] Python OK: and continue to Step 1.

If Python 3 is NOT found: offer installation. Detect the platform:

uname -s 2>/dev/null || echo "windows"

Then present platform-specific installation guidance:

---

macOS — Python not found

# Option A (recommended): Install via Homebrew
brew install python3

# Option B: Install Xcode Command Line Tools (includes python3)
xcode-select --install

# Option C: Download from python.org
# https://www.python.org/downloads/macos/

Ask the user: Run 'brew install python3' now? (Y/n)

• If yes: run brew install python3 via Bash. After it completes, verify again with python3 --version. If successful: confirm and continue.
• If no: print the install instructions and tell the user to re-run /adr-kit:init after installing.

---

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y python3 python3-pip

Ask: Run this command now? (Y/n)

• If yes: run it. Verify after. Continue if successful.

Linux (Red Hat/Fedora/CentOS)

sudo dnf install python3   # Fedora/RHEL 8+
# or: sudo yum install python3

Linux (Arch)

sudo pacman -S python

For generic Linux, detect the distro from /etc/os-release and present the matching command. If uncertain, present all three and ask the user to choose.

---

Windows — Python not found

Present these options in order:

Option A (recommended): Windows Package Manager (winget)

winget install Python.Python.3.12

Ask: Run this in a terminal now? (Y/n) — if yes, run it via PowerShell.

Option B: Microsoft Store Open: ms-windows-store://pdp/?ProductId=9NCVDN91XZQP (or search "Python 3" in the Microsoft Store)

Option C: python.org installer Download from: https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/ Instruct: Check "Add Python to PATH" during installation.

After any Windows installation, verify:

python --version

IMPORTANT for Windows users: After installation, a new terminal session may be needed to pick up the updated PATH. Tell the user to close and reopen the terminal, then re-run /adr-kit:init.

---

All platforms — After successful installation

1. Verify the installed version: python3 --version (or python --version on Windows).
2. Confirm the version is 3.9+. If it is 3.8 or earlier, warn: [adr-kit] WARN: Python 3.8 detected. adr-kit recommends 3.9+. Some features may not work.
3. Print: [adr-kit] Python 3.x.y installed. Continuing setup...
4. Continue to Step 1.

If the user declines installation and Python is unavailable: print the error below and stop.

[adr-kit] ERROR: Python 3 is required but not installed.
Install Python 3.9+ from https://www.python.org/downloads/ and re-run /adr-kit:init.

Step 1 — Project hookup

1a. Drop the canonical guide

Locate the plugin's templates/adr-kit-guide.md. The plugin is loaded under ~/.claude/plugins/cache/rvdbreemen-adr-kit/adr-kit//; resolve the latest version with:

ls -d ~/.claude/plugins/cache/rvdbreemen-adr-kit/adr-kit/*/ | sort -V | tail -1

Copy templates/adr-kit-guide.md from that path to the project's .claude/adr-kit-guide.md (relative to pwd, which the user is expected to set to the project root before invoking).

• If .claude/adr-kit-guide.md does not exist: write the file.
• If it exists and is byte-identical to the template: skip (no-op).
• If it exists and differs: read both, show the user a unified diff (3 lines of context), ask keep project version | replace with plugin version | merge by hand. Apply the chosen action. Default on re-run with no edits is replace.

The first line of the plugin template is ` — preserve that line so future /adr-kit:upgrade` runs can detect freshness.

1b. Append the slim stub to CLAUDE.md

Locate CLAUDE.md at the project root. Three cases:

• CLAUDE.md does not exist. Create it containing only the stub below.
• CLAUDE.md exists, no ADR-kit footprint. Append the stub at the end of the file with one blank line of separation.
• CLAUDE.md exists, v0.11-style ## ADR Kit Rules section present. Replace the entire ## ADR Kit Rules section (from its heading down to the next ## heading or EOF) with the v0.12 stub. Leave everything else in CLAUDE.md untouched.
• CLAUDE.md exists with an … block. Replace just the block, preserving its position in the file. Idempotent.

The stub:

## ADR Kit

This project uses [adr-kit](https://github.com/rvdbreemen/adr-kit). All architectural decisions live as ADRs in `docs/adr/`. Full guide: @.claude/adr-kit-guide.md
Decision index: @docs/adr/ADR-INDEX.md (compact one-row-per-ADR map; regenerate with `bin/adr-index -o docs/adr/ADR-INDEX.md`).

Authoring: `/adr-kit:adr` (or the `adr-generator` subagent).
Pre-commit verification: `bin/adr-judge` runs declarative `Enforcement` rules at commit time (free). The Claude LLM pass for `llm_judge: true` ADRs is opt-in (enable in `docs/adr/.adr-kit.json`, or review in-session via `/adr-kit:judge`).
Guardian: when an `[adr-guardian] ... DUE` block appears at session start, proactively offer to run the due tier via `/adr-kit:guardian`. Confirm cost before the LLM tier. Apply mix-by-finding-type responses: drift violations surfaced prominently; missing-ADR suggestions passive; stale ADRs drafted for review; health issues reported with fix offer.
Edit-tier injection: when an `[adr-inject] ADR-NNN ... governs ` block appears before an edit, treat the quoted Decision as a binding constraint for that file and comply with it.

Confirm to the user with one line naming the action (created / appended / replaced v0.11 inline rules / refreshed stub) and the line number.

Step 2 — Candidate discovery

Run bin/adr-audit to scan the project. Use --output to drop the result next to the existing ADRs:

$ADR_KIT/bin/adr-audit --root . --output docs/adr/.adr-kit-init-candidates.json

($ADR_KIT is the plugin path resolved in step 1a.)

The output is a JSON file with:

• tooling-* candidates (build system, CI, runtime markers)
• deps-* candidates (one per dependency manifest found)
• doc-quote-* candidates (one per documentation file containing decision-narrative phrases, with up to 5 example snippets)

Open the file. Tell the user the headline counts: tooling, dependency, documented>.

Step 3 — Deep LLM curation

Read every candidate's evidence file(s) (or relevant section), plus the project's README.md, root AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md, and the existing docs/adr/ADR-*.md files. Your job: decide for each candidate whether it warrants an ADR and dedupe against ADRs that already exist.

For each candidate, classify:

• keep — material architectural decision; needs an ADR.
• merge with ADR-NNN — already documented in an existing ADR; no new file needed.
• drop — not architecturally significant (e.g., a casual doc phrase that didn't actually drive a decision).

Process candidates in batches of 5–10. For each batch:

1. Print a numbered list with: candidate id, your proposed classification, your reasoning (one sentence), and (for keep) the proposed ADR title and decision_type.
2. Ask the user: Approve all [yes] | reject specific (list ids) | drop classification suggestion (id → drop) | refine title/type (id → ...).
3. Apply the user's choices. For keep candidates: invoke the adr-generator subagent with the title, decision context (drawn from the evidence files), and at least two alternatives. The agent assigns the next sequential ADR number, writes docs/adr/ADR-NNN-.md with Status: Accepted, , and runs the four verification gates. Per ADR, prompt the agent to include an ## Enforcement block if the rule can be expressed declaratively, or llm_judge: true if it cannot, or omit the section if the decision has no code surface.

Do not race ahead. Wait for the user's response per batch.

When all candidates are processed, summarise: ``.

Step 4 — Hook installation

Run the install-hooks skill (or do its work inline if delegating is awkward):

1. Resolve the plugin's templates/githooks/pre-commit path (same plugin path as step 1a).
2. Read it. Write to project .githooks/pre-commit. Make it executable (chmod +x .githooks/pre-commit).
3. If the project already has a .githooks/pre-commit, do NOT overwrite. Read both. Tell the user the existing hook content. Ask: prepend adr-kit check before existing hook | replace | abort install. On prepend, write a wrapper that runs adr-kit then exec's the original (saved as .githooks/pre-commit.adr-kit-saved).
4. Run git config core.hooksPath .githooks once. Confirm with git config --get core.hooksPath.

4a — Interactive LLM opt-in (new in v0.17.0)

The hook installs, but the per-commit LLM passes are OFF by default. The declarative regex/glob gate is always-on and free.

Print this notice first:

[adr-kit] Per-commit LLM judging (claude-sonnet-4-6) adds up to 2 Sonnet calls
per commit (adr-judge + adr-suggest), each with a 120s timeout. Estimated cost:
$0.10–$0.30 per commit on a typical project. The declarative Enforcement gate is
always-on and costs nothing. LLM review is always available on demand via
/adr-kit:judge and `adr-judge --llm`.

Then ask two questions (default No for both):

1. Enable per-commit LLM judging (claude-sonnet-4-6) for llm_judge:true ADRs? (y/N)
2. Enable per-commit ADR-suggest nudges? (y/N)

Write the answers into docs/adr/.adr-kit.json (create if absent, merge if present):

{
  "judge": { "llm_enabled":  },
  "suggest": { "enabled":  }
}

Write the file even when both are declined (both false) — explicit configuration is better than absent-and-defaulting. Tell the user:

[adr-kit] LLM judging: . Suggest: .
LLM review is always available on demand: /adr-kit:judge or ADR_KIT_LLM=1 git commit ...

Print the final one-liner: Pre-commit ADR judge installed (declarative gate always-on; LLM passes opt-in). Disable a single commit with ADR_KIT_HOOK_DISABLE=1 git commit ...; enable LLM for one commit with ADR_KIT_LLM=1 git commit ...; remove permanently with /adr-kit:install-hooks --uninstall.

Step 5 — Final lint

Run the kit's lint binary on the freshly populated ADR directory:

$ADR_KIT/bin/adr-lint docs/adr/

Report the result: `. If any FAIL: list them with the gate name and ask the user whether to fix now (re-invoke adr-generator` for the offending ADR) or defer to a follow-up.

Step 5b — Guardian setup (new in v0.18.0)

After the hook and LLM opt-in are configured, offer the ADR Guardian.

Print this notice:

[adr-guardian] The ADR Guardian is a SessionStart staleness detector (v0.18.0).
It checks ADR health at session start and nudges when a sweep is due:
  - cheap tier (drift + retire + lint): daily, free
  - LLM tier   (suggest + audit):      bi-weekly, asks before spending (~$0.10–0.30)
Two registration paths:
  A. Plugin-level (default, recommended): auto-registers when the adr-kit plugin is enabled.
     The guardian self-guards (no-ops silently in non-ADR projects).
  B. Project-scoped: adds a SessionStart entry to .claude/settings.json (explicit, contained).

Ask two questions (default A/No):

1. Enable guardian? (Y/n) — Write {"guardian": {"enabled": true}} into docs/adr/.adr-kit.json (merge if present). If No: write {"guardian": {"enabled": false}} and skip the rest of this step.
2. Register project-scoped SessionStart hook in .claude/settings.json? (y/N) — If yes, follow the instructions in skills/install-hooks/SKILL.md under "Adding the project-scoped guardian hook". If no, remind the user the plugin-level hook is used by default.

Add .adr-kit-state.json to the project's .gitignore (idempotent):

grep -q "\.adr-kit-state\.json" .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo "docs/adr/.adr-kit-state.json" >> .gitignore

Confirm: [adr-guardian] enabled (); state file gitignored.

Step 6 — Generate standalone validation scripts (optional)

Ask the user: "Generate standalone validation scripts for CI/CD pipelines? (Y/n)"

If yes:

ADR_KIT=$(ls -d ~/.claude/plugins/cache/rvdbreemen-adr-kit/adr-kit/*/ | sort -V | tail -1)
"$ADR_KIT/bin/adr-generate-scripts" --lang shell --output .generated/

This generates shell scripts in .generated//validate.sh that validate code against ADR Enforcement rules without requiring adr-kit. Useful for CI/CD pipelines that run outside Claude Code.

If the user says no (or presses Enter on the default), skip silently. If .generated/ already contains scripts from a previous run, the generator overwrites them — this is idempotent.

Wrap-up

Print a final summary in this exact shape:

adr-kit init complete:
- guide:    .claude/adr-kit-guide.md (created | refreshed | unchanged)
- stub:     CLAUDE.md (created | appended | replaced | refreshed)
- audit:     candidates →  kept,  merged,  dropped
- ADRs:      created,  already present
- hook:     installed (or already present + reason)
- llm:      per-commit judging , suggest 
- guardian:  (plugin-level | project-scoped | disabled)
- lint:      PASS,  ADVISORY,  FAIL
- scripts:  generated | skipped (user declined)

Suggest a first commit: git add docs/adr/ .claude/adr-kit-guide.md CLAUDE.md .githooks/pre-commit && git commit -m "chore(adr-kit): bootstrap v0.12". Do not run the commit yourself; let the user inspect first.

Constraints

• Do not skip steps. Each step has an idempotency story; running them in order produces a consistent project state.
• Batch user approval. Do not silently mass-generate ADRs. Five to ten candidates per round, one round at a time.
• Resolve the plugin path dynamically. The kit lives at ~/.claude/plugins/cache/rvdbreemen-adr-kit/adr-kit//. Use the ls | sort -V | tail -1 resolver above; do not hardcode a version.
• Preserve user CLAUDE.md content. Only the marked stub block (or a v0.11-style ## ADR Kit Rules section being replaced) may be modified. Everything else stays byte-exact.
• Re-runnable. A second invocation on a project where init already succeeded should detect the existing footprint and either skip or refresh, not regenerate.

Source & license

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

• Author: rvdbreemen
• Source: rvdbreemen/adr-kit
• License: MIT

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