michi-bootstrap

The bootstrap skill onboards a project to Michi’s documentation structure. It surveys what already exists, identifies gaps against the Michi standard, and walks you through setup interactively. This is the first skill you run on any project — before planning, before sessions, before anything else. It works for brand-new projects (greenfield) and existing codebases being prepared for Michi work (brownfield).

When to use

• Setting up a new project for Michi work
• Onboarding an existing codebase that has never used Michi
• Re-running on a project with partial Michi structure to close remaining gaps
• When you’re unsure what Michi docs a project already has versus what it needs

What it does

The skill runs three phases, with human checkpoints between each.

Survey. The agent scans the codebase for size, language breakdown, and structure. It inventories existing documentation — README, CLAUDE.md, PROJECT.md, STATUS.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, any docs directories — and assesses each file as substantive, stub, stale, or missing. It checks whether docs/ already contains non-Michi content (product docs, API docs) and asks where Michi docs should live. The result is a structured project profile presented for your review.

Recommend. Based on the survey, the agent presents effort tiers. Each tier is additive — S (essentials: CLAUDE.md and STATUS.md), M (foundation: adds PROJECT.md and first epic directory), L (full setup: adds ARCHITECTURE.md, reorganizes existing docs), XL (deep onboard: adds verification infrastructure, scenario catalog, code-style stub). You pick a tier, mix across tiers, or cherry-pick. Anything deferred goes to a refactoring roadmap.

Execute. For each artifact in scope, the agent drafts content based on survey findings, presents it for review, and writes the file after approval. Nothing is generated and dumped silently — every artifact is a mini-collaboration.

What it produces

• CLAUDE.md with build/test commands, conventions, and @-references to other docs
• STATUS.md reflecting current project state
• PROJECT.md with goals, users, and features (M tier and above)
• First epic directory with verification and plans subdirectories (M tier and above)
• ARCHITECTURE.md with design overview (L tier and above)
• docs/reference/code-style.md stub for applied coding principles (XL tier)
• Refactoring roadmap listing anything deferred, with rationale

Key things to know

• This is a collaborative, interactive skill — the agent drafts, you review, then it writes. It does not run autonomously.
• For brownfield projects, the agent shows proposed moves and merges before acting. It won’t silently reorganize existing docs.
• If docs/ already has non-Michi content, the agent will ask where to put Michi docs and record the decision as docs-root in CLAUDE.md.
• The natural next step after bootstrap is /michi-planning to prepare the first milestone, or /michi-explore if the project needs more investigation first.

For the full agent instructions, see the SKILL.md source.