Genesis Init

---
name: "Init"
description: Initialize Genesis Spec-Kit in a project — scaffold .genesis/ and determine the project mode (greenfield, brownfield, lowfield). Use when setting up the kit for the first time.
argument-hint: "[project-path] [--mode greenfield|brownfield|lowfield]"
---

# Init — Scaffold Genesis Spec-Kit

Set up the kit's file-backed scaffolding in a project and establish its **mode**. Everything the kit does afterward reads from the files this step creates.

## Process

1. **Check for an existing install.** If `.genesis/` already exists, ask whether to reinitialize (overwrite kit system files, preserve all user artifacts) or stop. On reinitialize, preserve: `constitution/`, `project-state.md`, `discovery/`, `design/`, `features/`.

2. **Determine the mode.** If `--mode` is given, use it. Otherwise scan the directory and recommend:
   - Empty (only `.git`) → **Greenfield** — a new project from scratch.
   - Files present → **Brownfield** — an existing codebase needing structure.
   - **Lowfield** — a content or creative project (novel, research corpus, knowledge base). Lowfield is **always an explicit choice**, never auto-detected.

   Present all three and let the user confirm.

3. **Resolve the project name** from `package.json` / `Cargo.toml` / `pyproject.toml` / etc., or ask.

4. **Create the directory structure:**
   ```
   .genesis/
   ├── constitution/          # supreme law (populated by /genesis-constitute)
   ├── discovery/             # project profile (populated by /genesis-discover)
   ├── design/                # project-level design docs
   │   ├── technical/
   │   ├── user-journeys/
   │   ├── systems/
   │   └── decisions/         # ADRs
   ├── features/              # per-feature artifacts
   ├── templates/             # copied from the kit
   ├── hooks/                 # optional git hooks
   ├── furnace.json           # deferred-idea backlog (starts empty)
   └── project-state.md       # the live state file
   ```

5. **Copy the kit templates** into `.genesis/templates/` (constitution, spec, micro-spec, feature-design, north-star, discovery-{greenfield,brownfield,lowfield}, design-inputs).

6. **Seed `furnace.json`:** `{ "entries": [] }`.

7. **Write `project-state.md`** from the template: project name, mode, init date, current phase `Initialized`, and empty sections for Active Features, Completed Features, Key Decisions, Constitutional Amendments, Open Questions, Blockers.

8. **Generate or update `CLAUDE.md`** with: the project name, the mode, an instruction to read the constitution and `project-state.md` at session start, and a one-line command reference pointing at `/genesis-help`.

9. **Git:** if no repo exists, `git init` and write a `.gitignore`. Stage only the kit scaffolding and commit: `genesis: initialize spec-kit scaffolding`.

10. **Print a mode-specific welcome** with next steps (constitute → discover → brainstorm).

## Mode additions

- **Brownfield:** run the codebase scan from `discovery-brownfield.md` and pre-populate the discovery findings; note brownfield audit-scoping rules (audits scoped to changed files; findings classified inherited vs introduced).
- **Lowfield:** use the content-oriented templates; the work-unit registry is built later by `/genesis-discover`.

## Constraints

- MUST NOT modify any existing non-kit files (no edits to `package.json`, source files, etc.).
- MUST NOT run builds, tests, or install dependencies.
- MUST NOT create files outside `.genesis/`, `.claude/`, and `CLAUDE.md`.
- MUST preserve all user artifacts on reinitialize.
- MUST commit only kit scaffolding, never unrelated changes.

## Next step

Run `/genesis-constitute` to establish the project's constitution.

## Natural language triggers

```
- "initialize genesis"
- "set up the spec kit"
- "start a new project"
- "onboard this project"
```