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Nav Init
ASecurityInitialize Navigator documentation structure in a project. Auto-invokes when user says "Initialize Navigator", "Set up Navigator", "Create Navigator structure", or "Bootstrap Navigator".
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- Added September 19, 2026
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[](https://www.skillsdirectory.com/skills/qf-studio-nav-init)---
name: nav-init
description: Initialize Navigator documentation structure in a project. Auto-invokes when user says "Initialize Navigator", "Set up Navigator", "Create Navigator structure", or "Bootstrap Navigator".
allowed-tools: Write, Bash, Read, Glob
version: 1.0.0
triggers:
- "initialize navigator"
- "init navigator"
- "set up navigator"
- "setup navigator"
- "create navigator structure"
- "bootstrap navigator"
- "start navigator project"
---
# Navigator Initialization Skill
## Purpose
Creates the Navigator documentation structure (`.agent/`) in a new project, copies templates, and sets up initial configuration.
## When This Skill Auto-Invokes
- "Initialize Navigator in this project"
- "Set up Navigator documentation structure"
- "Create .agent folder for Navigator"
- "Bootstrap Navigator for my project"
## What This Skill Does
1. **Checks if already initialized**: Prevents overwriting existing structure
2. **Creates `.agent/` directory structure**:
```
.agent/
├── DEVELOPMENT-README.md
├── .nav-config.json
├── tasks/
├── system/
├── sops/
│ ├── integrations/
│ ├── debugging/
│ ├── development/
│ └── deployment/
└── grafana/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── prometheus.yml
├── grafana-datasource.yml
├── grafana-dashboards.yml
├── navigator-dashboard.json
└── README.md
```
3. **Copies templates**: DEVELOPMENT-README.md, config, Grafana setup
5. **Auto-detects project info**: Name, tech stack (from package.json if available)
6. **Updates CLAUDE.md**: Adds Navigator-specific instructions to project
7. **Creates .gitignore entries**: Excludes temporary Navigator files
## Execution Steps
### 1. Check if Already Initialized
```bash
if [ -d ".agent" ]; then
echo "✅ Navigator already initialized in this project"
echo ""
echo "To start a session: 'Start my Navigator session'"
echo "To view documentation: Read .agent/DEVELOPMENT-README.md"
exit 0
fi
```
### 2. Detect Project Information
Read `package.json`, `pyproject.toml`, `go.mod`, `Cargo.toml`, or similar to extract:
- Project name
- Tech stack
- Dependencies
**Fallback**: Use current directory name if no config found.
### 3. Create Directory Structure
Use Write tool to create:
```
.agent/
.agent/tasks/
.agent/system/
.agent/sops/integrations/
.agent/sops/debugging/
.agent/sops/development/
.agent/sops/deployment/
.agent/grafana/
```
### 4. Copy Templates
Copy from plugin's `templates/` directory to `.agent/`:
**DEVELOPMENT-README.md**:
- Replace `${PROJECT_NAME}` with detected project name
- Replace `${TECH_STACK}` with detected stack
- Replace `${DATE}` with current date
**`.nav-config.json`**:
```json
{
"version": "5.5.0",
"project_name": "${PROJECT_NAME}",
"tech_stack": "${TECH_STACK}",
"project_management": "none",
"task_prefix": "TASK",
"task_id_source": "local",
"team_chat": "none",
"auto_load_navigator": true,
"compact_strategy": "conservative",
"auto_update": {
"enabled": true,
"check_interval_hours": 1,
"curl_fallback": false
}
}
```
**Grafana Setup**:
Copy all Grafana dashboard files to enable metrics visualization:
```bash
# Find plugin installation directory
PLUGIN_DIR="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-$(cat "${NAVIGATOR_CONFIG_HOME:-${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/navigator}/plugin-root" 2>/dev/null)}"
[ -d "$PLUGIN_DIR/skills" ] || PLUGIN_DIR="$HOME/.claude/plugins/marketplaces/navigator-marketplace"
# Copy Grafana files if plugin has them
if [ -d "${PLUGIN_DIR}/.agent/grafana" ]; then
cp -r "${PLUGIN_DIR}/.agent/grafana/"* .agent/grafana/
echo "✓ Grafana dashboard installed"
else
echo "⚠️ Grafana files not found in plugin"
fi
```
Files copied:
- docker-compose.yml (Grafana + Prometheus stack)
- prometheus.yml (scrape config for Claude Code metrics)
- grafana-datasource.yml (Prometheus datasource config)
- grafana-dashboards.yml (dashboard provider config)
- navigator-dashboard.json (10-panel Navigator metrics dashboard)
- README.md (setup instructions)
### 5. Update Project CLAUDE.md
If `CLAUDE.md` exists:
- Append Navigator-specific sections
- Keep existing project customizations
If `CLAUDE.md` doesn't exist:
- Copy `templates/CLAUDE.md` to project root
- Customize with project info
### 6. Claude Code Hooks (Plugin Manifest)
**Navigator's lifecycle hooks ship with the plugin manifest** (`.claude-plugin/plugin.json`'s top-level `hooks` field) starting v6.13.0+. They are *not* merged into the project's `.claude/settings.json` — Claude Code only substitutes `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` for hooks declared in a plugin manifest, so merging them into user settings (the prior approach) produced broken commands like `/hooks/X.py`.
The plugin registers the following hooks automatically when the plugin is installed:
1. **SessionStart** — injects Navigator context (navigator + active marker + config + graph + profile) into the session, eliminating ~6 Read tool calls at start (v6.9.0+)
2. **PreCompact** — writes a context marker before manual or silent auto-compact (v6.10.0+)
3. **PostCompact** — appends Claude Code's compact summary to the marker (v6.10.0+)
4. **Stop** — silent workflow-state writer; records whether WORKFLOW CHECK / NAVIGATOR_STATUS appeared (v6.11.0+)
5. **UserPromptSubmit** — prompt_gate + prompt_brief ops (Loop/Task mode trigger detection + optional strict_block gate; intent-brief injection)
6. **PreToolUse(Read)** — read_guard op (bulk-read circuit breaker)
7. **PostToolUse(Edit|Write|Bash)** — token monitor (warns at 70% / 85% context usage)
8. **PostToolUse(Edit|Write)** — task→graph sync and profile correction sync (v6.11.0+)
**Nothing for nav-init to do here.** The skill no longer writes to `.claude/settings.json` for hooks.
```
⚠️ RESTART REQUIRED to activate hooks after plugin install/update.
Claude Code caches plugin manifest hooks at session start.
```
**Opt-out**: Users can disable any hook via `.agent/.nav-config.json`:
```json
{
"session_start_hook": { "enabled": false },
"compact_hook": { "enabled": false },
"workflow_state_hook": { "enabled": false },
"task_graph_sync_hook": { "enabled": false },
"profile_sync_hook": { "enabled": false },
"workflow_enforcer_hook":{ "enabled": false }
}
```
(The hooks themselves read this config and short-circuit when disabled, so no settings.json mutation is needed.)
### 7. Create .gitignore Entries
Add each of these lines to `.gitignore` unless it is already present (check line by
line — re-running nav-init must not duplicate entries):
```
# Navigator context markers
.context-markers/
# Navigator temporary files
.agent/.nav-temp/
# Navigator hook-runtime session state (regenerated every turn, never shared)
.agent/.nav-runtime-state.json
.agent/.nav-runtime-state.lock
# Navigator reject log (one line per refusal; local diagnostics, TASK-88)
.agent/.nav-rejects.jsonl
# Navigator personal config override (per contributor, see nav-features --local)
.agent/.nav-config.local.json
# Navigator onboarding state (per person; lives under ~/.config/navigator since v7.8)
.agent/onboarding/
```
Idempotent append, one command:
```bash
for line in ".context-markers/" ".agent/.nav-temp/" \
".agent/.nav-runtime-state.json" ".agent/.nav-runtime-state.lock" \
".agent/.nav-rejects.jsonl" \
".agent/.nav-config.local.json" ".agent/onboarding/"; do
grep -qxF "$line" .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo "$line" >> .gitignore
done
```
### 8. Success Message
```
✅ Navigator Initialized Successfully!
Created structure:
📁 .agent/ Navigator documentation
📁 .agent/tasks/ Implementation plans
📁 .agent/system/ Architecture docs
📁 .agent/sops/ Standard procedures
📁 .agent/grafana/ Metrics dashboard
📄 .agent/.nav-config.json Configuration
📄 CLAUDE.md Updated with Navigator workflow
Next steps:
1. Start session: "Start my Navigator session"
2. Optional: Enable metrics - see .agent/sops/integrations/opentelemetry-setup.md
3. Optional: Launch Grafana - cd .agent/grafana && docker compose up -d
Token monitoring is active - you'll be warned when approaching context limits.
Documentation: Read .agent/DEVELOPMENT-README.md
```
## Error Handling
**If `.agent/` exists**:
- Don't overwrite
- Show message: "Already initialized"
**If templates not found**:
- Error: "Navigator plugin templates missing. Reinstall plugin."
**If no write permissions**:
- Error: "Cannot create .agent/ directory. Check permissions."
## Predefined Functions
### `project_detector.py`
```python
def detect_project_info(cwd: str) -> dict:
"""
Detect project name and tech stack from config files.
Checks (in order):
1. package.json (Node.js)
2. pyproject.toml (Python)
3. go.mod (Go)
4. Cargo.toml (Rust)
5. composer.json (PHP)
6. Gemfile (Ruby)
Returns:
{
"name": "project-name",
"tech_stack": "Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma",
"detected_from": "package.json"
}
"""
```
### `template_customizer.py`
```python
def customize_template(template_content: str, project_info: dict) -> str:
"""
Replace placeholders in template with project-specific values.
Placeholders:
- ${PROJECT_NAME}
- ${TECH_STACK}
- ${DATE}
- ${YEAR}
Returns customized template content.
"""
```
### `settings_merger.py`
```python
def merge(target_path: Path, fragment: dict) -> dict:
"""
Idempotent JSON merge for .claude/settings.json.
- If target doesn't exist: create from fragment.
- If target exists: deep-merge `hooks` arrays by event name; dedupe entries
by command string. Preserves user-defined hooks and other top-level keys.
- Refuses to clobber invalid JSON (exits 2).
"""
```
**Status (v6.13.0+)**: Retained as general-purpose JSON merger for non-hook
keys (permissions, mcpServers, etc.) that downstream skills may want to
preserve. Navigator no longer passes a hooks fragment through it — hooks now
ship with the plugin manifest (`.claude-plugin/plugin.json`). The hook-merging
code path is dead-for-Navigator but kept intact for safety (existing call
sites that already pass non-hook fragments continue to work).
## Examples
### Example 1: New Next.js Project
**User says**: "Initialize Navigator in this project"
**Skill detects**:
- `package.json` exists
- Name: "my-saas-app"
- Dependencies: next, typescript, prisma
**Result**:
- `.agent/` created
- DEVELOPMENT-README.md shows: "Project: My SaaS App"
- DEVELOPMENT-README.md shows: "Tech Stack: Next.js, TypeScript, Prisma"
- .nav-config.json has project_name: "my-saas-app"
### Example 2: Python Project
**User says**: "Set up Navigator"
**Skill detects**:
- `pyproject.toml` exists
- Name: "ml-pipeline"
- Dependencies: fastapi, pydantic, sqlalchemy
**Result**:
- `.agent/` created
- Tech stack: "FastAPI, Pydantic, SQLAlchemy"
### Example 3: Already Initialized
**User says**: "Initialize Navigator"
**Skill checks**:
- `.agent/` directory exists
**Result**:
```
✅ Navigator already initialized in this project
To start a session: 'Start my Navigator session'
```
## Integration with Other Skills
**nav-start skill**:
- Checks for `.agent/DEVELOPMENT-README.md`
- If missing, suggests: "Initialize Navigator first"
**nav-task skill**:
- Creates tasks in `.agent/tasks/`
- Requires initialization
**nav-sop skill**:
- Creates SOPs in `.agent/sops/`
- Requires initialization
## Version History
- **1.0.0** (2025-01-20): Initial implementation
- Auto-detection of project info
- Template customization
- Grafana setup included
- Error handling for existing installations
## Notes
- This skill replaces the deleted `/nav:init` command from v2.x
- Templates are copied from plugin installation directory
- Project info detection is best-effort (falls back to directory name)
- Safe to run multiple times (won't overwrite existing structure)
Files in this skill
- SKILL.md
- functions/project_detector.py
- functions/settings_merger.py
- functions/template_customizer.py
- functions/test_settings_merger.py
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