loop-loop/skills/init/SKILL.md

name, description

name	description
init	Setup task: scaffold .loop/ directory and generate config for the agent loop harness. Not a creative task — do not brainstorm or generate ideas. Reads existing specs if present.

/init — Initialize Agent Loop for a Project

Set up the agent loop harness in the current project. This is infrastructure setup, not creative work.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT invoke brainstorming, planning, or idea-generation skills. This skill handles its own flow.

Instructions

Follow these steps exactly. Do not skip or reorder them.

Step 1: Scaffold .loop/ Directory

Check if .loop/ already exists in the project root.

If .loop/ already exists and contains prd.json, ask the user if they want to re-initialize. If yes, delete .loop/ and continue. If no, skip to Step 3.

Create .loop/ and copy ALL required harness files. Run these commands exactly:

mkdir -p .loop

Then check if the plugin root has the harness files. Try these paths in order:

1. ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/prompts/ (if CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT env var is set)
2. ~/.claude/plugins/cache/agent-loop/agent-loop/*/prompts/ (glob for any version)

Copy ALL of these directories and files — every one is required:

# Find the harness source (plugin cache)
HARNESS_SRC=$(ls -d ~/.claude/plugins/cache/agent-loop/agent-loop/*/prompts/.. 2>/dev/null | head -1)

if [ -n "$HARNESS_SRC" ]; then
    cp -r "$HARNESS_SRC/prompts" .loop/
    cp -r "$HARNESS_SRC/templates" .loop/
    cp -r "$HARNESS_SRC/lib" .loop/
    cp "$HARNESS_SRC/loop.sh" .loop/
    chmod +x .loop/loop.sh
fi

Verify the copy worked. Check that these paths exist:

• .loop/prompts/generator/_base.md
• .loop/prompts/evaluator/_base.md
• .loop/templates/progress.md.template
• .loop/lib/state.sh
• .loop/loop.sh

If any are missing, tell the user the scaffold failed and show which files are missing.

Create .loop/.gitignore:

prd.json
progress.md
progress-archive.md
config.json
init.sh
contracts/
triage/
archive/
.archive-staging/
.last-branch
.loop.lock

Step 2: Check for Existing Specs

Search for existing design documents or specs:

• docs/superpowers/specs/*.md
• docs/specs/*.md
• SPEC.md, PRD.md, DESIGN.md at root

If a spec is found:

"I found an existing spec at {path}. I'll use this as the basis for generating stories."

Read it. The user does NOT need to re-describe what they want. Set mode to implement and skip to Step 4.

If no spec is found, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Mode Selection

Ask the user:

What would you like to do?

a) Explore — Read-only codebase analysis. No code changes. b) Implement — Build a feature. Code changes, commits, and tests. c) Fix — Targeted bug fixes or tech debt.

For implement without a spec: "Describe the feature in 1-3 sentences." For explore: "What areas should I focus on?" For fix: "Do you have a list of issues, or should I find them?"

Also read the project to detect the tech stack:

• Check for package.json, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml, go.mod, etc.
• Run ls on the project root

Step 4: Generate Configuration

Create .loop/config.json with this EXACT structure:

{
  "tool": "claude",
  "mode": "<implement|explore|fix>",
  "maxIterations": 20,
  "skipEval": false,
  "evalRetries": 2,
  "autoHooks": true,
  "branchPrefix": "loop/",
  "scopeBudgets": {
    "explore": {
      "maxFilesToRead": 15,
      "maxLinesToWrite": 0,
      "maxFilesToModify": 0
    },
    "implement": {
      "maxFilesToRead": 50,
      "maxLinesToWrite": 500,
      "maxFilesToModify": 10
    },
    "fix": {
      "maxFilesToRead": 30,
      "maxLinesToWrite": 200,
      "maxFilesToModify": 5
    }
  }
}

Adjust maxIterations based on estimated story count (stories + 30% for rejections).

Create .loop/init.sh with project-specific setup commands. Make it executable.

Step 5: Flow into Planning

Say:

"Project configured. Generating stories..."

Then invoke /agent-loop:plan. If a spec was found in Step 2, tell the plan skill to use it.