Kickoff

Kickoff

One command to go from empty repo (or unfamiliar codebase) to a working project with full workflow infrastructure. Produces .project/PROJECT.md + ROADMAP.md, initializes jira and studio, and points you at the first sprint.

Input

$ARGUMENTS:

• Free text — a description of what this project is and what you're trying to build
• Empty — start with adaptive questioning to understand the project

Process

1. Understand the project

If the user provided a description, use it as the seed. Either way, explore:

• Codebase scan — ls, package.json, Cargo.toml, go.mod, README.md, CLAUDE.md, recent git history. What exists already?
• Stack detection — language, framework, database, deployment target
• Existing workflow state — .jira/, .project/, .planning/ (legacy), .workspacerc

Then ask focused questions via AskUserQuestion (max 4 questions, bundled):

• What is this project? (one sentence)
• Who uses it and what problem does it solve?
• What are the hard constraints? (stack, timeline, compliance, team size)
• What does "done" look like for the first milestone?

Skip questions the codebase already answers.

2. Set up infrastructure

Run these in sequence:

a. Studio — if no .workspacerc exists, invoke /studio:setup semantics (create workspace, symlinks, gitignore block, hook wiring). If .workspacerc already exists, skip.

b. Jira — if no .jira/ exists, invoke /jira:init semantics (bootstrap .jira/ with STATE.md, sprints/). If .jira/ already exists, skip.

c. Create .project/ — mkdir -p .project/. If studio is active, this will be a symlink into the workspace.

3. Write PROJECT.md

Write .project/PROJECT.md:

markdownCopy code
---
name: <project name>
created: <YYYY-MM-DD>
stack: <detected stack summary>
status: active
---

# <Project Name>

## Purpose
<2-3 sentences: what this project is and why it exists>

## Constraints
<bulleted list of hard constraints — technical, timeline, compliance, team>

## Success criteria
<what "done" looks like — measurable where possible>

## Stack
<language, framework, database, deployment, key dependencies>

## Team
<who's working on this — roles, not names if unknown>

## Decisions
<significant architectural or product decisions already made — reference CLAUDE.md, ADRs, or CONTEXT.md entries>

4. Write ROADMAP.md

Break the project into phases. Each phase is a milestone-level chunk that maps to one or more jira sprints.

markdownCopy code
---
project: <project name>
created: <YYYY-MM-DD>
phases: <count>
---

# Roadmap

## Phase 1: <name>
**Goal:** <one sentence>
**Sprints:** <estimated count>
**Depends on:** —
**Status:** not-started

### Deliverables
- <deliverable 1>
- <deliverable 2>

### Success criteria
- [ ] <criterion 1>
- [ ] <criterion 2>

## Phase 2: <name>
...

Scale the roadmap to the project. A weekend hack gets 2-3 phases. A production app gets 5-10. Don't over-plan — the roadmap is a compass, not a GPS route.

5. Present and iterate

Show the user:

• PROJECT.md summary
• ROADMAP.md phase breakdown
• Infrastructure status (studio, jira)

Ask: "Does this capture the project? Should any phases merge, split, or reorder?"

Iterate until approved.

6. Commit and route

bashCopy code
git add .project/PROJECT.md .project/ROADMAP.md
git commit -m "kickoff: initialize project — <project name>"

Then suggest the next step:

• If Phase 1 is clear enough to sprint on: "Ready for /jira:research <phase 1 goal>"
• If Phase 1 needs shaping first: "Ready for /grill shape to refine Phase 1 before sprinting"
• If the user wants to decompose Phase 1 into issues first: "Ready for /jira:to-issues after planning"

Legacy migration

If .planning/ exists (from GSD or older workflows):

1. Note its contents to the user
2. Offer to migrate relevant artifacts (PROJECT.md, ROADMAP.md equivalents) into .project/
3. Don't delete .planning/ — that's a studio:migrate concern

Hard rules

• Never skip the user conversation. Even if the codebase is obvious, confirm with the user. Kickoff is alignment, not automation.
• Infrastructure is idempotent. Re-running kickoff on an initialized project updates PROJECT.md and ROADMAP.md but doesn't re-init jira or studio.
• Roadmap phases are NOT jira sprints. A phase may require multiple sprints. The mapping is: phase = milestone, sprint = one research→plan→execute cycle within a phase.
• Don't start a sprint. Kickoff ends at the roadmap. The user decides when to start the first sprint.
• Never push. Commit locally only.