Project Scaffolding Skill for Claude Code

IDE-grade project scaffolding wizard comparable to WebStorm and PyCharm project wizards. Supports 70+ project types across web, mobile, desktop, and backend development.

This repository ships two skills that work together:

Install both. The scaffolder works alone, but without the maintainer its dependency versions slowly go stale and there is no supported way to update them.

Features

• Interactive Wizard Workflow: Step-by-step project configuration like JetBrains IDEs
• 70+ Project Types: From simple HTML/CSS to complex full-stack applications
• SDK/Environment Configuration: Node.js, Python, Go, Rust, Java version selection
• Framework-Specific Options: TypeScript, CSS frameworks, state management, routing
• Database & ORM Setup: PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, MongoDB with various ORMs
• Code Quality Tools: ESLint, Prettier, Ruff, mypy, golangci-lint, clippy
• Testing Configuration: Vitest, Jest, pytest, Go testing, Playwright
• DevOps Ready: Docker, docker-compose, GitHub Actions CI/CD
• Registry-Backed Versions: Every dependency version resolves from a single manifest that is refreshed from npm and PyPI — never from guesswork
• Staleness Aware: The wizard checks how old its version data is and says so before recommending a stack

Supported Project Types

Static Websites (HTML/CSS/JS)

• Pure HTML5 (no CSS)
• HTML/CSS (no build tools)
• HTML + Sass/SCSS
• HTML + Tailwind CLI
• Landing Pages
• Multi-page Sites

Frontend Web Frameworks

• React (Vite)
• Next.js 16 (App Router)
• Vue 3 / Nuxt 3
• SvelteKit
• Angular
• Astro
• Remix
• Solid.js
• Qwik
• Preact

Mobile & Cross-Platform

• React Native
• Expo
• Flutter
• Tauri (Desktop)
• Electron
• Ionic

Backend - JavaScript/TypeScript

• Express
• NestJS
• Fastify
• Hono
• Elysia
• tRPC
• Koa

Backend - Python

• FastAPI
• Django / Django REST
• Flask
• Litestar

Backend - Go

• Go + Gin
• Go + Fiber
• Go + Echo
• Go + Chi

Backend - Rust

• Rust + Axum
• Rust + Actix
• Rust + Rocket

Backend - Java/Kotlin

• Spring Boot
• Quarkus
• Ktor
• Micronaut

Backend - Other

• PHP + Laravel
• Ruby on Rails
• .NET Web API

Libraries & Packages

• TypeScript NPM Package
• Python PyPI Package
• Go Module
• Rust Crate

CLI Tools

• Node.js CLI
• Python CLI (Typer/Click)
• Go CLI (Cobra)
• Rust CLI (Clap)

Browser Extensions & Plugins

• Chrome Extension (Manifest V3)
• Firefox Extension
• VS Code Extension
• Figma Plugin
• Obsidian Plugin

Serverless & Edge

• AWS Lambda
• Cloudflare Workers
• Vercel Functions
• Supabase Functions

Full-Stack Templates

• T3 Stack (Next.js + tRPC + Prisma)
• MERN Stack
• PERN Stack
• MEAN Stack

Monorepos

• Turborepo
• Nx Workspace
• pnpm Workspace

Installation

Install both skills. They are separate packages so the maintenance instructions do not load into context every time you scaffold a project.

Option 1: Extract from Archives (Recommended)

# The scaffolder
unzip project-scaffolding.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding

# The maintainer
unzip scaffolding-maintainer.skill -d ~/.claude/skills/scaffolding-maintainer

Option 2: Copy Source Files

If you have the unpacked source files, copy each skill’s directory contents:

# macOS/Linux
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding
cp -r project-scaffolding/SKILL.md \
      project-scaffolding/scripts/ \
      project-scaffolding/references/ \
      project-scaffolding/assets/ \
      ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding/

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/scaffolding-maintainer
cp -r scaffolding-maintainer/SKILL.md \
      scaffolding-maintainer/scripts/ \
      scaffolding-maintainer/references/ \
      ~/.claude/skills/scaffolding-maintainer/

assets/ is required. It holds versions.json, the manifest every dependency version is read from. Without it the scaffolder exits with a missing-manifest error rather than generating a project with unpinned dependencies.

Verify Installation

ls ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding/ ~/.claude/skills/scaffolding-maintainer/

# Confirm the scaffolder can read its manifest and report how fresh it is
python3 ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding/scripts/scaffold.py --version-status

Expected output:

Manifest      : ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding/assets/versions.json
Last checked  : 2026-09-12 (0 days ago)
Tracked       : 89 npm, 31 pypi
Runtimes      : node=24, python=3.14, go=1.26, java=21, rust_edition=2024

Status: FRESH (0d).

Keeping It Current

Framework and package versions move constantly. The scaffolding-maintainer skill exists to keep up with that, along two deliberately separate paths.

Refreshing versions — ask Claude to “refresh the scaffolding versions”, or run it directly:

cd ~/.claude/skills/project-scaffolding
python3 scripts/refresh_versions.py           # dry run: shows what would change
python3 scripts/refresh_versions.py --apply   # applies the safe updates

The refresher queries npm and PyPI directly — versions are never written from memory. It auto-applies only settled, within-major updates and flags the rest for review:

Prereleases are never adopted, even when a registry’s latest tag points at one.

Improving the wizard — when a scaffolding session hits something worth fixing (a rejected default, a missing framework, output that failed to install), it is recorded in assets/observations.md. Ask Claude to “act on the scaffolding observations” to review the log and patch the skill.

Usage

Basic Usage

Simply ask Claude to create a project:

Create a simple HTML/CSS website

Create a new React project with TypeScript and Tailwind

Set up a FastAPI backend with PostgreSQL and SQLAlchemy

Build a Chrome extension with React

Create a mobile app with Expo

Initialize a Go API with Gin and PostgreSQL

Interactive Wizard

For detailed configuration, Claude will guide you through:

1. Project Category & Type - Choose from 70+ options
2. Basic Configuration - Name, description, author
3. Language & SDK - Version selection, package managers
4. Framework Options - CSS, state management, routing, ORM
5. Code Quality - Linting, formatting, testing
6. DevOps - Docker, CI/CD, deployment

Example Workflows

Simple HTML/CSS Website

User: Create a simple website

Claude: I'll create a static HTML/CSS website:

**Structure:**
- Multi-page (Home, About, Contact)
- Mobile-first responsive CSS
- BEM naming convention
- Live Server for development

**Files:**
my-website/
├── index.html
├── about.html
├── contact.html
├── css/style.css
├── js/main.js
├── images/
└── README.md

Shall I create this?

Mobile App with Expo

User: Create a mobile app for iOS and Android

Claude: I recommend Expo for the easiest setup:

**Configuration:**
- TypeScript
- Expo Router (file-based navigation)
- NativeWind (Tailwind for React Native)
- Tab navigation template

Ready to scaffold?

Go Backend API

User: Create a Go API with PostgreSQL

Claude: I'll set up Go + Gin:

**Structure:**
- Standard Go layout (cmd/, internal/, pkg/)
- sqlc for type-safe SQL
- JWT authentication
- Docker + docker-compose

**Features:**
- Swagger/OpenAPI docs
- Graceful shutdown
- Rate limiting

Proceed?

Configuration Options

JavaScript/TypeScript

Python

Go

Rust

What Gets Generated

HTML/CSS Website

my-website/
├── index.html
├── about.html
├── contact.html
├── css/
│   ├── style.css
│   └── reset.css
├── js/main.js
├── images/
├── favicon.ico
├── robots.txt
└── README.md

Next.js + tRPC + Prisma

my-nextjs-app/
├── .github/workflows/ci.yml
├── prisma/schema.prisma
├── src/
│   ├── app/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── lib/
│   ├── server/api/
│   └── types/
├── tests/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile
└── package.json

Go + Gin

my-go-api/
├── cmd/server/main.go
├── internal/
│   ├── api/handlers/
│   ├── config/
│   ├── models/
│   └── repository/
├── db/migrations/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile
├── go.mod
└── Makefile

Chrome Extension

my-extension/
├── src/
│   ├── popup/
│   ├── background/
│   ├── content/
│   └── options/
├── public/
│   ├── manifest.json
│   └── icons/
├── vite.config.ts
└── package.json

Comparison with IDE Wizards

Quick Start Commands

HTML/CSS

mkdir my-site && cd my-site && touch index.html style.css
# Or use boilerplate:
npx degit h5bp/html5-boilerplate my-site

React + Vite

npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react-ts

Next.js (T3 Stack)

npx create-t3-app@latest my-app

Expo (React Native)

npx create-expo-app@latest my-app --template tabs

Astro

npm create astro@latest

Tauri (Desktop)

npm create tauri-app@latest

Chrome Extension

npm create plasmo@latest

Files Included

project-scaffolding/              # SKILL 1 - creates projects
├── SKILL.md                      # Main skill definition (70+ project types)
├── scripts/
│   ├── scaffold.py               # Scaffolding engine
│   └── refresh_versions.py       # Queries npm/PyPI for current versions
├── references/
│   ├── frameworks.md             # Framework configuration guides
│   ├── best-practices.md         # Architecture patterns
│   └── wizard-options.md         # Detailed wizard configuration options
└── assets/
    ├── versions.json             # Single source of truth for every version
    └── observations.md           # Log of what real sessions revealed

scaffolding-maintainer/           # SKILL 2 - keeps skill 1 current
├── SKILL.md                      # Refresh and improvement workflows
├── references/
│   ├── template-drift.md         # Which templates a major bump invalidates
│   └── review-workflow.md        # Patching procedure, adding a project type
└── scripts/
    └── verify_scaffold.py        # Generates every type, validates, diffs

tests/golden/                     # Baseline of generated output (repo only)

tests/golden/ is a development artifact and is not part of either installed skill. It lets any change to the scaffolder be reviewed as a diff of exactly what users would receive.

Tips for Best Results

1. Be specific - “Create a React app with Tailwind and Zustand” works better than “create a web app”

2. Mention your stack - Include database, auth, or other requirements upfront

3. Ask for recommendations - Claude can suggest the best stack for your use case

4. Start simple - For HTML/CSS, just say “create a simple website”

5. Specify platform - For mobile, mention iOS/Android or both

Version History

• v3.1 - Self-maintaining release. All dependency versions centralized into assets/versions.json, resolved through manifest lookups that fail loudly rather than emitting unpinned dependencies. Added refresh_versions.py (registry-backed, dry-run by default, gates majors and pre-1.0 bumps for review) and the scaffolding-maintainer skill. The wizard now reports how stale its version data is before recommending a stack. Golden-baseline verification covers all 19 project configurations
• v3.0 - Major update: Tailwind CSS v4 (CSS-first config), ESLint flat config, React 19, Next.js 16, Svelte 5 (Runes), Angular 19, Vite 7, Express 5. Runtime defaults: Node.js 24, Python 3.14, Go 1.26, Rust 2024. New: Pure HTML5 static website option
• v2.4 - Improved HTML support: fixed Tailwind CLI configuration (removed orphaned PostCSS config), refactored template methods to eliminate code duplication (added helper methods for CSS links, header, footer), improved code maintainability
• v2.3 - Fixed scaffold.py: NestJS typo (@nestjs/swtc → @nestjs/schematics), removed unused templates_dir, updated @types/node to v22
• v2.2 - Restructured skill with progressive disclosure, added comprehensive wizard-options.md covering all 70+ project types, updated version defaults (Node.js 22, Python 3.12, Go 1.23)
• v2.1 - Added HTML/CSS static websites, Go, Rust, Java backends, mobile frameworks, browser extensions, serverless
• v2.0 - Initial enhanced release with 40+ project types
• v1.0 - Basic web framework support

License

MIT