Project Wizard Skill

Create new GitHub Copilot-enabled projects from the base template with full security configuration, GitHub integration, and Archon project setup.

Triggers

Activate this skill when user mentions:

"new project", "create project", "setup project"
"new workspace", "new codebase"
"project wizard", "project template"
"initialize repository", "init repo"
"#new-project", "#project-wizard"

Description

The Project Wizard skill guides users through creating new projects from the github-copilot-base template. It automates:

Folder Creation - Creates project directory in specified location
Template Copy - Copies all base template files
Customization - Updates README, CODEOWNERS, and configs
Git Setup - Initializes repo with pre-commit hooks
GitHub Integration - Creates repo with branch protection and secret scanning
Archon Setup - Creates project for task management

Workflow Steps

1. Gather Information

Collect the following using ask_user:

| Question | Purpose | Validation | |----------|---------|------------| | Project path | Parent directory location | Must exist | | Project name | Folder and repo name | Lowercase, hyphens only | | Project type | Determines README template | Select from list | | Description | README and GitHub description | Max 200 chars | | Language | .gitignore additions | Select from list | | GitHub org | Where to create repo | Must have access | | Visibility | Public or private | Default: private |

2. Execute Setup

# Create project directory
$ProjectPath = Join-Path $ParentPath $ProjectName
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $ProjectPath -Force

# Copy template files
& "$TemplateRepo\scripts\copy-template.ps1" `
    -SourcePath $TemplateRepo `
    -DestinationPath $ProjectPath

# Initialize git
Set-Location $ProjectPath
git init

# Install pre-commit
pip install pre-commit
pre-commit install
pre-commit install --hook-type commit-msg

# Initial commit
git add .
git commit -m "feat: initial project setup from github-copilot-base template"

# Create GitHub repo
gh repo create "$Org/$ProjectName" --private --source=. --push --description "$Description"

# Enable branch protection
gh api "repos/$Org/$ProjectName/branches/main/protection" -X PUT `
    -f required_status_checks='{"strict":true,"contexts":[]}' `
    -f enforce_admins=false `
    -f required_pull_request_reviews='{"required_approving_review_count":1}'

# Enable secret scanning
gh api "repos/$Org/$ProjectName" -X PATCH `
    -f security_and_analysis='{"secret_scanning":{"status":"enabled"},"secret_scanning_push_protection":{"status":"enabled"}}'

3. Create Archon Project

// Create project
const project = await manage_project("create", {
  title: projectName,
  description: description,
  github_repo: `https://github.com/${org}/${projectName}`
});

// Create initial tasks
await manage_task("create", {
  project_id: project.id,
  title: "Complete project setup",
  description: "Review and customize template files",
  status: "todo"
});

4. Customize Files

Update these files with project-specific information:

README.md - Replace placeholders with project info
CODEOWNERS - Update team references
.github/copilot-instructions.md - Add project context

5. Output Summary

Provide completion summary with:

Project location and URL
What was configured
Next steps for the user

Project Types

| Type | Description | README Template | |------|-------------|-----------------| | web-frontend | React, Vue, Angular, etc. | templates/readme/web-frontend.md | | backend-api | Node.js, Python, .NET, etc. | templates/readme/backend-api.md | | fullstack | Combined frontend + backend | templates/readme/fullstack.md | | cli-library | CLI tools or packages | templates/readme/cli-library.md | | infrastructure | Terraform, Docker, K8s | templates/readme/infrastructure.md |

Language Support

Additional .gitignore patterns by language:

| Language | Template | |----------|----------| | JavaScript/TypeScript | templates/gitignore/node.gitignore | | Python | templates/gitignore/python.gitignore | | C#/.NET | templates/gitignore/dotnet.gitignore | | Go | templates/gitignore/go.gitignore | | Java | templates/gitignore/java.gitignore |

Error Handling

| Error | Resolution | |-------|------------| | Path doesn't exist | Prompt to create or choose different | | Folder already exists | Prompt to overwrite or rename | | gh not installed | Show installation guide | | Not authenticated | Run gh auth login | | No org access | Use personal account |

Prerequisites

Git installed and configured
GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated
Python installed (for pre-commit)
Archon MCP server running (optional)

Example

User: #new-project

Copilot: 🧙 Project Wizard

Let's create a new project! I'll guide you through the setup.

[Asks questions one by one...]

✅ Creating project folder...
✅ Copying template files...
✅ Initializing git repository...
✅ Installing pre-commit hooks...
✅ Creating GitHub repository...
✅ Enabling branch protection...
✅ Enabling secret scanning...
✅ Creating Archon project...

🎉 Project "my-awesome-api" created successfully!

📍 Location: E:\Repos\MyOrg\my-awesome-api
🔗 Repository: https://github.com/MyOrg/my-awesome-api
📋 Archon Project: proj_abc123

Next steps:
1. Open in VS Code: code E:\Repos\MyOrg\my-awesome-api
2. Review README.md and customize
3. Start building!