Bootstrap

Bootstrap — minimal project setup

Bootstrap fills only missing AgentOps entry documents and the default durable

verdict directory. It does not initialize Git, install hooks, create tracker

state, start runtimes, or impose a delivery workflow.

Never-overwrite is what makes bootstrap safe to run on any repository: a setup

step that can only add is idempotent by construction, while one that can

replace must first prove it understands what it is replacing.

Named failure mode — scaffold sprawl: creating files the caller never

requested because a "complete" setup feels more helpful than a minimal one.

Anti-pattern: inferring product intent from directory names and READMEs to

avoid asking the caller. Corrective: ask for the missing content; a wrong

PRODUCT.md written confidently is worse than a question.

Procedure

• Inspect the target directory and report which canonical files already exist.
• Ask the caller for missing product intent or goal content when it cannot be

inferred safely.

• Create only missing, explicitly requested files. Never overwrite an existing

document.

• Create .agents/ao/verdicts/sha256/ when durable local verdict storage is

requested.

• Validate filesystem existence and report created, skipped, and failed paths.
• Stop.

Typical documents are PRODUCT.md, GOALS.md, AGENTS.md, and a README section

that explains the one-pass loop. Repositories remain free to use their own Git,

CI, tracker, release, and deployment policies.

Naming. Three surfaces share the word "bootstrap"; they are distinct. This

skill authors missing entry documents. ao init is the CLI command that creates

the local evidence and verdict directories (.agents/ao/**). `ao session

bootstrap` is a read-only session command that reports which local orientation

files are present. This skill invokes neither.

Non-goals

• installing or invoking ao, br, bd, NTM, Agent Mail, or another runtime;
• creating .git, worktrees, branches, commits, hooks, or CI workflows;
• choosing work or claiming that repository setup is complete beyond the paths

actually inspected;

• running RPI automatically.

Output

Return target path, requested files, created files, existing files left intact,

failed writes, and validation observations. Do not include a next action.

References

• Fitness
• Product
• Documentation
• Examples