generate

Generate CLAUDE.md — Iterative Stress-Test Refinement

You are the orchestrator for CLAUDE.md generation. You coordinate iterative refinement by spawning a fresh agent for each iteration. Each agent invents a realistic development task, plans it against the current CLAUDE.md, discovers what information is missing, and feeds those learnings back in.

You never do iteration work yourself. You handle setup, agent spawning, interaction gates, and the final summary. The agents do the analytical work.

Prerequisite: A CLAUDE.md must already exist in the project root (e.g., from /init or manual creation). This skill refines an existing CLAUDE.md — it does not generate one from scratch.

---

Phase 0: Setup

1. Parse arguments. Check $ARGUMENTS for an iteration count override (e.g., /setup-claude-md:generate 3). If not provided, fall back to config, then default to 5.

2. Load config. Use Glob to check for .claude-md-config.json in the project root. If found, Read it and extract settings:

   • iterations (default: 5)
   • interaction_mode (default: confirm-base)
   • focus_areas (default: all)
   • max_lines (default: 150)
   • generate_rules (default: false)

3. Check for resume state. Use Glob to check for .claude-md-generator-state.json in the project root. If found:

   • Read it and extract the state (phase, completed_iterations, config, repo_summary, archetypes_used)
   • Use AskUserQuestion to ask: "Found state from a previous run ({completed_iterations}/{total_iterations} iterations completed). Resume from where it left off, or start fresh?" Options: "Resume", "Start fresh"
   • If "Resume": skip to Phase 1–N, starting from iteration completed_iterations + 1, using the saved config and repo_summary
   • If "Start fresh": delete the state file and logs directory, continue from step 5

4. Load quality standards. Read the file references/claude-md-standards.md (relative to this skill file). Keep these criteria in mind throughout.

5. Require CLAUDE.md. Use Glob to find CLAUDE.md in the project root. If it does NOT exist: tell the user "No CLAUDE.md found. Run /init first to create a base, then re-run /setup-claude-md:generate." and STOP.

6. Read & synthesize repo summary. Read the existing CLAUDE.md. Synthesize a one-sentence repo_summary from its content (tech stack, project type, key directories). Example: "TypeScript/React app using Vite, pnpm, Vitest. Dirs: src/, tests/, docs/."

7. Write state file. Write the initial state:

{
  "phase": "iterating",
  "total_iterations": <iterations>,
  "completed_iterations": 0,
  "archetypes_used": [],
  "config": {
    "interaction_mode": "<interaction_mode>",
    "focus_areas": "<focus_areas>",
    "max_lines": <max_lines>,
    "generate_rules": <generate_rules>
  },
  "repo_summary": "<repo_summary>"
}

Write this to .claude-md-generator-state.json in the project root. Also create the .claude-md-generator-logs/ directory using Bash with mkdir -p.

8. Interaction gate. Check the interaction_mode setting:
   • If confirm-base or confirm-each: Present the existing CLAUDE.md to the user using AskUserQuestion. Ask: "I'll refine this CLAUDE.md through {N} iterations of stress-testing. Proceed?" Provide options: "Looks good, proceed", "I have feedback" (let them type).
   • If autonomous: Continue without stopping.

---

Phase 1–N: The Iteration Loop

For each iteration i from 1 to iterations (or from completed_iterations + 1 if resuming):

Announce: "Iteration {i}/{total} — {archetype_name}"

Step 1.1 — Determine Archetype

Select archetype number ((i - 1) % 10) + 1 from the archetypes list. If the repo has fewer than 5 source files, skip archetypes 8, 9, 10 and use ((i - 1) % 7) + 1.

Look up the archetype name and template text from references/task-archetypes.md.

Step 1.2 — Determine Complexity Guidance

• Iterations 1–2: "Single-module scope. Task touches 1–2 files."
• Iterations 3–4 (or 3–5): "Multi-file scope. Task spans 3–5 files across 2+ directories."
• Iterations 5+ (or 6+): "Cross-cutting scope. Task affects a subsystem or requires coordinated changes."

Step 1.3 — Construct Agent Prompt

Read the file references/iteration-prompt.md (relative to this skill file). Fill in all {placeholder} values:

• {iteration} — current iteration number
• {total} — total iterations
• {archetype_name} — name from Step 1.1 (e.g., "Bug Fix (Low Complexity)")
• {archetype_template} — template and example text from the archetypes file for this archetype
• {complexity_guidance} — from Step 1.2
• {claude_md_path} — absolute path to the project's CLAUDE.md
• {standards_path} — absolute path to references/claude-md-standards.md
• {archetypes_path} — absolute path to references/task-archetypes.md
• {log_path} — absolute path to .claude-md-generator-logs/iteration-{i}.md
• {focus_areas} — from config
• {max_lines} — from config
• {generate_rules} — from config
• {repo_summary} — from state file

Step 1.4 — Spawn Iteration Agent

Spawn the agent using the Task tool:

Task(
  subagent_type: "general-purpose",
  description: "Refinement iteration {i}",
  prompt: <the constructed prompt from Step 1.3>
)

Step 1.5 — Post-Iteration Bookkeeping

After the agent completes:

1. Read the iteration log at .claude-md-generator-logs/iteration-{i}.md
2. Update the state file: increment completed_iterations, append the archetype name to archetypes_used
3. Write the updated state file

Step 1.6 — Interaction Gate

If interaction_mode is confirm-each:

• Show the user the iteration log (invented task, frustration log, learnings, changes made)
• Use AskUserQuestion: "Here are the changes from iteration {i}. Accept, modify, or skip?" Options: "Accept changes", "Skip these changes", "I have feedback"
• If "Skip these changes": revert CLAUDE.md to the version before this iteration (re-read the previous version from iteration i-1's log or the original if i == 1)

---

Phase 2: Review Agent

Spawn a final review agent using the Task tool:

Task(
  subagent_type: "general-purpose",
  description: "Final CLAUDE.md review",
  prompt: <final review prompt below>
)

The final review prompt (construct inline):

You are a CLAUDE.md reviewer. Read the CLAUDE.md at {claude_md_path} and perform a final quality pass.

Read the quality standards at {standards_path}.

1. Apply the removal test to every line: "If I deleted this line, would Claude make a concrete mistake on a real development task?" Remove anything that fails.
2. Verify formatting: ## headers for sections, bullet lists, fenced code blocks for commands, no trailing whitespace or double blank lines.
3. Spot-check 1–2 documented commands by running them via Bash. If a command fails, fix or annotate it.
4. Write the final CLAUDE.md to {claude_md_path}.

---

Phase 3: Cleanup

1. Delete .claude-md-generator-state.json using Bash with rm.
2. Delete .claude-md-generator-logs/ directory using Bash with rm -rf.
3. Present the summary:

CLAUDE.md generation complete.

Iterations run:    {count}
Archetypes used:   {list of archetype names}
Sections:          {list of section names from final CLAUDE.md}
Final line count:  {count}

If generate_rules was enabled, also list:

Generated rule files:
- .claude/rules/{topic1}.md
- .claude/rules/{topic2}.md

4. Show the final CLAUDE.md content — Read the final CLAUDE.md and display it to the user so they can see exactly what was generated without having to open the file themselves.

---

Important Reminders

• NEVER execute invented tasks. Agents only plan them to find gaps.
• NEVER include information Claude can get from reading code. The CLAUDE.md is for things that AREN'T in the code.
• Be ruthless about pruning. A short, dense CLAUDE.md is far more valuable than a long, padded one.
• Each iteration should discover NEW information. If an agent finds nothing new, that's a signal you may have enough iterations.
• Reference real files. Every task agents invent must reference actual files and modules in the repository.