/init

name: init
argument-hint: "[--depth=light|standard|deep] [--mode=small|medium|large] [--domain=<slug>] [--refresh]"
description: "First-time Archcore setup. Detects repo scale and shape, then composes a full first-day seed — stack rule, run guide, data-model, integrations, config, entry points, public surface, a linked architecture overview, and specs for the top hotspot modules — shown in ONE preview and created on a single confirm, plus host wiring (MCP config, hooks, CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md managed block). Imports agent-instruction files — aggregate files (CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md/.cursorrules) as link stubs, modular rule files (.cursor/rules/*.mdc and equivalents) as rule docs by default. Use on a fresh clone, empty `.archcore/`, 'set up archcore', or to wire host configs (MCP/hooks/CLAUDE.md+AGENTS.md). Not for individual docs or planning."

/archcore:init

First-time onboarding. Detects repo scale (small / medium / large) and shape, composes a scale-appropriate seed of `.archcore/` documents, shows them in **one preview**, and creates them on a **single `confirm`** — so push-mode (`check-code-alignment`) and pull-mode (`/archcore:context`) have substance and the relation graph is live from day one. The same confirm also installs **host wiring** (project MCP config, SessionStart hook, usage hint — the same files `archcore init` writes), so the repo works for CLI-only teammates. Per `magic-first-day-init.adr`: extractive facts are composed in full; the top hotspot modules get real `spec`s (synthesized only after confirm); the overview is an index, never a prose blob. **Nothing is written before `confirm`.** Exact per-mode output is in the Routing Table below.

Arguments

• `--depth=light|standard|deep` — synthesis budget (default `standard`), orthogonal to `--mode`. See the Depth axis section below. Also settable via the `depth:<tier>` toggle in the preview.
• `--mode=small|medium|large` — force a mode, overriding auto-detection.
• `--domain=<slug>` — re-run focused on one domain (large repos): scopes data-model + hotspot specs to that domain's tree, tops up only its docs. Bypasses the "already seeded" early-exit.
• `--refresh` — re-run on an already-seeded repo to add facts that appeared since the first init (a new schema, config, or modules) — and to retrofit host wiring on repos seeded before wiring existed. Bypasses the early-exit; existing docs are skipped, missing ones composed.

When to use

• Empty `.archcore/` — the SessionStart nudge points here.
• First session on a fresh clone / fresh install.
• User says: "initialize archcore", "set up archcore", "seed archcore", "first-time setup", "what should I do first".

**Not init** (route elsewhere):

• Recording a specific decision → `/archcore:decide`.
• Planning a feature → `/archcore:plan`.
• Documenting one module → `/archcore:capture`.
• Codifying a team standard → `/archcore:decide` (offers rule + guide continuation).
• Reading applicable context before coding → `/archcore:context`.
• Docs health audit → `/archcore:audit`.

Routing table

**Mode routing** — Step 0.5 classifier, evaluated top-to-bottom, first match wins. The **empty** route is decided earlier in Step 0(b). Precise conditions in `lib/detect-scale.md`.

| Signal | Route | Seeded (composed when detected) | |---|---|---| | No manifest AND no top-level source (Step 0b) | → **empty** | no content docs — host wiring only, behind its own mini-confirm | | `--mode=X` flag | → forced `X` (detected mode still reported) | per row below | | `domain_count ≤ 1` AND `module_count ≤ 15` | → **small** | stack rule, run guide, data-model, integrations, config, entry points, public surface, overview + hotspot specs (`light` 3 / `standard` 4 / `deep` 6 — see Depth axis) | | `domain_count ≤ 2` AND `module_count ≤ 40` | → **medium** | small set + cross-cutting rules (every depth — `light` ≤2 / `standard` ≤3 / `deep` ≤4) + hotspot specs (`light` 4 / `standard` 6 / `deep` 10 — see Depth axis) | | `domain_count ≥ 3` OR `module_count > 40` | → **large** | medium set + top-level map + domain dialog + data-model per schema-bearing domain (all, not only selected) + hotspot specs (per-domain floor + repo-wide rank — `light` 2/domain min6 cap12 / `standard` 3/domain min10 cap24 / `deep` 4/domain min14 cap40 — see Depth axis) |

Every non-empty mode also composes the architecture-overview capstone, plans relation wiring, and offers agent-file import — aggregate files (CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / .cursorrules) as link stubs and modular rule files (`.cursor/rules/*.mdc`, `.github/instructions/*.md`, `.windsurf/rules/*.md`) as rule docs by default, per `lib/agent-files.md` — inside the preview. Tier-1 facts (data-model, integrations, config, entry points, public surface) are seeded in any mode **when detected** — breadth scales with the repo, presence does not. The public-surface fact is what carries the seed for library / SPA / multi-command-CLI / agent-plugin repos, where there is no server to enumerate as entry points. The empty route exits after Step 0.

**Follow-up routing** — closing-message hand-offs. Init surfaces these as todos; MUST NOT auto-invoke.

| User wants to... | → Invoke | |---|---| | Capture another module | `/archcore:capture <path>` | | Record a decision | `/archcore:decide` | | Codify a convention as a rule | `/archcore:decide` | | Plan a feature | `/archcore:plan` | | Drill into another domain (large) | `/archcore:init --domain=<slug>` | | Add facts that appeared since first init | `/archcore:init --refresh` | | Scope queries to a domain (large) | `/archcore:context domain:<slug>` | | See what's loaded | `/archcore:audit` |

Depth axis (`--depth=light|standard|deep`)

Orthogonal to scale (`--mode`, which measures repo *size*). Depth sets the **synthesis budget**, not the artifact checklist. **Extraction is always on** in every depth — Tier-1 facts, imported authored rules, and the hotspot register are cheap and the highest-value / most-durable layer. Depth scale