/init

description: Set up Repowise for this codebase. Installs if needed, asks about your preferences, and runs the indexing.
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, AskFollowupQuestion

Repowise Init

You are helping the user set up Repowise for their codebase. Follow this sequence precisely.

Step 1: Check if repowise is installed

Run: `repowise --version`

If the command fails or is not found, ask the user:

"Repowise isn't installed yet. I can install it for you. Which do you prefer?"

• `pip install repowise` (recommended, includes every LLM provider SDK)
• "I'll install it myself"

If they want you to install it, run `pip install repowise`. If that fails, try `python -m pip install repowise`.

After install, verify with `repowise --version`.

If repowise IS found, print the version and move to Step 2.

Step 2: Check if this repo is already indexed

Check if `.repowise/` directory exists in the project root.

If it exists, tell the user: "This repo is already indexed by Repowise. Run `/repowise:status` to check health, or `/repowise:update` to refresh. If you want to re-index from scratch, I can run `repowise init --force`."

Then stop — do not continue to Step 3 unless the user asks to re-index.

If `.repowise/` doesn't exist, move to Step 3.

Step 3: Offer the mode, but do not block on it

Repowise needs **no API key at all**. Never make a key a precondition for setting it up, and never stop and wait if you cannot get an answer.

Tell the user:

"Repowise indexes your repo and writes a complete wiki with no API key. I'll run `repowise init --yes` unless you'd rather pick:

1. **Default (no key)** — full index plus a wiki rendered from your code's structure. Free, fast, nothing to configure. 2. **Model-written wiki** — everything above, but an LLM writes the wiki prose instead of rendering it from structure, which also enables decision mining. Needs a provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, or Ollama locally). You can start keyless and upgrade any page later with `repowise generate`. 3. **Show me the flags.**"

If the user does not answer, or you are running unattended, take option 1.

If Default (no key):

Skip provider selection entirely. Construct:

repowise init --no-prose --yes

Jump to Step 3b.

If Full mode:

Move to Step 3b, then Step 4.

If "show me flags":

Print the full flag reference:

repowise init [PATH]

Core flags:
  --provider NAME        LLM provider: anthropic, openai, gemini, ollama, litellm
  --model NAME           Model identifier override
  --prose / --no-prose   Write the subsystem (concept) pages as model prose
                         (--prose, needs a key), or render the whole wiki from
                         structure with no model and no spend (--no-prose).
                         Every other page is structural either way.
                         Default: prose when a key is available.
  --mode fast            Quick first pass on very large repos: no wiki at all.

Embeddings:
  --embedder NAME        Embedding provider: gemini, openai, openrouter, ollama,
                         edenai, mock (default: auto-detect)

Cost control:
  --concurrency N        Max parallel LLM calls (default: 10)
  --test-run             Limit to top 10 files by PageRank for quick validation

Exclusions:
  -x, --exclude PATTERN  Gitignore-style exclude patterns. Repeatable.
                         Example: -x 'vendor/**' -x 'generated/'
  --skip-tests           Skip test files
  --skip-infra           Skip infrastructure files (Dockerfile, Makefile, Terraform, shell)

Git:
  --commit-limit N       Max commits to analyze per file (default: 500, max: 10000)
  --follow-renames       Track files across renames (slower but more accurate history)

Editor integration:
  --editor-setup /       Wire repowise into your editors (default), or skip it
  --no-editor-setup      entirely. Covers both halves: the machine-wide config
                         (~/.claude/settings.json, Claude Desktop's config, the
                         Claude Code hooks, the distill rewrite-hook offer) and
                         the project-local files (.mcp.json, .claude/CLAUDE.md,
                         .vscode/mcp.json, .vscode/extensions.json). With
                         --no-editor-setup only .repowise/ is touched. There is
                         one 'repowise' MCP entry per machine-wide config, so a
                         later init from another repo repoints it. See Step 3b.
  --hook / --no-hook     Install the post-commit hook that runs 'repowise
                         update' in the background after each commit, so the
                         index does not go stale between sessions. Default: on.
                         --no-editor-setup keeps it off too, since a git hook
                         is a write outside .repowise/. Undo any time with
                         'repowise hook uninstall'.

Keys:
  --save-key /           Save the provider key this run authenticated with to
  --no-save-key          .repowise/.env (gitignored, owner-only). Default: on,
                         so the MCP server can answer later without the shell
                         that set it. Use --no-save-key in CI or on a shared
                         machine.

Output:
  --no-claude-md         Don't generate/update CLAUDE.md
  -y, --yes              Skip cost confirmation prompt
  -v, --verbose          Show per-phase internals plus debug logs (quiet by default)

Recovery:
  --resume               Resume a previously interrupted init
  --force                Re-index from scratch, overwriting existing .repowise/

Dry run:
  --dry-run              Show generation plan and cost estimate without running

Then ask if they want you to construct a command or if they'll handle it.

Step 3b: Is this repo a keeper?

Every path reaches this step. It is about the repo, not the provider.

By default `init` registers repowise as the user's global MCP server, in `~/.claude/s