StartSAFE

Turn Claude Code into a full game dev studio — 49 AI agents, 72 workflow skills, and a complete coordination system mirroring real studio hierarchy.

The instruction file, verbatim from the audited commit — this is the text the model reads, and the surface the audit's instruction layer examines. Quoted here so you can judge it without cloning anything.

---
name: start
description: "First-time onboarding — asks where you are, then guides you to the right workflow."
argument-hint: "[no arguments]"
user-invocable: true
allowed-tools: Read, Glob, Grep, Write, Edit, AskUserQuestion
model: sonnet
---

# Guided Onboarding

This skill writes `project.yaml` — the `project.stage`, `modes.rigor` and
`modes.automation` settings — plus one legacy mirror, `production/stage.txt`,
for backward compatibility with hooks that have not migrated. `modes.rigor` and
`modes.automation` have no legacy mirror; they are written to `project.yaml`
only.

> **`/start` never writes `modes.review_mode`, in either location.** It is a
> rigor-fronted knob: writing it explicitly pins it and shadows the `modes.rigor`
> expansion, so the Phase 3d question would stop changing director-review depth
> (see Phase 3d, and the same rule in `project.yaml`'s header comment). It must
> **not** write `production/review-mode.txt` either — the legacy step sits
> **above** the rigor expansion in the resolution chain, deliberately, so a genuine
> v1.0 project's explicit choice survives migration. On a new project that
> ordering works against you: a mirror file written here would outrank the
> expansion permanently. Verified: `rigor: minimal` plus a `review-mode.txt`
> containing `lean` resolves to `lean`, not the expected `solo`.

This skill is the entry point for new users. It does NOT assume you have a game idea, an engine preference, or any prior experience. It asks first, then routes you to the right workflow.

---

**Automation mode**: Resolve `modes.automation` (`project.local.yaml` →
`project.yaml` → default `collaborative`). **Note**: on a fresh project no
`modes.automation` is set yet, so `/start` runs collaboratively — it is
creating the config. Its core onboarding questions (starting point, rigor,
automation) are project-shaping and always prompt regardless
of mode. Engine choice is **not** among them — it is deferred to
`/setup-engine`, which Phase 4 hands off to.
If `/start` is re-run on an already-configured project, the resolved mode
applies per `.claude/docs/automation-modes.md`.

## Phase 1: Detect Project State

Before asking anything, silently gather context so you can tailor your guidance. Do NOT show these results unprompted — they inform your recommendations, not the conversation opener.

Check:
- **Engine configured?** Read `engine.name` from `project.yaml`; if that key is absent or empty (including when `project.yaml` has no `engine:` block), fall back to `.claude/docs/technical-preferences.md` (an Engine field of `[TO BE CONFIGURED]`, or no file, means not set). The engine is configured if either source yields a real engine name.
- **Game concept exists?** Check for `design/gdd/game-concept.md` (or `design/game-brief.md` at the `minimal` tier).
- **Source code exists?** Resolve the code root from the `engine.name` read above (`src/` Godot, `Assets/` Unity, `Source/` Unreal; full order in `.claude/docs/code-root-resolution.md`), then Glob it for source files (`*.gd`, `*.cs`, `*.cpp`, `*.h`, `*.rs`, `*.py`, `*.js`, `*.ts`). **If the code root is unresolved, say so rather than concluding there is no code** — a Unity or Unreal project scanned as `src/` returns zero files and reads as greenfield.
- **Prototypes exist?** Check for subdirectories in `prototypes/`.
- **Design docs exist?** Count markdown files in `design/gdd/`.
- **Production artifacts?** Check for files in `production/sprints/` or `production/milestones/`.
- **Still wired to the template repo?** Read `.git/config` if it is a file. If its
  `[remote "origin"]` url contains `donchitos/claude-code-game-studios`, compared
  case-insensitively, the user cloned the template and `origin` still points at
  it — so `git push` and `gh pr create` target the CCGS repo, not their game. A
  fork (the same repo name under another owner) is the user's own and does not
  count. Note it: it is reported on every path, the returning user's included.
  Read only; never run git.

Store these findings internally to validate the user's self-assessment and tailor recommendations.

---

## Phase 2: Ask Where the User Is

This is the first thing the user sees — unless Phase 1 found a returning user (engine configured, and a concept or brief present): then ask nothing here and answer as the **User is returning** edge case below. Otherwise, use `AskUserQuestion` with these exact options so the user can click rather than type:

- **Prompt**: "Welcome to Claude Code Game Studios! Before I suggest anything, I'd like to understand where you're starting from. Where are you at with your game idea right now?"
- **Options**:
  - `A) No idea yet` — I don't have a game concept at all. I want to explore and figure out what to make.
  - `B) Vague idea` — I have a rough theme, feeling, or genre in mind (e.g., "something with space" or "a cozy farming game") but nothing concrete.
  - `C) Clear concept` — I know the core idea — genre, basic mechanics, maybe a pitch sentence — but haven't formalized it into documents yet.
  - `D) Existing work` — I already have design docs, prototypes, code, or significant planning done. I want to organize or continue the work.

Wait for the user's selection. Do not proceed until they respond.

---

## Phase 3: Route Based on Answer

#### If A: No idea yet

The user needs creative exploration before anything else.

1. Acknowledge that starting from zero is completely fine
2. Briefly explain what `/brainstorm` does: it turns "no idea" into a written design your next step can build from. Mention that it has two modes: `/brainstorm open` for fully open exploration, or `/brainstorm [hint]` if they have even a vague theme (e.g., "space", "cozy", "horror").

   > **Describe it tier-neutrally here.** Phase 3d has not run, so you do not yet
   > know how much process this project wants — and `/brainstorm` changes shape
   > completely on that answer. At `minimal` it runs a short Lean Brief flow and
   > stops, producin

SAFEgrade B · trust 89/100 Nothing in the source contradicts what it says it does. Grade A is reserved for packages that have also passed the behavioural sandbox.

What the source does

Filesystem

none-observed

Network

none-observed

Shell

none-observed

Dependencies

pinned

Secrets in source

none-found

Findings (0)

No findings outside the package's declared scope.

Gates applied: no_behavioural_pass.