init

Reads a project it has never seen before and writes down what an AI assistant needs to know about it — how to build it, what the conventions are, where the traps are.

When to use

SCOPE

USE FOR

Create a first AI-agent instructions file for a project that doesn't have one yet.
Update an existing instructions file to match the codebase's current conventions.
Focus the customization pass on one area, like testing conventions, when asked.
Get a short table of which files were added or changed and why they help an AI agent.

NOT FOR

Start doing the requested task itself; only customization files get created or edited.

This is a saved copy of the skill's SKILL.md instructions. It may differ from the upstream file or the version you install.

The purpose of this command is to create or update chat customization files

the agent instructions file (.github/copilot-instructions.md or AGENTS.md) to help AI coding agents understand the codebase and be immediately productive
skills and custom agents to automate common tasks or enforce conventions in the codebase

The user can optionally call this command with an argument. The argument can be a specific request for a customization file, or, for new projects, the description of the project. When called with an argument, focus on customizations related to that argument. Only create or modify chat customization files. Never start working on a task in the argument.

When the command is invoked, immediately tell the user that you are now exploring the codebase and work on creating and improving the chat customization files. If the user provided an argument, also mention that you are focusing on that area or pattern. Keep the output brief, and ask for feedback or additional input if needed.

Use the related skill agent-customization for detailed information about the different types of customization files. Explore the codebase to get a good understanding of the project and its conventions, and then create or update the relevant chat customization files to help AI coding agents be productive in this codebase.

When complete, print a table of the added or modified chat customization files, along with a short explanation why this file is useful to the AI coding agents.

Workflow

Discover existing conventions Search: **/{.github/copilot-instructions.md,AGENT.md,AGENTS.md,CLAUDE.md,.cursorrules,.windsurfrules,.clinerules,.cursor/rules/**,.windsurf/rules/**,.clinerules/**,README.md}
Explore the codebase via subagent, 1-3 in parallel if needed Find essential knowledge that helps an AI agent be immediately productive:
- Build/test commands (agents run these automatically)
- Architecture decisions and component boundaries
- Project-specific conventions that differ from common practices
- Potential pitfalls or common development environment issues
- Key files/directories that exemplify patterns
Also inventory existing documentation (docs/**/*.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, ARCHITECTURE.md, etc.) to identify topics that should be linked, not duplicated.
Generate or merge
- New file: Prefer AGENTS.md over .github/copilot-instructions.md. If the user already has one of these files, update it instead of creating a new one.
- Existing file: Preserve valuable content, update outdated sections, remove duplication
- Follow the guidelines in the agent-customization skill:
  1. Link, don't embed principle. Do not copy existing documentation that exists in the workspace, link to them with a Markdown link instead.
  2. Minimal by default: Only what's relevant and cannot be easily discovered by an agent should be included. Link to other documentation for details.
  3. Concise and actionable: Every line should guide behavior
Iterate
- Ask for feedback on unclear or incomplete sections
- If the workspace is complex, suggest creating separate instructions files or skills for specific areas (e.g., frontend, backend, tests)

Once finalized, propose related agent-customizations to create next (/create-(agent|hook|instruction|prompt|skill) …), explaining the customization and how it would be used in practice.

If session history is available, use the chronicle skill to check for friction patterns in past sessions — this can surface project-specific conventions or pitfalls that codebase exploration alone wouldn't reveal. Mention /chronicle improve to the user as a way to iteratively refine instructions over time.

One of 31 skills in the microsoft/vscode package — works on its own.

Run this outside your AI tool, using Node.js 22.20.0 or newer. Skills CLI 1.7.2 skips skill selection; prompts cancel installation without an interactive terminal. If choosing Project when asked about installation scope, open your project's folder before running this.

Install checklist

Check selected tools if a picker appears; Claude Code may be unchecked under Additional agents. ↑/↓ moves, Space toggles selections, Enter confirms.
Without a tool picker, check Installing to: for your intended tool. Stop if it names a different tool.
If asked, choose Symlink (Recommended) for shared files or Copy to all agents for separate copies; review the summary before confirming installation.
Install the find-skills skill? defaults to Yes, adding another skill for all projects. Choose No if you don't want that extra installation.

Skills CLI 1.7.2 sends install data to skills.sh by default, including the source, skill names, target tools and file details; GitHub sources are reported only when GitHub confirms the repository is public, while other remote sources can also be reported. Confirmed-public GitHub sources also trigger a security-audit request. Before installing, set the environment variable DO_NOT_TRACK=1 or DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1 to disable both.

npx skills add microsoft/vscode --skill "init" --full-depth

Once this skill is installed where Claude Code loads it, type /init in Claude Code when you want to start it. Claude Code won't start this skill on its own.

View on GitHub

Workflow

No requirements beyond installing this skill were found.

More skills

MCP keyword matches