claude-init

A CLI wizard that generates CLAUDE.md files for your projects — the instruction file that tells Claude Code how to behave in a given codebase.

Usage

No install required:

npx claude-init

Or install globally:

npm install -g claude-init
claude-init

What it does

Walks you through a series of questions about your project, then writes a well-structured CLAUDE.md to your current directory. The file tells Claude Code things like:

• What language and framework you're using
• Your linting, formatting, and naming conventions
• Whether Claude should auto-commit, run tests, add comments, etc.
• Your folder structure and API patterns

Wizard sections

You choose which sections to include at the start. Each section asks a focused set of questions.

| Section | What it covers | |---|---| | Tech Stack | Language, framework, package manager, monorepo tooling | | Code Style | Linter, formatter, TypeScript strictness, file naming, line length | | Claude Rules | Commit behavior, file deletion, test policy, comment style, custom rules | | Architecture | Folder convention, test location, env var pattern, API pattern | | Infrastructure | Cloud provider, serverless, IaC tooling (auto-injected after Tech Stack when Monorepo = Yes) |

Infrastructure (auto-injected)

When Monorepo = Yes is selected in Tech Stack, the wizard automatically continues with infrastructure questions — no need to select it from the section list.

| Cloud Provider | Recommended IaC | Alternatives | |---|---|---| | AWS | AWS CDK | Terraform, AWS SAM, CloudFormation | | Azure | Bicep | Terraform, Pulumi, ARM Templates | | Both | Terraform (cross-cloud) | CDK + Bicep, Pulumi |

Tech Stack branching

Framework options adapt to the selected language:

• TypeScript / JavaScript → Next.js, React (Vite), Vue, Express, Fastify, NestJS
• Python → FastAPI, Django, Flask
• Go → Gin, Echo

Conflict handling

If a CLAUDE.md already exists in the current directory, the wizard offers three options:

• Overwrite — replace the file entirely
• Merge — append new content below a --- separator with a timestamp comment
• Cancel — leave the existing file untouched

Company-wide rules

Edit src/config/mandatory-rules.js to add rules that appear in every generated CLAUDE.md, regardless of which sections the user selects:

export const mandatoryRules = [
  "Never skip pre-commit hooks (--no-verify)",
  "Always confirm with the user before running destructive git commands",
];

These are rendered as a ## Company Standards section at the top of the output.

Presets

Add named presets to src/presets/index.js to pre-fill answers for common project setups:

export const presets = new Map([
  ["nextjs-api", {
    techStack: { language: "TypeScript", framework: "Next.js", packageManager: "pnpm", monorepo: false },
    codeStyle: { linter: "ESLint", formatter: "Prettier", tsStrictness: "strict", fileNaming: "kebab-case", maxLineLength: "100" },
    // ...
  }],
]);

When presets are present, the wizard offers a "Start from preset?" prompt before asking questions.

Project structure

claude-init/
├── bin/
│   └── cli.js                  # Entry point
├── src/
│   ├── wizard.js               # Flow control
│   ├── generator.js            # Renders CLAUDE.md from answers
│   ├── file-handler.js         # File read/write/merge
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── mandatory-rules.js  # Company-wide rules
│   ├── presets/
│   │   └── index.js            # Preset registry
│   └── sections/
│       ├── index.js
│       ├── tech-stack.js
│       ├── code-style.js
│       ├── claude-rules.js
│       ├── architecture.js
│       └── infrastructure.js
└── package.json

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18

License

MIT