onboard

Adopts a project into the DAE methodology by creating its charter, manifest, and consolidation backlog.

150|10|Updated Feb 16, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/swingerman/engineer --skill onboard-swingerman
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent▼
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: onboard
Source: https://github.com/swingerman/engineer/tree/main/engineer/skills/onboard
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/swingerman/engineer --skill onboard-swingerman

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? Bringing an existing or new project under a spec-driven, test-driven engineering methodology requires discovering every feature (documented or not), establishing a charter, and setting up tracking — a process that is easy to do inconsistently or skip entirely. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Full onboarding ceremony: Walks 11 steps covering repo topology, validation-infrastructure probes (LSP, CLI, environments, remote-agent readiness), charter drafting with human sign-off, manifest creation, tracker and roadmap selection, feature discovery, triage, and consolidation backlog generation. - Gap-check mode: When a manifest already exists, validates the charter, manifest schema, feature numbering, tracker and roadmap reachability, and reports gaps without mutating anything. - Human-decision checkpoints: Reserves charter approval, tracker choice, and roadmap host selection as explicit human decisions, emitting an interrupted handoff if the human is unavailable. - Use Case: Point it at a legacy repo with undocumented features; it discovers feature-shaped code, triages it with you, seeds the tracker, and produces a per-feature ATDD consolidation backlog. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to onboard this project into the DAE methodology and set up its charter, manifest, and tracker.

Frequently Asked Questions about onboard

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I adopt the DAE methodology in an existing project?▼

Run the onboard skill, which discovers documented and undocumented features, drafts a charter from what it infers in the repo, and creates the manifest, tracker entries, and a consolidation backlog. You confirm the charter, tracker, and roadmap choices before it proceeds.

What does the DAE onboarding process create in my repository?▼

It writes CHARTER.md with seven mandatory sections, a .engineer/manifest.yml configuration, a features/ directory, a discussions log, and a consolidation backlog in .engineer/consolidation.md. It also seeds the chosen tracker with one row per discovered feature.

Can I run onboard on a project that is already onboarded?▼

Yes, it switches to gap-check mode when a manifest exists. This mode is strictly read-only: it validates the charter sections, manifest schema, feature numbering, and tracker and roadmap reachability, then reports gaps without modifying any files or git state.

Does onboarding migrate my existing specs into the new layout?▼

No, migration is deliberately excluded from onboarding. It only discovers, triages, and plans; moving spec folders, backfilling acceptance criteria, and generating acceptance tests are separate per-feature consolidation tasks worked through the pipeline afterward.

Why does onboarding stop and ask for human decisions?▼

The charter, tracker selection, and roadmap host are design decisions reserved for the human. If the human is unavailable to decide, onboarding stops and emits an interrupted handoff naming the outstanding decisions rather than auto-deciding.

What git state is required before running a full onboard?▼

The repository must be on the default branch with a clean working tree and no unpushed feature-branch work, unless you explicitly confirm onboarding on the current branch. The skill never auto-checks out, stashes, or mutates git state itself.