New Project Scaffold

Create a new research project folder with Scott's standard structure. This skill is invoked at the start of every project.

What Gets Created

[project-name]/
├── CLAUDE.md              # Permanent research rules (copied from template)
├── README.md              # Project-specific overview (auto-generated)
├── code/
│   ├── R/
│   ├── python/
│   └── stata/
├── data/
│   ├── raw/               # Original source data (never modify)
│   └── clean/             # Cleaned/merged datasets
├── output/
│   ├── tables/
│   └── figures/
├── documents/             # Outside PDFs, papers (use /split-pdf on these)
├── decks/                 # Beamer presentations (rhetoric of decks)
├── notes/                 # Scratch notes, random ideas, misc
└── progress_logs/         # Session continuity across Claude conversations

Execution

1. Get the project name from the argument. If none provided, ask.

• Convert spaces to hyphens, lowercase

1. Determine location — default is current working directory. Confirm if unclear.

1. Create all directories:

bash mkdir -p [project-name]/{code/{R,stata,python},data/{raw,clean},output/{figures,tables},documents,decks,notes,progress_logs}

1. Copy CLAUDE.md from ~/mixtapetools/claude/CLAUDE.md:

• Replace [Your Name] with Scott
• Update project name in the overview section

1. Generate README.md with:

• Project title
• Visual directory tree in a fenced code block (monospace)
• Explanation of each folder's purpose
• Note that CLAUDE.md is copied from a permanent template and edited per-project
• Note that README.md is for project-specific documentation
• Note that progress_logs/ maintains continuity across Claude sessions
• Placeholder sections: Overview, Collaborators, Status, Key Files

The README must include this tree block:

markdown [project-name]/ ├── CLAUDE.md # Research rules & estimation philosophy (permanent) ├── README.md # This file — project-specific notes ├── code/ │ ├── R/ # R scripts │ ├── python/ # Python scripts │ └── stata/ # Stata do-files ├── data/ │ ├── raw/ # Original source data (never modify these) │ └── clean/ # Cleaned and merged datasets ├── output/ │ ├── tables/ # Generated tables (LaTeX, CSV) │ └── figures/ # Generated figures (PDF, PNG) ├── documents/ # Outside papers and PDFs (split with /split-pdf) ├── decks/ # Beamer presentations (rhetoric of decks philosophy) ├── notes/ # Scratch notes, ideas, miscellaneous └── progress_logs/ # Session logs for continuity across Claude conversations

1. Create initial progress log at progress_logs/YYYY-MM-DD_setup.md:

• Record the creation date
• List next steps as a checklist

1. Report success — show structure with ls, remind user to update CLAUDE.md.