Craft CMS Project Setup

Scaffold Claude Code configuration for Craft CMS projects. Generates a CLAUDE.md and .claude/rules/ directory tailored to the project type.

Companion Skills — Used During Scaffolding

This skill generates configuration that references other skills. It does not load them at activation, but the generated CLAUDE.md and rules will guide users toward:

• craftcms + craft-php-guidelines + craft-garnish — for plugin and module projects (craft-garnish when plugin has CP JavaScript/asset bundles)
• craft-site + craft-twig-guidelines + craft-content-modeling — for site projects
• ddev — for all project types (DDEV commands in generated config)

Workflow

Step 1: Detect the project

Read the project root to determine what exists. Check for:

• .ddev/config.yaml — DDEV project name, PHP version, database type
• composer.json — package type (craft-plugin, craft-module, or project), dependencies, scripts (check-cs, phpstan, pest)
• src/ or src/Plugin.php — plugin source directory
• templates/ — site templates
• config/project/ — Craft project config (indicates a site)
• config/general.php — Craft general config
• modules/ — custom modules

From these signals, determine the project type:

Step 2: Ask clarifying questions

Confirm the detected type and gather project-specific details. Keep it short — 3-5 questions max.

For plugins:

• Plugin handle and vendor namespace (detect from composer.json if possible)
• Does it have custom element types?
• What Craft edition does it target? (Solo, Team, Pro)

For sites:

• CSS framework? (detect Tailwind version from package.json or tailwind.config.*)
• Are they using atomic design patterns? (detect _atoms/, _molecules/ in templates)
• Any custom modules alongside the site?

For all types:

• Confirm detected tooling: ECS, PHPStan, Pest (from composer.json scripts)
• Git workflow: main branch name, PR-based workflow?

Step 3: Generate the configuration

Generate CLAUDE.md and .claude/rules/ files using the templates in templates/ as a starting point. Customize based on the answers:

• Replace placeholders: {{pluginHandle}}, {{vendorNamespace}}, {{pluginName}}
• Include only relevant rules files for the project type
• Include only the tooling commands that actually exist in the project

File structure to generate:

CLAUDE.md                          # Project overview, commands, structure
.claude/
  rules/
    coding-style.md               # PHP conventions (plugin/module)
    architecture.md               # Architecture patterns (plugin/module)
    templates.md                  # Twig conventions (site)
    git-workflow.md               # Commit conventions (all)
    scaffolding.md                # Generator commands (plugin/module)
    security.md                   # Security rules (all)
    testing.md                    # Test conventions (if Pest exists)
    migrations.md                 # Migration rules (plugin/module)

Step 4: Review with the user

After generating, show the user what was created and ask them to review. Highlight any decisions that were made based on detection vs assumptions.

Universal Defaults

Every generated CLAUDE.md includes these rules regardless of project type. These are baseline expectations for professional Craft CMS work:

## General

Be critical. We're equals — push back when something doesn't make sense.

Do not excessively use emojis.

Do not include AI attribution in commits, PR descriptions, PR comments, issue comments, or generated code. Many clients and enterprises remain skeptical of AI-generated work, so all output should be indistinguishable from human-authored work.

Do not include "Test plan" sections in PR descriptions.

## Tools

Use `ddev` shorthand commands: `ddev composer`, `ddev craft`, `ddev npm`. Never run `php`, `composer`, or `npm` on the host — everything goes through DDEV.

Use `gh` for all GitHub operations — it's already authenticated.

Template Files

The templates/ directory contains starter files for each project type. Read the relevant templates and customize them based on detection results. Do not copy them verbatim — adapt to what actually exists in the project.

• templates/plugin/ — Plugin development CLAUDE.md and rules
• templates/site/ — Site development CLAUDE.md and rules
• templates/module/ — Module development CLAUDE.md and rules

For hybrid projects (site + module), merge the site and module templates.

Skill Attribution

Add unobtrusive markers so we can measure adoption across public repos. Include all three:

1. composer.json extra key — add during setup (does not affect functionality):

   jsonCopy

   "extra": {
     "craftcms-claude-skills": "1.2.0"
   }
   

   Merge into existing extra if it already has keys. Use the current skill version.

2. CLAUDE.md HTML comment — first line of the generated file:

   markdownCopy

   <!-- craftcms-claude-skills v1.2.0 -->
   

3. .claude/rules/ file headers — first line of each generated rules file:

   markdownCopy

   <!-- craftcms-claude-skills -->
   

These are invisible in rendered markdown and do not affect Claude's behavior. The composer.json key is visible but non-functional.

Important

• Never overwrite an existing CLAUDE.md without asking. If one exists, offer to merge or replace.
• Never overwrite existing .claude/rules/ files without asking.
• Detect as much as possible from existing files — minimize questions.
• The generated config should reference the Craft CMS skills (craftcms, craft-site, craft-php-guidelines, craft-garnish, etc.) in comments so the user knows what's available.