Guidelines Init

Q: What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Guidelines Init skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Guidelines Init is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the General category. Learn more at https://claudskills.com/learn/what-is-skill-md/.

Category: General · Sub-category: automation · Last updated: 2026-06-18

type:generator type:review

Scaffolds a PROJECT_GUIDELINES.md file for a codebase by auto-detecting project conventions and interviewing the user. Use this skill when the user wants to set up coding standards, initialize project guidelines, create a style guide, establish code conventions, or says things like "set up guidelines", "init standards", "create a style guide", or "what conventions should we follow". Also use when a project has no PROJECT_GUIDELINES.md and the user asks for a code review.

Security AStatic scan found no risk patternsHow grading works ›

From the source SKILL.md

Generate a PROJECT_GUIDELINES.md file that becomes the single source of truth for project conventions. This file is later consumed by /guidelines-review.

What this skill does

Guidelines Init is a community-contributed Claude Code skill in the automation sub-category. It ships as a SKILL.md file that Claude Code auto-discovers under ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init/ and loads when your prompt matches the skill's trigger.

When to invoke it: use when a project has no PROJECT_GUIDELINES.md and the user asks for a code review.

Who uses this skill

The Guidelines Init Claude Code skill is built for Claude Code users and developers across all disciplines looking for general-purpose AI assistance. It's part of ClaudSkills (also referred to as Claude Skills or Claude Code Skills) — the open community-curated registry of 154,000+ SKILL.md files for Anthropic's Claude Code agent and the wider Claude ecosystem (Claude API, Claude Agent SDK).

How to install

Free

Manual install (2 steps)

mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init
curl -L https://claudskills.com/skills/guidelines-init/SKILL.md \
  -o ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init/SKILL.md

Or just download SKILL.md directly and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init/. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next session.

Skills live at ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init/SKILL.md on macOS/Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\guidelines-init\SKILL.md on Windows. See the full install guide for step-by-step instructions.

📱 Install from your phone or desktop Telegram

Open @claudskills_bot on Telegram, tap Open Desktop App, and the desktop app installs this skill for you. Or share the bot link with a colleague — they get the same one-tap install. Learn more →

Pro

One-click install via the desktop app

The ClaudSkills desktop app installs any skill directly into ~/.claude/skills/ with one click — no terminal required. Pro starts at $9/mo or $149 lifetime.

Pro

For the full experience including quality scoring and one-click install features for each skill — upgrade to Pro.

See pricing → Download desktop app

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Guidelines Init Claude Code skill?

Install via the ClaudSkills desktop app (one click) or copy SKILL.md from the source repository to ~/.claude/skills/guidelines-init/SKILL.md and restart Claude Code. Both flows are detailed at claudskills.com/install/.

What does the Guidelines Init skill do?

Is this skill free to install?

Yes. ClaudSkills is an open registry — every skill keeps its source repository's license, and manual install via copy is free. ClaudSkills Pro ($9/mo, $79/yr, or $149 one-time) adds one-click install via the desktop app and a multi-signal Quality Score.

When should I use the Guidelines Init skill?

Use Guidelines Init when your Claude Code task falls under the General category — specifically in the automation area. Claude Code auto-discovers installed skills and invokes the right one based on the task description, so you can also ask Claude directly (e.g. "use Guidelines Init" or describe the task and let Claude pick). Browse related skills at /category/general/.

What is a Claude Code skill and how does the Guidelines Init skill fit in?

A Claude Code skill is a SKILL.md file that lives under ~/.claude/skills/<name>/ and tells the Claude Code CLI agent how to perform a specific task (instructions, prompts, allowed tools). Skills are auto-discovered at session start. Guidelines Init is one of 67,000+ skills indexed in the open ClaudSkills catalog, classified under the General category. Learn more at /learn/what-is-a-claude-skill/.

Attribution & license

Source: https://github.com/xanderscannell/claude-cortex/blob/HEAD/skills/guidelines-init/SKILL.md
License: MIT
Author: xanderscannell

Cite this skill

If you reference this skill in a blog post, paper, or documentation, you can cite it as:

APA

xanderscannell. (2026). Guidelines Init [Claude Code skill]. ClaudSkills. https://claudskills.com/skills/guidelines-init/

BibTeX

@misc{guidelines-init-2026,
  author    = {xanderscannell},
  title     = {Guidelines Init [Claude Code skill]},
  year      = {2026},
  publisher = {ClaudSkills},
  url       = {https://claudskills.com/skills/guidelines-init/}
}

Embed this skill

Promote, attribute, or link this skill from your own README, blog post, or documentation. All three snippets are free to use — no sign-up, no API key. More distribution surfaces →

Badge

[![ClaudSkills](https://claudskills.com/badge/guidelines-init.svg)](https://claudskills.com/skills/guidelines-init/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=skill_badge)

Security scan

Grade A · scanned 2026-07-20 — free static scan against the OWASP Agentic Skills Top 10.

No risk patterns were found in any of the ten OWASP-aligned categories. How grading works ›

✓ Prompt injection
✓ Data exfiltration
✓ Supply chain
✓ Reverse shell
✓ Credentials
✓ Execution
✓ Filesystem
✓ Persistence
✓ Obfuscation
✓ Network

Show this grade on your repo (click to copy):

[![Security: A](https://img.shields.io/badge/Security-A-2e7d32)](https://claudskills.com/skills/guidelines-init/#security)

More General skills

Browse all General skills in the ClaudSkills registry, or explore these other picks from the same category:

Browse all General skills → Top 100 skills

Part of ClaudSkills — the open registry for Claude Skills & Claude Code Skills. · What's New · Install guide · About · llms.txt

Part of Acreator Store — Adam Lankamer's AI tools: PerfectStudio · Ucaption · UTagger · AutoXPoster · TestYourSkills · AutomationFlows · Au Naturel · Telegram @acreatorstore