Master Project Scaffolding with the OpenClaw Project Setup Wizard

Streamline Your Development Workflow with OpenClaw Project Setup Wizard

Starting a new project is often the most tedious part of software development.
Every time you initialize a new repository, you find yourself performing the
same repetitive tasks: creating directory structures, setting up a
.gitignore, configuring CI/CD pipelines, writing a basic README.md, and
defining Docker files. This manual overhead not only slows down your initial
velocity but also introduces inconsistencies across your projects. Enter the
OpenClaw Project Setup Wizard —a powerful tool designed to eliminate this
friction.

What is the OpenClaw Project Setup Wizard?

The Project Setup Wizard is an interactive scaffolding tool developed within
the OpenClaw ecosystem. It is specifically engineered to generate production-
ready project structures for four major programming languages: Node.js,
Python, Go, and Rust. By leveraging this tool, you can go from zero to a
fully configured, best-practice repository in mere seconds.

Key Features at a Glance

The wizard doesn't just create folders; it understands the conventions of each
language and applies industry-standard best practices. Here is what you get
out of the box:

• Custom Directory Structures: Follows language-specific idiomatic layouts (e.g., src/ for Node/Python, cmd/ and internal/ for Go).
• Smart.gitignore: Expertly tuned files that ignore IDE artifacts, environment files, and OS-specific debris.
• CI/CD Integration: Ready-to-go configurations for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and CircleCI, featuring caching and linting.
• Docker Support: Multi-stage Dockerfiles and docker-compose.yml files for streamlined deployment and minimal image sizes.
• Best Practices: Includes linting and formatting configurations like ESLint, Black, golangci-lint, and rustfmt.
• Documentation: Generates a professional README.md with badges and contribution sections.

Getting Started: Installation

Getting the wizard into your workflow is straightforward. If you are already
using ClawHub, simply run openclaw install project-setup-wizard. For manual
installations, you can clone the skill directly into your
~/.openclaw/skills/ directory, ensuring you set the appropriate permissions
with chmod +x to execute the setup script.

Using the Wizard

The beauty of this tool lies in its flexibility. You can use it in two
distinct modes:

1. The Interactive Experience

By simply running openclaw run project-setup-wizard, you enter an
interactive mode. The tool will walk you through a series of prompts, asking
for your project name, desired language, author details, license choice, and
which DevOps features (like Docker or CI/CD) you require. It is perfect for
when you want to define a project on the fly.

2. Non-Interactive CLI Power

For automation enthusiasts or CI/CD scripts, the wizard supports command-line
flags. You can pass arguments like --lang python or --ci github to bypass
prompts entirely. This is incredibly useful for team environments where you
want to enforce a standard project structure across the entire organization.
You can even perform a --dry-run to preview exactly what files will be
created before committing to the disk.

Why Does This Matter?

In modern software engineering, speed and consistency are king. When every
project you start shares the same foundational architecture, it becomes
significantly easier to switch between repositories. You know exactly where
the tests are, you know how to build the Docker image, and you know that the
CI pipeline is ready to catch bugs.

Furthermore, the wizard is highly configurable. By modifying the skill.json
file, teams can set their own organizational defaults—such as forcing a
specific license_type or enabling include_docker by default. This ensures
that every developer on your team is aligned with your company's coding
standards from the very first commit.

Deep Dive into Generated Templates

Node.js

For Node.js projects, the wizard generates a robust ecosystem including
.eslintrc.json, .prettierrc, and comprehensive test directories. The
provided Dockerfile uses a multi-stage approach with node:20-alpine,
resulting in images around 120MB.

Python

Python developers get a structure featuring pyproject.toml,
requirements.txt, and a dedicated src/ layout. The Docker configuration
uses the slim variant, focusing on security by running as a non-root user.

Go

Go projects benefit from the inclusion of a Makefile, golangci.yml, and
proper separation of cmd/ and internal/ packages. The Go Dockerfile is
particularly efficient, utilizing scratch for final images, often resulting
in incredibly lightweight builds under 10MB.

Rust

Rust projects are scaffolded with essential Cargo.toml settings,
rustfmt.toml, and a directory layout optimized for both unit and integration
tests, ensuring that your library or binary is ready for a professional
production pipeline.

Conclusion

The OpenClaw Project Setup Wizard is more than just a template generator; it
is a productivity multiplier. By standardizing the "boring" parts of project
initiation, you free up your mental energy to focus on what actually matters:
writing code. Whether you are a solo developer building a personal tool or an
engineering manager overseeing a fleet of services, the time saved by using
this tool is invaluable. Install it, try a dry run, and start your next
project on the right foot.

Skill can be found at:
project-setup-wizard/SKILL.md>