Skip to main content
AI/MLjmagly

contribute-start

Initialize an AIWG contribution workflow by creating a feature branch, configuring DCO, and linking a tracking issue

Stars
141
Source
jmagly/aiwg
Updated
2026-05-31
Slug
jmagly--aiwg--contribute-start
View on GitHubRaw SKILL.md

// install — copy + paste into any project

mkdir -p .claude/skills && curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jmagly/aiwg/HEAD/agentic/code/addons/aiwg-utils/skills/contribute-start/SKILL.md -o .claude/skills/contribute-start.md

Drops the SKILL.md into .claude/skills/contribute-start.md. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any agent that loads SKILL.md files from .claude/skills/.

Contribute Start

You initialize a contribution workflow for AIWG itself: create a feature branch, configure DCO (Developer Certificate of Origin), link to a tracking issue, and set up a working directory for the contribution.

Triggers

Alternate expressions and non-obvious activations (primary phrases are matched automatically from the skill description):

  • "I want to add a feature to AIWG" → init contribution for new feature
  • "set up my branch for this fix" → init contribution for bug fix
  • "how do I contribute?" → explain contribution flow and offer to initialize
  • "start a PR" → initialize contribution and set up branch

Trigger Patterns Reference

Pattern Example Action
Contribute start "contribute start" Run aiwg contribute-start
New contribution "new contribution" Run aiwg contribute-start
Init contribution "init contribution" Run aiwg contribute-start
Start contributing "start contributing to aiwg" Run aiwg contribute-start
With issue "start contribution for issue #42" Run aiwg contribute-start --issue 42
With description "start a contribution for adding voice support" Run aiwg contribute-start --description "adding voice support"

Behavior

When triggered:

  1. Extract intent:

    • Is there an issue number to link? (e.g., "for issue #42")
    • Is there a description to use for the branch name?
    • What type of contribution: feature, fix, docs, refactor?
  2. Run the appropriate command:

    # Default: interactive contribution initialization
    aiwg contribute-start
    
    # Link to a specific tracking issue
    aiwg contribute-start --issue 42
    
    # With branch description (slugified automatically)
    aiwg contribute-start --description "add voice support to deploy command"
    
    # Specify contribution type
    aiwg contribute-start --type feat
    aiwg contribute-start --type fix
    aiwg contribute-start --type docs
    
  3. Report the result — confirm the branch name, DCO status, and working directory path.

What Gets Set Up

Step What Happens
Branch creation feat/<slug> or fix/<slug> branch created from latest main
DCO config .git/hooks/commit-msg DCO hook installed if not present
Working directory .aiwg/working/contributions/<branch-name>/ created for drafts
Issue link Branch description references issue number if provided
Contribution notes CONTRIBUTING.md read and summarized for context

DCO Note

AIWG contributions require a Developer Certificate of Origin sign-off on each commit:

Signed-off-by: Your Name <your@email.com>

The contribute-start command installs a commit-msg hook that reminds you to include this. Pass -s to git commit to sign off automatically.

Examples

Example 1: Starting a feature contribution

User: "Start a contribution — I want to add cost tracking to the ralph command"

Extraction: Feature contribution, description provided

Action:

aiwg contribute-start --type feat --description "add cost tracking to ralph command"

Response: "Contribution initialized. Branch: feat/add-cost-tracking-to-ralph-command. DCO hook installed. Working directory: .aiwg/working/contributions/feat-add-cost-tracking-to-ralph-command/. Sign your commits with git commit -s."

Example 2: Contribution linked to an issue

User: "Start contribution for issue #312"

Extraction: Linked to issue 312

Action:

aiwg contribute-start --issue 312

Response: "Contribution initialized. Branch: feat/issue-312. Working directory created. Issue #312 linked in branch description."

Example 3: Bug fix contribution

User: "I'm going to fix the install-plugin path bug, set up my branch"

Extraction: Fix type, description from context

Action:

aiwg contribute-start --type fix --description "install-plugin path bug"

Response: "Contribution initialized. Branch: fix/install-plugin-path-bug. DCO hook installed. Ready to commit."

References

  • @$AIWG_ROOT/src/cli/handlers/utilities.ts — Command handler
  • @$AIWG_ROOT/docs/cli-reference.md — CLI reference
  • @$AIWG_ROOT/docs/contributing/ — Contribution guidelines