context-creation
The brownfield back-fill. Routed to by /create-context, and by startup when .codearbiter/CONTEXT.md lacks the <!--INITIALIZED--> body marker but source code exists. Six gated phases — pre-flight, scout dispatch, synthesis, gap interview, write, lock. Reads the existing codebase through parallel scouts, drafts every surviving project-state doc, resolves gaps with the user, and locks the project as initialized.
npx skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --skill context-creation --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# context-creation Wrap an existing codebase in project state, without guessing. Routed to by `/create-context`, and by startup when `.codearbiter/CONTEXT.md` exists but carries no `<!--INITIALIZED-->` body marker and meaningful source code is present. When no meaningful source exists, this is the wrong skill — route to `decompose` instead. This back-fills from existing source. It complements `{{CMD:init}}`, which scaffolds an empty `.codearbiter/` for a fresh project; here the docs are derived from what is already on disk. ## Pre-flight Read these, or STOP and surface the gap — never guess project identity or a command: - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.codearbiter/CONTEXT.md` — if it already carries `<!--INITIALIZED-->`, context exists. Stop and route to normal operation. - The repository root listing (one level deep) — the source surface this skill extracts from. The excluded set (not "meaningful source"): `.git/`, `.codearbiter/`, `.claude/`, `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `README.md`, `LICENSE`, `.gitignore`, `.gitmodules`, and standard tooling dotfiles (`.editorconfig`, `.prettierrc`, etc.). Meaningful source MUST exist beyond it. ## Phase 1 — Pre-flight confirmation · gate: BLOCK Confirm the r
- Pre-flight
- Phase 1 — Pre-flight confirmation · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 2 — Scout dispatch · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 3 — Synthesis · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 4 — Gap interview · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 5 — Project-state write · gate: BLOCK
- Phase 6 — Initialization lock · gate: BLOCK
- Hard rules
mkdir -p "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.codearbiter/.markers" touch "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.codearbiter/.markers/release-targets-authoring" rm -f "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.codearbiter/.markers/release-targets-authoring"
What does the context-creation skill do?
The brownfield back-fill. Routed to by /create-context, and by startup when .codearbiter/CONTEXT.md lacks the <!--INITIALIZED--> body marker but source code exists. Six gated phases — pre-flight, scout dispatch, synthesis, gap interview, write, lock. Reads the existing codebase through parallel scouts, drafts every surviving project-state doc, resolves gaps with the user, and locks the project as initialized.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add arbiterForge/codeArbiter --skill context-creation --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From arbiterForge/codeArbiter, a repository with 138 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.