praxis init

Scaffolds a new Praxis project in the target directory.

Usage

praxis init [directory]

If directory is omitted, scaffolding happens in the current working directory.

What it creates

my-org/
├── .praxis/
│   └── config.json              ← project configuration
├── context/
│   ├── constitution/
│   │   ├── README.md            ← validation spec
│   │   ├── identity.md          ← starter: who you are
│   │   ├── principles.md        ← starter: what you value
│   │   └── _template.md         ← template for new constitution docs
│   ├── conventions/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   ├── documentation.md     ← starter: writing conventions
│   │   └── _template.md
│   └── lenses/
│       ├── README.md
│       └── _template.md
├── roles/
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── praxis-steward.md        ← built-in: knowledge framework steward
│   ├── praxis-recruiter.md      ← built-in: talent and team sourcing
│   └── _template.md
├── responsibilities/
│   ├── README.md
│   └── _template.md
├── reference/
│   ├── README.md
│   └── _template.md
├── agent-profiles/              ← compiled output (created on first compile)
└── plugins/                     ← plugin output (created on first compile)

Safe to re-run

praxis init skips any file that already exists. It is safe to run on an existing project to scaffold new sections or restore accidentally deleted templates.

Claude Code plugin scaffolding

If the claude-code plugin is listed in .praxis/config.json at init time, Praxis also scaffolds the plugin directory structure:

plugins/
└── praxis/
    ├── agents/                  ← compiled agent files land here
    ├── .claude-plugin/
    │   └── plugin.json
    └── commands/
        └── validate.md          ← /praxis:validate slash command

Re-running praxis init after adding the plugin to config will scaffold these directories without touching your existing agent files.

Default config

The generated .praxis/config.json:

{
  "sources": ["roles", "responsibilities", "reference", "context"],
  "rolesDir": "roles",
  "responsibilitiesDir": "responsibilities",
  "agentProfilesOutputDir": "./agent-profiles",
  "plugins": [],
  "validation": {
    "apiKeyEnvVar": "OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
    "model": "x-ai/grok-4.1-fast"
  }
}

Edit this file to customize the project structure. See Configuration for all options.

See also

• Configuration
• praxis compile
• Claude Code Plugin