Is the Espalier Init skill free?

Yes. The skill itself is free from Junhanliu-dev/espalier-engineering. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.

What is the Espalier Init SkillProof Score?

7.6/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 5/10, docs & honesty 4/5.

How do I install Espalier Init?

Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.

Can I use Espalier Init with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?

The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.

Espalier Init

Discover a codebase's conventions and scaffold rules, skills, wiki and CI gates for AI coders

by Junhanliu-dev · Junhanliu-dev/espalier-engineering

Works with setup

Install — copy the command Download source ↗

Test report

Verdict: Works with setup
Score: 7.6/10
Tested: Jul 17, 2026
Environment: Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
Upstream re-checked: Aug 10, 2026 · 8b17ad1

Ran the bundled bootstrap-espalier.sh against a throwaway git repo: it correctly scaffolds the espalier/ tree, .claude symlinks, hooks and a 46-check validation harness, but 20 checks fail by design because the substantive rules/skills/wiki files are written by a separate multi-phase agent flow (scouts + AskUserQuestion) that a lone install can't run. The single-skill copy this catalog ships also omits scripts/bootstrap-espalier.sh (it lives at repo root, not in the skill dir), so Phase 3 has nothing to call unless you install the whole plugin. Legitimate and well-engineered, but no clean output delta over a baseline was demonstrable without the full plugin and agent run.

Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works

Installs cleanly 5/5
Triggers reliably 5/5
Output vs. baseline 5/10
Docs & honesty 4/5

What Espalier Init does

Runs a multi-phase discovery over an existing repo, then generates an Espalier constraint system (rules, per-stack skills, sub-agents, wiki, and git/CI quality-gate hooks) so AI agents write code matching the project's real patterns. Triggers on requests like 'set up Espalier for this project' or 'build agent constraints for my codebase'.

How to install Espalier Init

git clone https://github.com/Junhanliu-dev/espalier-engineering
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
cd espalier-engineering && cp -r skills/espalier-init ~/.claude/skills/espalier-init

Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ (per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.

Commands — how to trigger Espalier Init

/espalier-init Discover a codebase's conventions and scaffold rules, skills, wiki and CI gates for AI coders

It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:

set up Espalier for this project so AI matches our conventions
generate agent constraints and CI quality gates for this codebase
scaffold rules and skills based on how this repo is actually written

Frequently asked questions

Is the Espalier Init skill free?: Yes. The skill itself is free from Junhanliu-dev/espalier-engineering. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
Does Espalier Init work with Claude Code?: We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 17, 2026. Verdict: Works with setup. Ran the bundled bootstrap-espalier.sh against a throwaway git repo: it correctly scaffolds the espalier/ tree, .claude symlinks, hooks and a 46-check validation harness, but 20 checks fail by design because the substantive rules/skills/wiki files are written by a separate multi-phase agent flow (scouts + AskUserQuestion) that a lone install can't run. The single-skill copy this catalog ships also omits scripts/bootstrap-espalier.sh (it lives at repo root, not in the skill dir), so Phase 3 has nothing to call unless you install the whole plugin. Legitimate and well-engineered, but no clean output delta over a baseline was demonstrable without the full plugin and agent run.
What is the Espalier Init SkillProof Score?: 7.6/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 5/10, docs & honesty 4/5.
How do I install Espalier Init?: Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
Can I use Espalier Init with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?: The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.