Why this exists
I audited my own client folder and found that eight of nine clients had no brief file at all. Nine active engagements, one brief. The scope, the status, the feedback history: all of it lived in email threads and in my head. For a specialist who tells clients that structure is the product, that was not a great look, even if I was the only one who could see it.
The root cause was that my folder structure also lived in my head, so it got rebuilt slightly differently every time a client came in. One project had an Assets folder, the next had Resources, the third had nothing because I was in a hurry. When every workspace is shaped differently, no tool and no future me can answer "what is the state of this project" without archaeology. This skill fixes it at the source: you define the structure once, and every client after that gets the same tree, a brief with the real details filled in, and a feedback log, in about ten seconds.
How it works
- It loads your structure template A small file defining where client folders live, which subfolders every client gets, the brief skeleton, and any extra starter files like a feedback log. First run, it interviews you and offers to save the answers. No opinion yet? It ships a sensible default.
- It collects only the essentials Client name and project scope from your message, plus anything you volunteer (industry, contact, deadline) which goes straight into the brief. At most one short round of questions.
- It checks for collisions before writing It lists the clients root first. If a folder with the same or a very similar name exists, it stops and asks whether to use it or create a variant. Overwriting an existing client folder is not an option it has.
- It scaffolds and reports The folder tree, the brief with everything known filled in (status Active, started today, scope boxes ticked), and the feedback log. Unknowns stay visible as placeholders, never fabricated. It shows you the tree and suggests the natural next step if the brief has gaps.
Step by step (for first-time users)
-
Type
/client-workspace-scaffolderwith the client's name Or just say "new client: coffee roastery, logo and packaging". Both work. - Describe your structure once Which subfolders every client gets and what your brief should contain. It saves this as a template so run two onwards is instant.
- Answer the one round of questions Anything essential that was missing from your message. It will not interrogate you.
- Check the reported tree and brief The brief is the file to read: real details filled in, unknowns marked as open placeholders you can spot at a glance.
- Fill the gaps with discovery If the brief has open items, run a discovery conversation next (the discovery-brief skill picks up exactly here).
What gets created vs what gets protected
| Item | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Subfolders from your template | Created empty; no filler files invented to make them look busy |
| Brief file | Created with real details filled in; unknowns left as visible placeholders |
| Feedback log | Created with a date, round, and notes table ready for round one |
| Existing folder with the same name | Stops and asks; never overwritten, never merged silently |
| Missing client details | Never fabricated to fill template fields |
Honest take
What it does well: Consistency, which sounds boring until you have nine differently shaped client folders and no briefs. Because every workspace comes out identical, everything downstream gets easier: status reports can be automated, follow-up tools know where to look, and future you can open any client folder and know exactly where the scope lives. The collision check and the no-fabrication rule are the safety story: it will not trample an existing engagement and it will not dress up a brief with details you never gave it.
What it does not do: It does not migrate or restructure existing client folders; it scaffolds new ones. It does not run discovery, write strategy, or fill the brief's open questions, it just makes the gaps visible. And it deliberately creates empty subfolders rather than seeding them with placeholder files, because a folder full of fake starters is worse than an honest empty one.
When to use it: The moment a client says yes, before the kickoff call, while the details from the sales conversation are still fresh enough to land in the brief. If you are staring at your own client folder wondering how many briefs actually exist in there, run the audit first, then adopt this so the number never drops again.