# project-setup

Recommends .NET tech stack defaults for databases, auth, caching, and messaging. Helps pick stack defaults or review dependencies before writing code.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 2800 installs · ★ 789
- Author: codewithmukesh
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit/tree/HEAD/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-08-07
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/project-setup

## What it does

The skill acts as an architectural advisor for .NET backend defaults. It suggests PostgreSQL for EF Core, JWT Bearer for API auth, native `HybridCache`, Serilog with OpenTelemetry, Polly v8 resilience pipelines, native OpenAPI with Scalar, and xUnit v3 with Testcontainers. For messaging, it deliberately recommends none on day one, reaching for Wolverine only when async workflows appear. The kit strictly avoids commercial licenses, replacing paid versions of MediatR or MassTransit with MIT alternatives.

This skill handles only recommendations and trade-off rationales. It does not scaffold code or evaluate existing repositories. It routes `CLAUDE.md` generation to `dotnet-init`, codebase assessment to `health-check`, and database or package upgrades to `migrate`.

## Requirements
- Works with: PostgreSQL

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill project-setup -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/project-setup/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill project-setup -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill project-setup -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit project-setup
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill project-setup -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --path skills/project-setup
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit --skill project-setup -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/codewithmukesh/dotnet-claude-kit/tree/HEAD/skills/project-setup/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- choose database, auth, and cache defaults for a .NET project
- replace commercialized .NET libraries with MIT alternatives
- configure observability via Serilog and OpenTelemetry from start
- defer messaging infrastructure until async workflows appear

## Example prompts
- Which database and caching solution should I use for a new .NET API?
- Help me pick a tech stack for a .NET project
- What should I use for messaging and resilience in .NET?

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c89f07244f7f765a.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c89f07244f7f765a
```text
---
name: project-setup
description: >
  Tech-stack selection advisor for .NET projects: recommended defaults for
  database, auth, caching, messaging, observability, and resilience, with the
  rationale behind each default. Load when choosing or reviewing a project's
  tech stack, or when the user says "tech stack", "which database", "pick a
  stack", "recommended defaults", or "what should I use for". For project
  initialization use dotnet-init, for codebase assessment use health-check,
  for upgrades and schema changes use migrate.
---

# Project Setup — Tech-Stack Advisor

This skill owns one thing: the kit's recommended tech-stack defaults and why. The workflows that consume it live elsewhere:

- **Initializing a project / generating CLAUDE.md** → `dotnet-init` (interactive flow, architecture questionnaire, CLAUDE.md generation)
- **Assessing an existing codebase** → `health-check` (the canonical 8-dimension graded assessment)
- **EF Core schema, NuGet, or .NET version migrations** → `migrate`
- **Choosing an architecture** → `architecture-advisor` (always ask before recommending)

## Core Principles

1. **Recommend a default, explain the why, let the user choose** — Every dimension has a kit default, but defaults are starting points, not mandates. State the trade-off in one line so the choice is informed.
2. **Prefer built-in .NET over third-party** — `HybridCache` over Redis-client wrappers, built-in rate limiting over packages, built-in OpenAPI over Swashbuckle. Fewer dependencies means fewer licensing surprises and upgrade breaks.
3. **License-aware picks** — MediatR (v13+), MassTransit (v9+), and FluentAssertions (v8+) went commercial. The kit defaults to MIT alternatives: Mediator, Wolverine, plain xUnit asserts.
4. **Add messaging later, not never** — Most projects don't need a message bus on day one. Default to "None (add later)" and reach for Wolverine when async workflows actually appear.

## Patterns

### Tech-Stack Dimensions and Defaults

| Dimension | Options | Default | Why |
|-----------|---------|---------|-----|
| Database | PostgreSQL, SQL Server, SQLite | PostgreSQL | Open source, best EF Core provider outside SQL Server, first-class Testcontainers support |
| Auth | JWT Bearer, OIDC (Keycloak/Auth0), None | JWT Bearer | Simplest secure default for APIs; move to OIDC when an external IdP exists |
| Caching | HybridCache, Redis, None | HybridCache | Built-in, stampede protection, L1+L2 — add Redis only as its L2 backend |
| Messaging | Wolverine (RabbitMQ), MassTransit, None | None (add later) | Premature messaging adds ops burden; Wolverine (MIT) when needed |
| Observability | Serilog + OpenTelemetry, Basic logging | Serilog + OTEL | Structured logs + traces from day one are cheap; retrofitting is not |
```
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