[Design] Add create-project-from-scratch flow by juliashilovaa · Pull Request #325 · JetBrains/thinkrail

Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) · 2026-08-27T12:31:40Z

Summary

Adds Create project alongside the existing Open project flow.
Starts with a lightweight brief, then asks only context-aware follow-up questions through the existing questionnaire widget.
Creates a real local Git project and captures the initial concept in goal-and-requirements.md.
Lands the user directly in the Default workspace after setup.
Adds two clear next steps: start a separate task in a new workspace or continue building the main version.
New workspaces inherit the committed project brief, so agents can suggest relevant tasks from the actual project context.
Keeps draft-only project setup capabilities isolated from ordinary project sessions.

project-from-scratch.mov

jetbrains-air

Requesting changes — please address the blocking inline finding.

jetbrains-air

Requesting changes — please address the blocking inline finding.

jetbrains-air · 2026-08-27T12:54:30Z

+import { expect, test } from "@playwright/test";
+import { defaultWorkspaceRow, openAppFresh } from "./fixtures/app";
+
+// The agent-led interview + finalize_project step is @agent-tier; this spec covers the


Non-blocking:
Problem: This new multi-line rationale and the later narrative comments violate the repository rule that code comments stay near-zero and design/coverage decisions live in the owning SPEC.md.
Failure scenario: The authoritative e2e spec omits the agent-tier coverage boundary while the test file becomes a second, non-authoritative explanation of it.
Suggested fix: Move the coverage rationale into e2e/SPEC.md and remove the narrative comments from this test.

…-from-scratch Add a Project.draft lifecycle flag and the server-owned primitives behind an agent-led 'create project from scratch' flow: - contracts: Project.draft?: true; project.create / project.finalize / project.discardDraft wire methods; PROTOCOL_VERSION 51. - projects: createDraftProject (managed dir under <dataDir>/projects/<uuid> + initProject + provisional name), finalizeProject / finalizeProjectByPath (apply confirmed name, uniquify slug, clear draft), discardDraftProject (abandon/recovery; refuses non-draft, guarded rm under the managed root). - agent: finalize_project pi tool (keys on ctx.cwd, fails closed off a draft) + setProjectFinalizeHandler seam wired in host to projects. - host: project.create/finalize/discardDraft handlers + teardown. Reuses initProject and the Default workspace; no new project type.

…oject When the finalize_project tool is present (a fresh draft project's setup chat), open by asking what to build, keep clarifications minimal via ask_user_question, ask the project name LAST, write goal-and-requirements.md, then call finalize_project and give the contextual ready message. Inert without the tool (the setting-up-a-project dispatcher in a real repo is unchanged).

- AddProjectMenu: 'New project from scratch' beside 'Open existing project' (rail + Welcome). - WelcomePanel: a first-class 'Create project from scratch' card in the no-project state (Open project not demoted). - createProject.ts: shared createProjectFromScratch (project.create -> draft project + Default workspace -> chat seeded with /skill:starting-a-new-project). - chat/tools: FinalizeProjectCard receipt for the finalize_project tool. - e2e: no-agent coverage of the entry points + draft creation; resetState clears the managed projects dir.

- Open (existing) project uses FolderOpen (folder-open) in the add-project menu. - Create project from scratch uses FolderPlus (folder-add) in the menu + the Welcome card.

A not-yet-finalized project shows as "Project draft" (was "Untitled project") until the create-from-scratch flow finalizes it with the user-confirmed name.

…from-scratch Refine the hosted create-from-scratch entry in starting-a-new-project: - Open with a fixed, extremely concise 3-question brief (what / who / what can users do) as ordinary freeform chat — no widget, no required fields, no spec/git/workspace mentions. - After the user's single freeform reply, generate CONTEXTUAL ask_user_question follow-ups from what they actually said (never a preset list; never re-ask; accumulate all prior answers; group related decisions; minimum rounds). - Name the project last via the widget (suggest one; reuse a user-given name). - Unchanged tail: goal-and-requirements.md + finalize_project + ready message.

Right-clicking a draft project now offers a destructive "Delete draft" (instead of "Close project") with a confirm popup that discards the drafts

Post-creation branching capability: - offerNextSteps.ts: offer_next_steps tool (ack+terminate like ask_user_question) + buildNextStepsMessage. Answered through the shared answerQuestion path: assessAnswerability now takes an allowed tool-name set and returns the matched name; the manager dispatches buildNextStepsMessage (offer) vs buildAnswersMessage (ask). Registered in sharedFactories. - projects.finalize now commits goal-and-requirements.md (if present) so a later isolated worktree inherits the project brief; a no-op/failed commit is ignored. - Unit tests for the offer tool + generalized answerability.

…ace skill - starting-a-new-project hosted-entry tail: after finalize, post a concise ready confirmation, then offer_next_steps (two cards). On "Continue in the Default workspace", ack + one contextual next-step question via the widget; on "Start a separate task", acknowledge briefly (the app opens the new workspace). - New kicking-off-a-workspace skill (self-trigger via /skill: seed): warm hand-off into a freshly created isolated workspace — read the committed brief, offer a few first tasks via the questionnaire widget, then route to brainstorming. Added to the family table + diagram (outside routing).

- NextStepsCard renderer for offer_next_steps (chrome "bare"): two action cards ("Start a separate task" / "Continue in the Default workspace", no git terms), a one-time decision resolved via the transcript (deriveAskStates recognizes offer_next_steps). Continue answers the tool; Separate task answers + calls ChatActions.startSeparateTask(). - ChatActions.startSeparateTask (implemented by ChatView) fires the new newWorkspaceRequest store seam; ProjectTree consumes it to open the existing NewWorkspaceDialog, seeded with /skill:kicking-off-a-workspace when kickoff. - Store: newWorkspaceRequest field + requestNewWorkspace/clearNewWorkspaceRequest (+ unit test). SPEC updates (chat, chat/tools, store, panels).

…roject sessions Blocker: these create-from-scratch tools were registered globally in buildResourceLoader (every session), relying on a fail-closed handler as the gate. Restore them as a draft-only capability driven by an explicit host->agent seam, so ordinary sessions never see them. - agent: setDraftProjectSetupResolver(workspaceId) seam; createSession and the re-attach path pass { draftProjectSetup } into buildResourceLoader, which adds finalize_project + offer_next_steps ONLY when set. Captured at create/attach time, so it stays true for the setup session's life (offer_next_steps runs after finalize clears the draft). finalize_project's cwd draft check stays as defense-in-depth, not the gate. - projects: isDraftProject(id); host wires the resolver (workspaceId -> project draft state). agent still never imports projects. - Regression tests: draft session -> both tools present; ordinary session -> both absent while ask_user_question (the normal setup interview) is unaffected. The reused starting-a-new-project flow for normal empty repos is unchanged (its hosted-entry section is inert without the tool). No user-facing flow change.

…Draft Blocker: the handler tore down workspace resources (layouts, reviews, watches, terminals, sessions) first and only then called discardDraftProject, which rejects a non-draft. A stale client discarding an already-finalized project thus destroyed its resources before the request failed. - discardDraftProject(id, teardown?) now runs the draft guard FIRST — throws on a missing id or a non-draft project — and only after it passes runs the caller's teardown callback, then removes the record/dir and publishes project.removed. Guard + teardown + removal live in one op, so there is no path where teardown runs for a non-draft; the host handler holds no draft logic of its own. - Handler passes its workspace-resource teardown as that callback. - Reuses the existing draft domain check (no duplicated draft logic). Regression tests: valid draft → discard succeeds and teardown runs; finalized project → rejected, teardown NOT run, project + dir untouched; missing project → rejected, teardown NOT run. No user-facing flow change.

jetbrains-air

Requesting changes — please address the blocking inline finding.

jetbrains-air · 2026-08-27T13:24:59Z

+	if (!project) throw new Error(`Unknown project: ${id}`);
+	if (project.draft !== true) throw new Error(`Project is not a draft: ${project.name}`);
+	// Draft guard has passed: only now may any destructive teardown run (see projects/SPEC.md).
+	if (teardown) await teardown(project);


Blocking:
Problem: The draft check is not atomic with deletion because this awaited teardown yields without reserving the lifecycle state, so project.finalize can still succeed before removal resumes.
Failure scenario: One client confirms Delete draft while session abort/purge is pending, another client finalizes that same project, and this call then resumes and removes the newly finalized project's directory and records.
Suggested fix: Serialize finalize/discard per project, or synchronously transition the draft to a persisted discarding state before the first await so finalize rejects, rolling that state back if teardown fails.

jetbrains-air

Requesting changes — please address the blocking inline findings.

jetbrains-air · 2026-08-27T13:26:41Z

 			settingsManager,
 			() => skillAdmissionResolver(input.workspaceId),
 			generation.excludedSessionExtensionPaths,
+			{ draftProjectSetup: draftProjectSetupResolver(input.workspaceId) },


Blocking:
Problem: This gate identifies every session in a draft project as the one setup session, even though drafts still expose New chat and Create workspace.
Failure scenario: While the setup chat is waiting, opening another supported chat in the draft gives it finalize_project and offer_next_steps; invoking the starting-project skill there can finalize first, after which the original setup flow fails and cannot complete.
Suggested fix: Bind the draft capability to an explicit, host-validated setup-session identity passed by the create-project flow, and persist that identity for reattachment instead of deriving it only from the workspace's project.

Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) requested review from Olga Lavrichenko (OLavrik), Rustam Sadykov (SBOne-Kenobi), danyaberezun and Rinat S (rsolmano) as code owners August 27, 2026 12:31

jetbrains-air Bot requested changes Aug 27, 2026

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Comment thread packages/pi-thinkrail-workflow/skills/starting-a-new-project/SKILL.md

jetbrains-air Bot requested changes Aug 27, 2026

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Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) changed the title ~~feat: create project from scratch (agent-led new-project flow)~~ Add create-project-from-scratch flow Aug 27, 2026

Julia.Shilova added 13 commits August 27, 2026 16:22

style(web): folder-open / folder-add icons for open vs create project

c3432ef

- Open (existing) project uses FolderOpen (folder-open) in the add-project menu. - Create project from scratch uses FolderPlus (folder-add) in the menu + the Welcome card.

feat(server): provisional draft-project name "Project draft"

beb728f

A not-yet-finalized project shows as "Project draft" (was "Untitled project") until the create-from-scratch flow finalizes it with the user-confirmed name.

feat: Delete draft for unfinished create-from-scratch projects

caa94b2

Right-clicking a draft project now offers a destructive "Delete draft" (instead of "Close project") with a confirm popup that discards the drafts

docs(server): drop links to retired create-project task-specs

0abf65c

Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) force-pushed the create-project-workflow branch from a8d3f93 to 8a12534 Compare August 27, 2026 13:23

jetbrains-air Bot requested changes Aug 27, 2026

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Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) changed the title ~~Add create-project-from-scratch flow~~ [Design] Add create-project-from-scratch flow Aug 31, 2026

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[Design] Add create-project-from-scratch flow - #325

[Design] Add create-project-from-scratch flow#325
Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) wants to merge 13 commits into
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Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) commented Aug 27, 2026 •

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Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) commented Aug 27, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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Julia Shilova (juliashilovaa) commented Aug 27, 2026 •

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