Document Store Bootstrapper

Document Store Bootstrapper

Turns a folder of documents into an “ideal doc store” with a numbered taxonomy, _meta/ indexes, archival policy, and resumable operator memory. Use for Google Drive engagement folders, customer KBs, project doc stores, and research dumps. For code repositories, use repo-bootstrapper instead.

When to use this skill

• Organize a flat folder into a clean, numbered taxonomy
• Stand up a new engagement/customer/project folder to the standard
• Upgrade an existing partly-organized folder toward the ideal state
• Audit a folder and produce a gap report
• Generate or refresh _meta/ index, manifest, and policy files
• Resume an interrupted run from _meta/memory.md

When not to use: code repositories (use repo-bootstrapper), single-file tasks, note-taking apps.

Skill guidance

• Treat the target as an ideal-state doc store, not a minimally compliant one.
• Infer taxonomy from the actual documents present — do not invent categories with no documents.
• Preserve .gdoc, .gsheet, .gslides, .gform, .gjam shortcuts byte-for-byte (Drive links depend on exact filename).
• Never rename or move a load-bearing filename without explicit confirmation.
• Prefer non-destructive organization: move into folders, do not delete. Send deletion candidates to 99 Archive/.
• For Drive-synced folders: use mv (not cp) so Drive sees a move event.
• Use _meta/memory.md as resumable state. If interrupted, the next run reads it and continues from the first pending step.
• Log the user’s prompt and any clarifying answers to _meta/prompts.md before moving any files.

Standard file manifest

Every compliant doc store must have ALL of the following inside _meta/:

Workflow and operator state

Taxonomy and standards

Indexes

Reference

Standard taxonomy

Numerically prefixed so folders sort predictably. Adapt labels to the domain; keep the numbering scheme and reserved slots.

Empty slots are permitted but must be documented in _meta/taxonomy.md with a rationale, or removed if unused.

Naming and archive rules

Filename hygiene

• Preserve .gdoc, .gsheet, .gslides, .gform, .gjam shortcuts exactly.
• Strip trailing whitespace on rename; never on move.
• Date prefixes use YYYY-MM-DD .
• Never rename load-bearing artifacts (scripts referenced by tooling, Drive-linked shortcuts).

Date formats — absolute dates only (2026-05-20), never relative (Thursday, last week).

Language — US English in all _meta/ files. Short, declarative sentences.

Archive policy (default — override in _meta/archive-policy.md)

• Move to 99 Archive/ when ALL of: last modified > 180 days ago OR explicitly superseded, AND not currently referenced by an active initiative or open case.
• Always archive files starting with Copy of , (1), or – copy.
• Use 99 Archive/<year>/ subfolders when volume warrants.

Symlinks — Drive shortcuts go in 10 Symlinks/. Broken symlinks go in 10 Symlinks/_broken/ and are listed in _meta/known-gaps.md.

Execution phases

Run in order. Phases 3–6 may run in parallel agents.

Audit checklist

Run against path/_meta/ and the folder layout:

_meta/memory.md — versioned format, status field, Done/Pending/Resumption sections, owner and target path.

_meta/taxonomy.md — every numbered top-level folder explained; empty folders justified or removed; “what goes where” mapping.

_meta/INDEX.md — one entry per folder; top 5 key docs listed; last-refreshed date in header.

_meta/manifest.json — valid JSON; one entry per non-trivial document (exclude .DS_Store, hidden files); each entry has path, kind, mtime, tags[].

README.md — names the folder and purpose; links to _meta/INDEX.md and _meta/taxonomy.md; last-refreshed date.

File templates

_meta/memory.md

# <Folder Name> Organization - Memory File

Version: <semver>
Last updated: <YYYY-MM-DD>
Owner: <name> (<email>)
Target folder: <absolute path>

## Status
<in_progress | complete>

## Plan version <semver>
Top-level taxonomy:
- 00 …
- 01 …
- _meta …

## Done
- …

## Pending
- …

## Resumption
Re-read this file, list the folder contents, continue from the first pending step.

_meta/manifest.json

{
  "version": 1,
  "generated_at": "<YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ>",
  "root": "<absolute path>",
  "documents": [
    {
      "path": "00 Overview/Master Plan.gsheet",
      "kind": "gsheet",
      "is_shortcut": true,
      "mtime": "2026-05-13T16:27:00Z",
      "tags": ["overview", "master-plan"]
    }
  ]
}

_meta/CLAUDE.md

# Claude Code instructions for <Folder Name>

This folder is managed under the `doc-store-bootstrapper` skill.

Before doing any work:
1. Read `_meta/memory.md` for current state.
2. Read `_meta/taxonomy.md` for what belongs where.
3. Read `_meta/standards.md` for naming and archive rules.
4. Log new prompts to `_meta/prompts.md` before moving files.

Do not:
- Delete files. Move to `99 Archive/` instead.
- Rename `.gdoc` / `.gsheet` / `.gslides` shortcuts (Drive links break).
- Invent taxonomy categories with no documents.

Resumption: read `_meta/memory.md` and continue from the first item in Pending.

Bootstrap invocation

Bootstrap the folder at <absolute path> to the doc-store-bootstrapper standard. Follow the Execution Phases in ~/.claude/skills/doc-store-bootstrapper/SKILL.md. Capture my prompt to _meta/prompts.md before moving any files. Use _meta/memory.md for resumable state.