The init command bootstraps a new project directory with CLAUDE.md, sn.config.ts, example manifests, and a vault scaffold. Templates are inlined into the sn binary — no network access or git clone needed. Use --dry-run to preview the file plan before writing. Instance credentials are configured separately via sn instance add; they live in ~/.sn-skills/instances.json, not in the project.
init
Scaffold a new ServiceNow manifest project from a template.
sn init [--template app|monorepo|feature|minimal] [--name <name>] [--dry-run] [--force] [<target-dir>] Scaffold a new manifest project.
Arguments
| Name | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| target-dir | No | Directory to scaffold into. Defaults to ./ or . when neither is given. |
Flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| --template <t> | app (choices: app, monorepo, feature, minimal) | Which template to use. |
| --name <name> | — | Project name injected into package.json and docs. Defaults to the basename of target-dir. |
| --dry-run | — | Print the file plan without writing anything. |
| --force | — | Overwrite a non-empty target directory (ignores a lone `.git`). |
Examples
sn init --template app --name billing-skills ./billing-skills✓ Scaffolded billing-skills at ./billing-skills (15 files)
Next steps:
cd ./billing-skills
sn instance add default --url <host> --user <u> --pass - --default
sn preview manifests/example-business-rule/manifest.ts
sn init --template minimal --dry-run| Template | What you get |
|---|---|
| app | CLAUDE.md, vault/, 3 example manifests, full tsconfig/package.json |
| monorepo | packages/example-app/ layout with shared sn.config.ts at the root |
| feature | Single manifest.ts + spec.md at the root — good for a one-off change |
| minimal | CLAUDE.md, .gitignore, sn.config.ts, package.json — nothing else |
Exits non-zero if the target directory is non-empty and neither --force nor --dry-run was passed — protects you from overwriting work in progress.