Project Setup Wizard
The setup wizard (pan setup) interactively guides you through complete project configuration, replacing the minimal pan project add with a comprehensive setup flow.
Running the Wizard
Setup Flow
Step 1: Project Location
Step 2: Project Type Detection
The wizard scans your project directory and detects the structure:Step 3: Template Selection
Based on your project structure, the wizard recommends a template:Step 4: Repository Configuration
Step 5: Issue Tracker
Step 6: Meta Repo
Step 7: Review & Save
Project Templates
Templates are pre-built configurations for common project archetypes. They live in Panopticon’s source and are applied during setup.Template Structure
Template Format
Setup Agent
The Setup Agent is an AI agent that explores your codebase to detect conventions and generate configuration files. It’s spawned optionally by the wizard for AI-assisted setup.What the Setup Agent Does
- Explores the codebase — Reads READMEs, package.json files, CI configs, Terraform files
- Detects conventions — Branch naming patterns, PR conventions, code style, test frameworks
- Generates CLAUDE.md — Writes project-specific AI instructions for only non-obvious conventions
- Generates repo-map.md — Documents each repo’s purpose, dependencies, and relationships
- Generates repo-groups.yaml — Suggests logical groupings based on naming patterns
- Generates onboarding checklist — Lists prerequisites, API keys, access requirements
Generated Meta Repo Structure
Spawning the Setup Agent
The Setup Agent runs in a tmux session, similar to planning agents:Template Selection Guide
| Template | When to Use | Min Repos |
|---|---|---|
simple-app | Single repo, standard branching | 1 |
monorepo | One repo, multiple packages/services | 1 |
polyrepo | 2-9 repos, all checked out per workspace | 2 |
progressive-polyrepo | 10+ repos, on-demand checkout | 10 |
Deprecating pan project add
The old pan project add command is deprecated in favor of pan setup. It only did basic detection (monorepo vs polyrepo, Linear team prefix) and wrote minimal config. pan setup provides:
- Comprehensive configuration (workspaces, services, quality gates)
- Template-based defaults
- AI-assisted convention detection
- Meta repo scaffolding
Related Guides
- Progressive Polyrepo — Progressive workspace configuration
- Meta Repos — Meta repo pattern and team onboarding
- Issue Tracker Integration — Tracker setup including Rally
- Projects — Project registry and configuration fields