Project and application

Default (important)

Do not create an application “just because” you created or selected a project.

• After tau select project, stop unless taubyte-scope-routing (and the user’s request) show that an application is actually needed.
• Never run tau new application unless one of the “Create or select an application” triggers below is true.

Log the decision (including “no application; project-level only”) in taubyte-context-log.

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Website vs API-only (greenfield)

Follow taubyte-scope-routing → Website when logically appropriate. For new projects where end users would reasonably open a browser, default to including a website (and the Frontend + Backend split from Multi-application pattern when the backend uses database, libraries, or multi-route functions). Do not add a website when the brief or user is explicitly API-only / headless / no UI.

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New project vs reusing an existing project

When the user asks to create a new project (or equivalent wording: “new Taubyte project”, “start a project from scratch”, “greenfield project”, etc.):

1. Pick a distinct --name (avoid reusing an existing project name unless the user explicitly wants that repo — collisions confuse humans and tools).
2. Always run tau --defaults --yes new project --name <name> ..., then tau select project --name <name>.
3. Mandatory verification: run tau --json current and assert Project is exactly <name>. If not, stop — do not import, push, or create resources until selection is fixed.
4. Mandatory project email: open config/config.yaml and ensure notification.email is a real email address (not ""). Prefer git config user.email. Write it as a plain YAML value (no quotes) to avoid mail: no address config compiler failures.
5. Forbidden until step 3 passes: tau import website, tau import library, tau push project, tau new domain, tau new database, tau new function, tau new website, tau new library, or any other mutation tied to a project. Those operations attach to whatever project is currently selected; a stale selection is what makes it look like “GitHub keeps importing the old project.”
6. Do not reuse tau --json current’s existing Project or assume the open editor folder is the active project unless the user clearly said to extend that project (by name, “current project”, “add to skills-test”, etc.). Do not skip tau new project just because a project was already selected in a previous chat turn.

If the brief is ambiguous (“build a todo app”) and a project is already selected, ask one short question (new dedicated project vs extend current) before mutating resources.

Log in taubyte-context-log: project_intent (new vs extend), project name, verified_project_after_select (yes/no + JSON Project value), and whether tau new project was run vs tau select project only.

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When not to create or select an application

Stay at project context (no tau new application, no tau select application) when the work is any of:

• Website only (create/import/push/configure site).
• Library only.
• Domain (or other global resources) only.
• A single function or small function-only task without the user asking for separate apps, “multiple contexts,” or an explicit application boundary.
• The user did not name an application and did not describe multiple applications or multi-context layouts.

In those cases, complete the task under project scope unless the CLI returns an error that clearly requires tau select application—then reassess with the user rather than inventing a new app.

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When to create or select an application

Do tau new application / tau select application only when at least one of:

1. The user explicitly wants one or more named applications or a multi-app / multi-context project.
2. taubyte-scope-routing marks the task as application-scoped (e.g. work that assumes an application context: service, database, storage, messaging, smartops, or a function explicitly tied to a chosen/named application).
3. You are about to run commands that require a selected application per tau --help / error output for that command.

If an application already exists and the user named it, use tau select application --name <app> only—do not create a duplicate with new application.

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Multi-application pattern (Frontend + Backend)

Use when the brief needs all of: a website on the project domain, HTTP functions (often backed by a Go WASM library), and application-scoped persistence (database, etc.). This is an explicit multi-context layout — not the default project-only website path. For user-facing apps with persistence or a non-trivial API, treat this as the default layout unless taubyte-scope-routing says to skip the website (headless / API-only).

Typical split (names vary):

1. Frontend application — websites/*.yaml sourcing the front-end GitHub repo; domains aligned with the API so the SPA can use same-origin fetch("/api/...") when no separate API base is configured (see taubyte-build-runtime-config).
2. Backend application — libraries/*.yaml (library WASM repo), databases/*.yaml with match aligned to database.New("/...") in code, functions/*.yaml with source: libraries/<library> and per-route execution.call matching //export <name> in the library (see taubyte-resource-creation).

Run tau select application when mutating resources under each app; log which application is active in taubyte-context-log.

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Steps

1. Verify context

tau --json current

2. Create or select project only

tau --defaults --yes new project --name <project> --description "<desc>" --private --no-embed-token
tau select project --name <project>

Use tau select project --name <existing> alone only when extending an existing project the user chose—not when they asked for a new project (see “New project vs reusing an existing project” above).

3. Application — only if triggers above match

tau --defaults --yes new application --name <app> --description "<desc>"
tau select application --name <app>

Skip this block entirely when “When not to create” applies.

4. Verify

tau --json current

Record project and, if applicable, application (or none / global-only) in the context log.

If the user asked for a new project in this task, re-read the Project field and confirm it matches the name from step 2 before leaving this skill.