product‑init: A Gatekeeper for AI‑Driven Product Development

product‑init is a Claude Code skill that enforces nine product gates before any code is generated, preventing the common pitfall of building the wrong thing. The gates cover discovery, statement of work, design, build, QA, UAT, deploy, handoff, and warranty, each with specific criteria that must be met or the pipeline stops. The tool is built from proven product frameworks—CB Insights, Jobs‑to‑Be‑Done, Cagan’s risk model, Shape Up, PR‑FAQ, and Lean Startup—and is installed via a simple curl script.

Using product‑init, developers type /product‑init "your product idea" in Claude Code, and the skill walks through the nine gates, asking questions about job‑to‑be‑done, failure criteria, testing, deployment, and monitoring. If any gate fails, the system halts, ensuring no code is written without product validation. The author demonstrates the tool by building an AI‑powered HR interview product, passing all nine gates and producing a complete product package.

The tool works with Claude Code, Codex CLI, and OpenClaw workflows, and it has no --skip flag, enforcing strict product discipline. By integrating product judgment into the AI workflow, product‑init helps teams avoid costly mistakes and focus on building valuable features.