Module 6, Lesson 1: Scaffolding the Project

How do you scaffold a project with Claude Code before writing features? First confirm Claude Code can read your YouTrack issues over MCP. Then write a CLAUDE.md that sets your ground rules: solo or team, how strictly to follow specs, testing expectations.

With that in place, have it stand up the skeleton in phases and commit the scaffold to a feature branch. The Product Path shows the CLAUDE.md and the prompts.

What does it mean to scaffold a project?

Scaffolding a project means building its structural skeleton, the API and data layer plus the mobile app shell, before you implement any actual features. You do it after writing a CLAUDE.md file that gives Claude Code guiding principles for the project, so it reads consistent ground rules on every session.

Building the scaffold in phases, and confirming each piece runs before adding the next, keeps the foundation solid; committing it to a feature branch without merging to main keeps that unverified work isolated until it is confirmed working.

Before We Start

From previous lessons:

• Your design is done and connected to Claude Code. Module 5, Lesson 4
• Your project is on GitHub with your design system, prototypes, and specs imported and organized locally. Module 5, Lesson 5
• Claude Code should already be connected to YouTrack via MCP from Module 3, Lesson 6

Tools / setup you'll need:

• Your YouTrack Agile board, populated and segmented by phase (backlog, develop, review, test, staging, done)
• WebStorm, open to your project directory
• Claude Code, running in your WebStorm terminal

By the end of this lesson, you'll:

• Have confirmed Claude Code can read your YouTrack issues
• Have written a CLAUDE.md file that gives Claude Code guiding principles for how it works on your project
• Have Claude Code scaffold the foundation of your app: the API and data layer, plus the mobile app shell
• Have committed that work to a feature branch, without merging to main yet