$ca-create-context — brownfield populate

Compatibility route. Prefer $ca-init --brownfield for new usage. This installed route remains functional under the command-route compatibility policy at includes/command-compatibility.md; continue with the unchanged brownfield workflow below.

Wraps an existing codebase in project state without guessing. Dispatches parallel scouts to read the repository, synthesizes their findings into the surviving .codearbiter/ doc set, resolves gaps via a targeted interview, and locks the project initialized. No arguments — the skill reads the repo and asks only what it cannot determine.

The only permitted path to populate .codearbiter/ when meaningful source code already exists. For a greenfield project with no source, use $ca-decompose.

Routes to

The context-creation skill (routines/context-creation/SKILL.md) — six gated phases: pre-flight, scout dispatch, synthesis, gap interview, write, lock. Scouts return paths, line numbers, and named values only — never raw source or secret values. The skill is canonical for the phases and their gates.

When NOT to use

• Project already initialized (<!--INITIALIZED--> in CONTEXT.md) → $ca-status.
• Greenfield project, no source → $ca-decompose.
• .codearbiter/ not yet scaffolded → $ca-init first.
• Update one doc → edit <project-root>/.codearbiter/ directly or use $ca-feature.

Hard gate

BLOCK if <!--INITIALIZED--> is already present in CONTEXT.md. BLOCK if no meaningful source exists (route to $ca-decompose). BLOCK if any scout fails to return before synthesis. BLOCK if any [CONFIRM-NN] exits the gap interview unresolved and undeferred. MUST NOT write <!--INITIALIZED--> until every gap is resolved or deferred to open-questions.md.