[FEATURE] Save a project as a reusable template for scaffolding future similar projects

Summary

Many quick-prototype projects (small landing pages, single-purpose sites, hackathon-style repos) share the same rough shape as prior ones — same stack, same structure, same kind of setup boilerplate — but there's no way to say "start a new project like this existing one" from within Claude Code. Please add a "save this project as a template" flow that lets a new session scaffold from a previous repo's structure/conventions.

Current behavior

Starting a new small project today means either starting from nothing, or manually copying files/structure from a previous similar repo by hand outside of Claude Code, then re-explaining the conventions to a fresh session once inside it.

Motivation

A meaningful share of real-world usage is small, similarly-shaped one-off projects — landing pages, micro-sites, quick prototypes — built repeatedly with the same stack and similar structure each time (CSS/HTML/Tailwind boilerplate, similar folder layout, similar deploy setup). Each one currently starts from scratch conversationally, even when a nearly-identical prior project already exists and could serve as a scaffold.

Proposed behavior

1. "Save as template" on an existing project/repo: captures structure, key config files, and conventions (not content) as a reusable scaffold.
2. "New project from template": a new session/repo starts pre-populated from a saved template, with Claude Code aware of which template it came from (so it can explain/adapt conventions rather than blindly copying).
3. Templates should be user-managed (list, rename, delete) and local by default — no requirement to publish or share them.
4. Optional: seed the new session's context with a short note about what changed vs. the template's source project, so early conversation doesn't have to re-establish "this is like X but for Y."

Why it matters

• Cuts repeated setup friction for anyone who builds similarly-shaped small projects often — the scaffolding step becomes a one-command action instead of manual copy-paste or a from-scratch conversation each time.
• Distinct from general framework starter templates (create-react-app, etc.) — this is about reusing your own prior projects' specific conventions, not a generic public template.

Related issues (adjacent, not duplicates)

None found describing this specific ask.

Notes

• Reviewed for duplicates before filing (searched "save project template scaffold new repo start from") — nothing found describing this as of 2026-07-19.
• Should clearly scope to structure/config, not indiscriminately copying business-specific content, so the "template" doesn't leak project-specific secrets or content into a new project by default.