Your first ascent

Five minutes to set a direction, capture a few project facts, and choose a useful next step. Sherpa works inside your project through your coding agent; the exact response depends on the host and project context.

Before you pack

Install Sherpa for Claude Code or OpenCode, open your hackathon project, and confirm the host has loaded the skill. Runtime loading is currently NOT VERIFIED; see agent compatibility.

1. Find your bearings

/sherpa help

Illustrative response:

Available workflows: init, suggest, status, next, plan, build, verify, demo, submission…
Use /sherpa <workflow> for a focused action.

The host may present these instructions differently. The list above is an example, not captured runtime output.

2. Set up project notes

/sherpa init

Sherpa may create a .sherpa/ folder with project configuration and a state note. Existing files are preserved. If an older .hackathon/ folder exists, Sherpa reads it for this compatibility period; sherpa migrate offers an explicit copy that never deletes the original.

3. Compare a few directions

/sherpa suggest

Give the agent the time limit, team size, and judging criteria that matter. Treat the resulting shortlist as material for your discussion, not as an automatic decision.

4. Check the state and choose a next action

/sherpa status
/sherpa next

Use status to review recorded progress. Next can help identify an action that fits your remaining time and evidence. Keep the decision with your team.

::: checkpoint Before implementation, make sure the problem, target user, smallest useful demo, and evaluation plan are understandable to everyone on the team. :::

::: summit-tip Keep a short record of what you verified and how. A clear demo gets stronger when each claim points to something a judge can see. :::

Continue the route

See the lifecycle map, workflow guides, and command reference.