Ignition Module Starter — a Claude Code skill

A Claude Code skill that walks a first-time author through creating an Ignition 8.3+ module from nothing to an installed .modl. It's written for people who know Ignition well but are new to software development (and possibly new to Claude Code): it explains each concept in plain language and performs the technical steps for you, asking before anything that installs, downloads, edits, or builds.

What it does

Five guided phases:

1. Prerequisites — checks/installs a JDK 17 and Git.
2. Requirements — figures out, in plain language, the target Ignition version, the scopes (gateway / designer / client), and any module dependencies.
3. Scaffold — generates the project with the Ignition Module Generator.
4. Configure — sets your answers into the ignitionModule { } build block.
5. Build & install — builds the .modl and helps load it onto a gateway.

Plus an optional Phase 6 — Signing, run only on request (now or in a later session): generate a certificate, configure signing credentials, and sign the module for distribution.

Install

Copy this folder into a Claude Code skills directory:

• Personal (all your projects): ~/.claude/skills/ignition-module-starter/
• A specific project: <project>/.claude/skills/ignition-module-starter/

cp -R ignition-module-starter ~/.claude/skills/

Then, in Claude Code, just describe what you want — e.g. "help me create my first Ignition module" — and the skill activates. (You can also package it as a Claude Code plugin for wider distribution.)

Contents

ignition-module-starter/
├─ SKILL.md                       # the skill: behavior + the 5-phase workflow
├─ README.md                      # this file
└─ references/
   ├─ concepts.md                 # versions, scopes, dependencies, signing — explained
   ├─ prerequisites.md            # JDK 17 + Git install per OS; unsigned-module dev setting
   ├─ scaffold-and-build.md       # generator commands, ignitionModule DSL, build & install
   ├─ signing.md                  # optional: keytool cert, signing credentials, signModule
   └─ resources.md                # official SDK docs, tooling, examples, forum links

Scope & assumptions

• Targets Ignition 8.3.0 or later (uses the ignition-8.3 examples branch, the io.ia.sdk.modl Gradle plugin, and JDK 17).
• Assumes a running 8.3.0+ gateway is available to test against.
• Authoritative sources are linked in references/resources.md; prefer them over this skill if they diverge for a future Ignition version.