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warden init

Initialize a new Warden setup by creating configuration files, GitHub Actions workflow, and installing bundled skills.

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Usage

warden init [options]

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What It Creates

The init command sets up everything needed to run Warden:
  1. warden.toml - Configuration file with severity thresholds and skill settings
  2. .github/workflows/warden.yml - GitHub Actions workflow for PR analysis
  3. .agents/skills/ - Directory with bundled skills for AI agents
  4. .gitignore - Adds .warden/ to ignore cache and logs
  5. .claude/skills - Symlink to .agents/skills/ (if .claude/ exists)

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Options

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-f, --force
boolean
default:"false"
Overwrite existing files without prompting
warden init --force
warden init -f
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--quiet
boolean
default:"false"
Suppress non-error output
warden init --quiet
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--color / --no-color
boolean
Force color output on or off
warden init --no-color

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Interactive Behavior

When run in an interactive terminal (TTY), init prompts before installing skills: 
$ warden init

CONFIG  warden.toml
  Severity thresholds and skill settings
  ✓ Created

WORKFLOW  .github/workflows/warden.yml
  Runs Warden on pull requests via GitHub Actions
  ✓ Created

SKILLS  .agents/skills
  Bundled skills for AI agents (security-review, bug-detection)
  › Install? [Y/n]
Press Y or Enter to install, n to skip.

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Non-Interactive Mode

When stdin is not a TTY (CI/CD, scripts), skills are skipped by default: 
$ warden init < /dev/null

CONFIG  warden.toml
  ✓ Created

WORKFLOW  .github/workflows/warden.yml
  ✓ Created

SKILLS  .agents/skills
  ⊘ Skipped (non-interactive)

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Generated Files

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warden.toml

The configuration file includes: 
version = 1

[defaults]
# Severity levels: critical, high, medium, low, info
failOn = "high"      # Exit with error if findings >= high
reportOn = "medium"  # Show findings >= medium in output

# Skills are added with: warden add <skill-name>

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.github/workflows/warden.yml

The GitHub Actions workflow: 
name: Warden

on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize, reopened]

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write
  checks: write

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    env:
      WARDEN_MODEL: ${{ secrets.WARDEN_MODEL }}
      WARDEN_SENTRY_DSN: ${{ secrets.WARDEN_SENTRY_DSN }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: getsentry/warden@v2
        with:
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.WARDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

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Bundled Skills

The following skills are copied to .agents/skills/:
  • security-review - Detects security vulnerabilities and unsafe patterns
  • bug-detection - Finds logic errors and potential bugs
  • Additional skills included with your Warden version
Skills are physical copies (not symlinks) so you can customize them for your project.

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Exit Codes

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0
Success
Initialization completed successfully
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1
Error
  • Not in a git repository
  • Permission errors writing files
  • Invalid configuration

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Examples

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Standard Initialization

cd /path/to/your/repo
warden init

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Force Overwrite

Overwrite existing files without prompting: 
warden init --force

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CI/CD Initialization

For automated setups, redirect stdin to force non-interactive mode: 
warden init < /dev/null

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Next Steps

After running init, the command displays: 
Next steps:
  1. Add a skill: warden add <skill-name>
  2. Set WARDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in .env.local
  3. Add WARDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to organization or repository secrets
     https://github.com/owner/repo/settings/secrets/actions
  4. Commit and open a PR to test

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1. Add a Skill

Configure which skills run on your code: 
# Interactive selection
warden add

# Add specific skill
warden add security-review

# List available skills
warden add --list

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2. Configure API Key Locally

Create .env.local in your repository root: 
echo "WARDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-..." > .env.local
Add .env.local to .gitignore to avoid committing secrets. The init command already ignores .warden/ where logs are stored.

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3. Configure GitHub Secrets

Add the API key to your repository or organization secrets:
  1. Go to Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
  2. Click New repository secret
  3. Name: WARDEN_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
  4. Value: Your Anthropic API key
Optional secrets:
  • WARDEN_MODEL - Override default model (e.g., claude-sonnet-4.5)
  • WARDEN_SENTRY_DSN - Enable error tracking

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4. Test with a Pull Request

Commit the generated files and open a PR: 
git add warden.toml .github/workflows/warden.yml .agents/
git commit -m "Add Warden configuration"
git push

# Create a PR - Warden will run automatically

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Existing Files

If configuration files already exist, init skips them: 
$ warden init

CONFIG  warden.toml
  ⊘ Skipped (already exists)

WORKFLOW  .github/workflows/warden.yml
  ⊘ Skipped (already exists)

SKILLS  .agents/skills
  ⊘ Skipped (already installed)

All configuration files already exist. Use --force to overwrite.
Use --force to overwrite: 
warden init --force

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Requirements

  • Must run from a git repository (checks for .git/)
  • Write permissions in the repository root
  • For GitHub Actions workflow: .github/workflows/ directory will be created if needed

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