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This page explains why the generated layout looks the way it does. Read it after the quickstart to understand how to extend your project safely.

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How generation works

Act Operator renders the template located in act_operator/scaffold/. The inputs used to render the template are defined in cookiecutter.json:
  • act_name, act_slug, act_snake
  • cast_name, cast_slug, cast_snake, cast_pascal
  • language
Template files use {{ cookiecutter.* }} placeholders to inject those values into file names and content.

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Template root (Act project)

The generated Act project includes:
  • casts/ for Cast packages (each Cast is an independent graph)
  • tests/ with Cast and node tests
  • .claude/skills/ with built-in Skills for AI collaboration
  • .github/workflows/ with CI workflows
  • pyproject.toml for project configuration
  • langgraph.json for graph configuration
  • .env.example for environment variables
  • README.md for project-specific instructions

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Cast package layout

Each Cast is generated under casts/<cast>/ and includes: 
casts/
  <cast>/
    graph.py
    pyproject.toml
    README.md
    modules/
      agents.py
      conditions.py
      middlewares.py
      models.py
      nodes.py
      prompts.py
      state.py
      tools.py
      utils.py

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Skills in the template

Built-in Skills are scaffolded under .claude/skills/:
  • architecting-act
  • developing-cast
  • engineering-act
  • testing-cast
Each Skill includes a SKILL.md file that AI tools can discover and follow.

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Tests

The template includes two test areas:
  • tests/cast_tests/ for Cast-level tests
  • tests/node_tests/ for node-level tests

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Next steps

Overview

Review concepts and vocabulary

QuickStart

Go from zero to a working cast.