diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index df29bc6..efa1621 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ A self-hosted work system-of-record for software projects, built to be driven by
 
 ## Features
 
-Notes and tasks with a Markdown editor, sub-tasks, milestones, issues, and kanban project workspaces. Stored processes, an engineering rulebook system, and semantic search with proactive knowledge-injection into Claude's context. A knowledge graph, per-user/group sharing, and a built-in MCP server (`/mcp`) plus a bundled Claude Code plugin so Claude can record and recall your work directly.
+Notes and tasks with a Markdown editor, sub-tasks, milestones, issues, and kanban project workspaces. Stored processes, an engineering rulebook system (with an inception step that decides what each project inherits), and semantic search with proactive knowledge-injection into Claude's context. A knowledge graph, per-user/group sharing, and a built-in MCP server (`/mcp`) plus a bundled Claude Code plugin so Claude can record and recall your work directly.
 
 ## Quick Start
 
diff --git a/docs/api-reference.md b/docs/api-reference.md
index 8fe527b..bc79aae 100644
--- a/docs/api-reference.md
+++ b/docs/api-reference.md
@@ -76,7 +76,9 @@ endpoint at `/mcp`, not these REST routes.
 | Method | Path | Description |
 |--------|------|-------------|
 | GET / POST | `/api/projects` | List (owned + shared) / create |
-| GET / PATCH / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id` | Read (with `milestone_summary`) / update / delete |
+| GET / PATCH / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id` | Read (with `milestone_summary`, `inception`) / update / delete |
+| POST | `/api/projects/:id/inception` | Record what the project inherits `{choices: {exclude_always_on_rulebooks, subscribe_rulebooks, design_system_id, seed_systems}}` (owner-only; `POST /api/projects` accepts the same under `inception`) |
+| GET | `/api/projects/:id/inception/defaults` | What binds if nobody decides — the inception card's payload |
 | GET | `/api/projects/:id/notes` | Notes + tasks in this project |
 | GET / POST | `/api/projects/:id/milestones` | List / create milestones |
 | GET / PATCH / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id/milestones/:mid` | Read / update / delete |
@@ -118,6 +120,7 @@ endpoint at `/mcp`, not these REST routes.
 | POST | `/api/projects/:id/rules` | Create a project-scoped rule |
 | POST / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id/suppressions/rules/:rid` | Suppress / unsuppress a rule |
 | POST / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id/suppressions/topics/:tid` | Suppress / unsuppress a topic |
+| POST / DELETE | `/api/projects/:id/exclusions/rulebooks/:rid` | Exclude / include an always-on rulebook for this project (inception) |
 
 ## Sharing
 
diff --git a/plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json b/plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
index 1c468de..060cd99 100644
--- a/plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
+++ b/plugin/.claude-plugin/plugin.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "name": "scribe",
   "description": "Scribe system-of-record for Claude Code: MCP tools over your notes/tasks/projects/rules, a session-start push channel that surfaces your always-on rules + active-project context, process-skills (writing-plans, systematic-debugging, verification, brainstorming, reusing-code), and your saved Scribe Processes auto-surfaced as skills (/scribe:sync). Replaces superpowers + file-memory with one app-backed plugin.",
-  "version": "0.1.37",
+  "version": "0.1.38",
   "author": { "name": "Bryan Van Deusen" },
   "mcpServers": {
     "scribe": {
diff --git a/plugin/skills/using-scribe/SKILL.md b/plugin/skills/using-scribe/SKILL.md
index 29f17a3..9d1faa5 100644
--- a/plugin/skills/using-scribe/SKILL.md
+++ b/plugin/skills/using-scribe/SKILL.md
@@ -120,6 +120,28 @@ bound — confine the session to it:
 - If something clearly belongs to a *different* project, say so and **ask before
   switching** — never silently operate cross-project.
 
+## Starting a project: decide what it inherits
+
+A project's inheritance is a **decision, not a default**. Before
+`create_project`, ask the operator the four inception questions and pass the
+answers — never create a project bare by default:
+
+- which **always-on rulebooks** it should NOT inherit (`list_rulebooks` shows
+  which are always_on; default: inherit them all) →
+  `exclude_always_on_rulebooks=[...]`
+- which other rulebooks to **subscribe** → `subscribe_rulebooks=[...]`
+- which **design system** its UI is built from (`list_design_systems`; or
+  none) → `design_system_id=<id | -1>`
+- whether to **seed the standard starter Systems** so records can be tagged
+  from day one → `seed_systems=true|false`
+
+If `enter_project` returns an `inception` key, the project was never decided
+(it inherits its defaults silently): raise that ask once, with the defaults it
+carries, then `decide_project_inception(project_id, …)`. Existing projects
+were stamped "legacy" (inherit-all) and do not ask; any project can be
+re-decided. The rules/design-system/Systems tools still work one at a time —
+inception is the moment they are decided together, and the record of why.
+
 ## Where a new rule goes
 
 When codifying a rule, pick its home by **who it should bind** — and keep