Scaffold

A scaffold is a pre-built, already-tested project that generation starts from, so that a model modifies working software instead of inventing project structure from an empty directory.

The problem it solves is variance. Asked to create a project from nothing, a model produces a different arrangement every time, and many of those arrangements do not build. Starting from a known-good project removes that entire class of failure before generation begins.

A scaffold is more than a folder of files. It includes the configuration, the dependency versions and the tests that prove the starting point works. The tests are the load-bearing part: they are what allows a change to be evaluated against behavior rather than appearance.

Scaffolds are also what makes per-build verification affordable. Because the starting point already compiles and passes, the work the chain is checking is the business logic that was added, not whether the project was assembled correctly.

See also verification chain and sandbox isolation.