CONNECT

Run these in order:

1 · Attach Wix to the project — skip if already connected

If a wix.config.json (or .wix/) is already present, the project is already connected to Wix — this is the iterate case. Do not run init again (it’s for attaching a new Wix project). Read ./wix.config.json → hold SITE_ID in scratch, and skip to §2.

Iterate is incremental. An already-connected project may already be set up and/or seeded from a prior run. In §3–§4, check current state before acting — query installed apps before installing (the Dynamic Context call in DISCOVERY.md §1 reports them in one call), check for already-seeded content before seeding (re-seeding duplicates it), and inspect existing wiring before adding. Do only the delta the new intent requires; leave the rest untouched.

Otherwise, attach Wix in place:

Run from the project directory. It creates wix.config.json (with the siteId and the headless OAuth app) and registers the project’s origin on that app. Read ./wix.config.json → hold SITE_ID in scratch.

If the design was brought in from elsewhere (a .zip/folder/file, or a fetched design-file URL), place it into CWD first — unzip/copy/fetch the design’s files into the working directory so it’s the project on disk — then init. An empty CWD plus a brought-in design is still connect, not create: land the design, then attach Wix to it.

2 · Authenticate

Per references/managed/AUTHENTICATION.md — whoami/login if needed, then mint the site token ($TOKEN) for $SITE_ID.

3 · Backend flow (shared)

• references/SETUP.md — install the apps the resolved verticals[] need.
• references/SEED.md — create the backend content (and, if imagery is on, attach entity images).

4 · Wire the existing UI

Read the frontend reference for how to connect first, keyed on the brought project’s framework: an Astro project → references/astro.md (auto-auth, no client); any other framework or a static design → references/non-astro.md (manual OAuthStrategy client). The chosen file carries the connect mechanics and the framework caveats; references/SDK_HANDOFF.md carries the per-capability packages, the SDK docs, and the seeded schema (all other content is queried live).

Connect the existing project to the live backend. Install the SDK packages the loaded verticals need; then, with additive edits:

• bind seeded content into the regions that already exist (product grids, post lists, item pages…);
• add the connected feature the intent implies where it’s missing (e.g. a contact/RSVP form, a cart);
• always guard SDK calls (try/catch + fallback) so a failed call never blanks the page.

A run must end with the site actually reading from / writing to Wix — init + release with nothing wired is not an acceptable outcome. If imagery is on and a surface needs an image, generate it per references/IMAGE_GENERATION.md (up to the per-run imageCap, Discovery §4); for any slot not generated — off, over the cap, or a failure — render the themed-block fallback (a styled div on the design tokens), never an empty or broken slot.

5 · Build & release

Release once, at the very end — only after Setup (§3), Seed including the entity-image attach (SEED.md § “Entity images”), the UI wiring (§4), and any imagery are all complete. Don’t build && release mid-flow to preview. A re-release does not refresh backend content: a headless frontend fetches seeded content and entity images at runtime, so they’re not in the build output — changing a seeded entity or attaching an image after release is live on the next request with no re-publish. Re-release only when the frontend build output changed. A backend image that isn’t showing is an attach-shape bug (SEED.md § “Entity images”), not a stale cache — don’t re-release to clear one.

If the project has its own build (package.json with a build script), run npm run build and point wix.config.json‘s site.outputDirectory at the build output. A static site (no build) needs the static-hosting fixes in references/managed/DEPLOYMENT.md — the entry file must be named index.html, and outputDirectory must point at the directory holding it (init’s ./dist default is wrong for static). Then finalize per references/managed/DEPLOYMENT.md (npx @wix/cli@latest release — Wix publishes + registers the origin OOTB). Close with a short summary (apps installed, content seeded, what was wired) and both links — the live site URL and the site dashboard https://manage.wix.com/dashboard/<SITE_ID> (see managed/DEPLOYMENT.md § “Give the user both links”; <SITE_ID> is the siteId in scratch), then run the feedback checkpoint (managed/DEPLOYMENT.md § “Before you sign off”).