# Initialization
To start a new Bender project, use the `init` command to set up a basic manifest:
```sh
bender init
```
## How it Works
Bender attempts to intelligently pre-fill your [`Bender.yml`](../manifest.md) with the following information:
- **Package Name:** Set to the name of the current working directory.
- **Authors:** Pulled automatically from your global Git configuration (`git config user.name` and `git config user.email`).
## The Generated Manifest
The command creates a [`Bender.yml`](../manifest.md) file with a structure similar to this:
```yaml
package:
name: my_new_ip
authors:
- "John Doe <john@doe.com>"
dependencies:
sources:
# Source files grouped in levels.
# Level 0
```
Once the manifest is created, you can begin adding your [dependencies](../dependencies.md) and [source files](../sources.md) to the respective sections.