diff --git a/cogsol/management/commands/startproject.py b/cogsol/management/commands/startproject.py
index 46dbe32..365ed91 100644
--- a/cogsol/management/commands/startproject.py
+++ b/cogsol/management/commands/startproject.py
@@ -121,12 +121,13 @@ def run(self, chat=None, data=None, secrets=None, log=None, text: str = "", coun
 
 DATA_RETRIEVALS_PY = """\
 from cogsol.content import BaseRetrieval, ReorderingStrategy
+# from data.product_docs import ProductDocsTopic
 #
 # class ProductDocsRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
 #     \"\"\"Sample retrieval configuration.\"\"\"
 #
 #     name = "product_docs_search"
-#     topic = "product_docs"
+#     topic = ProductDocsTopic
 #     num_refs = 10
 #     reordering = False
 #     strategy_reordering = ReorderingStrategy.NONE
diff --git a/docs/agents-tools.md b/docs/agents-tools.md
index d4637cd..f676c07 100644
--- a/docs/agents-tools.md
+++ b/docs/agents-tools.md
@@ -462,10 +462,11 @@ Retrieval tools reference Content API retrievals defined in `data/retrievals.py`
 ```python
 # data/retrievals.py
 from cogsol.content import BaseRetrieval
+from data.product_docs import ProductDocsTopic
 
 class ProductDocsRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
     name = "product_docs_search"
-    topic = "product_docs"
+    topic = ProductDocsTopic
     num_refs = 10
 
 # agents/searches.py
@@ -682,11 +683,12 @@ Retrievals define semantic search behavior. Place them in `data/retrievals.py`.
 ```python
 from cogsol.content import BaseRetrieval, ReorderingStrategy
 from data.formatters import DefaultFormatter
+from data.product_docs import ProductDocsTopic
 from data.product_docs.metadata import ProductMetadata
 
 class ProductDocsRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
     name = "product_docs_search"
-    topic = "product_docs"
+    topic = ProductDocsTopic
     num_refs = 10
     reordering = False
     strategy_reordering = ReorderingStrategy.NONE
@@ -699,7 +701,7 @@ class ProductDocsRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
 | Attribute | Type | Description |
 |-----------|------|-------------|
 | `name` | `str` | Retrieval identifier |
-| `topic` | `str` or `BaseTopic` | Topic name or topic class |
+| `topic` | `type[BaseTopic]` | Topic class reference (e.g. `ProductDocsTopic`) |
 | `num_refs` | `int` | Number of references to return |
 | `max_msg_length` | `int` | Max response length |
 | `reordering` | `bool` | Enable reordering |
@@ -753,11 +755,12 @@ class DetailedFormatter(BaseReferenceFormatter):
 # data/retrievals.py
 from cogsol.content import BaseRetrieval
 from data.formatters import DetailedFormatter
+from data.knowledge_base import KnowledgeBaseTopic
 from data.knowledge_base.metadata import DepartmentMetadata
 
 class KnowledgeBaseRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
     name = "kb_search"
-    topic = "knowledge_base"
+    topic = KnowledgeBaseTopic
     num_refs = 8
     formatters = {"Text Document": DetailedFormatter}
     filters = [DepartmentMetadata]
diff --git a/docs/getting-started.md b/docs/getting-started.md
index 2db7f72..9bc79eb 100644
--- a/docs/getting-started.md
+++ b/docs/getting-started.md
@@ -574,11 +574,12 @@ Add a retrieval in `data/retrievals.py` to enable semantic search:
 
 ```python
 from cogsol.content import BaseRetrieval
+from data.product_docs import ProductDocsTopic
 
 
 class ProductDocsRetrieval(BaseRetrieval):
     name = "product_docs_search"
-    topic = "product_docs"
+    topic = ProductDocsTopic
     num_refs = 10
 ```
 
diff --git a/tests/test_content_commands.py b/tests/test_content_commands.py
index 3dc458f..8f16c53 100644
--- a/tests/test_content_commands.py
+++ b/tests/test_content_commands.py
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@
     collect_files,
     load_ingestion_config,
 )
+from cogsol.management.commands.startproject import (
+    Command as StartprojectCommand,
+)
 from cogsol.management.commands.starttopic import (
     Command as StarttopicCommand,
 )
@@ -19,6 +22,62 @@
 )
 
 
+class TestStartprojectCommand:
+    """Tests for startproject command."""
+
+    def test_creates_project_structure(self):
+        """Command should create the full project directory structure."""
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            project_dir = Path(tmpdir) / "myproject"
+
+            cmd = StartprojectCommand()
+            result = cmd.handle(project_path=None, name="myproject", directory=str(project_dir))
+
+            assert result == 0
+            assert (project_dir / "manage.py").exists()
+            assert (project_dir / "settings.py").exists()
+            assert (project_dir / "data" / "retrievals.py").exists()
+            assert (project_dir / "data" / "migrations").exists()
+            assert (project_dir / "agents" / "searches.py").exists()
+
+    def test_retrievals_template_uses_topic_class_reference(self):
+        """Generated data/retrievals.py must use a Topic class reference, not a string."""
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            project_dir = Path(tmpdir) / "myproject"
+
+            cmd = StartprojectCommand()
+            cmd.handle(project_path=None, name="myproject", directory=str(project_dir))
+
+            content = (project_dir / "data" / "retrievals.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+            assert 'topic = "product_docs"' not in content
+            assert "topic = ProductDocsTopic" in content
+
+    def test_retrievals_template_includes_topic_import(self):
+        """Generated data/retrievals.py must include the commented import for the Topic class."""
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            project_dir = Path(tmpdir) / "myproject"
+
+            cmd = StartprojectCommand()
+            cmd.handle(project_path=None, name="myproject", directory=str(project_dir))
+
+            content = (project_dir / "data" / "retrievals.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+            assert "from data.product_docs import ProductDocsTopic" in content
+
+    def test_fails_if_directory_not_empty(self):
+        """Command should fail if the target directory already has files."""
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmpdir:
+            project_dir = Path(tmpdir) / "myproject"
+            project_dir.mkdir()
+            (project_dir / "existing_file.txt").write_text("content", encoding="utf-8")
+
+            cmd = StartprojectCommand()
+            result = cmd.handle(project_path=None, name="myproject", directory=str(project_dir))
+
+            assert result == 1
+
+
 class TestToClassName:
     """Tests for to_class_name helper."""