---

name: start description: First-time initialization of the booklet — scaffold the memory/journal/task tree, seed me.md, decode shorthand from the user's task list, and onboard the user's first company (which delegates to the onboard-company skill). Run only once, when the vault is empty and CLAUDE.md doesn't exist yet. For onboarding additional companies later (job change, side job, contracting client), use [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|/onboard-company]] instead. type: skill updated: 2026-04-30 tags:

• skill
• graph
• bootstrap
• spine

---

Start Command

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [[CONNECTORS.md|CONNECTORS]].

Initialize the task and memory systems, then open the unified dashboard. Run this once, the first time the vault is set up. For onboarding additional companies after the vault exists (job change, new contracting client, side job), use [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|/onboard-company]] — that skill is factored out from this one and shares the same wiki-scrape mechanics.

Graph convention. Every file written by this skill follows the vault's Obsidian-style graph convention: YAML frontmatter at top, path-based wiki-links for cross-references, ## Linked from footer regenerated by the transform script. Full spec in [[memory/README.md|Memory README]] § "Graph convention".

Every file creation, edit, or move in this flow goes through preview → confirm → write, per [[memory-management/SKILL.md|Memory Management Skill]] § Universal preview rule. Scaffolding (creating empty directories + placeholder README.md, CLAUDE.md, TASKS.md, dashboard.html) runs without per-file prompting since it's pure structural setup, but any content-bearing write (memory files, task files, wiki-scrape output) is batched into a preview and applied only on y.

Idempotency / re-running /start

If CLAUDE.md already exists, /start is not the right entry point — it should detect the initialized state in step 1 and stop. In that case:

• Onboarding a new employer / client → [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|/onboard-company <slug>]]
• Weekly task sync → [[update/SKILL.md|/update]]
• Daily ritual → [[journal/SKILL.md|/journal]]
• Adding people / projects / glossary terms ad-hoc → covered by [[memory-management/SKILL.md|Memory Management Skill]]

The dashboard / scaffold check below runs every time, but the bootstrap-memory and first-company-onboarding paths are first-run-only.

Instructions

1. Check What Exists

Check the working directory for:

• TASKS.md — task list
• CLAUDE.md — working memory
• memory/ — curated knowledge base (with README.md as the map)
• journal/ — immutable daily log
• dashboard.html — the visual UI

2. Create What's Missing

If TASKS.md doesn't exist: Create it with the standard template (see [[task-management/SKILL.md|Task Management Skill]]). Place it in the current working directory.

If dashboard.html doesn't exist: Create it in the current working directory.

If memory/README.md doesn't exist: That file is the authoritative architecture map. Ensure it exists — it should be shipped with the plugin. If missing, stop and surface the issue; don't invent a substitute layout.

If memory/ sub-tree is missing: Create the directory scaffold described in [[memory/README.md|Memory README]]:

• memory/me.md, memory/glossary.md, memory/all-entities.md, memory/preferences.md
• memory/work/companies/, memory/work/_current.md (stub)
• Per-company scaffold (when a company is first referenced): memory/work/companies/{slug}/{people,projects,tasks/{active,waiting,done}}/, memory/work/companies/{slug}/{<slug>.md,glossary.md} # company entity uses its slug as filename
• memory/life/{people/{family,friends,flatmates,teachers},places,orgs,topics,events,health/{providers,conditions,log.md},home}/

Create empty directories; only create files when they're first needed (lazy). Do not create memory/context/ — that structure was flattened; preferences.md lives at memory/preferences.md and timeline lives in me.md.

If journal/ is missing: Create journal/, journal/<current-year>/, journal/<current-year>/<current-month>/. Do not create an entry file yet — that happens on first /journal call.

If CLAUDE.md doesn't exist: After scaffolding, begin the memory bootstrap workflow (see below).

3. Open the Dashboard

Do NOT use open or xdg-open — in Cowork, the agent runs in a VM and shell open commands won't reach the user's browser. Instead, tell the user: "Dashboard is ready at dashboard.html. Open it from your file browser to get started."

4. Orient the User

If everything was already initialized (i.e. CLAUDE.md exists), stop here:

Vault already initialized. Dashboard open at dashboard.html.

For your day-to-day:
- /journal — daily log
- /update  — weekly task + memory sync
- /update --comprehensive — monthly deeper scan + chat people-discovery

For lifecycle changes:
- /onboard-company <slug> --job-change    new employer
- /onboard-company <slug> --side-job      contracting / side gig
- /onboard-company <slug> --client        client engagement

Do not re-run the bootstrap (steps 5–6 below). They overwrite first-run choices.

If memory hasn't been bootstrapped yet (no CLAUDE.md), continue to step 5.

5. Bootstrap Memory (First Run Only)

Only do this if CLAUDE.md doesn't exist yet.

First, seed memory/me.md with three short questions:

Quick setup:
1. Your name?
2. City you live in?
3. Current employer + role? (if applicable)

I'll seed me.md and your current company folder.

From the answers:

• Write memory/me.md with the basics.
• If employed: create memory/work/companies/{slug}/{slug}.md with role + start date, and point memory/work/_current.md at it.

Then decode workplace shorthand from the task list. The best source of workplace language is the user's actual task list. Real tasks = real shorthand.

Ask the user:

Where do you keep your todos or task list? This could be:
- A local file (e.g., TASKS.md, todo.txt)
- An app (e.g. Asana, Linear, Jira, Notion, Todoist)
- A notes file

I'll use your tasks to learn your workplace shorthand.

Once you have access to the task list:

For each task item, analyze it for potential shorthand:

• Names that might be nicknames
• Acronyms or abbreviations
• Project references or codenames
• Internal terms or jargon

For each item, decode it interactively:

Task: "Send PSR to Todd re: Phoenix blockers"

I see some terms I want to make sure I understand:

1. **PSR** - What does this stand for?
2. **Todd** - Who is Todd? (full name, role)
3. **Phoenix** - Is this a project codename? What's it about?

Continue through each task, asking only about terms you haven't already decoded.

5b. Bootstrap education institutions (optional)

After seeding me.md, if the user has mentioned their educational background (university, master's program, prior schools), offer to create institution files:

I noticed you mentioned {school/university}. I can create institution files for:
- {current school} (current)
- {prior bachelor's} (graduated YYYY)
- {prior high school}
- {International student network, exchange program, etc.}

Each will live in `life/orgs/{slug}.md` and be linked from your education topic.
This creates an anchor point for location, dates, and people you knew there.

Create them now, or fill organically? [y / n]

If approved:

• Create one life/orgs/{slug}.md stub per institution with type: org, country:, city:, dates: (your enrollment period), and a Summary.
• Create or update life/topics/education.md — an aggregating topic file that lists all schools as a timeline with wiki-links.

If the user skips this, these files will be created organically on first journal mention.

6. First-company onboarding (delegate to /onboard-company)

External sources are ephemeral inputs. Nothing from the wiki is stored on disk as a link, ID, or "last synced" field. See [[memory/README.md|Memory README]] → "External sources — ephemeral inputs". Every file written by the onboarding flow is plain prose.

The mechanics of onboarding a company — wiki scrape, two-pass graph-aware write, optional chat people-discovery — are defined once, in [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|onboard-company/SKILL.md]]. /start runs that flow exactly the same way the user would when adding a future employer; the only difference is that it's chained directly into the bootstrap diff.

If the user has a current employer, hand off to onboarding now:

Now I'll onboard your current employer ({slug}) into the work tree.
This is the same /onboard-company flow you'd run for any future job —
wiki scrape (optional), people + projects + glossary scaffolding, two-pass
graph-aware write, then transform + audit.

Then follow [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|onboard-company]] § 4 (wiki scrape) → § 5 (minimum viable company file) → § 8 (all-entities update). Mode = --job-change (this is the user's first job in the system, so _current.md is being set, not flipped from a previous one — the skill handles the empty-previous case as a no-op on the old-company side).

Skip the me.md / _current.md updates from /onboard-company § 6 — those are owned here in /start step 7 instead, since me.md is being seeded fresh.

Side jobs / contracting clients mentioned during step 5's task decoding get their own follow-up onboarding pass at the end of bootstrap:

You also mentioned {side-co}. Onboard it now as --side-job, or skip
and run /onboard-company {side-co} --side-job later?

Default: skip. The user can always run /onboard-company later when they have time.

7. Write Memory Files

Preview before write. Build the full list of proposed files (CLAUDE.md contents + every memory file + task file + index.md) and show a batched diff with Apply? [y / n / edit]. On y, write everything in one pass. On edit, the user can drop files, tweak descriptions, or reclassify before applying.

From everything gathered, create:

CLAUDE.md — see the Working Memory Format in [[memory-management/SKILL.md|Memory Management Skill]] for the full template. It has a Work section (current company) and a Life section. Target ~100 lines.

memory/ files (lazy — only create the ones you actually have content for):

• memory/glossary.md — cross-domain decoder ring
• memory/work/companies/{co}/{co}.md — company overview, role, team, tools, rituals
• memory/work/companies/{co}/people/{name}.md — teammates
• memory/work/companies/{co}/projects/{name}.md — products / projects (well-summarized if from wiki scrape)
• memory/work/companies/{co}/glossary.md — company-specific jargon
• memory/work/companies/{co}/tasks/{active,waiting,done}/{slug}.md — task files (see [[task-management/SKILL.md|Task Management Skill]])
• Life files only when the user mentions them or confirms during bootstrap

memory/all-entities.md — list every entity file created, alphabetized, with a one-line summary. Fast-lookup TOC.

Full tree and decision rules: [[memory/README.md|Memory README]].

8. Report Results

Productivity + journal system ready:
- Tasks: TASKS.md dashboard; task files in work/companies/{co}/tasks/
- Memory: X projects, Y people, Z glossary terms, N past tasks
- Journal: journal/ scaffolded, no entries yet
- Dashboard: open in browser

Next steps:
- /productivity:journal to log today (2–10 lines of free text)
- /productivity:update weekly — pulls this week's tasks from the wiki
- /productivity:update --comprehensive monthly — chat people-discovery sweep

9. Transform Script

After a batch of writes, run python3 system/scripts/transform.py from the workspace root to normalize frontmatter, refresh wiki-links, and regenerate the ## Linked from sections across the vault. The script is idempotent — safe to run anytime.

Notes

• If memory is already initialized (i.e. CLAUDE.md exists), /start just opens the dashboard and points the user at /journal / /update / /onboard-company. It does not re-bootstrap.
• Nicknames are critical — always capture how people are actually referred to.
• If a source isn't available, skip it and note the gap.
• The wiki scrape during first-company onboarding is a one-time operation per company. After it runs, weekly /update only pulls the tasks page. Adding additional companies later (job change, side gig) reuses the same flow via [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|/onboard-company]].
• Nothing external is ever stored on disk (no URLs, no IDs, no index files) — if you leave a company, the local memory loses nothing.
• Memory grows organically through natural conversation and /journal after bootstrap.

Linked from

• [[CLAUDE.md|Working Memory]]
• [[journal/SKILL.md|Journal Skill]]
• [[memory-management/SKILL.md|Memory Management Skill]]
• [[memory/README.md|Memory README]]
• [[onboard-company/SKILL.md|Onboard Company Skill]]
• [[task-management/SKILL.md|Task Management Skill]]
• [[update/SKILL.md|Update Skill]]