Brain Setup

Guided first-time setup that builds the Brain folder system from scratch. Prompts for operator info and departments, scaffolds the full structure on disk, seeds a working DASHBOARD.md + awareness.md + workspace CLAUDE.md + per-dept CLAUDE.md files, and hands off with clear instructions for connecting the session rituals (sessionstart + sessionend).

Time to complete: ~7 minutes.

⚠️ FIRST-TIME SKILL — No Brain Check

This skill creates the Brain. There is nothing to check yet. Skip any Brain Check. Begin directly with Stage 1.

STAGE ROUTING

DEFAULT DEPARTMENTS (example pattern)

If the operator has no custom departments in mind, offer these as a starting point. Folder names are lowercase kebab-case; display names are friendly for docs.

Always ask before applying. Accept any list the operator provides.

Custom departments are welcome — accept any list, auto-convert names to kebab-case, confirm with operator before building.

WORKSPACE PATHS

All paths are collected from the operator at runtime in Stage 1. Nothing is hardcoded — this skill works for any operator on any machine.

After Stage 1, the pattern is:

{workspace_root}/                          ← top-level project folder
{workspace_root}/CLAUDE.md                 ← workspace-root front door (created in Stage 2)
{workspace_root}/mission-control/             ← Master Brain (Chief of Staff)
{workspace_root}/mission-control/DASHBOARD.md
{workspace_root}/mission-control/awareness.md
{workspace_root}/mission-control/sessions/
{workspace_root}/mission-control/decisions/
{workspace_root}/mission-control/skills/      ← skill source-of-truth layer
{workspace_root}/mission-control/state/       ← live state

{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/            ← one per department
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/CLAUDE.md   ← dept-scoped front door
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/README.md
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/sessions/
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/decisions/
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/decisions/decisions.md
{workspace_root}/{dept-folder}/brain/pipeline/

SURFACE PRIMER (seeded into workspace CLAUDE.md)

The workspace CLAUDE.md seeds this primer so every new session knows where tasks belong:

• Claude Code = on-metal executor. Runs in the operator's terminal with Mac/Linux FS, local models, and git. Surface for drafting, planning, synthesis, file ops, repo work, local model runs, anything that touches process-state on the machine.
• Operator = relationship + decision layer. Human judgment, vendor/customer touches, sign-offs.

Routing rule: Everything goes through Claude Code unless the Operator needs to step in for a relationship or hard decision.

KEY RULES

1. Confirm before building. Present the full profile and folder plan to the operator and wait for a 'yes' before running any commands. A wrong root path is painful to undo.
2. Never overwrite existing content. Before creating any folder or file, check if it exists. If a Brain is partially built, surface what's there and ask how to proceed — never silently skip or clobber existing files.
3. Folders use lowercase kebab-case. ops/, not Ops/. content-creation/, not ContentCreation/. Custom dept names get auto-converted.
4. Scaffold the docs, don't leave them empty. Every folder the skill creates gets a starter doc (CLAUDE.md, README.md, DASHBOARD.md, awareness.md, decisions.md). A Brain with empty folders is indistinguishable from a broken Brain.
5. Stop at instructions for session rituals — do not edit them. Give the operator the Brain root path + explicit what-to-change-where for sessionend AND sessionstart. Don't reach into another skill's files.
6. Verify before signing off. After scaffolding, list every folder + file that was created and confirm each exists. A setup that silently fails is worse than one that errors loudly.
7. Never seed operator-specific data. This skill ships to external operators. Do not embed any operator-specific identifiers into the scaffolded files. The operator supplies their own profile via Stage 1 intake — the skill scaffolds the structure, the operator owns the content.

Scope Contract

References (auto-wikilinks)

• [[DASHBOARD]]
• [[awareness]]
• [[decisions]]
• [[stage1_intake]]
• [[stage2_scaffold]]
• [[stage3_connect]]