Setup Skill

What this does

/setup turns the freshly-cloned template into your vault. It interviews you in small batches, then proposes a batch of edits (you approve each one) that:

• personalize the _meta/* > [!todo] placeholders you answered,
• set your vault name everywhere it appears (configs + obsidian://vault= URIs),
• replace the <your-username>/<your-vault> repo references,
• wire any optional integrations you chose (or confirm the pure-vault default),
• check the boxes in START-HERE.md and let it self-retire,
• seed one ## YYYY-MM-DD — Template initialized entry in _meta/changelog.md.

It is conversational, not a form: ask a small batch, confirm, write, move on. It never invents values — anything you skip stays a > [!todo] prompt, which is correct, not a failure.

The static START-HERE.md checklist is the fallback and reference: /setup automates the same outcome. If /setup is unavailable, a user can work down the tiers by hand.

Protected files (house rule)

_meta/profile.md and _meta/memory.md are PROTECTED. For these, /setup proposes a diff and waits — it never silently writes them. (Other _meta/ files are proposed as ordinary reviewable edits.)

Idempotency

Before asking anything, read _meta/changelog.md and look for the sentinel: a ## YYYY-MM-DD — Template initialized line.

• Not found → first-run mode. Proceed through the full interview below.
• Found → update mode. Say setup already ran, show what's currently set, and only ask about / overwrite the fields the user explicitly chooses to change. On a re-run, append ## YYYY-MM-DD — Setup re-run (updated: …) rather than duplicating the "Template initialized" line.

Never clobber real content with placeholders. If a _meta/ field already holds real text (not a [!todo]), confirm before overwriting and default to keeping it.

Steps

1. Check the sentinel (idempotency, above). Branch first-run vs. update mode.
2. Ask batch 1 — identity (one message, all optional):
   • "What should I call you?" → the preferred name used in skill prose and the profile.md Identity header. Highest-value answer; replaces residual "you"/name strings.
   • "One line: your role/occupation, your locale, and what you're working on right now?" → fills the matching _meta/profile.md sections. Skipped parts stay [!todo].
3. Ask batch 2 — vault + repo (one message):
   • "Vault display name?" (e.g. MyBrain) → sets obsidian://vault=<YourVault> URIs, the README.md display name, and any vault-name reference in shipped config.
   • "Confirm the absolute path of this clone?" → used to neutralize any <path-to-your-vault> placeholder (and to inform the optional scheduler docs). Do not hardcode this path into any shipped skill or hook.
   • "Your GitHub repo, as <your-username>/<your-repo>?" → replaces the <your-username>/<your-vault> references in README.md and START-HERE.md.
   • "Default branch for sync?" (default main) → used only by the optional /dream scheduler docs / branch-aware config.
4. Ask batch 3 — optional integrations (one message):
   • "Enable any optional integrations? (multi-select: Notion / Calendar / Gmail / git-remote-sync / none)". Each is opt-in with a pure-vault fallback.
   • For none: leave the pure-vault defaults untouched; confirm the fallback paths are the active path.
   • For Notion: run batch 4.
   • For Calendar / Gmail / git-remote-sync: note them as enabled; point the user at _meta/integrations.md for the claude mcp add --scope user … wiring. Do not write any IDs.
5. (If Notion chosen) Ask batch 4 — map your Task DB:
   • "Open your Task DB in Notion, copy its link/ID, and paste your data-source ID." → fills the <YOUR_TASK_DB_DATA_SOURCE_ID> placeholder in your _meta/notion-bridge.md. Never hardcode anyone else's IDs.
   • "Confirm your field names (Task / Due / Priority / Category / Done) and your existing Category options." → record the mapping in notion-bridge.md. Instruction to preserve: use your Task DB's existing Category options; never invent new ones.
6. Propose the write batch. Present each edit as a discrete, reviewable diff. On confirmation, apply:
   • _meta/orient.md — preferred name + this-week focus, only if offered.
   • _meta/profile.md (PROTECTED — propose-as-diff, wait) — Identity / Locale / Active-work as given. Unanswered sections stay [!todo].
   • _meta/notion-bridge.md (if Notion enabled) — the user's data-source ID and field mapping into the placeholders.
   • Vault name across configs/URIs — <YourVault> / obsidian://vault=<…> placeholders, the README.md display name, any vault-name reference in config.
   • GitHub repo — <your-username>/<your-vault> → the real <username>/<repo> in README.md and START-HERE.md.
   • START-HERE.md — check the boxes completed this run; leave the rest open.
   • _meta/changelog.md — append ## YYYY-MM-DD — Template initialized, with a one-line note of which integrations were enabled.
7. Let START-HERE.md self-retire. When the last actionable box is checked and no required-tier [!todo] remains, setup is complete: the file (and the SessionStart briefing) stop surfacing the checklist. Keep these sections verbatim regardless of completion: "How indicators work", "What NOT to put in the vault", "When you're done with setup". Do not delete START-HERE.md (house rule); it goes quiet, and the user may archive it to 40-archive/ manually.
8. Report. List what changed, what stayed [!todo] (and why that's fine), which integrations are active vs. pure-vault, and the next step (run /daily for your first real working day).

Rules

• Conversational, batched — never dump every question at once; confirm before writing.
• Never invent personal content — empty answers stay > [!todo] prompts.
• Protected-file rule — profile.md / memory.md are propose-as-diff-and-wait, always.
• Never hardcode IDs — the user pins their own Notion data-source ID; placeholders stay placeholders for anything skipped.
• Idempotent — sentinel-gated; update mode never clobbers real content with placeholders.
• Pure-vault is the default — every integration is opt-in with a working fallback.
• Never delete START-HERE.md — it self-retires by going quiet.