set-up-my-second-brain

name

set-up-my-second-brain

description

Build solid, personalised context (a "second brain") by running the proven agent-foundations-starter setup - role profile, career (LinkedIn), company background, goals and coaching style - so the agent deeply understands the user and helps them hit their goals. ALWAYS inspects existing context by READING CONTENT (not filenames) first, fills only genuine gaps, never overwrites real user content, and ends with a synthesis so the user gets real insight into their goal and what's in the way. Use when the user says "set up my context / second brain", "onboard me", "fill in my context files", "check my setup", or opens a workspace and wants the agent to learn about them.

Set up my second brain

Build genuinely solid context about the user by running the proven starter-agent interviews thoroughly - that thoroughness is what gets great results. The context is the foundation; once it's built, a synthesis turns it into goal-focus and self-awareness. Don't shortcut the interviews, and don't reinvent them - the repo is the proven source of truth.

Not running under Claude Code? Codex, Cursor, plain claude.ai/ChatGPT chat and most other tools don't auto-load a skills/ folder, so this skill won't fire by name. If you're one of those, the user has likely just pasted this file's contents into a chat - that's fine, follow it as written from here.

Source the prompts locally first. If the starter folder is already open (the common case - it ships prompts/, context/, README.md), READ THOSE LOCAL FILES. Only fall back to the live repo if a file is genuinely missing - many coding-agent sandboxes (e.g. Codex) block network by default, and fetching a file that's sitting next to you just wastes a call or stalls. Live fallback: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/main/

The pieces: role profile · career (LinkedIn) · company background · goals · coaching style. The coaching-style interview is the important one - it captures the user's derailing patterns (their "shadows") and how they want to be challenged (drill-sergeant / sparring-partner / trigger questions), so the agent ends up challenging them toward their goals, not just obeying. Don't let this one get skimmed.

Step 0 - Inspect what exists, and check it's safe to build here

Filenames lie - a file can be empty, a placeholder, or stale. Judge by content.

1. Find context anywhere - a context/ folder, the named files, or any other file holding real info about the user (a big CLAUDE.md, notes.md). Read it.
2. Classify each piece by content: COVERED (real content) / PLACEHOLDER-EMPTY (template/headings only -> a GAP) / PARTIAL (fill empty sections) / MISSING.
3. Flag conflicts BEFORE classifying. Re-read what the user has said this session for any update or contradiction to a file (e.g. "I moved to Beta as VP Product"). If you find one, surface and resolve it before building anything else
   • stale identity poisons every downstream file. When two sources disagree, show the user the actual diverging text and ask which is right; never resolve it silently or mark both COVERED.
4. Report plainly - don't hedge. If files are placeholders or empty, say so directly ("X isn't actually filled in yet"); don't soften it into "looks mostly good". If the user believes they're already set up, correct that clearly before proceeding. If real content exists, say what's covered vs not and ask them to confirm it's still current, probing high-churn things (role, company, goals). Skip the currency question on an empty folder.
5. Surface check - do this FIRST, before any interview. Work out what this surface can do, and say so plainly before investing the user's time. If you can't tell (e.g. claude.ai can't tell a plain chat from a Project), just ask which tool they're in - Cowork / Claude Code / Cursor / Codex are fine to proceed; a plain Claude or ChatGPT chat should move to a Project first (see below):
   • No filesystem at all (plain claude.ai / ChatGPT chat with no folder): you can't read or write files, and nothing here persists to the next chat. Say this up front. Recommend they move to a Claude Project (or ChatGPT "Project" / a folder tool) and upload these files so their context survives - that is the single biggest thing that makes a second brain worth building. If they want to continue in plain chat anyway, run the interviews but warn that they must save each output themselves, and never pretend to have saved a file.
   • Can read but not write (some Cowork surfaces): you'll output finished content for them to paste, with plain instructions on where each piece goes (see Step 3).
   • Full read/write (Claude Code, Cursor, most coding agents): save directly.
6. Location check: if this is an unrelated software project / work repo (src/, package.json, app code) rather than a personal-context folder, warn that personal context could get committed and offer a dedicated personal folder. BUT if this IS the agent-foundations-starter itself (it ships prompts/ + placeholder context/), this is the intended home - don't suggest moving. Instead, if the personal files are git-tracked against the shared upstream, suggest they fork (or add a .gitignore) so their answers aren't pushed and git pull won't collide.
7. Respect their setup - if they have a working structure they don't want restructured, fill genuine gaps / fix conflicts only, with consent.
8. Identify the instructions file - the file the host agent auto-loads each session, which is where coaching style lands. Convention differs by tool: CLAUDE.md / claude.md for Claude, AGENTS.md for Codex and most other agents. Scan the folder and decide:
   • One of them already exists -> that's your target.
   • Both exist -> ask which tool they mainly use, and don't duplicate coaching style across both (pick one canonical file, point the other at it if needed).
   • Only the starter's CLAUDE.md is here but you're running as Codex (or they say they'll mainly use an AGENTS.md tool) -> target AGENTS.md so it actually gets loaded. Don't copy the CLAUDE.md placeholder across - it's just a to-do stub ("run the coaching interview, then replace this"). Write the rendered coaching style into AGENTS.md, and leave a one-line pointer in CLAUDE.md ("coaching style now lives in AGENTS.md") so the orphan doesn't mislead the next session.
   • Neither / genuinely unsure -> just ask "Claude or Codex (or another tool)?" once. You usually know this already - you're the host agent running the skill - so infer first and only ask when it's truly ambiguous.
   • For Claude, prefer uppercase CLAUDE.md (the standard, and it loads on case-sensitive filesystems too) over the starter's lowercase claude.md.

If a memory-extraction was run first, its context/ files are what you detect here.

Step 1 - Pull the proven setup from the repo

Read (local first, per the note above; fetch only if missing), for the gaps only: README.md (folder structure + the "first real chat" prompts) plus the matching prompts - all under prompts/: prompts/role-profile-interview.md, prompts/linkedin-export.md, prompts/background-research.md, prompts/goals-template.md, prompts/coaching-style-interview.md.

If you have neither local files nor web access (e.g. plain chat, no folder, no fetch): don't halt, and don't invent the questions from memory. Instead, help the user fetch them by hand. First explain the overall shape so they know what they're in for - five short pieces, done one at a time, roughly 5-15 min each:

1. Role profile - who you are and what you do
2. LinkedIn / career - your career arc
3. Goals - what you're working toward
4. Coaching style - how you want to be challenged (the important one)
5. Background research - your company and market (done last)

Then give them the clickable links and walk them through it: "Open each link, click Raw (or just copy the text), paste it back to me here, and we'll do them in order, one at a time. Start with the first:"

• Role profile: https://github.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/blob/main/prompts/role-profile-interview.md
• LinkedIn / career: https://github.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/blob/main/prompts/linkedin-export.md
• Goals: https://github.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/blob/main/prompts/goals-template.md
• Coaching style: https://github.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/blob/main/prompts/coaching-style-interview.md
• Background research: https://github.com/JamsusMaximus/agent-foundations-starter/blob/main/prompts/background-research.md

Take the pasted prompt, run that interview, then ask for the next link. Don't make them paste all five at once.

Step 2 - Run the interviews thoroughly, filling gaps

Work through the gaps one piece at a time and follow each prompt exactly - most are one-question-at-a-time interviews; respect that (no dumping all questions, no summarising between answers). This thoroughness is what makes the context solid. Fill missing sections within a partial file too; say what you're skipping.

Order (this deliberately overrides the repo README's running order): start with the role-profile interview, then LinkedIn / career, then goals, then the coaching-style interview. Do background research LAST, never first - the user's own context comes first, and the research is reconciled against it once it's built.

On every question, do these three things:

1. File first. Before asking them to answer cold, ask if they already have a document that covers it - a LinkedIn PDF, job description, CV, deck, OKR doc, self-review, an old notes.md. If they do, read it and confirm what you extracted instead of making them retype it. (State the bigger shortcuts up front: before the career and goals sections especially.)
2. Push on thin answers. A one-word or one-line answer is a starting point, not the record. Probe once for the specifics that make context useful - a concrete example, a number, a "why", a recent instance - before moving on. Don't bank a shrug; don't interrogate either - one good follow-up, then move.
3. Offer choices where it helps. When a question has natural options, present them as a multiple-choice pick (via AskUserQuestion if your host supports it, else a plain numbered list) so they choose rather than free-type from cold - then let them add nuance. Good fits: coaching style (drill-sergeant / sparring-partner / trigger questions), how challenged they want to be, role type, goal time-horizon. Free-text is better for open, personal answers (their actual goal, their "shadows").

• Privacy (state up front): flag and leave out by default anything personal or sensitive - health, relationships, money, emotion, sensitive professional transitions, and any third-party/safeguarding data. Ask before recording.

Background research - the last piece, and the one exception to "follow the prompt exactly"

prompts/background-research.md is written for a separate research tool, so don't relay it verbatim. Handle it last, and let the user choose how it runs:

First ask for internal docs (a deck, strategy doc, QBR, investor update) - they beat any web research. Then pick the route by what your surface can do:

• If you can search the web yourself (Claude Code, Cursor, most coding agents, Cowork with web tools): just run it now, inline, using the prompt's sources, accuracy rules and structure. This is the default - don't make them leave the tool.
• Optional richer pass: mention they can get a deeper profile by running it in a proper "Deep Research" mode (a slower setting in Claude or ChatGPT that browses the web for ~5-10 min; Perplexity if they're on a free plan), pasting the repo prompt with [COMPANY] / [DOMAIN] filled in plus any docs, then bringing the output back. Offer it as an upgrade, not the first hurdle - and explain in one plain sentence what "Deep Research" is, since most people have never used it.
• If you can't search at all: say so, and either route them to Deep Research as above or have them paste in what they know about the company.
• On the way back, reconcile - don't just file it. Cross-check the research against what's already in context/ (role profile, LinkedIn, goals). Always defer to context the user gave you: where the research disagrees with the user's own statements or docs, the user wins - flag the discrepancy, keep their version, and record the research as "public sources say X" rather than overwriting. Delete or correct anything obviously wrong before saving.

Step 3 - Propose, reconcile, save

• Propose each section's content and let them correct it before saving. For a terse user, a one-line "save this? (yes / tweak / skip)" is fine.
• Never overwrite real user-written content without approval. You MAY fill placeholders. On a conflict, show it, ask which is right, then update - noting the change. One canonical file per piece; no duplicates.
• Canonical output files (match the repo layout exactly - don't invent variants):
  • role profile -> context/role-profile.md
  • LinkedIn / career -> context/linkedin.md
  • company background -> context/background-research.md
  • goals -> goals.md (repo root)
  • coaching style -> the instructions file from Step 0 (CLAUDE.md for Claude, AGENTS.md for Codex and others), at root
• Coaching style goes in the instructions file, not a separate context/coaching-style.md. The starter ships CLAUDE.md as a placeholder system prompt, so for Claude you replace it - keeping it as uppercase CLAUDE.md (the standard; also loads on case-sensitive Linux/CI, where lowercase claude.md would be silently ignored). For Codex (or another AGENTS.md-based tool) write AGENTS.md so the host actually loads it. One canonical copy only - don't duplicate it across both files or into context/. (Mac note: claude.md and CLAUDE.md are the same file on macOS, so renaming in place is safe; never end up with both.)
• Wire the rest in so it actually loads - using the mechanism the host understands. The instructions file must pull in the safety rules and point at context/, or they sit unread on disk. Match the host:
  • Claude (CLAUDE.md): add an @guardrails.md import (Claude Code expands @-imports) plus a one-line pointer to read context/ each session.
  • Codex / other AGENTS.md tools: @-imports do NOT work here. Don't write a literal @guardrails.md - it won't expand and the safety floor is silently lost. Instead paste the guardrails text inline under a "Safety rules" heading, or add an explicit line: "Read guardrails.md and the files in context/ at the start of every session."
• A pre-existing user-authored instructions file is theirs - never overwrite it. If CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md already holds real content (not the starter placeholder), don't clobber it: merge the coaching style into a clear "How to coach me" section with consent, and skip it entirely if it's a code-project file - at most append ONE pointer line ("read context/ each session; it's the source of truth").
• No-write surface: output the final content for them to save, and make it followable by a non-technical user - don't just say "save as context/role-profile.md". For each piece, say in one plain sentence what it is and exactly how to save it in their tool (e.g. "This is your role profile. In your folder, open the context folder, make a new file called role-profile.md, and paste this in."). If they have no folder at all (plain chat), remind them to keep these somewhere reusable - a Claude Project or a doc - or it's gone next session. Don't claim to have saved.

Step 4 - The synthesis (don't skip - this is what makes the context pay off)

Once the context is solid, read everything you now know and, without being asked, tell them: what you understand about them and what they're really working toward, what you think is genuinely getting in the way - drawing on the derailing patterns they named in the coaching-style step (their shadows) - one breakthrough possible soon, and the first concrete step they could take today. Point to specifics in their context, then invite them to push back - the sharpest insight usually comes when they correct your first read. (The repo's README has ready "first real chat" prompts for this.)

End by listing what's now covered, any remaining gaps, and a NEEDS-VERIFYING list. The folder is portable - it moves into Cowork, a coding agent, or any future tool.