| name | initialize |
| description | First-run setup interview for a Danus deployment. Run it on the FIRST session, whenever runtime/.danus-initialized is absent or OPERATOR.md is still the blank template, or when the operator asks to set up / initialize / onboard / re-configure. It greets the operator, explains Danus, asks the critical choice (codex backend) plus a few free-text fields (how to address them, language, git branch, spend ceiling), then provisions everything (branch, config/danus.env, OPERATOR.md, codex login, verify service) and marks runtime/.danus-initialized. The system cannot run without these answers, so do not skip it. |
initialize — first-run setup interview
You are the Danus main agent meeting this operator for the first time on this
deployment. Collect the few critical settings by asking (never auto-decide),
set everything up, and leave a clean, initialized, running system. Open the interview in the operator's language if you
already know it; otherwise use English, then honor the language they pick below
(this is the moment their language preference is first captured — record it in
OPERATOR.md and follow it thereafter).
0. Greet + orient (brief)
Tell the operator, in 2–3 sentences: Danus is an automated mathematics system —
codex workers prove, a verifier is the sole gate on correctness, and you
(codex) orchestrate; you'll ask a few setup questions, then you're ready
to take a problem. Say the answers are saved permanently (OPERATOR.md), so this
is a one-time setup.
1. Read current state (so you don't ask about what's already done)
bash scripts/doctor.sh
git branch --show-current
Note: codex reachable? on main (needs a working branch)? config/danus.env
present? OPERATOR.md filled or still the template?
2. Ask the choices — as plain questions in the conversation
Ask this multiple-choice question in the chat (state the options; put the
recommended one first and label it). There is no popup — codex asks in plain text
and reads the operator's reply:
- codex backend (what the workers + verifier run on) —
- OpenAI-compatible API key (recommended): the key you place in
config/codex.env — works immediately, no login.
- My own ChatGPT subscription: device-code login.
Then ask, as plain text questions:
- How to address them (name), and their language (default English) — this sets
the language you use with them from now on (
OPERATOR.md records it).
- The git working branch name (default
deploy/<operator-or-host>).
- If they chose the paid-API backend: a spend ceiling (USD) to warn at.
3. Provision — act on the answers, persisting each before moving on
- Branch: if on
main, git checkout -b <branch> (never work on main).
- Config:
cp -n config/danus.env.example config/danus.env; set CODEX_BACKEND
to their choice. If the backend is
the OpenAI-compatible key, cp -n config/codex.env.example config/codex.env and
make sure the operator's key + endpoint are filled there (CODEX_* / OPENAI_*).
Never put secrets anywhere but config/*.env.
- OPERATOR.md: fill name / language / spend ceiling /
default worker roster, in place (no duplicates).
- codex: backend=api →
bash scripts/check-codex.sh (confirm reachable);
backend=chatgpt → you run bash scripts/setup-codex.sh login and give the
operator the printed URL + device code (they only open it and authorize).
- Services (must persist beyond your session —
services.sh uses setsid):
bash scripts/services.sh up verify (required — no verify means fact_submit
fails and the whole pipeline is silently dead).
- Verify the stack:
bash scripts/doctor.sh; report green/red plainly.
- Mark done:
mkdir -p runtime && date -u +%FT%TZ > runtime/.danus-initialized.
- Commit (git discipline): commit
OPERATOR.md (and the new branch) locally — do
not push (push is an explicit operator action, never automatic; see AGENTS.md).
Never commit config/*.env or runtime/.
4. Hand off
Summarize the chosen backend, confirm the system is up, then ask
for the math problem (or return to the operator's original request). When they
give it, write runtime/projects/<p>/PROBLEM.md and begin the strategic loop.
Also mention, in one line, a capability they'll want later so it isn't hidden:
when you eventually write a paper, you can drop your own papers into the
write-paper skill's style/anchors/ folder so the output matches your writing
voice (see that folder's README.md; a complete paper is produced either way).
Rules:
- Ask, don't assume — the choices are the operator's call. "Use the defaults"
is fine, but record it explicitly. If a step needs something only they can supply
(a key, a login), pause and ask rather than guessing.
- Verify, never claim unchecked. Before telling the operator a service/endpoint
is up or that a step worked, confirm it (
check-codex.sh exits non-zero on ping
failure; doctor.sh for the rest). A premature
"it's up" that turns out to be a failure is exactly what to avoid.
- Never work on
main — branch first if on main.
- Secrets only in
config/*.env — never commit config/*.env or runtime/;
only OPERATOR.md (and the branch) are committed.
- Invoke scripts from the repo root (or by absolute path). The scripts
self-locate, but a stray
cd earlier in the session will make a relative
bash scripts/... call fail — cd to the project dir first if unsure.
- Persist each answer before moving on, and only write
runtime/.danus-initialized
once the stack verifies green — the sentinel is what suppresses re-running the interview.