| name | strategic-read |
| description | Produce a state-of-the-OS report from the current file layer. Say "give me a strategic read", "where am I", "what's the state of my OS", "read across my brain and tell me where I stand" (or run `/founder-os:strategic-read`). Reads identity, priorities, decisions, clients, leads, cadence, flags, and the recent log, then returns a 5-section report: Identity anchor, Active commitments and pipeline, Open decisions, Active flags, Next 3 recommended moves. Pass a section key (`/founder-os:strategic-read flags`) to produce only that section when you do not need the full report. Read-only. Free-tier accessible: file read plus in-session synthesis, no external API call, no paid model required.
|
| why | Produces a one-shot orientation across your operating files instead of asking you to remember which file holds which piece of state. |
| enhance | Keep cadence/daily-anchors.md and cadence/weekly-commitments.md current. If those headers are stale, the report flags it and recommends a refresh before any synthesis lands. |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Glob","Grep"] |
| mcp_requirements | [] |
Strategic Read
Runs on: reasoning - reads your files and reasons; any capable agent can run this.
A user runs /founder-os:strategic-read (no arguments) for the full 5-section report, or /founder-os:strategic-read <section> for a single named section. The report is the output. Nothing is written. No file is modified.
Section argument (optional)
When the user passes a single argument, treat it as a section selector. Valid section keys (lowercase, kebab-case) map to the section headers below:
| arg | section header |
|---|
identity | ## 1. Identity anchor |
commitments | ## 2. Active commitments and pipeline |
decisions | ## 3. Open decisions |
flags | ## 4. Active flags |
next-moves | ## 5. Next 3 recommended moves |
When a valid section is named, run the read list and the stale-context check as usual, then render ONLY that section inside the fenced block. Drop the other four sections. The fenced block opens with the same STRATEGIC READ - <YYYY-MM-DD> line as the full report so downstream skills can grep deterministically.
When the section argument does NOT match any valid key, do NOT fall back to the full report. Print a one-line note listing the valid keys and stop:
Unknown section: <arg>. Valid keys: identity, commitments, decisions, flags, next-moves.
The mapping table is the contract. If the section headers in this skill body ever change wording, update the table here so the args stay coupled to the actual headers.
When to use
- Returning to the OS after a gap and needing one orientation pass.
- Before a planning session, to anchor on current state instead of last remembered state.
- When a question touches priorities, pipeline, decisions, and flags at once.
When NOT to use
- A single-channel question. Use
/founder-os:today for the day, /founder-os:brain-pass "<question>" for synthesis on a specific topic.
- A keyword match. Use
/founder-os:query "<keyword>".
Pre-flight
- If
core/identity.md does not exist, stop with: Founder OS not set up here. Run /founder-os:setup first.
- Read each file listed below in order. Missing files are not fatal; name the gap in the report.
Files read (in this order)
The skill reads, in order:
core/identity.mdcontext/priorities.mdcontext/decisions.mdcontext/clients.mdcontext/leads.md (optional - some installs route lead pipeline through context/clients.md Prospect rows; if context/leads.md is absent, do not flag as missing, just use context/clients.md as the pipeline source)cadence/daily-anchors.mdcadence/weekly-commitments.mdbrain/flags.mdbrain/log.md (last 20 entries only, newest on top)
Also read brain/.snapshot.md and check its date: line. If it is missing or more than 3 days old, do NOT treat it as current: read brain/flags.md and cadence/weekly-commitments.md directly for live state, and tell the user the snapshot is stale so they can ask for a refresh (any skill with shell access, or the next session close, rebuilds it). This skill's tool grant deliberately has no shell access, so it reports staleness rather than fixing it - a stale snapshot read as current presents last week's state as today's. Use it as supplementary runtime state.
Stale-context check (run before synthesis)
Before producing the report:
- Read the
## Today: YYYY-MM-DD header in cadence/daily-anchors.md. If the date is past today, mark daily stale.
- Read the
## Week of YYYY-MM-DD header in cadence/weekly-commitments.md. If the date is more than 6 days past today, mark weekly stale.
- If either is stale, prepend a single line to the report:
STALE: <which file or files>. Refresh cadence/<file>.md, then re-run /founder-os:strategic-read for a clean read. Then continue producing the report against current file contents. The stale flag is a recommendation, not a block.
Output (exact 5-section structure)
Render the report inside a single fenced block. Section headers stay verbatim so downstream skills can grep for them.
STRATEGIC READ - <YYYY-MM-DD>
## 1. Identity anchor
<One line synthesised from core/identity.md. Who the operator is right now, sells to whom, sells what. If identity fields are still template placeholders, say so and recommend /founder-os:setup.>
## 2. Active commitments and pipeline
- This month: <top 3 priorities from context/priorities.md Current Priorities section>
- This week: <Must Do items from cadence/weekly-commitments.md, plus Should Do if Must Do is empty>
- Active clients: <one line per Engaged row from context/clients.md>
- Hot or warm leads: <one line per Hot or Warm row from context/leads.md Stage column if the file exists; otherwise one line per Scoped / Meeting Scheduled / Proposal Sent row from context/clients.md>
## 3. Open decisions
- Pending: <one line per Pending decision from context/decisions.md with Since date>
- Parked: <one line per Parked decision from context/decisions.md with trigger to revisit>
## 4. Active flags
<One line per OPEN or ESCALATED flag from brain/flags.md. Include severity (Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3+) and decay status. A flag past its `Decay after:` date is marked `(decayed - keep/kill/refresh)` per rules/entry-conventions.md.>
## 5. Next 3 recommended moves
<Three concrete moves, one line each. Synthesised across priorities + flags + cadence + decisions. Each move points at one of: closing a Week 3+ flag, advancing a Hot lead, resolving a Pending decision, shipping a Must Do, or refreshing a stale cadence file. Do not invent moves; cite the source channel in parentheses at the end of each line.>
Synthesis rules
- The report is your reasoning across the matches, not a paste of the matches. Summarise. Cite stable entry IDs (
log-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN, flag-YYYY-MM-DD-NNN, etc.) when they exist so the operator can open the source.
- Read-only. Never edit any file as a side effect.
- Free-tier accessible. No external API call, no paid model. The model running this skill IS the synthesis engine.
Missing file handling (graceful degradation)
For each file in the read list that is absent:
- Do not invent content for that section.
- Render the section header anyway and name the gap on a single line:
(missing: <path>).
- If
core/identity.md is the missing file, stop at the pre-flight step (per Pre-flight rule 1). All other missing files produce a degraded but valid report.
Example degraded section:
## 4. Active flags
(missing: brain/flags.md - run /founder-os:setup to scaffold the brain layer)
Edge cases
- Fresh install with only template files. Identity exists but priorities, decisions, flags are template stubs with
{{PLACEHOLDER}} markers. Report each section as (template stub - no real entries yet). Do not strip the placeholders into prose; that fabricates content.
- Empty pipeline. No Engaged clients and no Hot or Warm leads. Section 2 still renders; the relevant sub-lines read
(none).
- Empty flags. Section 4 reads
(no open flags). Section 5 then leans on priorities and decisions only.
brain/log.md has fewer than 20 entries. Read what is there. Do not pad.
Composition with other skills
When another skill calls strategic-read for orientation, it consumes the structured 5-section block as input. The calling skill cites section numbers (e.g. "per Section 3 of the strategic read") rather than re-synthesising.
Voice rules
- No em dashes, no en dashes. Hyphens only.
- No banned words per
templates/rules/writing-style.md: delve, robust, seamless, leverage (verb), comprehensive, holistic, transformative, streamline, optimize, utilize, facilitate, unlock, navigate (metaphorically), ecosystem, landscape, cutting-edge, best-in-class, world-class, game-changer, innovative.
- Contractions on. Plain language. Mirror the operator's words back where possible.
Privacy
Summarise. Do not paste raw entry bodies that contain personal or client-sensitive content. Cite the ID and the file path. The operator opens the source if they want detail.
Brain context (default)
Before producing output, read brain/.snapshot.md and check its date: line. If it is missing or more than 3 days old, do NOT treat it as current: read brain/flags.md and cadence/weekly-commitments.md directly for live state, and tell the user the snapshot is stale so they can ask for a refresh (any skill with shell access, or the next session close, rebuilds it). This skill's tool grant deliberately has no shell access, so it reports staleness rather than fixing it - a stale snapshot read as current presents last week's state as today's. The open-flags and weekly-must-do blocks make the synthesis sharper. If the snapshot script is missing (older install), proceed without it.
Rules
- Read-only on the entire repo. Never edit a file as a side effect of a strategic read.
- The 5 section headers are a contract. Other skills may grep for them. Keep them verbatim:
## 1. Identity anchor, ## 2. Active commitments and pipeline, ## 3. Open decisions, ## 4. Active flags, ## 5. Next 3 recommended moves.
- The stale-context line, when it fires, prepends the fenced block. It does not replace it.
