| name | talon.setup |
| description | Use when setting up Talon for the first time, adding channels or personas to an
existing config, or running validation. Also use when the user says "configure
talon", "add a channel", "add a persona", "add provider", "set up the daemon",
"add schedule", or "configure providers".
|
| triggers | ["setup talon","configure talon","talon setup","add channel","add persona","add provider","set up the daemon","configure providers","add schedule"] |
Talon setup skill
Guide the user through setting up and configuring Talon interactively. This is a
conversational wizard. Ask one question at a time, act on the answer, move on.
Core principles
- One question at a time. Never dump a wall of questions.
- Detect state first. Skip steps that are already done.
- Use talonctl commands. Never edit talond.yaml directly except system prompts and task prompts.
- No secrets. Never ask for or write actual tokens. Use
${ENV_VAR} placeholders only.
- Show what you do. When running commands, show the output.
Available talonctl commands
All config mutations go through these commands:
| Command | Purpose |
|---|
npx talonctl setup | Bootstrap (dirs, config, migrations) |
npx talonctl add-channel --name <n> --type <t> | Add a channel |
npx talonctl add-persona --name <n> | Scaffold persona + add to config |
npx talonctl add-skill --name <n> --persona <p> [--format <fmt>] | Add a skill to a persona |
npx talonctl bind --persona <p> --channel <c> | Bind persona to channel |
npx talonctl unbind --persona <p> --channel <c> | Remove binding |
npx talonctl add-mcp --skill <s> --name <n> --transport stdio --command <c> | Add MCP server |
npx talonctl add-provider --name <n> --command <c> [--context both] | Add a provider |
npx talonctl set-default-provider --name <n> --context <ctx> | Set default provider |
npx talonctl test-provider --name <n> | Test a provider works |
npx talonctl list-providers | Show all providers |
npx talonctl list-channels | Show channels |
npx talonctl list-personas | Show personas |
npx talonctl list-skills | Show skills |
npx talonctl list-schedules | Show scheduled tasks |
npx talonctl add-schedule --persona <p> --channel <c> --cron <expr> --label <l> --prompt <text> | Add scheduled task |
npx talonctl remove-schedule <id> | Remove a scheduled task |
npx talonctl list-capabilities | Show all available capability labels |
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <p> --allow <labels> | Set persona capabilities |
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <p> --add <labels> | Add capabilities to persona |
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <p> --remove <labels> | Remove capabilities from persona |
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <p> --show | Show persona's current capabilities |
npx talonctl env-check | Audit env var placeholders |
npx talonctl config-show | Show effective config (secrets masked) |
npx talonctl remove-channel --name <n> | Remove a channel |
npx talonctl remove-persona --name <n> | Remove a persona |
npx talonctl migrate | Run database migrations |
npx talonctl doctor | Validate configuration |
State detection
Before starting, check the current state:
Check these files/directories:
- talond.yaml → config exists?
- node_modules/ → dependencies installed?
- dist/ → project built?
- data/ → data directory exists?
- data/talond.sqlite → database initialized?
- .env → env file with secrets?
Entry points
| State | Action |
|---|
No talond.yaml | Full flow from step 1 |
| Config exists, no providers configured | Skip to provider setup |
| Config exists, no channels | Skip to channel configuration |
| Config exists, has channels and personas | Show menu |
Returning user menu
If setup is already complete, present:
What would you like to do?
a) Add or configure a provider (Claude, Gemini)
b) Add a channel
c) Add a persona
d) Add a skill to a persona
e) Add or manage scheduled tasks
f) Bind/unbind persona to channel
g) Run validation (doctor)
h) Show current config summary
i) Test a provider
j) Check environment variables
Skill formats
When adding a skill, choose a format with --format:
- SKILL.md (
--format skillmd, recommended for new skills): Single markdown file with YAML frontmatter for metadata and markdown body for instructions. No separate prompts directory.
- skill.yaml (
--format yaml, default/legacy): Separate YAML manifest file plus a prompts/ directory for prompt fragments.
Example:
npx talonctl add-skill --name my-skill --persona assistant --format skillmd
npx talonctl add-skill --name my-skill --persona assistant
Full setup flow
Step 1: Prerequisites
Check each prerequisite. Report status. Fix what can be fixed automatically.
1. Node.js >= 22 → check `node --version`
2. Dependencies installed → check node_modules/, run `npm install` if not
3. Project built → check dist/, run `npm run build` if not
4. AI providers installed → check `claude --version` and/or `gemini --version`
For provider binaries not on PATH, ask for the full path (e.g. /home/user/.npm-global/bin/gemini).
At least one provider must be installed and authenticated. Check both:
- Claude Code:
claude --version. Auth: claude auth login or valid Anthropic API key.
- Gemini CLI:
gemini --version. Auth: run gemini once interactively for OAuth, or set GEMINI_API_KEY.
If neither is installed, stop and explain how to install at least one.
Step 2: Bootstrap
Skip if talond.yaml already exists.
Run: npx talonctl setup
This creates directories, generates default config, runs migrations, validates.
Step 3: Provider configuration
This step configures which AI providers Talon uses for interactive conversations and background tasks.
Ask: "Which AI providers do you want to use?"
a) Claude Code only (default)
b) Gemini CLI only
c) Both (recommended if both are installed)
For each selected provider, run add-provider:
npx talonctl add-provider --name claude-code \
--command claude \
--context both \
--context-window 200000 \
--threshold-ratio 0.5 \
--enabled
npx talonctl add-provider --name gemini-cli \
--command <path-to-gemini> \
--context both \
--context-window 1000000 \
--threshold-ratio 0.8 \
--enabled
For Gemini, ask: "Which Gemini model? (default: gemini-2.5-pro)"
Available models: gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gemini-3-flash-preview, gemini-2.5-pro, gemini-2.5-flash, gemini-2.5-flash-lite.
If a model is specified, add --default-model <model> to the add-provider command.
If both providers are configured, ask: "Which should be the default for conversations?"
npx talonctl set-default-provider --name <choice> --context agent-runner
Then: "And for background tasks?" (explain: background tasks run async, cheaper/faster models work well here)
npx talonctl set-default-provider --name <choice> --context background
Test each configured provider:
npx talonctl test-provider --name claude-code
npx talonctl test-provider --name gemini-cli
If a test fails, troubleshoot:
- Binary not found → check the command path,
which claude or which gemini
- Auth failure → Claude:
claude auth login. Gemini: run gemini interactively once for OAuth.
- JSON parse failure → Gemini CLI version too old, see https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli for upgrade instructions
Step 4: Channel configuration
Ask: "Which channel do you want to connect first?"
a) Telegram
b) Slack
c) Discord
d) WhatsApp
e) Email
f) Terminal (for CLI chat)
g) Skip for now
Invoke the matching per-channel skill for the full setup walkthrough:
| Channel | Skill to invoke |
|---|
| Telegram | /add-telegram |
| Slack | /add-slack |
| Discord | /add-discord |
| WhatsApp | /add-whatsapp |
| Email | /add-email |
| Terminal | /add-terminal |
Each skill handles: bot/app creation, credentials, config, env vars, verification, and troubleshooting.
Ask: "Add another channel?" Loop until done.
Step 5: Persona configuration
Ask: "Let's create a persona. What should this agent be called?"
- Accept a name (suggest "assistant")
- Run:
npx talonctl add-persona --name <name>
- Ask these questions one at a time:
- "What should {name} do?" (purpose)
- "What tone?" (professional/casual/technical/friendly)
- "Any specific constraints?" (optional)
- Generate a system prompt from the answers
- Show it to the user for review
- Write the approved prompt to
personas/{name}/system.md
- Ask which channels to bind:
- Run:
npx talonctl list-channels to show options
- For each selected:
npx talonctl bind --persona <name> --channel <channel>
Ask: "Add another persona?" Loop until done.
Step 5b: Capability configuration
After creating a persona, show what capabilities it has and what's available.
- Run:
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <name> --show
- Run:
npx talonctl list-capabilities
- Explain: "Your persona was created with sensible defaults: memory access, HTTP requests,
and schedule management. Here are all available capabilities."
- Ask: "Want to adjust capabilities for {name}?"
If yes, help the user decide which to add or remove:
- For agents that should message other channels:
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <name> --add "channel.send:*"
- For agents that need database access:
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <name> --add "db.query:own"
- For agents that run background tasks:
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <name> --add "subagent.background"
- For agents that invoke sub-agents:
npx talonctl set-capabilities --persona <name> --add "subagent.invoke"
Repeat for each persona.
Step 6: Scheduled tasks
Ask: "Do you want to set up scheduled tasks?"
Explain what they are: the agent runs a task prompt on a cron schedule and sends results to a channel. This makes the agent proactive instead of reactive.
Recommend starting with memory grooming (required for long-term health):
npx talonctl add-schedule \
--persona assistant \
--channel <primary-channel> \
--cron "0 3 */2 * *" \
--label "Memory grooming" \
--prompt "Run the memory-grooming task prompt"
Explain: without memory grooming, the agent's stored memory fills up with stale and duplicate entries. Every 2-3 days at a quiet hour is the recommended cadence.
Then offer other common schedules:
Suggested schedules (optional):
a) Morning briefing (weekdays 7am) — calendar, email, Jira, GitHub summary
b) End-of-day summary (weekdays 6pm) — recap and tomorrow preview
c) Weekly review (Friday 4pm) — stale tickets, forgotten follow-ups
d) Week planning (Sunday 7pm) — upcoming week overview
e) Custom schedule
f) Done, skip the rest
For each selected, the user needs a task prompt file at personas/<name>/prompts/<prompt-name>.md. Either use the defaults that ship with the assistant persona or help the user write one.
Create each schedule with:
npx talonctl add-schedule \
--persona <persona> \
--channel <channel> \
--cron "<expression>" \
--label "<label>" \
--prompt "Run the <prompt-name> task prompt"
Common cron expressions for reference:
0 7 * * 1-5 — weekdays at 7am0 18 * * 1-5 — weekdays at 6pm0 16 * * 5 — Friday at 4pm0 19 * * 0 — Sunday at 7pm0 3 */2 * * — every 2 days at 3am
Step 7: Database setup
Run: npx talonctl migrate --config talond.yaml
Step 8: Validation
Run: npx talonctl doctor --config talond.yaml
For failures, provide specific remediation steps.
Step 9: Environment check
Run: npx talonctl env-check
Show which env vars are missing. Tell the user to add them to .env.
Step 10: Provider verification
Test every configured provider one more time:
npx talonctl test-provider --name claude-code
npx talonctl test-provider --name gemini-cli
Only declare setup complete if at least one provider passes.
Step 11: Systemd service (Linux only)
Ask: "Want to install talond as a systemd service?"
If yes, tell the user to run:
sudo ./deploy/install-service.sh --user $(whoami) --dir $(pwd)
Step 12: Summary
Run these to build the summary:
npx talonctl list-providers
npx talonctl list-channels
npx talonctl list-personas
npx talonctl list-schedules
npx talonctl env-check
Print results and instructions to start the daemon:
node dist/index.js
sudo systemctl start talond
Shared memory between agents
Talon supports shared memory between personas using the Anthropic Memory MCP server. This is a knowledge graph stored in a single JSON file. When multiple personas use the same file, they share knowledge automatically.
How to set it up: for each persona that should share memory, add the memory MCP server to one of its skills:
npx talonctl add-mcp --skill <skill-name> --name memory \
--transport stdio \
--command npx \
--args "-y @anthropic-ai/memory --memory-path data/shared-memory.json"
All personas point to the same --memory-path. Use data/shared-memory.json as the default location.
When to suggest this: when the user has multiple personas and asks about sharing context between them. Don't suggest it proactively during initial setup.
Rules
- Never write actual secrets. Only
${ENV_VAR} placeholders in config files.
- Use talonctl commands for all config mutations. Exceptions: system prompt files, task prompt files, and
.env.
- One question per message. Do not batch questions.
- Show command output. Let the user see what happened.
- Don't start the daemon. Setup only. The user starts it themselves.
- Validate at the end. Always run doctor, env-check, and test-provider before declaring setup complete.
- Test providers. After any provider change, run
test-provider to verify.
