| name | setup-routines |
| description | One-time setup for a fresh brand brain instance. Registers the standing routines (refresh-context, dream, harvest+evaluate ideas, research-loops, update-brain, self-improve) as scheduled cloud agents so they run on cadence without being asked. The job definitions already travel with this repo; this skill arms the schedules, which are per-account and can't be committed. Run once after cloning the brain into a new Claude Code cloud instance, or when asked to set up / register / schedule the routines. |
Setup routines — arm the schedules (run once per instance)
The routine jobs (/refresh-context, /dream, /harvest-ideas, /evaluate-ideas, /research-loops, /update-brain, /self-improve) already travel with this repo and are live the moment it's cloned. What does not travel is the schedule — cron cloud agents are bound to an individual account and can't be committed to git. This skill registers them once for this instance.
How it works
For each routine below, create a scheduled cloud agent (a "routine") whose prompt is simply to run the corresponding skill in this repo. Use the /schedule skill / command to create each one (it manages the cron cloud agents). The cadence and the exact prompt for each are also recorded in ../schedules/*.md — those schedule docs are the canonical recipe; this skill is the guided installer.
Before registering, confirm with the user: their timezone, and that the instance's data sources (Parker MCP server, web tools) are connected — a scheduled run can only do what the connected tools allow.
A caveat as of July 2026: whether /schedule actually creates a cloud routine (runs on Anthropic's infrastructure, independent of any machine) or a local Desktop-scheduled task (tied to this machine and app being open) currently depends on the environment /schedule is invoked from — the two are separate systems with separate /schedule implementations, and confirmed bugs cover both the split (anthropics/claude-code#41364) and cases where the tool isn't wired up at all (#29022). After registering, verify if each routine actually shows up as a cloud routine. If the user is using Claude Desktop, setting up cloud routines might be impossible or possible only by asking them to run Claude Code in the terminal (too difficult for most users).
The routines to register
| Routine | Skill | Cadence | Suggested cron |
|---|
| Context refresh | /refresh-context | Weekly | Mon 06:00 |
| Dreaming | /dream | Daily | 05:00 daily |
| Idea cycle | /harvest-ideas then /evaluate-ideas | Weekly | Mon 07:00 |
| Research cycle | /research-loops | Weekly | Wed 06:00 |
| Standard updates | /update-brain | Weekly | Mon 05:30 |
| Self-improvement | /self-improve | Weekly | Fri 16:00 |
Times are suggestions — confirm against the user's timezone and working rhythm. Dreaming runs earliest so its proposals are ready for a morning suggestion; the research cycle runs mid-week so Monday's refresh feeds it and its findings are fresh for Friday; self-improve runs end-of-week so it can dispose of the week's dreaming and research proposals and freshly captured traces.
Steps
- Confirm prerequisites — timezone, connected MCP/web tools, and that the user wants all four (or a subset).
- Register each routine via
/schedule, one per row above (all six). The scheduled prompt should be minimal — e.g. "Run the /dream routine for the brand brain in this repo. Follow the skill exactly; propose, never apply." — letting the committed SKILL.md carry the method. For the idea cycle, schedule a single weekly agent that runs /harvest-ideas then /evaluate-ideas in sequence.
- Verify — list the scheduled routines back to the user with their next-run times, and confirm each points at the right skill.
- Record — note in each
../schedules/[slug].md that the schedule is registered for this instance (status: active), so the schedule doc reflects reality.
Notes
- Re-runnable safely: if a routine is already registered, update it rather than duplicating. List existing scheduled routines first and reconcile.
- Subset is fine: a user may want only dreaming + ideas at first. Register what they confirm; leave the rest documented in
../schedules/ for later.
- Manual fallback: every routine can also be run on demand by invoking its skill directly (
/dream, /self-improve, …) without any schedule — useful for a first manual pass before arming the cron.
- Self-contained: this skill only registers schedules that point at in-repo skills. It does not depend on the factory.
