startup

name	startup
description	Single entry point for fresh-session bootstrap. Runs optional task-orphan recovery, cron registration, and watcher start in a fixed order. Replaces the current `claude -- '/schedule-crons'` invocation pattern as the canonical CLI startup target.
user-invocable	true

Startup

The canonical entry point for a fresh Sutando session. Bundles every action that must happen once at session start, in the correct order.

Usage: /startup

ARGUMENTS: $ARGUMENTS (currently unused — reserved for future per-instance overrides)

What this replaces

Previously: claude -- "/schedule-crons" was the de-facto startup invocation, and skills/schedule-crons/SKILL.md accumulated startup ceremony (cron-fallback, watcher) on top of its actual job (registering crons from crons.json).

Now: claude -- "/startup" is the canonical startup target. /startup orchestrates the sequence; /schedule-crons shrinks back to its narrow job.

Migration: update ~/Library/LaunchAgents/*.plist and any CLI invocation scripts to call /startup instead of /schedule-crons. /schedule-crons still works standalone (for manual cron re-registration) — both paths are idempotent.

Why one bundled skill

Per Chi 2026-05-23 Discord: "we can make a new skill and include everything we need at start." Five rationales:

1. Single entry point — no more "which skill does the CLI invoke?" The launchd plist points at /startup and only at /startup.
2. Ordering encoded in one place — the sequence (recover state → register schedules → start watcher) lives in this skill's On Activation section, not scattered across schedule-crons's step list.
3. Easy to extend — future startup work (new lifecycle checks, telemetry pings, dependency probes) appends to this skill's sequence; no debate about where it belongs.
4. Each sub-step stays callable standalone — /task-orphan-check, /schedule-crons, etc. continue to work for manual invocation. /startup is a wrapper, not a replacement.
5. Idempotent re-invocation — calling /startup twice in the same session is safe; each sub-skill is idempotent (registering an already-scheduled cron is a no-op, an already-running watcher isn't restarted, etc.).

On Activation

The sequence below MUST run in this order. Each step is naturally idempotent, so re-invocation is safe.

Step 1 — Task orphan check (optional)

Invoke /task-orphan-check IF the skill is installed (i.e. $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/skills/task-orphan-check/ exists). This is the recovery half of the post-#1049 redesign: scan <workspace>/tasks/ for orphan tasks left over from a crash mid-execution, cross-reference per-side-effect markers (e.g. PR #1048's .sending files), archive completed tasks, write recovery sentinels for stuck ones. See the skill itself for the full procedure.

If the skill is not installed, skip silently. /startup works without it — every other step is independent.

Note: this step runs BEFORE step 2 so that the watcher (started by step 2's downstream) doesn't pick up an orphan task before recovery has classified it.

Step 2 — Register schedules + start watcher

Invoke /schedule-crons. This handles:

• Reading <workspace>/hosts/<hostname>/crons.json (<hostname> = bash scripts/sutando-config.sh host-label) — the canonical per-host config. Not skills/schedule-crons/crons.json. That path is git-ignored and installer-managed: src/init.sh seeds it from crons.example.json when it is absent and leaves it untouched when it is present. So the in-checkout copy holds whatever the host last left there — shipped sample jobs, or a stale legacy schedule — and nothing keeps it in step with the per-host file. skills/schedule-crons/SKILL.md records the move; /startup was never updated to match, so registering from the in-checkout copy silently replaces the host's real schedule with legacy state.
• Starting the streaming task watcher via the Monitor tool (bash src/watch-tasks-stream.sh, persistent, description "Streaming task watcher") — first, before any cron is registered (2026-08-24: moved ahead of registration so a task arriving during the registration loop isn't queued unprocessed; see skills/schedule-crons/SKILL.md step 1.5 for the measured impact)
• Calling CronCreate for each entry that isn't already scheduled
• Ensuring a fallback /proactive-loop cron exists at */10 * * * * if crons.json doesn't include one (post-#954 belt-and-suspenders)

Step 3 — Confirm

Emit a one-line summary so the operator (or main session's first turn) sees what fired:

/startup complete: orphan-check (N tasks recovered, M archived), schedules (K crons + watcher).

The orphan-check fields say skipped (skill not installed) if step 1 was skipped.

Sequence diagram

session start
    │
    ▼
/startup
    │
    ├─► step 1:  /task-orphan-check (optional) ──► classifies + archives orphan tasks
    │
    ├─► step 2:  /schedule-crons ──┬─► step 1.5 (start watch-tasks-stream.sh via Monitor — FIRST, before registration)
    │                               ├─► step 2-3 (register crons.json entries)
    │                               ├─► step 4 (proactive-loop fallback if missing)
    │                               └─► step 6 (confirm what was scheduled)
    │
    └─► step 3: emit summary

Re-invoking in an already-running session

If /startup is invoked mid-session, the sub-skills skip their already-done work (an already-scheduled cron isn't re-created, an already-running watcher isn't restarted), so the result is effectively a re-confirm of state. Safe.

What lives elsewhere

This skill is intentionally a thin orchestrator. Logic lives in the sub-skills:

• Orphan recovery: skills/task-orphan-check/ (separate PR, optional)
• Cron registration + watcher start: skills/schedule-crons/

If you find yourself wanting to put logic IN /startup, ask whether it belongs in one of the sub-skills (or a new sub-skill) first. /startup is the order, not the work.

Iteration log

• v0.1.0 — 2026-05-23 — initial draft. Per Chi 2026-05-23 Discord exchange about #1049 redesign ("make a new skill and include everything we need at start"). /startup becomes the canonical CLI entry; /schedule-crons remains callable for manual cron re-registration. Migration: launchd plists + CLI scripts switch to /startup.
• v0.2.0 — 2026-06-21 — removed the fresh-session briefing step and its session sentinel (that sub-skill was deleted). /startup now runs orphan-check → schedules + watcher → confirm; sub-skill idempotency replaces the former sentinel guard.