Intel (Intelligence Briefs)

Overview

Produce focused intelligence briefs on a topic by querying the intel CLI against locally collected feeds (RSS, HackerNews, Lobsters, EDGAR). Briefs combine trending signals, full-text search hits, and topic breakdowns into a concise, evidence-backed summary an agent or human can act on.

Use this skill when you need current signal on a technology, vendor, standard, or industry trend — or when you need to present signals to a specific audience.

Success looks like: a brief with ranked signals, source citations, and a clear "so what" tailored for the target audience — readable in under 2 minutes and actionable without needing to parse raw data.

Prerequisites

1. Build the tool:

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   cd tools/intelligence && npm install && npm run build
   

2. Make intel available on PATH:

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   npm link          # from tools/intelligence/
   

3. Create a config file:

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   mkdir -p ~/.config/intel ~/.local/share/intel
   cp config/feeds.example.yaml ~/.config/intel/config.yaml
   # Edit ~/.config/intel/config.yaml to customize feeds
   

4. Seed the database (first run):

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   intel collect --once
   

5. Install the collector as a background service so data stays fresh:

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   ./service/install.sh        # macOS (launchd) / Linux (systemd)
   

   This installs a LaunchAgent (macOS) or systemd user unit (Linux) that starts on login and restarts on crash. Verify it's running:

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   # macOS
   launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/com.intel.collector
   tail -f ~/Library/Logs/intel-collector.log
   
   # Linux
   systemctl --user status intel-collector
   journalctl --user -u intel-collector -f
   

   To uninstall: ./service/install.sh uninstall

6. Verify: intel stats — check events_total > 0 and newest_event is recent.

Chooser

Content type (what data to gather)

Audience (how to present — default: practitioner)

Clarifying Questions

• What topic or domain do you want a brief on?
• What time horizon matters? (last few hours, last week, last month)
• Is this for general awareness or feeding into a specific decision?
• Any particular sources or subtopics to prioritize?
• Who is the audience for this brief?
• Which brief type fits? (practitioner, executive, engineering, decision, daily digest, architecture decision)

Workflow

1. Determine content type and audience — ask or infer from context. If unclear, default to practitioner audience with topic brief.

2. Verify data freshness:

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   intel stats
   

   Check total_events and newest_event — if the database is empty or stale, run intel collect --once first.

3. Gather signals (choose based on content type):

   Topic brief — run in parallel:

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   intel search "<topic>" --since 7d --limit 20
   intel trends --window 60m --top 10
   intel topics --active
   

   Trend scan:

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   intel trends --window 60m --top 15
   

   Evidence pack:

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   intel pack --since 6h --top 10 --max-events 5
   

   Source check:

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   intel sources
   

4. Audience-specific signal gathering (in addition to content type above):

   Executive / Daily digest:

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   intel pack --since 24h --top 10 --max-events 5
   

   Engineering — run in parallel:

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   intel pack
   intel search "<stack-relevant terms>"
   intel topics --active
   

   Decision — run in parallel:

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   intel search "<decision topic>"
   intel trends
   

   Architecture decision — requires archobs + forecast data:

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   archobs show clusters --format json
   archobs show risks --format json
   intel forecast    # lifecycle phases for relevant technologies
   

5. Deepen on high-signal hits — for the most relevant results, fetch full event detail:

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   intel events --id <event_id>
   

6. Filter and rank — select the top signals by relevance to the audience:

   • Practitioner: prioritize signal strength and relevance to stated topic
   • Executive: prioritize business impact, risk, competitive signals
   • Engineering: prioritize stack relevance, deprecations, security advisories
   • Decision: prioritize evidence that differentiates the options
   • Daily digest: prioritize breadth and recency
   • Architecture decision: prioritize signals that affect boundary/technology choices

7. Synthesize the brief using the output template for the chosen audience (see below). Do not mix templates.

8. Flag gaps — note stale sources, missing coverage, low-confidence signals.

Guardrails

• Do not present intel output as authoritative fact — these are signals from configured feeds, not exhaustive research.
• Do not skip the freshness check — stale data produces misleading briefs.
• Do not dump raw JSON to the user — always synthesize into the output template.
• Do not run intel collect in long-running daemon mode during a brief — use --once if a refresh is needed.
• Do not mix brief types — pick one audience and commit.
• Do not fabricate signals — only use data returned by intel commands.
• Executive briefs must be readable by non-technical stakeholders — no jargon, no acronyms without expansion.

Output Template

Practitioner (default)

• Topic: the subject of the brief
• Data window: time range covered, event count, source count
• Top signals (3-5): title, source, timestamp, why it matters
• Trend context: what's rising/falling, velocity of change
• Gaps: stale sources, missing coverage areas, low-confidence signals
• So what: 1-2 sentence synthesis of what this means for the user's context
• Next skill: where to go from here (plan, spec, architecture, etc.)

Executive

• Headline: 1 sentence — what's the most important thing to know
• Top signals (3-5 bullets): plain language, no jargon, each with why it matters
• So what: 1-2 sentences — implication for us specifically
• Recommended action / next step: what to do with this information
• Risk flags (if any): things that could go wrong if we ignore this

Engineering

• Data window: time range covered, event count, source count
• Signals by relevance to our stack: grouped by topic (e.g., runtime, framework, infra, tooling)
• Migration / deprecation watch: things to track that may force future work
• New tools / releases worth evaluating: notable releases relevant to our stack
• Security advisories (if any): CVEs, supply-chain risks, dependency alerts
• Links to deeper reads: URLs from source events for follow-up

Decision

• Decision statement: what we're choosing between (frame as a clear question)
• Evidence for each option: sourced from signals, with citations
• Gaps in evidence: what we don't know and how it affects confidence
• Recommendation: selected option with confidence level (high / medium / low)
• Next skill: plan or spec to act on the decision

Daily Digest

• Date + data window: date, time range, source count
• Top 5 signals: title + one-line take for each
• One thing to watch: emerging trend that hasn't peaked yet
• Source health note (if degraded): flag stale or unreachable sources

Architecture Decision

• Decision statement: what we're choosing between
• Structural context (from archobs): cluster coupling, boundary health, risk scores for affected areas
• Ecosystem context (from forecast): lifecycle phase, chain activity, system dynamics for relevant technologies
• Cross-domain synthesis: where structural reality and ecosystem signals align or conflict
• Options matrix: each option scored against structural + ecosystem evidence
• Recommendation: selected option with confidence level
• Next skill: plan or spec

References

• Forward-looking predictions: forecast
• Architecture observability: archobs
• Implementation planning: plan
• Spec-driven development: spec
• Architecture decisions: architecture