Agent skill

prime

New agent startup checklist for Agent Mail and Beads. Use when starting a new agent session, when the user says "prime" or "startup", or when beginning work on a multi-agent project.

View SKILL.md on GitHub Repository
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Forks 31

Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/prime-mburdo-knowledge-and-vibes

SKILL.md

Prime — Session Startup

Complete startup checklist for new agent sessions. Direct execution (no subagents).

Design rationale: This skill executes directly rather than spawning subagents because each step is a simple command sequence (~200 tokens each), not substantial analytical work. Per Lita research: "Simple agents achieve 97% of complex system performance with 15x less code." Subagent overhead would exceed actual work.

When This Applies

Signal Action
New session starting Run full checklist
User says "/prime" Run full checklist
User says "startup" or "initialize" Run full checklist
Multi-agent coordination needed Run full checklist

Tool Reference

Agent Mail (MCP)

Tool Purpose
macro_start_session(human_key, program, model) PREFERRED: All-in-one startup
ensure_project(human_key) Initialize project in Agent Mail
register_agent(project_key, program, model) Register and get agent name
set_contact_policy(agent_name, policy) Set to "open" for coordination
fetch_inbox(agent_name, limit) Check for messages
send_message(to, subject, body_md) Send greeting/announcements

Bash Commands

Command Purpose
cm context "task description" --json Get patterns + anti-patterns before work
cass search "query" --robot --days 7 Search session history
bd ready --json List available tasks
bv --robot-triage Get task recommendations
git status Check repo state
git log --oneline -5 Recent commits

Execution Flow

Execute these steps directly. No subagents needed.

Step 1: Register Identity

PREFERRED — Use macro for simplicity:

python
result = macro_start_session(
    human_key="PROJECT_PATH",  # Absolute path to project
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    inbox_limit=10
)
agent_name = result["agent"]["name"]  # e.g., "BlueLake"

ALTERNATIVE — Manual steps:

python
# 1. Ensure project exists
ensure_project(human_key="PROJECT_PATH")

# 2. Register agent (name is auto-assigned)
result = register_agent(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    task_description="Agent initializing..."
)
agent_name = result["name"]  # SAVE THIS

# 3. Set contact policy for coordination
set_contact_policy(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    policy="open"
)

Update terminal title:

bash
echo -ne "\033]0;[{agent_name}] | PROJECT_NAME\007"

Step 2: Orient

Read project documentation:

Read("AGENTS.md")     # Agent workflow instructions
Read("CLAUDE.md")     # Project overview

Check recent session history:

bash
cass search "PROJECT_NAME" --workspace "PROJECT_PATH" --robot --days 7 --limit 5

Get learned patterns:

bash
cm context "starting work on PROJECT_NAME" --json

Check git state:

bash
git status
git log --oneline -5
git branch

Discover active agents:

python
ReadMcpResourceTool(
    server="mcp-agent-mail",
    uri="resource://agents/PROJECT_PATH"
)

Step 3: Coordinate

Check inbox:

python
messages = fetch_inbox(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    include_bodies=True,
    limit=20
)

Categorize messages:

  • Urgent — Requires response before starting work
  • Informational — [CLAIMED], [CLOSED] announcements
  • Acknowledgement required — ack_required=True

Note file reservations from other agents (these are off-limits).

Send greeting (if other agents active):

python
send_message(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    sender_name=agent_name,
    to=[active_agents],
    subject="Agent Online",
    body_md="I'm online. Focusing on: [task]. What needs attention?",
    importance="normal"
)

Step 4: Discover Work

Get recommendations:

bash
bv --robot-triage      # Priority analysis
bv --robot-next        # Single best task

Get ready tasks:

bash
bd ready --json

Check already claimed:

bash
bd list --status in_progress --json

Filter by file availability:

  • Check each ready task's required files
  • Exclude tasks where files are reserved by others
  • Recommend highest-priority available task

Step 5: Output Summary

Present to user:

markdown
## Agent Initialized

**Name:** {agent_name}
**Project:** PROJECT_NAME
**Branch:** {git_branch}

### Context
- Recent sessions: {summary from CASS}
- Active agents: {list or "none"}
- Inbox: {count} messages ({urgent} urgent)
- Blocked files: {list or "none"}

### Learned Patterns
{relevant patterns from cm}

### Recommended Task
**ID:** {task_id}
**Title:** {task_title}
**Priority:** {priority}
**Files:** {file_scope}

Ready to claim? Use `/advance` to claim and begin work.

Mandatory Gates

After priming, these gates apply to all work:

Gate Requirement Evidence
TDD-first Write tests before implementation 45.97% higher success rate
ubs --staged Security scan before every commit ~40% of LLM code has vulnerabilities
Max 3 iterations Stop after 3 repair attempts Security degrades with more
Escalate on failure Create spike, notify operator Don't waste time debugging

Quick Reference

bash
# Register (preferred)
macro_start_session(human_key=PROJECT_PATH, program="claude-code", model="opus-4.5")

# Orient
cass search "PROJECT" --robot --days 7
cm context "task" --json
git status

# Coordinate
fetch_inbox(agent_name=YOUR_NAME, limit=20)
send_message(to=[...], subject="Agent Online", ...)

# Discover
bv --robot-triage
bd ready --json

Anti-Patterns

Don't Why Do Instead
Skip registration Can't coordinate Always register first
Ignore inbox Miss urgent messages Check before claiming
Ignore reservations File conflicts Respect all reservations
Skip cm context Miss learned patterns Always check patterns
Claim without checking Duplicate work Verify availability first

See Also

  • /advance — Claim and work on tasks
  • /recall — Get context from past sessions
  • beads-cli/ — bd command reference
  • beads-viewer/ — bv command reference

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