Init

Purpose

Use this skill when a fresh bootstrap agent is asked to initialize the normal Interlateral CLI mesh.

This skill starts exactly the standard duo:

• Claude Code in ia-claude
• Codex in ia-codex

It does not launch Gemini CLI, Antigravity CLI, Antigravity Desktop, desktop inbox peers, or extra workers. Those peers are opt-in only when Principal Human explicitly selects them outside the standard init flow.

The agent running this skill is the bootstrap operator. It is not a mesh peer and should not claim a mesh identity.

Boundaries

Do not use this skill for:

• desktop peers
• quartet teams
• extra workers
• Gemini or Antigravity peers
• sprint role assignment
• long-running collaboration patterns

For desktop peers, use desktop-mesh-peer. For transport details, live comms mechanics, ACK proof, direct-send rules, and troubleshooting, use mesh-comms-core. For quartet work, use ready-rock-quartet.

init is the normal CLI bootstrap entrypoint. It also orients operators to the rest of the live-comms skill map: desktop-mesh-peer for Claude Desktop or Codex Desktop, and mesh-comms-core for the shared tmux/direct-injection substrate.

Defaults

me.sh owns the launch mechanics and prints the exact commands before starting the sessions.

Defaults:

• Claude model: claude-opus-4-7
• Codex model: gpt-5.5
• Ready phrase: Reporting for Duty!
• tmux socket: /tmp/interlateral-agents-tmux.sock

Model and argument defaults are configurable with environment variables:

CLAUDE_MODEL=claude-opus-4-7 CODEX_MODEL=gpt-5.5 ./me.sh
CLAUDE_ARGS="..." CODEX_ARGS="..." ./me.sh

Procedure

1. Change to the agents repo:

cd path/to/interlateral_agents

2. Run the standard initializer:

./me.sh

Use ./me.sh --force only when the human explicitly accepts replacing attached ia-claude or ia-codex windows.

3. Read the preflight output before the sessions launch.

Confirm it prints:

• detected CLI versions
• actual Claude launch command
• actual Codex launch command
• the configured ready phrase

4. Wait for both sessions to report:

Reporting for Duty!

5. Verify the ACK path if either side looks uncertain:

tmux -S /tmp/interlateral-agents-tmux.sock list-sessions
tail -40 interlateral_dna/comms.md

The comms log should contain a stamped Claude ACK to Codex and a stamped Codex ACK to Claude.

Failure Handling

If startup fails:

1. Inspect the printed launch command and the relevant pane output.
2. Check interlateral_dna/claude_telemetry.log and interlateral_dna/codex_telemetry.log.
3. If the run produced half-started sessions, shut down only the launcher-owned duo:

source scripts/tmux-config.sh
run_tmux kill-session -t "$CC_SESSION" 2>/dev/null || true
run_tmux kill-session -t "$CODEX_SESSION" 2>/dev/null || true

Do not use scripts/shutdown.sh for this scoped cleanup. That script intentionally tears down every session on the shared socket.

4. Retry once with corrected model or argument environment variables.

Do not improvise new mesh topology inside this skill. Escalate if the standard duo cannot boot cleanly after one controlled retry.

Report Format

When complete, report:

INIT_STATUS: READY
BOOTSTRAP_AGENT_IN_MESH: no
SOCKET: /tmp/interlateral-agents-tmux.sock
CLAUDE_SESSION: ia-claude
CODEX_SESSION: ia-codex
READY_PHRASE: Reporting for Duty!
ACK_STATUS: direct plus ledger confirmed