onboard

What this skill does

Single combined wizard. Reads or writes aios-intake.md (the canonical intake), conducts the 7-question interview if the file isn't filled, then scaffolds the Day-1 file set inline at the end of the run. No separate /scaffold-from-intake skill — this is one flow.

The wow moment: at the end, suggest the closing prompt "Try this — ask me: what should I focus on this week?" The user runs it once. That's the wow. There's no /today skill to save — the prompt itself plants the Mindset framework (Default Shift) for them to internalize.

When NOT to run this

• If the user has already onboarded and wants to refresh: still run, but skip questions already answered (idempotent).
• If the user wants to add a new connection: that's not onboarding — point them at connections.md to edit directly, or schedule a /level-up Phase 2 walk.

Execution

Existing projects and portable installation

Read the applicable AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md first. The paths below are starter-kit defaults; use an established project's equivalent canonical context, voice, and connection sources instead of creating parallel sources of truth. Preserve unrelated operating rules and routing, and synchronize shared manual edits where required. Onboarding updates selected personal context, not the entire operating manual.

If aios-intake.md is missing, use the bundled intake template. Populate only answers explicitly supported by existing sources, with references; leave unknowns for the interview. Installing this skill does not itself run onboarding or change the user's context.

Step 1: Read the intake

Read aios-intake.md. Check which Q1-Q7 sections have content vs. [Your answer here] placeholders.

• All filled → skip Step 2, jump to Step 3 (scaffold).
• Some filled → ask the user: "I see Q1, Q3, Q4 are answered. Want to fill the rest now, or scaffold from what's there?" Their call.
• None filled (fresh clone) → run Step 2 conversationally.

Step 2: The interview (7 questions, hard cap)

Ask one at a time. Write each answer into aios-intake.md as you go (so the user can resume if interrupted).

Q1 — Who are you, what do you sell, who do you sell it to? Identity, offer, ICP. One paragraph each is fine.

Q2 — Paste 1-2 things you've written recently. Don't edit them. This is the only question with a hard rule. Voice samples MUST be pasted, not typed mid-conversation. If the user starts typing fresh prose, refuse:

"Stop — paste it raw. If you type it here while we're talking, the sample is already shaped by our conversation. Open your last email or LinkedIn post in another tab and paste the unedited text. This is the one rule I can't bend."

Ask for two samples. One email, one post. Or two of either.

Q3 — What are your 2-3 biggest priorities for the next 90 days? Quarterly priorities. Push back if they say "grow my business" — make them name a number, a deadline, or a deliverable.

Q4 — Where does revenue actually land, and where is it tracked? Multiple answers OK. Map to Tier-1 Domain 1 (Revenue/Financials).

Q5 — Where do you talk to customers, your team, and the outside world day-to-day? Email (Gmail/Outlook), Slack/Teams/Discord, DMs. Map to Domains 2 + 4.

Q6 — Where do meeting recordings, notes, and important docs live? Map to Domains 6 + 7.

Q7 — What's the one task that eats your week, and where do you currently track work? Capture top_pain (used by /level-up Day-14) + Domain 5 (tasks).

Domain 3 (Calendar) is auto-inferred from Q5: Gmail → Google Cal; Outlook → Outlook Cal. Confirm in Step 3.

Step 3: Scaffold the Day-1 file set

Once the intake is complete, generate these files (or update if re-running). Back up originals to archives/intake-{YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM}/ if any exist.

1. context/about-me.md — from Q1 (identity, role) + Q7 (top_pain). One short paragraph each.
2. context/about-business.md — from Q1 (offer, ICP) + Q4 (revenue model). One paragraph.
3. context/priorities.md — from Q3. Numbered list, one line per priority.
4. references/voice.md — from Q2. Paste samples verbatim with a short header explaining their use ("Match this register when drafting; don't fake voice on external content without showing me first").
5. connections.md — populate the 7-row table from Q4-Q7 answers. Each row gets mechanism: not yet connected, auth: —, last checked: —. The user wires connections on Day 2.
6. Operating manual (AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md): fill applicable {{...}} placeholders with the user's name, priority, voice summary, and connections summary. In an established manual, update only the selected context or its route; preserve other instructions. Keep shared guidance synchronized when required by the project.

Step 4: The closing screen

Print one screen. Three lines max:

✓ Day 1 done. Your AIOS knows who you are, what you sell, what matters this quarter, and how you sound.

Today: ask me — "what should I focus on this week?"
Tomorrow: pick one tool from connections.md and wire it up (manual MCP install or write a small API script + save references/{tool}-api.md).
Day 7: run /audit to see your score.

When the user runs the closing prompt ("what should I focus on this week?"), respond using only the new context files. Hit:

• 3-bullet priority list, in their voice register from Q2
• Each bullet ties back to a stated 90-day priority from Q3
• Final line: "If I had to pick one thing for Monday, it'd be [X], because [reason from priorities]. Want me to draft the first email? And — where could the Default Shift apply here? To what extent could AI be leveraged on this task?"

The Default Shift question seeds the Mindset framework before /level-up formally introduces it on Day 14.

Critical implementation rules

1. The 7-question cap is non-negotiable. Don't add Q8 in conversation.
2. Voice paste cannot be skipped. If the user types samples mid-chat, refuse and tell them to paste from real writing.
3. One-shot scaffold. After Step 2 ends, write Step 3 files in a single batch. No multi-turn confirmation. The user iterates by editing aios-intake.md and re-running.
4. Idempotent. Re-running with an edited intake refreshes context files; backs up originals to archives/intake-{ts}/. Skips questions already answered unless the user wants to revise.
5. Closing screen is three lines. Not a menu.
6. No extra skills generated. Don't scaffold /today, /draft, /connect, etc. The kit ships four skills: /onboard, /audit, /level-up, and /link; the user authors more via /level-up.
7. Read-only on references/3ms-framework.md. It already ships in the kit. Don't overwrite.
8. No .env writes. Don't ask for API keys on Day 1. Connections come Day 2.

Verification (for the implementer)

• Cold-test: clone a fresh kit, run /onboard, fill 7 answers, scaffold runs, ask the wow prompt, response cites Q1 + Q3 + Q7 specifically. Generic = fail.
• Idempotency: re-run /onboard with one Q3 priority changed. Expected: only context/priorities.md and CLAUDE.md's priority section update; backup created in archives/intake-{ts}/.
• Voice rejection: type a sample mid-chat. Expected: skill refuses, asks for paste.

Adapted from The Three Ms of AI™ © 2026 Nate Herk. The Mindset language used in the closing screen comes from references/3ms-framework.md.