setup

Scaffold Second Brain hot-tier files and register projects in a JSONL registry.

Updated Apr 24, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/Cain-Ish/claude-code-plugin --skill setup-cain-ish
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: setup
Source: https://github.com/Cain-Ish/claude-code-plugin/tree/main/skills/setup
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/Cain-Ish/claude-code-plugin --skill setup-cain-ish

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve?

It creates the required Second Brain hot-tier files for an active repo without manual setup, while staying safe to rerun without clobbering existing content.

Core Features & Use Cases

  • Idempotent scaffolding: Creates ~/.second-brain/USER.md, projects/<slug>/PROJECT.md, and projects.jsonl only when missing, preserving user-managed files.
  • Persona bootstrapping: Seeds a short persona-card.md identity snapshot (without rewriting it later) to support consistent context injection.
  • Hot-tier size guardrails: Helps ensure the combined hot-tier content stays under the intended small always-loaded budget for faster, reliable sessions.
  • Template-first project state: Initializes PROJECT.md with structured sections so later reflection and archival flows can fill them in naturally.
  • Legacy-friendly intent recovery: Ensures the ## Intent section exists in USER.md, including optional migration/condensing from a legacy persona file.

Quick Start

Run setup for your current repo and let it scaffold the hot-tier files for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about setup

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I scaffold project memory files for a local repository without overwriting existing content?

Scaffolding project memory files safely requires an idempotent setup that creates USER.md, PROJECT.md, and a JSONL registry only when missing, preserving existing user-managed files during reruns.

What is an idempotent project scaffolding setup and when do I need it?

Idempotent project scaffolding creates required local wiki and memory files on the first run and safely skips them on reruns, needed when initializing a hot-tier memory for consistent context injection.

How do I initialize a JSONL registry for tracking local repository projects?

Initializing a JSONL registry involves resolving the git slug from the root path and creating projects.jsonl alongside a structured PROJECT.md to track active repository state.

Does project scaffolding require git slug resolution to create the local wiki structure?

Yes, project scaffolding requires git slug resolution from the git root or current path to generate the correct directory hierarchy for the local wiki and hot-tier memory files.

What is the best way to keep hot-tier memory content under a size budget for faster sessions?

The best way to keep hot-tier memory under budget is using template-first scaffolding with size guardrails, ensuring the combined always-loaded content stays small for reliable sessions.

Why does my persona context card not update after the initial project scaffolding?

Your persona context card does not update because the scaffolding process writes a capped-length persona-card.md only during initialization, intentionally avoiding later auto-rewrites to preserve user content.