prime

/mf:prime — prime a project for the mindfunnel workflow

Set up the current project's root so that /mf:spinup and /mf:dump have the files they expect: CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, SOUL.md as symlinks into ~/.mindfunnel/, plus a project-local PROJECT.md. Run once per project, from the project root.

Important

1. Run from the project root. The skill writes symlinks into the current working directory. Confirm with pwd before acting if there's any doubt.
2. Never clobber a pre-existing non-symlink file without confirmation. If the project already has a real AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md, flag it and ask the user before replacing it. A symlink already pointing at the correct target is a no-op.
3. ~/.mindfunnel/ must already be set up. If it isn't, stop and tell the user to run /mf:setup first.
4. SOUL.md is personal. It's added to .gitignore in any git repo — never checked in.

Instructions

Step 1: Verify ~/.mindfunnel/ is ready

Check that ~/.mindfunnel/AGENTS.md exists and is readable:

[ -r "$HOME/.mindfunnel/AGENTS.md" ] && echo ready || echo missing

If missing, stop with:

~/.mindfunnel/ isn't set up yet. Run /mf:setup first, then re-run /mf:prime.

Do not proceed.

Step 2: Survey the current directory

For each of CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, SOUL.md in the cwd, classify:

• absent — no file, no symlink → safe to create.
• correct symlink — already a symlink pointing at the expected target → skip silently.
• other symlink — a symlink pointing somewhere else → flag, ask before replacing.
• regular file — real file, possibly user-authored → flag, ask before replacing.

for f in CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md SOUL.md; do
    if [ -L "$f" ]; then
        printf '%s → %s\n' "$f" "$(readlink "$f")"
    elif [ -e "$f" ]; then
        printf '%s (regular file)\n' "$f"
    else
        printf '%s (absent)\n' "$f"
    fi
done

If anything lands in the other symlink or regular file bucket, present the findings to the user in one short block and ask "Replace these with mindfunnel symlinks? [y/N]". Only proceed on an explicit yes. On no or silence, skip those targets and continue with the absent ones.

Step 3: Create the symlinks

The symlink chain mirrors what the old bin/mindfunnel shell script did:

# CLAUDE.md points at ~/.mindfunnel/CLAUDE.md (which itself symlinks to AGENTS.md)
ln -s "$HOME/.mindfunnel/CLAUDE.md" CLAUDE.md

# AGENTS.md points at the local CLAUDE.md (same content, standard alias)
ln -s CLAUDE.md AGENTS.md

# SOUL.md points directly at the shared one in ~/.mindfunnel/
if [ -e "$HOME/.mindfunnel/SOUL.md" ]; then
    ln -s "$HOME/.mindfunnel/SOUL.md" SOUL.md
else
    echo "!! $HOME/.mindfunnel/SOUL.md is missing. Skipping SOUL.md symlink."
    echo "   Create it (or re-run /mf:setup), then re-run /mf:prime."
fi

For any target the user approved replacing in step 2, rm -f it before the ln -s. For a correct symlink that already points at the right target, do nothing — don't re-create it.

Step 4: Touch PROJECT.md if absent

[ -e PROJECT.md ] || touch PROJECT.md

Never overwrite an existing PROJECT.md. If the project already has one, leave it alone.

Step 5: Add SOUL.md to .gitignore in a git repo

Check whether the current directory is inside a git working tree. If so, ensure SOUL.md is listed in .gitignore:

if git rev-parse --git-dir >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    if [ ! -f .gitignore ] || ! grep -qx 'SOUL.md' .gitignore; then
        echo 'SOUL.md' >> .gitignore
        echo "Added SOUL.md to .gitignore"
    fi
fi

Don't do this if the project isn't a git repo — the file is pointless otherwise.

Step 6: Report

Emit a short summary, ≤ 10 lines. For each symlink: created, already correct (no-op), replaced (user approved), or skipped (user declined or source missing). For PROJECT.md and .gitignore: one-liner each.

Examples

Example 1: Clean project, first prime

CLAUDE.md   created → ~/.mindfunnel/CLAUDE.md
AGENTS.md   created → CLAUDE.md
SOUL.md     created → ~/.mindfunnel/SOUL.md
PROJECT.md  created (empty)
.gitignore  added SOUL.md

Example 2: Project already primed, re-run

All three symlinks already correct. PROJECT.md present. .gitignore already lists SOUL.md. Nothing to do.

Example 3: Project has a pre-existing AGENTS.md

Found: AGENTS.md (regular file, 2.3 KB)
This looks like an existing, hand-written AGENTS.md. Replacing it with the
mindfunnel symlink would discard its contents.

Replace it with a mindfunnel symlink? [y/N]

If user says no: prime the other two targets, skip AGENTS.md, note the skip in the report.

Troubleshooting

Error: "~/.mindfunnel/ isn't set up"

Run /mf:setup first. /mf:prime depends on the shared scaffolding existing.

Error: user accidentally said "yes" to replacing a real file

The old file is gone. Symlinks don't preserve history. Recover from git (git show HEAD:AGENTS.md > AGENTS.md) if possible. Otherwise, restore from backup or rewrite.

The project's AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md is already a symlink pointing into some other directory

That's an unusual setup — probably a different convention the user is following. Ask, don't replace blindly. The user may want to keep the existing symlink.

Anti-patterns

• Don't run from anywhere but the project root. Symlinks in the wrong cwd cause silent confusion later.
• Don't replace a pre-existing non-symlink without explicit approval. The user's hand-written file always wins over a template.
• Don't create PROJECT.md with placeholder content. It's created empty on purpose; the user fills it in as the project develops. A non-empty default encourages copy-paste that never gets edited.
• Don't add SOUL.md to .gitignore outside a git repo. The file would be meaningless and leave noise behind.
• Don't auto-run /mf:setup if ~/.mindfunnel/ is missing. Ask the user; doing it silently hides the coupling.