activate

Activate SisyClaude. The install does NOT patch ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. Instead it:

1. Writes the Sisyphus instructions to ~/.claude/SISYCLAUDE_SYSTEM_PROMPT.md.
2. Adds a sisyclaude shell alias that runs claude --system-prompt-file "$HOME/.claude/SISYCLAUDE_SYSTEM_PROMPT.md". This replaces Claude Code's default system prompt for sisyclaude sessions — Sisyphus is the entire system prompt, not an addition.

The mechanical work lives in adjacent scripts; this file orchestrates and handles user prompts.

File	Purpose
check.sh	Diagnoses current state (prompt file, alias, legacy install, superpowers)
restore-legacy.sh	Restores the oldest CLAUDE.md.backup.* if a legacy install is present
install.sh	Copies system-prompt.md to ~/.claude/SISYCLAUDE_SYSTEM_PROMPT.md, detects shell, appends alias
system-prompt.md	The full Sisyphus system prompt (loaded at top level — Sisyphus is not a sub-agent, since the Agent tool cannot nest)

Step 1: Read current state

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/check.sh"

Parse the key=value output. Keys: prompt_file, alias_in, legacy_claude_md, superpowers.

If prompt_file=present and alias_in is non-empty, SisyClaude is already activated. Tell the user and stop. Mention /sisyclaude:deactivate to remove it.

If only one of the two is present, continue — the install script is idempotent and will fill in whatever's missing.

Step 2: Offer to clean up a legacy install

If legacy_claude_md=present, tell the user:

A legacy SisyClaude install is patched into ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md. The new install does not touch that file. To avoid duplicate instructions, I can restore the oldest backup (~/.claude/CLAUDE.md.backup.*) to your CLAUDE.md before proceeding. Continue with restore? (recommended)

If yes:

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/restore-legacy.sh"

If the script prints no_backup, ask whether to delete ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md outright or leave it as-is (duplicate instructions will be active during sisyclaude sessions but harmless).

Step 3: Handle superpowers conflict

If superpowers=present, warn the user:

Warning: Conflicting plugin detected.

The superpowers plugin uses aggressive SessionStart hooks that inject instructions overriding SisyClaude's Phase 0 intent classification. With both active inside a sisyclaude session, Claude may skip the think-first, delegate-first behavior.

Options:

1. Disable superpowers hooks (recommended) — comment out the SessionStart hook entries referencing superpowers. Re-enable manually after /sisyclaude:deactivate.
2. Continue anyway — keep both active, expect degraded behavior.
3. Abort — stop activation.

If option 1, remove or comment out the superpowers SessionStart hook entries in the relevant settings file, then mark it so deactivation knows:

echo "disabled_by_sisyclaude" > ~/.claude/.superpowers_disabled

If option 3, stop.

Step 4: Run the install

bash "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/install.sh"

Parse the output keys: wrote, shell, rc, style, alias_status.

If the script exits non-zero or prints an ERROR: line on stderr, surface it to the user and stop — do not pretend the install succeeded.

If shell=unknown (i.e. $SHELL was unrecognised and the script fell back to ~/.profile), tell the user what shell was detected and ask if ~/.profile is correct or if they want a different rc file. If different, do the alias append manually using the same marker block style.

Step 5: Confirm — and tell the user what to do NEXT

Make the next-action steps prominent. The current Claude Code session does not pick up the new alias or system prompt — Sisyphus only takes effect in a fresh sisyclaude session. Spell this out:

Install complete.

• System prompt written to <value of wrote=>.
• Alias sisyclaude was <added | already present> in <value of rc=>.

Next steps — do these now to activate Sisyphus:

1. Exit this Claude Code session (/exit, Ctrl-D, or close the window). The current session was started with plain claude, so the new alias and system prompt are not loaded here.
2. Open a new terminal, or reload your shell so the alias is on PATH:
   • bash/zsh: source <value of rc=>
   • fish: source <value of rc=>
3. Launch the new session by running sisyclaude (instead of claude). That session loads Sisyphus via --system-prompt-file, replacing Claude Code's default system prompt for that session.

Plain claude is left untouched — vanilla behaviour is preserved for any non-SisyClaude work. Run /sisyclaude:deactivate inside a Claude Code session any time to remove the alias and the system prompt file.