cold-start-interview

Lode Cold-Start Interview

Configure Lode's two-layer config: global user preferences and per-project identity.

Lode separates concerns between what's shared (knowledge vault path, reporting preferences) and what's project-specific (project name, project slug). The global config lives at ~/.lode/config.yaml; project identity lives at {project-root}/.lode/config.yaml. The interview detects context and writes to the appropriate target.

Goal

Create or update valid Lode configuration:

Global config (~/.lode/config.yaml):

• knowledge_vault
• profile.report_language
• profile.weekly_mode
• profile.team_context
• artifact_index.enabled
• auto_capture.enabled

Project config ({project-root}/.lode/config.yaml, when CWD is a project repo):

• project_slug
• profile.project_name

Then register the project in {vault}/raw/projects.json.

If an existing config is present, preserve fields that are unrelated to this interview, including daily_note, weekly_outline, monthly_review, and any custom keys.

Step 0: Scope Detection — MUST Complete Before Step 1

CRITICAL: Step 0 is a mandatory gate. You MUST read both config files (if they exist) and check completeness BEFORE asking any questions. Do not skip to Step 1 until Step 0 is done.

Check the current working directory:

1. Is there a .git/ directory or .lode/ directory in CWD or its parents?

   • Yes: This is a project setup. The interview will write project identity to {project-root}/.lode/config.yaml and user preferences to ~/.lode/config.yaml.
   • No: This is a global-preferences-only setup. Write everything to ~/.lode/config.yaml (backward-compatible single-project behavior).

2. Read ~/.lode/config.yaml if it exists.

   • Global config is complete when ALL of these are present and non-empty: knowledge_vault, profile.report_language, profile.weekly_mode, profile.team_context, artifact_index.enabled, auto_capture.enabled.
   • Partial: Some fields present. Interview only asks for the missing fields.
   • Missing: No file exists. Full interview needed.

3. If CWD is a project (has .git/ or .lode/), read {project-root}/.lode/config.yaml if it exists.

   • Project config is complete when BOTH project_slug and profile.project_name are present and non-empty.
   • Missing: Project identity not yet set. Interview only asks for these two fields (project_name, project_slug) — do NOT re-ask global questions.

Early-Exit Gate

If global config is complete AND (CWD is not a project OR project config is also complete), STOP immediately. Reply with a brief status summary listing both config paths and their contents. Do not ask any questions. The setup is done.

If global config is complete but project config is missing (in a project), only ask project_name and project_slug. Do not ask knowledge_vault, report_language, weekly_mode, team_context, auto_capture questions — they are already set.

If global config is partial, only ask the specific fields that are missing. Do not re-ask fields that already have values.

Step 1: Interview

Ask for any missing values in one compact pass:

1. Knowledge vault path: directory where Lode stores raw JSON and human-readable reports. Expand ~ and accept absolute paths. If the path does not exist, ask before creating it. Target: global config.
2. Project name: human-readable name for reports. Target: project config (or global config if no project context).
3. Project slug: kebab-case identifier. Suggest a slug from the current repo directory or project name. Target: project config (or global config if no project context).
4. Report language: zh, en, or mixed. Target: global config.
5. Weekly mode: tech for engineering narrative or report for manager-facing status. Target: global config.
6. Team context: solo, team, or mixed. Target: global config.
7. Auto-capture: should /lode:capture run automatically at session end? Default: yes for configured vaults. Target: global config. Explain that this config is Lode's intent flag; Claude Code only runs it automatically when a Stop hook is present in ~/.claude/settings.json.

Prefer sensible defaults over long discussion:

profile:
  report_language: mixed
  weekly_mode: tech
  team_context: solo

Step 2: Write Config

Global config

Write to ~/.lode/config.yaml:

knowledge_vault: /absolute/path/to/knowledge-vault

profile:
  report_language: mixed
  weekly_mode: tech
  team_context: solo

artifact_index:
  enabled: true

auto_capture:
  enabled: true

If an existing global config contains project_slug or profile.project_name, preserve them — do not remove fields that single-project users may depend on.

Project config (when in a project)

Write to {project-root}/.lode/config.yaml:

project_slug: my-project

profile:
  project_name: My Project

If the user wants to override a global preference for this project (e.g. different report_language), include that override in the project config.

Write rules

• Keep YAML machine-readable and avoid prose comments in the written file.
• Normalize project_slug to lowercase kebab-case.
• Do not overwrite an existing knowledge_vault unless the user confirms.
• Preserve unknown top-level keys and nested sections from existing configs.
• Never store secrets, credentials, or remote sync tokens.

Step 3: Check Auto-Capture Hook

If auto_capture.enabled is true after config resolution, check whether ~/.claude/settings.json exists and contains a hooks.Stop command hook that runs /lode:capture.

Use this as the expected minimal hook shape:

{
  "hooks": {
    "Stop": [
      {
        "matcher": "",
        "hooks": [
          {
            "type": "command",
            "command": "/lode:capture"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Check only; do not write or modify ~/.claude/settings.json unless the user explicitly asks for that. Preserve the distinction in the final report:

• auto_capture.enabled: true + hook present -> automatic capture is active.
• auto_capture.enabled: true + hook missing -> Lode's auto-capture preference is enabled, but Claude Code will not trigger it until the Stop hook is added.
• auto_capture.enabled: false -> automatic capture is disabled; users can still run /lode:capture or say "收工".

If ~/.claude/settings.json is missing, report the path and the minimal hook snippet. If it exists but has other hooks, tell the user to add the Lode command under hooks.Stop without replacing unrelated hooks.

Step 4: Register Project

After writing config, register the project in the knowledge vault:

python <this-skill>/scripts/lode_raw.py register-project --cwd "$PWD"

If the helper is unavailable, manually write or update {vault}/raw/projects.json following this shape:

[
  {
    "name": "My Project",
    "slug": "my-project",
    "path": "/absolute/path/to/project",
    "priority": "core"
  }
]

Use path-based dedup: if an entry with a matching path already exists, update it in place rather than appending a duplicate.

After Setup

Report:

1. The global config path and what was written there
2. The project config path (if created) and what was written there
3. The resolved vault path
4. Auto-capture status: active, enabled-but-missing-hook, or disabled
5. Confirmation that the project was registered in projects.json

Then recommend the Tier 1 habit loop:

Lode is configured. From today on, only two actions are needed:

• At the end of each work session, say "收工" or run /lode:capture
• At the start of the next work session, run /lode:recall

After persisting for 1-2 weeks to accumulate data, the daily report (/lode:daily), weekly report (/lode:weekly), and decision queries (/lode:query) will automatically become richer.

If auto-capture is enabled and the Stop hook is present, mention that ending a Claude Code session can now trigger capture automatically. If the hook is missing, say clearly that the config switch is on but automatic capture is not active yet, and show the ~/.claude/settings.json path.

Also mention:

• Another project to set up: switch to that directory and run /lode:cold-start-interview again

Keep the final response concise.