Menu

Show what Alterbrain can do, in a short list the user can scan in ten seconds.

When to use

• "What can you do?", "What can I ask?", "/menu", "I'm lost", "help me get started".
• "How do I …?" questions about using Alterbrain (tasks, Obsidian, updates, privacy, costs, git).
• After onboarding, to suggest first things to try.

Before you start

1. No clarify needed: this skill only reads.
2. Read, quickly:
   • references/groups.md (the eight groups, their example prompts for studying and for working, and which groups to hide);
   • config/brain.json: learner.kind (if it is missing or empty, treat it as mba when packs lists mba or a school block exists; older installs) and packs;
   • whether any vault/20_areas/courses/*/course.md exists (names only);
   • the list of folders in .claude/skills/ (installed skills; my-* ones are the user's own);
   • system/blueprints/*.md frontmatter only (title, kind, status, risk, cost);
   • state/built.json if it exists (blueprints already built);
   • node system/scripts/routines.mjs list --json if vault/90_routines/ exists (scheduled jobs: names and status only; exit code 1 means something needs attention (an overdue, invalid or unreadable routine note), so read the output, it is not a crash; only skip it if it prints nothing usable);
   • state/onboarding.json status (only to add one line if setup is unfinished).
3. Never load the full text of every skill or blueprint. Frontmatter and first lines are enough.

Steps

1. Pick the mode from the argument.
   • Empty, "what can you do", "help": overview (step 2).
   • A group name (study, assignments, email, jobs or contacts, documents, knowledge, build, settings): one group (step 3). A group that is hidden for this user (assignments, for someone who is working and has no course) gets one line: "Those are for coursework. Add a course with /course new and they appear."
   • Starts with "how do I", "how can I", "where is", "why does": how-to (step 4).
   • Anything else that is really a request ("draft an email"): don't show the menu. Do the request (or hand it to the right skill).
2. Overview. Output, in this shape and no longer than about 40 lines:

   Here's what I can do. Copy any example, or just ask in your own words.
   
   Study: /course, /study, /ask, /framework
     • "Explain opportunity cost using my own lecture notes."
     • …two more
   Assignments: /assignment
     …
   (the groups from references/groups.md that apply to this user)
   
   Your own skills: /my-case-summary (built 2026-10-01)        ← only if any my-* exist
   
   Available to build (say "build <name>"):
     Email: Email extras · Gmail send with approval · Outlook and Microsoft 365
     Study: Study extras · Smarter flashcard timing · Zotero
     …
   
   Ask "how do I …?" any time. Guides: tasks, Obsidian, safety, updates, privacy, costs.
   

   Rules:
   • Pick the prompts by kind (references/groups.md, "Which prompts to show"): the work variant for professional, the study variant for every other kind or an unknown one.
   • Courses and Assignments (/course, and the whole Assignments group) only when the kind is not professional or a course note exists.
   • Show installed skills by their /name. Leave out a skill that is not installed.
   • Routines: if any exist, one line under the groups: Your routines: 3 active, 1 overdue (say "check my routines"); add ", 1 note to repair" when the output lists an unreadable note. None: leave it out; if the user asks what routines are, say they are scheduled jobs (a weekly contacts check, a morning brief) kept as notes in vault/90_routines/, run by the Claude app, and show routines.mjs suggest.
   • Self-built skills: list .claude/skills/my-* and .claude/agents/my-*.md with a few plain words from their description.
   • Available to build: blueprints with status: "available" that are not listed in state/built.json. Use the plain title, grouped as in references/groups.md. Add "(higher risk)" after titles with risk: "high". Do not explain each one here.
   • If onboarding is not minimum_done or complete, end with one line: "Setup isn't finished yet. Say /onboard when you have a few minutes."
3. One group. Show the group's skills with one plain sentence each (from their description), the three example prompts, and the related blueprints with their cost and risk in a few words. End with: "Want me to start one of these?"
4. How-to.
   1. List system/docs/guides/*.md. Read the frontmatter title and summary of each.
   2. Pick the one or two guides that match the question. Read only those.
   3. Answer in at most 8 short lines, in the guide's words where possible, as steps if it is a procedure.
   4. End with: "Full guide: system/docs/guides/<file>.md".
   5. No guide fits: answer briefly from what you know of Alterbrain (system/core.md), say "I don't have a guide for that yet", and if it is a repeated need, mention /propose.
5. Offer one next step. One line, matched to what you know about the user (courses in vault/20_areas/courses/, projects in vault/10_projects/, goals in USER.md). For example: "Your <course> assignment is due Friday. Want to start it with /assignment new?" Or, with no courses: "Your <project> is due Friday. Want me to list the next steps?"

Outputs

• A short message in chat. Nothing is written to files. No tasks are created.

Safety

• Read-only. Never build, install or change anything from the menu; hand over to /build, /reconfigure or the named skill, which ask first.
• "Check my routines" is a request, not a menu mode: run node system/scripts/routines.mjs list and overdue, show the result in plain words (name, schedule, host, last run, last result) and the fix for anything overdue. Read-only.
• Never show a blueprint as installed unless it is in state/built.json.
• Keep it short. If the answer is longer than the screen, cut it and offer "Want the details?"