---

name: prime description: New agent startup checklist for Agent Mail and Beads. Use when starting a new agent session, when the user says "prime" or "startup", or when beginning work on a multi-agent project.

Prime — Session Startup

Complete startup checklist for new agent sessions. Direct execution (no subagents).

Design rationale: This skill executes directly rather than spawning subagents because each step is a simple command sequence (~200 tokens each), not substantial analytical work. Per Lita research: "Simple agents achieve 97% of complex system performance with 15x less code." Subagent overhead would exceed actual work.

When This Applies

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Tool Reference

Agent Mail (MCP)

Bash Commands

---

Execution Flow

Execute these steps directly. No subagents needed.

Step 1: Register Identity

PREFERRED — Use macro for simplicity:

Copyresult = macro_start_session(
    human_key="PROJECT_PATH",  # Absolute path to project
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    inbox_limit=10
)
agent_name = result["agent"]["name"]  # e.g., "BlueLake"

ALTERNATIVE — Manual steps:

Copy# 1. Ensure project exists
ensure_project(human_key="PROJECT_PATH")

# 2. Register agent (name is auto-assigned)
result = register_agent(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    program="claude-code",
    model="opus-4.5",
    task_description="Agent initializing..."
)
agent_name = result["name"]  # SAVE THIS

# 3. Set contact policy for coordination
set_contact_policy(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    policy="open"
)

Update terminal title:

Copyecho -ne "\033]0;[{agent_name}] | PROJECT_NAME\007"

---

Step 2: Orient

Read project documentation:

CopyRead("AGENTS.md")     # Agent workflow instructions
Read("CLAUDE.md")     # Project overview

Check recent session history:

Copycass search "PROJECT_NAME" --workspace "PROJECT_PATH" --robot --days 7 --limit 5

Get learned patterns:

Copycm context "starting work on PROJECT_NAME" --json

Check git state:

Copygit status
git log --oneline -5
git branch

Discover active agents:

CopyReadMcpResourceTool(
    server="mcp-agent-mail",
    uri="resource://agents/PROJECT_PATH"
)

---

Step 3: Coordinate

Check inbox:

Copymessages = fetch_inbox(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    agent_name=agent_name,
    include_bodies=True,
    limit=20
)

Categorize messages:

• Urgent — Requires response before starting work
• Informational — [CLAIMED], [CLOSED] announcements
• Acknowledgement required — ack_required=True

Note file reservations from other agents (these are off-limits).

Send greeting (if other agents active):

Copysend_message(
    project_key="PROJECT_PATH",
    sender_name=agent_name,
    to=[active_agents],
    subject="Agent Online",
    body_md="I'm online. Focusing on: [task]. What needs attention?",
    importance="normal"
)

---

Step 4: Discover Work

Get recommendations:

Copybv --robot-triage      # Priority analysis
bv --robot-next        # Single best task

Get ready tasks:

Copybd ready --json

Check already claimed:

Copybd list --status in_progress --json

Filter by file availability:

• Check each ready task's required files
• Exclude tasks where files are reserved by others
• Recommend highest-priority available task

---

Step 5: Output Summary

Present to user:

Copy## Agent Initialized

**Name:** {agent_name}
**Project:** PROJECT_NAME
**Branch:** {git_branch}

### Context
- Recent sessions: {summary from CASS}
- Active agents: {list or "none"}
- Inbox: {count} messages ({urgent} urgent)
- Blocked files: {list or "none"}

### Learned Patterns
{relevant patterns from cm}

### Recommended Task
**ID:** {task_id}
**Title:** {task_title}
**Priority:** {priority}
**Files:** {file_scope}

Ready to claim? Use `/advance` to claim and begin work.

---

Mandatory Gates

After priming, these gates apply to all work:

---

Quick Reference

Copy# Register (preferred)
macro_start_session(human_key=PROJECT_PATH, program="claude-code", model="opus-4.5")

# Orient
cass search "PROJECT" --robot --days 7
cm context "task" --json
git status

# Coordinate
fetch_inbox(agent_name=YOUR_NAME, limit=20)
send_message(to=[...], subject="Agent Online", ...)

# Discover
bv --robot-triage
bd ready --json

---

Anti-Patterns

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See Also

• /advance — Claim and work on tasks
• /recall — Get context from past sessions
• beads-cli/ — bd command reference
• beads-viewer/ — bv command reference