Creating Custom Assistants

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://2bd.l48a.de/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

​

Skill architecture

.claude/skills/
├── ada/                      # Orchestrator - owns all logic
│   ├── SKILL.md
│   └── references/
│       ├── plan/daily.md     # Ritual sequences
│       ├── project/create.md # Entity actions
│       └── person/onboard.md
├── project/                  # Alias → dispatches to Ada
├── person/                   # Alias → dispatches to Ada
├── planning/                 # Alias → /ada plan
├── _assistant-goals/         # Internal assistant
└── _util-resolve-date/       # Internal utility

​

Skill file structure

---
name: skill-name
description: What this skill does and when to use it
disable-model-invocation: false
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Bash(*)
argument-hint: "[argument description]"
---

# Skill Instructions

Instructions Claude follows when invoked.

​

Writing style

• Write descriptive prose: “Load the vault path from context. Validate the structure exists.”
• Organize into sections describing flow
• Reference context naturally

• Use template syntax: {{VAULT}}, {{#if}}
• Use imperative directives: “Ask:”, “Check:”, numbered steps
• Include bash code blocks for file operations

​

Creating a skill

1. Create folder: .claude/skills/{skill-name}/
2. Add SKILL.md with frontmatter
3. Write instructions as prose
4. Test: claude skill run {skill-name}

​

Assistant architecture

Ritual Structure:
├── Common: Setup
├── Assistant: Brief
├── Assistant: Goals
├── Assistant: Calendar
├── Assistant: Journal
├── Assistant: Achievements
├── Assistant: Relationships
├── Assistant: Projects
├── Common: Compose
├── Common: Persist
└── Common: Learning

• Has a consistent ## {Assistant} section in templates
• Has a phase file per timescale in rituals
• Cascades independently through timescales

​

Draft Mode

​

Draft Mode Contract

1. Load context - Read vault files autonomously
2. Analyze - Synthesize what it knows
3. Generate draft - Create section with placeholders for unknowns
4. Write output - Save to Synthetic/Assistants/{name}/{timescale}-draft.md

​

Placeholder Syntax

## Goals

Based on your week goals, here's the focus:

<!-- ASK:goals-priority
What's your #1 priority today?
-->

• Must be unique within assistant
• Use kebab-case: goals-top-priority
• Descriptive but concise

​

Output Location

vault/00_Brain/Synthetic/Assistants/{assistant-name}/{timescale}-draft.md

• Synthetic/Assistants/goals/daily-draft.md
• Synthetic/Assistants/calendar/weekly-draft.md

​

Status Frontmatter

---
status: ok | error
assistant: goals
action: plan | reflect
timescale: daily | weekly | quarterly | yearly
timestamp: 2026-02-28T10:30:00Z
error: "error message if status=error"
---

​

Context Sources

• Higher timescale notes (daily reads Week.md, weekly reads Quarter.md)
• Relevant vault sections (projects, people, etc.)
• Assistant memory: Semantic/Assistants/{name}/memory.md

​

Example Conversion

Ask the user: "What's your top priority?"
Write answer to section.

Load Week.md to see weekly goals.
Identify potential priorities.
Write draft:

Based on weekly Major Moves:
- Launch feature (deadline Friday)
- Hire engineer (pipeline building)

<!-- ASK:goals-priority
What's your #1 priority for today?
-->

​

Assistant matrix

​

Adding a new assistant

1. Define the matrix row — For each timescale, define the section name (## {AssistantName}) and intent
2. Add template sections — Add ## {AssistantName} to each Captive template where the assistant applies
3. Create phase files — For each timescale, create .claude/skills/ritual-planning-{timescale}/references/{NN}-{assistantname}.md
4. Update SKILL.md — Add the new phase to the ritual’s table of contents
5. Update template contract — Add the new section to the template contract in SKILL.md

​

Coach system

​

Coach files

​

Learning flow

1. Each assistant phase captures observations → Synthetic/Coaching/{Assistant}/insights.md
2. Observations auto-cluster with confidence scoring (0-5)
3. Clusters graduate when confidence ≥ 4.5 AND stable for 3+ sessions
4. User crystallizes insight → Semantic/Coaching/{Assistant}/insights.md
5. Crystallized insights inform guidance updates

​

Related

• Creating Custom Rituals - Creating scheduled rituals
• Templates - Template structure for rituals