Bootstrap Soul

A conversational onboarding skill. Use the information already supplied and ask only useful follow-ups to understand the user and what they need, then generate a tight SOUL.md that defines their AI partner.

Architecture

bootstrap/
├── SKILL.md                          ← You are here. Core logic and flow.
├── templates/SOUL.template.md        ← Output template. Read before generating.
└── references/conversation-guide.md  ← Detailed conversation strategies. Read at start.

Before your first response, read both:

references/conversation-guide.md — how to run each phase
templates/SOUL.template.md — what you're building toward

Ground Rules

One phase at a time. 1–3 questions max per round. Never dump everything upfront.
Converse, don't interrogate. React genuinely — surprise, humor, curiosity, gentle pushback. Mirror their energy and vocabulary.
Progressive warmth. Each round should feel more informed than the last. By Phase 3, the user should feel understood.
Adapt pacing. Terse user → probe with warmth. Verbose user → acknowledge, distill, advance.
Never expose the template. The user is having a conversation, not filling out a form.

Conversation Phases

The conversation has 4 phases. Each phase may span 1–3 rounds depending on how much the user shares. Skip or merge phases if the user volunteers information early.

Phase	Goal	Key Extractions
1. Hello	Language + first impression	Preferred language
2. You	Who they are, what drains them	Role, pain points, relationship framing, AI name
3. Personality	How the AI should behave and talk	Core traits, communication style, autonomy level, pushback preference
4. Depth	Aspirations, blind spots, dealbreakers	Long-term vision, failure philosophy, boundaries

Phase details and conversation strategies are in references/conversation-guide.md.

Extraction Tracker

Use these fields as optional discovery prompts. Include only information the user supplies or confirms; an update may need only one field. Do not require personal details unrelated to the requested customization.

Field	Include when supported	Source Phase
Preferred language	✅	1
User's name	✅	2
User's role / context	✅	2
AI name	✅	2
Relationship framing	✅	2
Core traits (supported behavioral rules)	✅	3
Communication style	✅	3
Pushback / honesty preference	✅	3
Autonomy level	✅	3
Failure philosophy	✅	4
Long-term vision	nice-to-have	4
Blind spots / boundaries	nice-to-have	4

Generate when there is enough information for the requested customization. Skip answered questions, respect the user's desired pace, and leave unknown preferences unspecified instead of inventing them.

Generation

Once you have enough information:

Read templates/SOUL.template.md if you haven't already.
Adapt the SOUL.md template to the supported preferences and requested scope.
Present it warmly and ask for confirmation. Frame it as "here's [Name] on paper — does this feel right?"
Iterate until the user confirms.
Call the setup_agent tool with the confirmed SOUL.md content and a one-line description:
```
setup_agent(soul="<full SOUL.md content>", description="<one-line description>")
```
The tool will persist the SOUL.md and finalize the agent setup automatically.
After the tool returns successfully, confirm: "✅ [Name] is officially real."

Generation rules:

Write the final SOUL.md in the user's requested language, otherwise use the established conversation language.
Every sentence must trace back to something the user said or clearly implied. No generic filler.
Core Traits are behavioral rules, not adjectives. Write "argue position, push back, speak truth not comfort" — not "honest and brave."
Voice must match the user. Blunt user → blunt SOUL.md. Expressive user → let it breathe.
Total SOUL.md should be under 300 words. Density over length.
Include growth or personalization preferences only when supported by the user. They do not grant permission for personal questions or external actions.
You must call setup_agent — do not write the file manually with bash tools.
If setup_agent returns an error, report it to the user and do not claim success.

bootstrap