Help: what MasterMind can do, and how to use it

Present this as a clear, friendly menu (adapt length to the ask). Open with the brand header, then lead with the one thing that matters most, then the tables. Keep it scannable. Header:

🧠  MasterMind: a genius-builder brain for your AI
    24 skills · 4 agents · Claude Code · Cursor · Codex

Lead with what fits this project

Before the full menu, name up to three skills that would earn their keep here right now, each with the reason it applies: read from what's actually in front of you (the stack, the current task, what the last few turns were about, whether a field pack exists yet):

Most useful here right now
  · init: no field pack yet for this Django project; one-time setup, then I'm sharper on it
  · quarantine: there's client data in this repo; this keeps it out of git
  · handoff: this session is long; a handoff survives the reset

A full menu is a catalogue; three fitting picks are advice. Then give the tables below: the catalogue still matters, because the point is that the user learns what they already own.

The one rule: you don't run commands: you just talk

MasterMind works by recognizing intent. Say what you want in plain language and it applies the right skill or agent itself, then shows a short note that it did (e.g. 🧠 MasterMind ▸ building this, will verify before handoff, with └ build · design → implement → verify beneath it). The /name calls below are an optional shortcut: a way to force a specific skill, not something you need to memorize. Every skill is Auto (the model can invoke it); you can also call any of them by hand.

Skills: the workflows (all Auto-invocable)

Skill	What it does	Fires automatically when…	Call it by hand
init	set MasterMind up for this project: detect the stack (or ask what you're building), load the field pack	your first real task in a project it isn't set up for	"init" · "set up MasterMind"
build	design → implement → verify → review → capture, end to end	you ask to build/add/implement a non-trivial feature	"build a search box for the header"
debug	structured, evidence-first root-cause debugging	a bug is hard, weird, or keeps coming back	"debug why the list doesn't refresh"
performance	measure → find the real bottleneck → fix the biggest → verify	something's slow or janky ("why is this slow?")	"why is this page so slow?"
qa	prove a change works by driving it for real (+ optional tests)	you finish something / ask to test it	"qa this" · "write tests for it"
report	a shareable write-up of a cycle: changed files, decisions, verification, verdict (MD default, HTML on request)	you ask for a report; or end of build/qa if you turned it on (off by default)	"give me a report of this" · "reports on"
interview	turn a fuzzy ask into a crisp, buildable spec	the request is ambiguous or spans many files	"spec out the checkout flow first"
route	load only the files/skills a task actually needs	a task is non-trivial or you're unsure where to start	"route this"
learn	get up to speed fast on an unfamiliar stack/API, verify assumptions	the tech is new, fast-moving, or you're guessing	"learn how the Stripe API handles refunds"
prototype	build a throwaway spike to learn, then rebuild properly	the right approach is genuinely unknown	"spike a quick prototype of this"
signature	capture your team's real conventions as durable rules it follows	you ask it to match your codebase / keep correcting the same thing	"make it match our patterns"
persona	write in the documented public style of a named engineer, cited	you ask for someone's style ("write like X")	"write this like Kent C. Dodds"
explain	write AI-friendly usage docs beside an internal package	an internal package has little/no docs (asks first)	"explain this package"
prompt	sharpen a vague prompt into a precise, AI-ready one	you ask to optimize/fix a prompt for an AI	"improve this prompt"
quarantine	set up a private, gitignored quarantine for confidential data	before capturing project/client-specific notes	"set up a lab here"
levelup	improve MasterMind's own knowledge (lessons, curriculum, new field)	after a correction/review, or to refresh standards	"levelup: remember this"
double-check	interrogate a claim before handing it over: adversarial, reviewer never sees your conclusion	you're about to say "it works", or a review came back suspiciously clean	"doubt this"
deprecate	remove/migrate/retire safely: expand → migrate → contract	deleting a feature, column, flag, or endpoint	"can we delete this?"
roadmap	a durable decision map for multi-week work	work spanning many sessions; "why did we decide X?"	"map this project"
lint	check MasterMind's own files for bloat, repeated rules, contradictions	before a release, or the brain feels bloated	"lint the brain"
clarify	re-pitch an answer that did not land, in plain words or as a picture	you say "I did not follow that", "simpler", "you lost me"	"say that simply"
deepen	survey an area and rank where the design costs most, you pick one	"this is getting messy", "why is this so hard to change?"	"where is this hurting?"
handoff	write a concise handoff so work survives a reset/teammate	before a long-task /clear, pausing, or handing off	"write a handoff"
help	show this menu, what every skill/agent does and when it fires	you ask "what can you do?" / "help" / "how do I use this"	"what can you do?"

Agents: the deep expert roles (isolated context)

Agents run in their own context for a focused job. MasterMind delegates to them inside a task; you can also summon one directly.

Agent	What it does	Used automatically when…	Call it by hand
architect	designs the solution before code (boundaries, data model, APIs)	a feature is non-trivial (inside build)	"architect this feature"
code-reviewer	reviews a diff against the rigor gate; proposes fixes, never applies	after a change, before "done"	"review this"
refactorer	restructures working code to a better design, behavior-preserving	you ask to clean up / restructure working code	"refactor this component"
tech-scout	decides adopt-vs-build for a library/tool/pattern, with a verdict	choosing a dependency or approach	"should we use Zustand or Redux here?"

Skills vs agents (one line)

Skills are inline workflows that run in the current conversation; agents are separate expert roles with their own fresh context for a heavier, focused job. You rarely pick. MasterMind reaches for the right one and tells you.

Getting set up

If MasterMind isn't set up for this project yet (no field pack for your stack), it will offer a one-time setup, say "init" or just start working and it'll ask. Verify your install anytime with ~/.mastermind/install.sh --check.

Two optional preferences (per project, both off by default, kept in .mastermind/prefs.md):

• cycle report: a written write-up at the end of a build/QA cycle. Turn on: "reports on".
• plan-first: on bigger tasks, MasterMind shows the plan and waits for your OK before editing. Turn on: "plan first from now on".

Both behave exactly as their implementations define them, skills/build/SKILL.md (plan-first gate) and skills/report/SKILL.md (report formats).