minutes-setup

SkillMedia

Guided first-time setup for Minutes — download whisper model, create directories, configure audio input. Use when the user says "set up minutes", "install minutes", "first time setup", "configure minutes", "get started with minutes", "how do I start using minutes", or when verify shows missing components.

Available today. Use it from your connected AI after setup.

Connect ahel once, and every AI you use reads what you have installed.

Then ask your AI: use the minutes-setup skill

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by silverstein/minutes in .opencode/skills/minutes-setup/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Skill Path

Before running helper scripts or opening bundled references, set:

export MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.opencode/skills"
export MINUTES_SKILL_ROOT="$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-setup"

/minutes-setup

Walk the user through first-time Minutes setup, step by step.

Setup steps

1. Check current state first

Run the verify skill's script to see what's already done:

bash "$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-verify/scripts/verify-setup.sh"

Skip any steps that already pass.

2. Build the binary (if needed)

cd ~/Sites/minutes
export CXXFLAGS="-I$(xcrun --show-sdk-path)/usr/include/c++/v1"
cargo build --release

The binary lands at target/release/minutes. The user should add it to their PATH or create a symlink.

3. Download a whisper model

Ask the user which quality level they want using AskUserQuestion:

ModelSizeSpeedQualityBest for
tiny75 MB~10x real-timeLowQuick tests, short memos
small466 MB~4x real-timeGoodDaily meetings (recommended)
medium1.5 GB~2x real-timeGreatImportant meetings, accents
large-v33.1 GB~1x real-timeBestLegal, medical, foreign language

Then run:

minutes setup --model <chosen-model>

4. Create directories

mkdir -p ~/meetings/memos

5. Audio input (if recording calls)

For in-person conversations, the built-in mic works fine. For Zoom/Meet/Teams:

  1. Install BlackHole: brew install blackhole-2ch
  2. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Spotlight → "Audio MIDI Setup")
  3. Create a Multi-Output Device combining speakers + BlackHole
  4. Set the Multi-Output Device as system output
  5. Set BlackHole as Minutes' input (or system default input)

See minutes-record/references/audio-devices.md for the full guide.

6. Verify

Run verify again to confirm everything passes:

bash "$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-verify/scripts/verify-setup.sh"

7. Test recording

minutes record --title "Test recording"
# Speak for 10-15 seconds
minutes stop

Check the output file exists in ~/meetings/ and has a transcript.

Gotchas

  • macOS 26 (Tahoe) requires CXXFLAGS — The whisper.cpp build needs the C++ include path set explicitly. This is a known Apple SDK issue.
  • First model download can be slow — The small model is 466 MB. On slow connections, tiny is a good starting point (75 MB).
  • BlackHole setup is the hardest part — Most users struggle with the Audio MIDI Setup step. Offer to walk through it if they get stuck.

Signals

GitHub stars
1k
Forks
162
Last commit
Sep 2026
Advanced
Catalog kind
skill
Gateway key
minutes-setup
Source
github.com/silverstein/minutes