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Agent skill

Symbiotic Onboard

by lout33 in lout33/symbiotic-ai

Onboard a new user into a Symbiotic AI setup by interviewing them one sharp question at a time and writing their own context files (SOUL.md, USER.md, NOW.md, and AGENTS.md) as plain Markdown they…

No licenceAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Symbiotic Onboard

skills CLI
$ npx skills add lout33/symbiotic-ai --skill symbiotic-onboard -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install lout33/symbiotic-ai symbiotic-onboard --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lout33/symbiotic-ai.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/symbiotic-onboard .claude/skills/symbiotic-onboard && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
symbiotic-onboard
GitHub stars
737
Token cost
~2.3k tokens
SKILL.md length
1,369 words
Files
5 (incl. assets)
Skills in repo
1
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
None found

At a glance

Onboard a new user into a Symbiotic AI setup by interviewing them one sharp question at a time and writing their own context files (SOUL.md, USER.md, NOW.md, and AGENTS.md) as plain Markdown they…

  • Works in 3 steps: Decide where the files go. Default to… → Seed the files from the bundled… → Tell the user, briefly, what is about to…
  • Even if they do not say the word onboard
  • SKILL.md covers What this does and why, The core rule, Setup before the interview and The interview, plus 4 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Symbiotic Onboard is an agent skill from lout33/symbiotic-ai. Onboard a new user into a Symbiotic AI setup by interviewing them one sharp question at a time and writing their own context files (SOUL.md, USER.md, NOW.md, and AGENTS.md) as plain Markdown they keep. Use this whenever someone is setting up a personal AI agent, wants their assistant to remember or understand them across sessions, mentions Symbiotic AI / SOUL.md / USER.md / NOW.md, is staring at blank template files full of [bracketed placeholders], or asks how to give an AI persistent context they own and can…

Its SKILL.md is about 2.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 5 other files, including assets (for example `assets/AGENTS.md`, `assets/NOW.md` and `assets/SOUL.md`).

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering Agent instruction files. The repository describes itself as: A symbiotic AI agent that remembers everything, challenges you, and extends your cognition.

When your agent uses it

  • Even if they do not say the word onboard
  • Tasks that involve Agent instruction files

Example prompts

  • “onboard”
  • “/symbiotic-onboard”

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Decide where the files go. Default to the current working directory. If the user has a workspace or repo for their agent, use that. Ask in…
  2. Seed the files from the bundled templates so the structure is correct and the user can see what a finished setup looks like
  3. Tell the user, briefly, what is about to happen and why it matters: "I am going to ask you a few sharp questions and write your answers…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit ec9df97. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Symbiotic Onboard loads about 2.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 152 tokens; SKILL.md has 1,369 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~152
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

Without a licence we can't republish the file, so here is its outline and opening line. It has 1,369 words (~2,257 tokens).

“This skill sets a brand-new user up with a working Symbiotic AI configuration in one short conversation. The whole point of Symbiotic AI is ownership and portability: a person's context lives in plain Markdown files they own, can read and…”

— opening of SKILL.md by lout33
name
symbiotic-onboard
metadata.author
symbiotic-ai
metadata.version
1.0.0

Read the full SKILL.md on GitHub

Files

SKILL.md and 4 other files (assets) in skills/symbiotic-onboard of lout33/symbiotic-ai.

  • SKILL.md
  • assets/AGENTS.md
  • assets/NOW.md
  • assets/SOUL.md
  • assets/USER.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit ec9df97

Compare with similar skills

Symbiotic Onboard next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Symbiotic Onboard compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Symbiotic Onboard this skilllout33/symbiotic-ai737—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Using Agent Skillsaddyosmani/agent-skills105k4 repos~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Claude ReflectBayramAnnakov/claude-reflect1.8k2 repos~627Automated safety check: PassMIT
Writing For Agentsbestofjs/bestofjs3.1k20 repos~2.7kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Neat-Freak Knowledge CloseoutKKKKhazix/khazix-skills21k—~1.9kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Task Observerrebelytics/one-skill-to-rule-them-all3.2k1 repos~11kAutomated safety check: PassCC-BY-4.0

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Categories

Questions about Symbiotic Onboard

What does Symbiotic Onboard do?

Onboard a new user into a Symbiotic AI setup by interviewing them one sharp question at a time and writing their own context files (SOUL.md, USER.md, NOW.md, and AGENTS.md) as plain Markdown they…. Symbiotic Onboard is an agent skill from lout33/symbiotic-ai.md) as plain Markdown they keep.

When should I use Symbiotic Onboard?

Symbiotic Onboard fits situations like: even if they do not say the word onboard; tasks that involve Agent instruction files.

How do I install Symbiotic Onboard in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add lout33/symbiotic-ai --skill symbiotic-onboard -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/symbiotic-onboard in lout33/symbiotic-ai) into .claude/skills/symbiotic-onboard in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Symbiotic Onboard in Codex?

Run `npx skills add lout33/symbiotic-ai --skill symbiotic-onboard -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/symbiotic-onboard in lout33/symbiotic-ai) into .agents/skills/symbiotic-onboard in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Symbiotic Onboard in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add lout33/symbiotic-ai --skill symbiotic-onboard -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/symbiotic-onboard, .gemini/skills/symbiotic-onboard, .github/skills/symbiotic-onboard and .opencode/skills/symbiotic-onboard in your project.

What does Symbiotic Onboard need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Symbiotic Onboard is instructions for the agent only.

Does Symbiotic Onboard access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Symbiotic Onboard safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Symbiotic Onboard use?

No licence was found for Symbiotic Onboard or its repository. Without one, default copyright applies: ask the author before reusing or redistributing it.

How many tokens does Symbiotic Onboard use?

About 2.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Symbiotic Onboard?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Symbiotic Onboard: Using Agent Skills (addyosmani/agent-skills, 105k stars), Claude Reflect (BayramAnnakov/claude-reflect, 1.8k stars), Writing For Agents (bestofjs/bestofjs, 3.1k stars) and Neat-Freak Knowledge Closeout (KKKKhazix/khazix-skills, 21k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Symbiotic Onboard?

lout33 (a GitHub user) maintains it in lout33/symbiotic-ai, which has 737 GitHub stars. The repository was last updated on June 26, 2026.

Source: lout33/symbiotic-ai on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.