# Studio Onboard

> First-session onboarding ritual for a new collaborator on a studio repo that uses this toolkit. Walks through environment verification, context reading, and a structured briefing filled from the repo's own CLAUDE.md and README. Triggers on "I'm new", "onboard me", "where do I start", "first time here", "just joined", "getting set up", "new collaborator", "new engineer", any variation of "help me get oriented", "what is this repo", or signals that the user has never worked in this repo before. Do NOT use for returning collaborators, mid-session re-orientation, or quick "where is X" lookups — this is the full first-session ritual only.

- Skill: `jonathanbeck1/studio-onboard` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jonathanbeck1/studio-onboard`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jonathanbeck1/studio-onboard/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: JonathanBeck1 (https://skillmd.com/u/jonathanbeck1)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jonathanbeck1/studio-onboard

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# studio-onboard

Deterministic first-session ritual for a new contributor. Replaces ad-hoc orientation with a structured walk-through: environment check, context reading, briefing, first-day prompt. Everything Claude says comes from the repo's own documents — the tour is a template, not a script about any particular studio.

## When to use

Invoke EXCLUSIVELY on the first session for a new contributor. For a returning person who wants a quick refresher, point them at `/CLAUDE.md` instead and do not run the full ritual.

## The ritual

1. **Greet.** Read the Opening section of `tour.md` to the user, with the studio name filled from `CLAUDE.md` / `README.md`.

2. **Verify environment.** In order:
   - Run `git rev-parse --show-toplevel` — confirm we're at the repo root.
   - Run `node --version` — compare against the `engines` field of the app's `package.json`.
   - Check that `node_modules/` exists where the app lives. If missing, ask the user "Run `npm install` now?" — do NOT run it unilaterally.

3. **Anchor context.** Read these in order:
   - `/CLAUDE.md` (auto-loaded but re-read to prime the conversation)
   - `/README.md`
   - The standards, taste, and brand documents those two files point at.

4. **Survey current direction.** Read the "Current direction" section of `CLAUDE.md` if it has one — that is the live trajectory. Archived plans and retired docs are history only; never build from them.

5. **Brief the human.** Read sections 2–7 of `tour.md` to the user, in order, filling every bracketed prompt from what you just read. Paraphrase naturally to match their apparent experience level. Do not skip sections. Do not inject personal opinions.

6. **First-day prompt.** Read section 8 of `tour.md`. Wait for the user's answer. Route them to the matching skill / subagent / file using the tour's routing guide.

## What not to do

- Do NOT pre-install dependencies, start the dev server, or modify any files during the ritual. Ask first.
- Do NOT commit during onboarding. The session is read-only.
- Do NOT shorten the ritual because the user seems experienced. The full ritual is what makes the first session deterministic.
- Do NOT inject personal opinions about the codebase or studio direction. Stick to what the files say.
- Do NOT fill a bracketed prompt from memory or guesswork. If the repo doesn't document it, say so.

## After the ritual

Point the user at `/CLAUDE.md` (and its "Current direction" section, if any) as their ongoing reference. Make it clear: next time they sit down, no ritual — just work.

## Files

- `SKILL.md` — this file (the script)
- `tour.md` — the briefing template Claude fills and reads during steps 1, 5, and 6
- `evals/triggers.json` — should/shouldn't-trigger regression set for the description