Initiation: decide what is being created
Nested lingtai-bot-guide reference. Start here for a new bot; then load only the
recipe, preset or channel owner needed for the chosen route.
Establish inputs and authority
- Choose a canonical
PROJECT_DIR owned by the intended user, an agent name,
language (en, zh, wen), channel audience and designated maintenance owner.
Check the target and parent permissions, existing .lingtai/, and running
inventory. A new target is not permission to overwrite unrelated files.
- Obtain explicit authorization for project creation/process launch and separately
for provider/auth/config writes and external contact. Reusing a token or another
agent's preset access is a privilege decision, not merely copying files.
- Preserve existing/partial state on failure. Do not retry creation over it,
delete it, call
clean/purge/nirvana, or manually fabricate .lingtai/.
Recovery/deletion requires a separate human decision.
Choose the current creation surface
| Intent |
Existing route and boundary |
| Interactive new TUI project with recipe selection |
Run the installed lingtai-tui in the selected directory; follow its first-run/setup UI and lingtai-tui-help. Recipe composition remains TUI-owned. |
| New headless project bot |
lingtai-tui spawn through headless bot. It creates and launches, selects plain, and emits JSON. It is not a custom-recipe selector or an installer. |
| Existing valid kernel agent without the TUI |
Use installed kernel CLI help and system-manual → reference/substrate-manual/SKILL.md (§11). Verify interpreter/config ownership before running. Do not translate TUI recipe flags into imaginary kernel project flags. |
| Persistent specialist inside the existing network |
Avatars, not a new project and not a channel automatically inherited from the parent. |
| Connect a channel to an existing bot |
Channels; do not create a second agent merely for another entrance to the same mind. |
The public kernel repository
and its installed CLI help own the kernel creation/run surface. This guide does
not promote a cross-repository candidate into a shipped command. TUI source
routes: headless anatomy and
process anatomy.
Recipe, LLM and permissions are different choices
- Recipe shapes behavior/library, not provider credentials. Discover
lingtai-recipe → reference/recipe-format/SKILL.md. Pass the bundle directory
containing .recipe/, not .recipe/ itself. A live network, the root recipe,
and the applied TUI snapshot are distinct; recipe export is not an agent or
network clone. Headless spawn's persisted plain receipt does not prove all
best-effort recipe artifacts were applied.
- Preset is an atomic LLM + capabilities bundle. Discover
lingtai-preset-skill: select the provider-family child (codex, claude,
openai, anthropic) separately from the operation child. Named vendors are
endpoint/model choices, not extra provider families. The provider owner holds
auth/login and exact fields; never copy auth files, tokens or account pools.
- Policy is
manifest.preset: authorized references, not copied preset JSON.
active and default must both belong to allowed. A new bot should receive
only the intended set, not an orchestrator's whole set by assumption.
reference/operations/saved-presets/SKILL.md owns template vs saved storage;
TUI templates are regenerated, user saved presets are user-owned.
- Admin is separate from a channel allowlist and from preset access. A TUI
project needs one orchestrator; avatars are members, not extra root wills.
Do not hand-edit
.agent.json to manufacture admin privileges. Use the current
creation/schema owner and inspect the published manifest after launch.
Runtime and service bootstrap
Use lingtai-update → reference/install/SKILL.md for TUI installation and
system-manual → reference/runtime-update-checks/SKILL.md for kernel provenance
and installer ownership. spawn checks an existing runtime; it does not silently
install/repair it. lingtai-tui bootstrap materializes TUI assets; it does not
prove a bot or listener is live. Treat installation and bootstrap as authorized
writes, not read-only discovery.
The kernel agent is an independent long-lived process. Closing the TUI does not
stop it. Do not add launchd/cron/systemd supervision just to keep it running;
if a service/reboot policy is actually requested, discover shell-manual's
scheduled-work/async owner before choosing a single supervisor. Detached work
requires a retained receipt and terminal verification, not fire-and-forget.
Next: channels, then operations.
1---2name: bot-guide-initiation3description: >4 Use when choosing the directory, ownership, recipe, model/preset, permissions5 and bootstrap route for a new LingTai bot.6version: 1.0.07last_changed_at: "2026-10-12T18:16:58Z"8maintenance: "If you find stale or incorrect information here, use the lingtai-issue-report skill to assemble evidence and obtain per-issue human consent before filing an issue. Never include secrets, credentials, tokens, or private paths."9metadata:10 source: https://skillmd.com/skills/lingtai-ai/bot-guide-initiation11---1213# Initiation: decide what is being created1415Nested lingtai-bot-guide reference. Start here for a new bot; then load only the16recipe, preset or channel owner needed for the chosen route.1718## Establish inputs and authority1920- Choose a canonical `PROJECT_DIR` owned by the intended user, an agent name,21 language (`en`, `zh`, `wen`), channel audience and designated maintenance owner.22 Check the target and parent permissions, existing `.lingtai/`, and running23 inventory. A new target is not permission to overwrite unrelated files.24- Obtain explicit authorization for project creation/process launch and separately25 for provider/auth/config writes and external contact. Reusing a token or another26 agent's preset access is a privilege decision, not merely copying files.27- Preserve existing/partial state on failure. Do not retry creation over it,28 delete it, call `clean`/`purge`/`nirvana`, or manually fabricate `.lingtai/`.29 Recovery/deletion requires a separate human decision.3031## Choose the current creation surface3233| Intent | Existing route and boundary |34|---|---|35| Interactive new TUI project with recipe selection | Run the installed `lingtai-tui` in the selected directory; follow its first-run/setup UI and `lingtai-tui-help`. Recipe composition remains TUI-owned. |36| New headless project bot | `lingtai-tui spawn` through [headless bot](../headless-bot/SKILL.md). It creates **and launches**, selects `plain`, and emits JSON. It is not a custom-recipe selector or an installer. |37| Existing valid kernel agent without the TUI | Use installed kernel CLI help and `system-manual` → `reference/substrate-manual/SKILL.md` (§11). Verify interpreter/config ownership before running. Do not translate TUI recipe flags into imaginary kernel project flags. |38| Persistent specialist inside the existing network | [Avatars](../avatars/SKILL.md), not a new project and not a channel automatically inherited from the parent. |39| Connect a channel to an existing bot | [Channels](../channels/SKILL.md); do not create a second agent merely for another entrance to the same mind. |4041The public [kernel repository](https://github.com/Lingtai-AI/lingtai-kernel)42and its installed CLI help own the kernel creation/run surface. This guide does43not promote a cross-repository candidate into a shipped command. TUI source44routes: [headless anatomy](../../../../../headless/ANATOMY.md) and45[process anatomy](../../../../../process/ANATOMY.md).4647## Recipe, LLM and permissions are different choices48491. **Recipe** shapes behavior/library, not provider credentials. Discover50 `lingtai-recipe` → `reference/recipe-format/SKILL.md`. Pass the bundle directory51 containing `.recipe/`, not `.recipe/` itself. A live network, the root recipe,52 and the applied TUI snapshot are distinct; recipe export is not an agent or53 network clone. Headless spawn's persisted `plain` receipt does not prove all54 best-effort recipe artifacts were applied.552. **Preset** is an atomic LLM + capabilities bundle. Discover56 `lingtai-preset-skill`: select the provider-family child (`codex`, `claude`,57 `openai`, `anthropic`) separately from the operation child. Named vendors are58 endpoint/model choices, not extra provider families. The provider owner holds59 auth/login and exact fields; never copy auth files, tokens or account pools.603. **Policy** is `manifest.preset`: authorized references, not copied preset JSON.61 `active` and `default` must both belong to `allowed`. A new bot should receive62 only the intended set, not an orchestrator's whole set by assumption.63 `reference/operations/saved-presets/SKILL.md` owns template vs saved storage;64 TUI templates are regenerated, user saved presets are user-owned.654. **Admin** is separate from a channel allowlist and from preset access. A TUI66 project needs one orchestrator; avatars are members, not extra root wills.67 Do not hand-edit `.agent.json` to manufacture admin privileges. Use the current68 creation/schema owner and inspect the published manifest after launch.6970## Runtime and service bootstrap7172Use `lingtai-update` → `reference/install/SKILL.md` for TUI installation and73`system-manual` → `reference/runtime-update-checks/SKILL.md` for kernel provenance74and installer ownership. `spawn` checks an existing runtime; it does not silently75install/repair it. `lingtai-tui bootstrap` materializes TUI assets; it does not76prove a bot or listener is live. Treat installation and bootstrap as authorized77writes, not read-only discovery.7879The kernel agent is an independent long-lived process. Closing the TUI does not80stop it. Do not add `launchd`/cron/systemd supervision just to keep it running;81if a service/reboot policy is actually requested, discover `shell-manual`'s82scheduled-work/async owner before choosing a single supervisor. Detached work83requires a retained receipt and terminal verification, not fire-and-forget.8485Next: [channels](../channels/SKILL.md), then [operations](../operations/SKILL.md).
