Stage 1 provides:
- Health checks (doctor)
- Temporal context
- Configuration management
- Skill inventory and discovery
- Workflow management
- AI orientation (combined status in one command)
- Use
bddirectly for all state operations (never wrap it) - Always include
--jsonflag for machine-readable output - Always include
laytonlabel on beads Layton creates - Only ONE bead should have
focuslabel at any time - Workflows are AI instructions—Layton follows them, not executes them as code
- Skill files in
.layton/skills/define how to query external tools - User workflows in
.layton/workflows/are customizable by users
- Get oriented (full status check)
- Track something (add to attention list)
- Set focus (designate current work item)
- Retrospect on workflow (reflect on what worked)
- Something else
Wait for response before proceeding.
Intent-based routing (bypass menu):
| Intent | Workflow |
|---|---|
| "setup", "configure", "onboard" | workflows/setup.md |
| "audit", "review instructions" | workflows/audit-project-instructions.md |
After selecting a workflow, read and follow it exactly.
Get oriented (full status):
.claude/skills/layton/scripts/layton
Setup for first-time users: Run workflow in workflows/setup.md
Morning briefing: Follow examples/morning-briefing.md (or create your own via layton workflows add morning-briefing)
Track something: Run workflow in workflows/track-item.md
Set focus: Run workflow in workflows/set-focus.md
Gather data from skills: Follow examples/gather.md
Focus suggestions: Follow examples/focus-suggestion.md
Invocation: Execute from repository root:
LAYTON=".claude/skills/layton/scripts/layton"
Orientation (no args):
$LAYTON
Returns combined doctor checks + skills inventory + workflows inventory. Use this for full AI orientation at start of any briefing or workflow.
Health check:
$LAYTON doctor
Temporal context:
$LAYTON context
Output: timestamp, time_of_day, day_of_week, work_hours, timezone
Configuration:
$LAYTON config show # Display config
$LAYTON config init # Create default config
$LAYTON config get <key> # Get specific value
$LAYTON config set <key> <value> # Set value
Skills:
$LAYTON skills # List known skills from .layton/skills/
$LAYTON skills --discover # Find skills in skills/*/SKILL.md
$LAYTON skills add <name> # Create new skill file from template
Workflows:
$LAYTON workflows # List workflows from .layton/workflows/
$LAYTON workflows add <name> # Create new workflow file from template
| Workflow | Purpose |
|---|---|
| setup.md | Interactive onboarding for new users |
| track-item.md | Add item to attention list |
| set-focus.md | Set current focus (only one at a time) |
| retrospect.md | Reflect on a completed workflow |
| audit-project-instructions.md | Review CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md against best practices |
| Reference | Content |
|---|---|
| persona.md | Layton's voice and persona characteristics |
| beads-commands.md | bd CLI command reference for state operations |
| project-instructions.md | Best practices for CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md files |
morning-briefing.md- Context-aware daily briefinggather.md- Aggregate data from all skillsfocus-suggestion.md- Help user decide what to work on
To use an example:
- Study it in
examples/for patterns - Create user version:
layton workflows add <name> - Customize in
.layton/workflows/
Layton integrates with external skills through "skill files" in .layton/skills/.
Discovery:
$LAYTON skills --discover
Shows skills available in skills/*/SKILL.md that can be integrated.
Adding a skill:
$LAYTON skills add gtd
Creates .layton/skills/gtd.md from template. Edit to document:
- Commands to run when gathering data
- What information to extract from output
- Key metrics to surface in briefings
Using skill files:
When following workflows like gather.md or morning-briefing.md, read each skill file in .layton/skills/ and execute its documented commands.
- User knows what they're tracking (bd list --label watching)
- User knows their current focus (bd list --label focus)
- Briefings adapt to time of day and workload
- Skills are discovered and integrated via skill files
- User can customize workflows in .layton/workflows/
- Orientation command provides full status in one call