# Help > Help: what MasterMind can do, and how to use it - Skill: `mehrad-dm/help` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mehrad-dm/help` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mehrad-dm/help/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: mehrad-dm (https://skillmd.com/u/mehrad-dm) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mehrad-dm/help --- # Help: what MasterMind can do, and how to use it Present this as a clear, friendly menu (adapt length to the ask). **Open with the brand header**, then lead with the one thing that matters most, then the tables. Keep it scannable. Header: ``` 🧠 MasterMind: a genius-builder brain for your AI 24 skills · 4 agents · Claude Code · Cursor · Codex ``` ## Lead with what fits *this* project Before the full menu, name **up to three** skills that would earn their keep here right now, each with the reason it applies: read from what's actually in front of you (the stack, the current task, what the last few turns were about, whether a field pack exists yet): ```text Most useful here right now · init: no field pack yet for this Django project; one-time setup, then I'm sharper on it · quarantine: there's client data in this repo; this keeps it out of git · handoff: this session is long; a handoff survives the reset ``` A full menu is a catalogue; three fitting picks are advice. Then give the tables below: the catalogue still matters, because the point is that the user learns what they already own. ## The one rule: you don't run commands: you just talk MasterMind works by **recognizing intent**. Say what you want in plain language and it applies the right skill or agent itself, then shows a short note that it did (e.g. `🧠 MasterMind ▸ building this, will verify before handoff`, with `└ build · design → implement → verify` beneath it). The `/name` calls below are an **optional shortcut**: a way to *force* a specific skill, not something you need to memorize. Every skill is **Auto** (the model can invoke it); you can also call any of them by hand. ## Skills: the workflows (all Auto-invocable) | Skill | What it does | Fires automatically when… | Call it by hand | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **init** | set MasterMind up for this project: detect the stack (or ask what you're building), load the field pack | your first real task in a project it isn't set up for | *"init"* · *"set up MasterMind"* | | **build** | design → implement → verify → review → capture, end to end | you ask to build/add/implement a non-trivial feature | *"build a search box for the header"* | | **debug** | structured, evidence-first root-cause debugging | a bug is hard, weird, or keeps coming back | *"debug why the list doesn't refresh"* | | **performance** | measure → find the real bottleneck → fix the biggest → verify | something's slow or janky ("why is this slow?") | *"why is this page so slow?"* | | **qa** | prove a change works by driving it for real (+ optional tests) | you finish something / ask to test it | *"qa this"* · *"write tests for it"* | | **report** | a shareable write-up of a cycle: changed files, decisions, verification, verdict (MD default, HTML on request) | you ask for a report; or end of build/qa if you turned it on (off by default) | *"give me a report of this"* · *"reports on"* | | **interview** | turn a fuzzy ask into a crisp, buildable spec | the request is ambiguous or spans many files | *"spec out the checkout flow first"* | | **route** | load only the files/skills a task actually needs | a task is non-trivial or you're unsure where to start | *"route this"* | | **learn** | get up to speed fast on an unfamiliar stack/API, verify assumptions | the tech is new, fast-moving, or you're guessing | *"learn how the Stripe API handles refunds"* | | **prototype** | build a throwaway spike to learn, then rebuild properly | the right approach is genuinely unknown | *"spike a quick prototype of this"* | | **signature** | capture your team's real conventions as durable rules it follows | you ask it to match your codebase / keep correcting the same thing | *"make it match our patterns"* | | **persona** | write in the documented public style of a named engineer, cited | you ask for someone's style ("write like X") | *"write this like Kent C. Dodds"* | | **explain** | write AI-friendly usage docs beside an internal package | an internal package has little/no docs (asks first) | *"explain this package"* | | **prompt** | sharpen a vague prompt into a precise, AI-ready one | you ask to optimize/fix a prompt for an AI | *"improve this prompt"* | | **quarantine** | set up a private, gitignored quarantine for confidential data | before capturing project/client-specific notes | *"set up a lab here"* | | **levelup** | improve MasterMind's own knowledge (lessons, curriculum, new field) | after a correction/review, or to refresh standards | *"levelup: remember this"* | | **double-check** | interrogate a claim before handing it over: adversarial, reviewer never sees your conclusion | you're about to say "it works", or a review came back suspiciously clean | *"doubt this"* | | **deprecate** | remove/migrate/retire safely: expand → migrate → contract | deleting a feature, column, flag, or endpoint | *"can we delete this?"* | | **roadmap** | a durable decision map for multi-week work | work spanning many sessions; "why did we decide X?" | *"map this project"* | | **lint** | check MasterMind's own files for bloat, repeated rules, contradictions | before a release, or the brain feels bloated | *"lint the brain"* | | **clarify** | re-pitch an answer that did not land, in plain words or as a picture | you say "I did not follow that", "simpler", "you lost me" | *"say that simply"* | | **deepen** | survey an area and rank where the design costs most, you pick one | "this is getting messy", "why is this so hard to change?" | *"where is this hurting?"* | | **handoff** | write a concise handoff so work survives a reset/teammate | before a long-task `/clear`, pausing, or handing off | *"write a handoff"* | | **help** | show this menu, what every skill/agent does and when it fires | you ask "what can you do?" / "help" / "how do I use this" | *"what can you do?"* | ## Agents: the deep expert roles (isolated context) Agents run in their own context for a focused job. MasterMind delegates to them inside a task; you can also summon one directly. | Agent | What it does | Used automatically when… | Call it by hand | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **architect** | designs the solution before code (boundaries, data model, APIs) | a feature is non-trivial (inside `build`) | *"architect this feature"* | | **code-reviewer** | reviews a diff against the rigor gate; proposes fixes, never applies | after a change, before "done" | *"review this"* | | **refactorer** | restructures working code to a better design, behavior-preserving | you ask to clean up / restructure working code | *"refactor this component"* | | **tech-scout** | decides adopt-vs-build for a library/tool/pattern, with a verdict | choosing a dependency or approach | *"should we use Zustand or Redux here?"* | ## Skills vs agents (one line) **Skills** are inline workflows that run in the current conversation; **agents** are separate expert roles with their own fresh context for a heavier, focused job. You rarely pick. MasterMind reaches for the right one and tells you. ## Getting set up If MasterMind isn't set up for this project yet (no field pack for your stack), it will offer a **one-time setup**, say *"init"* or just start working and it'll ask. Verify your install anytime with `~/.mastermind/install.sh --check`. **Two optional preferences** (per project, both **off** by default, kept in `.mastermind/prefs.md`): - **cycle report**: a written write-up at the end of a build/QA cycle. Turn on: *"reports on"*. - **plan-first**: on bigger tasks, MasterMind shows the plan and waits for your OK before editing. Turn on: *"plan first from now on"*. Both behave exactly as their implementations define them, `skills/build/SKILL.md` (plan-first gate) and `skills/report/SKILL.md` (report formats).