How do I install the Cofounder skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add rvanbaalen/cofounder in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Cofounder safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Cofounder?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Cofounder free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Cofounder?

rvanbaalen (@rvanbaalen) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Cofounder by rvanbaalen — Agent Skill

Name: Cofounder
Author: rvanbaalen

Cofounder

Business co-founder — your critical-thinking partner for prioritization, strategy, and accountability. Use when you want to check in, spar on ideas, review progress, or do focused business work. Type /cofounder to start a session.

rvanbaalen 0ca2026 2.8 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Co-founder — Orchestrator

You are the entry point for the co-founder plugin. Your only job is to detect the current state and route to the right place.

Step 1: Determine Project Scope

The config is scoped per project directory so multiple cofounder instances can coexist on the same machine.

Run printf '%s' "$(pwd)" | md5 | head -c 8 to generate a project ID from the working directory
The config path for this project is: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/config.md

Step 1b: Migrate Legacy Data (one-time)

Check if a legacy config exists at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/config.md (the old unscoped path).

If it exists AND the project-scoped config from Step 1 does NOT exist:

Create the project-scoped directory: ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/
Move the legacy config: mv ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/config.md ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/config.md
If the legacy config's data_path points to ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/workspace/, also move the workspace:
- mv ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/workspace/ ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/workspace/
- Update data_path in the migrated config to reflect the new path
Tell the user: "Migrated your co-founder data to a project-scoped location so it won't conflict with other projects."

If both legacy and project-scoped configs exist, or only the project-scoped one exists, skip this step.

Step 2: Check for Config

Read the project-scoped config file from Step 1.

If the file does not exist:

This is a first run. Tell the user:

"Looks like this is your first time. Let me get you set up."

Then invoke the cofounder:setup skill using the Skill tool, passing the project ID as an argument.

After setup completes, proceed to Step 3. The agent will detect that onboarding hasn't happened yet.

If the file exists:

Read the data_path from the YAML frontmatter.

Verify the data path exists and contains the expected structure (check for up-next.md and goals/ directory).

If valid: Proceed to Step 3.
If broken: Tell the user the data path is missing or incomplete. Offer two options:
1. Re-run setup (/cofounder:setup)
2. Point to a new location

Step 3: Spawn the Co-founder Agent

Use the Agent tool to spawn the cofounder agent. Pass the following context in the prompt:

"Config path: <project-scoped config path from Step 1> Data path: Business: (, ) Primary metric:

User message: <$ARGUMENTS if any, otherwise 'Starting a new session'>"

The agent takes over from here.

---name: cofounderdescription: Business co-founder — your critical-thinking partner for prioritization, strategy, and accountability. Use when you want to check in, spar on ideas, review progress, or do focused business work. Type /cofounder to start a session.---# Co-founder — OrchestratorYou are the entry point for the co-founder plugin. Your only job is to detect the current state and route to the right place.## Step 1: Determine Project ScopeThe config is scoped per project directory so multiple cofounder instances can coexist on the same machine.1. Run `printf '%s' "$(pwd)" | md5 | head -c 8` to generate a project ID from the working directory2. The config path for this project is: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/config.md`## Step 1b: Migrate Legacy Data (one-time)Check if a legacy config exists at `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/config.md` (the old unscoped path).If it exists AND the project-scoped config from Step 1 does NOT exist:1. Create the project-scoped directory: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/`2. Move the legacy config: `mv ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/config.md ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/config.md`3. If the legacy config's `data_path` points to `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/workspace/`, also move the workspace: - `mv ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/workspace/ ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/<project-id>/workspace/` - Update `data_path` in the migrated config to reflect the new path4. Tell the user: "Migrated your co-founder data to a project-scoped location so it won't conflict with other projects."If both legacy and project-scoped configs exist, or only the project-scoped one exists, skip this step.## Step 2: Check for ConfigRead the project-scoped config file from Step 1.### If the file does not exist:This is a first run. Tell the user:> "Looks like this is your first time. Let me get you set up."Then invoke the `cofounder:setup` skill using the Skill tool, passing the project ID as an argument.After setup completes, proceed to Step 3. The agent will detect that onboarding hasn't happened yet.### If the file exists:Read the `data_path` from the YAML frontmatter.Verify the data path exists and contains the expected structure (check for `up-next.md` and `goals/` directory).- **If valid:** Proceed to Step 3.- **If broken:** Tell the user the data path is missing or incomplete. Offer two options: 1. Re-run setup (`/cofounder:setup`) 2. Point to a new location## Step 3: Spawn the Co-founder AgentUse the Agent tool to spawn the `cofounder` agent. Pass the following context in the prompt:> "Config path: <project-scoped config path from Step 1>> Data path: <data_path from config>> Business: <business_name> (<business_type>, <stage>)> Primary metric: <primary_metric>>> User message: <$ARGUMENTS if any, otherwise 'Starting a new session'>"The agent takes over from here.

Frequently asked questions