# Quickstart to Building an Intelligent Textbook

> Copy these lines into Claude one at a time and verify they work.

- Skill: `tools-only/quickstart-to-building-an-intelligent-textbook` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tools-only/quickstart-to-building-an-intelligent-textbook`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/quickstart-to-building-an-intelligent-textbook/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only)
- Updated: 2026-09-29
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/quickstart-to-building-an-intelligent-textbook

---

# Quickstart to Building an Intelligent Textbook

This file assumes you have doe the [Workshop Prework](./workshop-prework.md)

Before you begin, you should have the following installed:

1. Claude - just type `claude` the command line.
1. Python 3
2. A conda virtual environment with Python 3 installed called "mkdocs"
3. pip - the python installer package
4. mkdocs mkdocs-material
5. Any image processing tools that you will need to build the preview images for the social preview images
6. The `gh` unix command that does github manipulations
7. You should have an account on github that you log into with the gh login command
8. Tell Claude to update you github global name and email
9. Tell Claude to remember your github id

## Setup

Copy these lines into Claude one at a time and verify they work.

!!! prompt
    Create a directory called "projects" in my home directory and change directory (cd) into that new projects directory.

    Clone the following repo into my `conda virtual environment called "mkdocs"` https://github.com/dmccreary/claude-skills

    Add the BK_HOME to my shell startup file (.bashrc on WST or .zshrc on MacOS)
    and set it to ~/projects/claude-skills so the shell scripts run.  See the README for details: ~/projects/claude-skills/scripts/README.md

    Run the projects/claude-skills/scripts/bk-install-skills shell script

    Run the projects/claude-skills/scripts/bk-install-skills shell script

    Run the "bk" command to verify the command line utilities all work

    Ask Claude "what skills do you know?"

    Create the conda virtual environment called "mkdocs" and add the mkdocs-material python library into it.

    Create a new github repository for me called `my-intelligent-book` or another similar name that identifies my book like "pre-calculus-course".
    This will become the {$PROJECT} in future prompts

    Clone the {$PROJECT} repo into my projects directory.

    Add the following to the {$PROJECT}/.gitignore
    site
    .cache
    .DS_Store
    ~$*

    Copy a mkdocs.yml file from your favorite book (calculus, statistics, physics, linux, computer science).  Get the full list here: https://dmccreary.github.io/intelligent-textbooks/case-studies/ or have Claude generate one for you.

    Do a commit and push and verify that your commits are on the github.com website

    Create a detailed course description on the subject SUBJECT_NAME and include all the things you would see in a detailed course description including learning objectives categorized by the 2001 Bloom Taxonomy.

    Run the /course-description-analyzer on my course description

    Get the quality score above 85.

    Run the /learning-graph-generation skill

    Run the /book-chapter-generator

    Run the /book-installer skill and create a mascot (copy the prompts into an image generator like OpenAI ChatGPG DALL-E or Google nano-banana).  Update the CLAUDE.md file in {$PROJECT}/CLAUDE.md

    For each of the chapters in @docs/chapters/*/index.md run the /chapter-content-generator

    Run the /glossary-generator skill

    Run the /faq-generator-skill

    For each chapter in @docs/chapters/*/index.md run the quiz generator and put the quiz in the chapter directory with a file name quiz.md

    Run the /references-generator skill and create a references.md file in each chapter generator

    For each #### Diagram in @docs/chapter/01*/index.md run the /microsim-generator skill

    Repeat this for each chapter and check the quality of each MicroSim

    Run the ~./.local/bin/bk-capture-screenshot script on each of the microsims
    in @docs/sims/* using the parameters `dir` `delay=3` `height` where height is
    taken from the iframe in the index.md of the microsim directory.

    Run the /book-installer skill that generates the @docs/sims/index.md which generates mkdocs material grid cards for every microsim.

    Run the ~/.local/bin/bk-generate-book-metrics which will generate the metrics for the entire book and create a markdown report in the @docs/learning-graph

    Run the  ~/.local/bin/bk-diagram-reports
    which will generate the diagram metrics for the entire book and create a markdown report in the @docs/learning-graph

    Run the  ~/.local/bin/bk-install-social-override-plugin

    Check that the html files have the right metadata in the html header

    Run the /book-installer generate cover

    Run the /book-installer generate logo

    Upload the logo to https://favicon.io/favicon-converter/ to generate the
    family of favicons and various sized logos

    Run the mkdocs build program and repair any missing links

    Run the /book-installer generate feature checklist to generate
    a detailed checklist of what features you have enabled and what features
    you can enable (like formatting equations)

    Run the /readme-generator skill

    Run the /book-installer generate a LinkedIn announcement

    Add the following to your Claude settings.json

## Status Line

```json
"statusLine": {
   "type": "command",
   "command": "bash /Users/dan/.claude/statusline-command.sh"
}
```

```sh
#!/bin/bash
input=$(cat)
model=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.model.display_name')
cwd=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.workspace.current_dir')
parent=$(basename "$(dirname "$cwd")")
current=$(basename "$cwd")
used=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.context_window.used_percentage // empty')
cost=$(echo "$input" | jq -r '.cost.total_cost_usd // empty')

if [ -n "$used" ]; then
  filled=$(echo "$used" | awk '{printf "%d", $1/5}')
  empty=$((20 - filled))
  RED='\033[0;31m'
  GREEN='\033[0;32m'
  RESET='\033[0m'
  remaining=$((20 - filled))
  bar="${RED}"
  for i in $(seq 1 $filled); do bar="${bar}░"; done
  bar="${bar}${RESET}│${GREEN}"
  for i in $(seq 1 $remaining); do bar="${bar}░"; done
  bar="${bar}${RESET}"
  cost_str=""
  if [ -n "$cost" ]; then
    cost_str=$(printf ' | $%.2f' "$cost")
  fi
  printf "%s | 📁 %s/%s | [${bar}] %.0f%%%s\n" "$model" "$parent" "$current" "$used" "$cost_str"
else
  cost_str=""
  if [ -n "$cost" ]; then
    cost_str=$(printf ' | $%.2f' "$cost")
  fi
  printf '%s | 📁 %s/%s%s\n' "$model" "$parent" "$current" "$cost_str"
fi
``