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Setup Matt Pocock Skills

Matt PocockCommunityCreated by Matt Pocock

  • Skill
  • Workflow
  • Agent tooling
  • MIT
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From the author

Configure this repo for the engineering skills: set up its issue tracker, triage label vocabulary, and domain doc layout. Run once before first use of the other engineering skills.
— the description by Matt Pocock

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill performs the mandatory one-time setup required for other engineering skills to function correctly. It scans the repository to detect existing documentation, issue tracking systems, and project structures. It then guides the user through configuring the issue tracker, defining triage label vocabularies, and establishing a domain documentation layout. The skill generates the necessary configuration files and updates the project's agent instructions to ensure seamless integration with the broader suite of engineering tools.

What it does

  • Scans the repository for existing issue trackers and documentation structures.
  • Configures the issue tracker (GitHub, GitLab, or local markdown) for agent interaction.
  • Sets up triage label vocabularies if the triage skill is detected.
  • Establishes a single-context or multi-context domain documentation layout.
  • Updates CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md with the required agent skill configuration blocks.
  • Creates necessary documentation files in the docs/agents/ directory.

When to use it

  • Run this skill once before using any other engineering skills in a new repository.
  • Use when setting up a new project that will utilize Matt Pocock's engineering agent suite.
  • Use when you need to reconfigure the issue tracker or documentation layout for an existing project.

Advantages

  • Ensures consistent configuration across all engineering agent skills.
  • Automates the creation of boilerplate documentation and tracking files.
  • Provides a guided, interactive process to prevent configuration errors.
  • Integrates seamlessly with existing repository structures like monorepos.

Usage examples

“setup-matt-pocock-skills”
The agent will analyze the repository, ask for confirmation on the issue tracker and documentation layout, and generate the required configuration files.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/mattpocock/setup-matt-pocock-skills/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip setup-matt-pocock-skills.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Matt Pocock

Setup Matt Pocock's Skills

Scaffold the per-repo configuration that the engineering skills assume:

  • Issue tracker: where issues live (GitHub by default; local markdown is also supported out of the box)

  • Triage labels: the strings used for the five canonical triage roles

  • Domain docs: where GLOSSARY.md and ADRs live, and the consumer rules for reading them

This is a prompt-driven skill, not a deterministic script. Explore, present what you found, confirm with the user, then write.

Process

1. Explore

Look at the current repo to understand its starting state. Read whatever exists; don't assume:

  • git remote -v and .git/config: is this a GitHub repo? Which one?

  • AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md at the repo root: does either exist? Is there already an ## Agent skills section in either?

  • GLOSSARY.md and GLOSSARY-MAP.md at the repo root, and the legacy CONTEXT.md / CONTEXT-MAP.md. If a legacy file exists, offer to git mv it to its GLOSSARY name and rewrite those names in docs/agents/domain.md.

  • docs/adr/ and any src/*/docs/adr/ directories

  • docs/agents/: does this skill's prior output already exist?

  • .scratch/: a sign that a local-markdown issue tracker convention is already in use

  • Is the triage skill installed? (a triage skill folder alongside this one, or triage in your available skills.) This decides whether Section B runs at all.

  • Monorepo signals: a pnpm-workspace.yaml, a workspaces field in package.json, or a populated packages/* with its own src/. These are present only in a genuinely large multi-package repo; their absence means single-context, which is almost every repo.

2. Present findings and ask

Summarise what's present and what's missing. Then take the sections in order. One section, one answer, then the next.

Lead each section with the recommended answer so the user can accept it in a word. Give a one-line explainer only when the choice genuinely branches; skip the section entirely when exploration already settled it (Section B when triage isn't installed, Section C when there's no monorepo).

Section A: Issue tracker.

Explainer: The "issue tracker" is where issues live for this repo. Skills like to-tickets, triage, and to-spec read from and write to it. They need to know whether to call gh issue create, write a markdown file under .scratch/, or follow some other workflow you describe. Pick the place you actually track work for this repo.

Default posture: these skills were designed for GitHub. If a git remote points at GitHub, propose that. If a git remote points at GitLab (gitlab.com or a self-hosted host), propose GitLab. Otherwise (or if the user prefers), offer:

  • GitHub: issues live in the repo's GitHub Issues (uses the gh CLI)

  • GitLab: issues live in the repo's GitLab Issues (uses the glab CLI)

  • Local markdown: issues live as files under .scratch/<feature>/ in this repo (good for solo projects or repos without a remote)

  • Other (Jira, Linear, etc.): ask the user to describe the workflow in one paragraph; the skill will record it as freeform prose

Record the choice in docs/agents/issue-tracker.md. The GitHub and GitLab templates carry a "PRs as a request surface" flag, defaulted off. Leave it off and don't raise it: a user who wants external PRs in the triage queue can flip the flag in the file later.

A GitHub or GitLab tracker needs a reachable repo. When the user picks one and no git remote points at that host, get the repo URL from them and wire it up (git init if needed, git remote add origin <url>) before going further. Done when gh repo view / glab repo view prints the project from inside this directory; if it can't, stop and tell the user what's missing.

Section B: Triage label vocabulary. Skip this section entirely if the triage skill isn't installed (exploration told you), since an uninstalled skill needs no labels.

If it is installed, ask exactly one question:

Do you want to keep the default triage labels? (recommended: yes)

The defaults are the five canonical roles, each label string equal to its name: needs-triage, needs-info, ready-for-agent, ready-for-human, wontfix. On yes, write them as-is. Only if the user says no, usually because their tracker already uses other names (e.g. bug:triage for needs-triage), collect the overrides so triage applies existing labels instead of creating duplicates.

Section C: Domain docs. Default to single-context (one GLOSSARY.md + docs/adr/ at the repo root). This fits almost every repo; write it without asking.

Offer multi-context (a root GLOSSARY-MAP.md pointing to per-context GLOSSARY.md files) only when exploration found monorepo signals. Then confirm which layout they want.

3. Confirm and edit

Show the user a draft of:

  • The ## Agent skills block to add to whichever of CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md is being edited (see step 4 for selection rules)

  • The contents of docs/agents/issue-tracker.md, docs/agents/domain.md, and docs/agents/triage-labels.md (the last only when triage is installed)

Let them edit before writing.

4. Write

Pick the file to edit:

  • If CLAUDE.md exists, edit it.

  • Else if AGENTS.md exists, edit it.

  • If neither exists, ask the user which one to create; don't pick for them.

Never create AGENTS.md when CLAUDE.md already exists (or vice versa); always edit the one that's already there.

If an ## Agent skills block already exists in the chosen file, update its contents in-place rather than appending a duplicate. Don't overwrite user edits to the surrounding sections.

The block:

## Agent skills

### Issue tracker

[one-line summary of where issues are tracked]. See `docs/agents/issue-tracker.md`.

### Triage labels

[one-line summary of the label vocabulary]. See `docs/agents/triage-labels.md`.

### Domain docs

[one-line summary of layout: "single-context" or "multi-context"]. See `docs/agents/domain.md`.

Include the ### Triage labels sub-block, and write docs/agents/triage-labels.md, only when triage is installed and Section B ran. When it isn't, both are omitted.

When Section B ran on GitHub or GitLab, create each configured label the tracker lacks (gh label create / glab label create).

Then write the docs files using the seed templates in this skill folder as a starting point:

For "other" issue trackers, write docs/agents/issue-tracker.md from scratch using the user's description.

5. Done

Tell the user the setup is complete and which engineering skills will now read from these files. Mention they can edit docs/agents/*.md directly later; re-running this skill is only necessary if they want to switch issue trackers or restart from scratch.

Files

issue-tracker-local.md

Issue tracker: Local Markdown

Issues and specs for this repo live as markdown files in .scratch/.

Conventions

  • One feature per directory: .scratch/<feature-slug>/

  • The spec is .scratch/<feature-slug>/spec.md

  • Implementation issues are one file per ticket at .scratch/<feature-slug>/issues/<NN>-<slug>.md, numbered from 01, never a single combined tickets file

  • Triage state is recorded as a Status: line near the top of each issue file (see triage-labels.md for the role strings)

  • Comments and conversation history append to the bottom of the file under a ## Comments heading

When a skill says "publish to the issue tracker"

Create a new file under .scratch/<feature-slug>/ (creating the directory if needed).

When a skill says "fetch the relevant ticket"

Read the file at the referenced path. The user will normally pass the path or the issue number directly.

Wayfinding operations

Used by /wayfinder. The map is a file with one child file per ticket.

  • Map: .scratch/<effort>/map.md (the Notes / Decisions-so-far / Fog body).

  • Child ticket: .scratch/<effort>/issues/NN-<slug>.md, numbered from 01, with the question in the body. A Type: line records the ticket type (research/prototype/grilling/task); a Status: line records claimed/resolved.

  • Blocking: a Blocked by: NN, NN line near the top. A ticket is unblocked when every file it lists is resolved.

  • Frontier: scan .scratch/<effort>/issues/ for files that are open, unblocked, and unclaimed; first by number wins.

  • Claim: set Status: claimed and save before any work.

  • Resolve: append the answer under an ## Answer heading, set Status: resolved, then append a context pointer (gist + link) to the map's Decisions-so-far in map.md.

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: Claude Code

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Claude Code frontmatter, Needs Node.js

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

Created by
Matt Pocock
Publisher
Matt Pocock (Community)
Source
mattpocock/skills · skills/engineering/setup-matt-pocock-skills · commit 4ae2317
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Matt Pocock or Matt Pocock.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download setup-matt-pocock-skills.zip