# adopt

adopt brings Mycelium discovery to a codebase that already exists. It asks before reading the repo, then separates what the code shows from questions that need the maintainer.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 47
- Author: haabe
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/adopt/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-24
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/adopt

## What it does

The skill asks for permission before it reads the repository. It checks sources such as the README, release history, manifest, and top-level source tree to sketch the product’s delivery and shipped features. Code can show what was built; it rarely explains the reason behind it or provides evidence from real users.

adopt carries the discovery work into a conversation instead of handing over a gap list and stopping. It also compares the project’s stated purpose with its feature set and recent changelog entries, which can reveal how the product has shifted. Mycelium is required: without the framework, canvas state, theory gates, and harness behavior are skipped.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill adopt -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/adopt/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/adopt/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill adopt -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/adopt/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill adopt -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/adopt/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install haabe/mycelium adopt
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/adopt/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill adopt -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/haabe/mycelium --path plugins/mycelium/skills/adopt
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/adopt/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add haabe/mycelium --skill adopt -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/haabe/mycelium/tree/HEAD/plugins/mycelium/skills/adopt/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- Start discovery for a project with an existing codebase
- Sketch the project’s delivery setup and shipped features
- Spot a gap between the stated purpose and current features
- Separate code-based findings from open questions about users and strategy

## Example prompts
- Bring Mycelium into this existing project, and ask me before reading the repository.
- Review this codebase, then work with me on the unanswered questions about its purpose.
- Compare the project’s stated purpose with its features and recent changelog entries.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: c0f61c07f9ced25a.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE c0f61c07f9ced25a
```text
---
name: adopt
description: "Bring Mycelium into a project that already has code. Detects that the repo predates the framework, asks before touching anything, then reads the codebase to draft what it CAN establish (delivery, solution shape) and — the actual point — names what it cannot (purpose, strategy, real user evidence). The output is a discovery backlog with a head start, never a filled canvas."
metadata:
  instruction_budget: "60"
  framework_dependency: "mycelium"
  framework_dependency_note: "This skill is designed to run within the Mycelium framework (https://github.com/haabe/mycelium). Standalone use will skip the canvas state, theory gates, and harness behavior the skill assumes. Install: /plugin install mycelium@haabe-mycelium."
---

# Adopt (brownfield entry)

## First: are Mycelium's hooks running here? (v0.286.0)

Run `find .claude/state/hooks-alive "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/mycelium-hooks-alive-$(id -u)" -mmin -60 2>/dev/null`. If it prints a path (since v0.318.0 the hooks also stamp the temp folder in a project with no Mycelium state yet, where they do nothing else), say nothing
about it and go on. If it prints nothing, Mycelium's hooks did not run in this session: its gates
and the rules it gives the agent at session start are off, and nothing else will say so. Tell the
user in one line before anything else: "Mycelium's hooks are not running in this session, so its
gates are off. On Codex CLI, open `/hooks`, trust Mycelium's hooks and start a new session; on
Claude Code, check the plugin is enabled in `/plugin`." Then carry on with this skill.

`/mycelium:start` assumes a blank page. Most projects are not a blank page. This
skill is the entry point when the code came first.

## When to Use

- A repo with existing source and no populated canvas (the SessionStart
  brownfield check points here).
- A maintainer who wants discovery on a product that already ships.
- NOT for a new idea — that is `/mycelium:start`.

## The shape of the run: two phases, one session

**Phase 1 — populate from the codebase.** Read the repo and fill in what the
code can actually establish, at the right evidence class.

**Phase 2 — patch the holes with the user, exactly as a greenfield project
would.** The gaps left by phase 1 are not a backlog to hand over. They are the
agenda for the rest of the session, worked with the same discovery discipline
`/mycelium:start` would apply — the only difference is that the canvas is not
empty when you begin.

Do not stop between the phases and present a list. Ending at a fork is the
failure this skill exists to remove: a maintainer offered "run the greenfield
brief or skip" has no good option, and "here is your discovery backlog" is the
same fork with extra steps.

**Why phase 1 cannot be the whole thing.** A codebase answers *what was built*
and *how it ships*. It is nearly silent on *why it exists* and *who decided
that*. Extraction is asymmetric, and inverted from where discovery value lives:

| scale | what code yields |
|---|---|
| L4 Delivery | STRONG — stack, release cadence, distribution, CI, test posture |
| L3 Solution | STRONG — feature surface, module structure, what shipped when |
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE c0f61c07f9ced25a

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the c0f61c07f9ced25a tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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---
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