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setup-matt-pocock-skills — Claude Code skill: setup and install

This skill configures a repository for Matt Pocock's engineering skills by setting its issue tracker, triage labels, and domain docs layout. Run it before using the other skills.

Install into Claude Code · Plugin marketplace All methods and platforms ↓
/plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
/plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock
Open on GitHub

What setup-matt-pocock-skills does

The skill inspects the repository's Git remote, agent instructions, glossary, ADRs, and signs of a monorepo. It then helps choose where issues belong: GitHub Issues, GitLab Issues, local files under .scratch/, or another tracker. It presents its findings and asks for confirmation before preparing files in docs/agents/.

If the triage skill is installed, setup includes its label vocabulary: needs-triage, needs-info, ready-for-agent, ready-for-human, and wontfix by default. The skill also records where GLOSSARY.md and ADRs live, with a separate layout option for monorepos. This is a prompt-driven process, not a deterministic script. When neither CLAUDE.md nor AGENTS.md exists, you choose which file to create.

What it helps with

  • choose an issue tracker for engineering skills
  • set a shared vocabulary for triage labels
  • define where the glossary and ADRs live
  • add skill configuration to repository instructions

Example prompts for the agent

  • Set up this repository for Matt Pocock's engineering skills. Show me what you find before making changes.
  • Prepare the issue tracker and domain docs configuration, then wait for my confirmation before writing files.
  • Check whether `triage` is installed and configure its labels if it is.

How to install setup-matt-pocock-skills

1Plugin marketplace

/plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills
/plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock

This installs the whole mattpocock-skills plugin with all its skills

2Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill setup-matt-pocock-skills -a claude-code

3Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/setup-matt-pocock-skills/

From the same set32

The whole set →
grill-me Matt Pocock grill-me interviews you about a plan or design to expose gaps and sharpen decisions. Use it before implementation starts. Claude Code 1,424,476installs grill-with-docs Matt Pocock This skill interviews you about a plan or design and creates ADRs and a glossary along the way. Use it when decisions need sharper definition. Claude Code 1,219,756installs improve-codebase-architecture Matt Pocock This skill scans a codebase for architectural friction, then builds a visual HTML report with refactoring candidates. Use it before a deeper architecture review. Claude Code 1,163,035installs tdd Matt Pocock Guides the red-green TDD loop: ensures tests are written first, keep them at public interfaces, and avoid coupling to implementation details. Claude Code 1,141,062installs handoff Matt Pocock Creates a handoff document from the current conversation so another agent can continue the work. Use it when a task moves to a new session or agent. Claude Code 1,038,491installs triage Matt Pocock This skill moves issues and external PRs through triage states, verification, and agent briefs. It fits maintainers managing an issue queue. Claude Code 990,453installs prototype Matt Pocock Creates throwaway prototypes for checking state logic or exploring UI before committing the decision to the main codebase. Claude Code 986,201installs grilling Matt Pocock Stress-test a plan, decision, or idea through structured rounds of questions. Use it when you need to expose assumptions before acting. Claude Code 979,543installs

Similar

Questions about setup-matt-pocock-skills

How do I install setup-matt-pocock-skills in Claude Code?

For the marketplace method, run /plugin marketplace add mattpocock/skills, then /plugin install mattpocock-skills@mattpocock. Alternatively, run npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill setup-matt-pocock-skills -a claude-code.

What does setup-matt-pocock-skills do?

It examines the repository, helps set its issue tracker and domain documentation layout, then prepares configuration files in docs/agents/.

What happens if the repository has neither CLAUDE.md nor AGENTS.md?

The skill asks which file to create. It does not choose or create one on its own.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: setup-matt-pocock-skills
description: "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."
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# 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
- `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`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cli) 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.

**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:

```markdown
## 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:

- [issue-tracker-github.md](./issue-tracker-github.md): GitHub issue tracker
- [issue-tracker-gitlab.md](./issue-tracker-gitlab.md): GitLab issue tracker
- [issue-tracker-local.md](./issue-tracker-local.md): local-markdown issue tracker
- [triage-labels.md](./triage-labels.md): label mapping (only if `triage` is installed)
- [domain.md](./domain.md): domain doc consumer rules + layout

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.

© Matt Pocock · MIT · mattpocock/skills

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