# User Profile Intake Guide

## Goal

Produce a user.md under 500 words: 5 anchor fields + a natural-language Context section.

## Anchor Fields (structured — for precise extraction)

| Field | Purpose | How to gather |
|-------|---------|---------------|
| Name | What the user wants to be called | Ask directly, or pick it up from conversation |
| Role | Job title or identity — drives recommendations and interaction style | "What do you do for a living?" |
| Stack | Core tech stack (omit for non-technical roles) | "What's in your toolbox day to day?" |
| Style | Communication preference | "Do you like your lobster concise or thorough?" |
| Timezone | Timezone | Infer from system info, then confirm |

## Context Section (natural language — gathered progressively)

The following info is **not** captured as standalone fields. Instead, it's **woven into the Context section as natural prose**. Record it when it comes up; don't chase it down:

| Info | When to collect | How |
|------|----------------|-----|
| Industry / domain | Comes up naturally when discussing role | Infer from role, or ask casually |
| Experience level | Comes up naturally when discussing stack | "How long have you been at it?" or infer from tone |
| Current goals | When the user mentions them | "What are you working on these days?" |
| Use cases | When discussing why they use an Agent | "What do you mainly want your lobster helping with?" |
| Habits / preferences | Observed during interaction | Don't ask — just notice and note |
| Interests | When it comes up naturally | Don't push |
| Pain points | When the user volunteers them | Don't push |

## Intake Principles

1. **Chat, don't interview**: one or two questions at a time — never a checklist
2. **Role first**: once you know the role, a lot of other info can be inferred — engineers probably have a stack, CEOs care about strategy
3. **Confirm, don't interrogate**: if you can guess, say "I'm guessing you work with [X]?" and let them correct you
4. **Two rounds is enough**: 2–3 conversational turns should cover the anchor fields + baseline Context
5. **Context is opportunistic**: don't press for details just to fill space — if it comes up, write it down; if it doesn't, leave it for next time
6. **500-word hard cap**: check the total word count after writing — if it's over, trim; better to say less than to pad