Projects

Build a personal project management system that scales from simple lists to structured planning.

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only personal project-management helper that only asks the agent to create and manage files under ~/projects/ and its behavior matches the stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name and description match the runtime instructions: creating project folders, README/tasks/notes files, templates, and review prompts are exactly what a personal 'Projects' helper would need. The skill does not request unrelated binaries, credentials, or system access.

Instruction Scope

Instructions direct the agent to create and read files under ~/projects/ and to ask users project-scoping questions — this is within scope. The doc mentions integrations (Calendar, Contacts, Invoices) but does not supply or require credentials or concrete API hooks; if the agent later asks for calendar/contacts access or credentials, those should be treated as separate consent points. The fixed workspace path (~/projects/) means the skill will create files in the user's home directory; users should be aware of potential overwrites or sensitive content being stored there.

Install Mechanism

No install spec and no code files — instruction-only — so nothing is downloaded or written to disk by the installer. This is low-risk from an installation perspective.

Credentials

The skill requires no environment variables, credentials, or config paths. That aligns with an offline/local project-organizing helper.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request elevated or persistent platform privileges. It will create files in a user workspace but does not modify other skills or system-wide settings.

Assessment

This skill appears internally consistent, but before installing consider: (1) it will create and manage files under ~/projects/ — back up any existing folder with that name to avoid overwriting; (2) project files may contain sensitive client/contact/invoice data — store only what you want on disk and consider encryption or a private directory; (3) although the skill mentions integrating with calendar/contacts/invoices, it doesn't include connectors or request credentials — do not supply credentials unless you trust a subsequent, explicit prompt and know where they'll be used; (4) review templates and any created README/tasks.md before sharing their contents; (5) if you do not want the agent to autonomously create files, adjust agent invocation settings or run the skill only on demand. Overall the skill is coherent for personal project organization and doesn't request unexpected access.

Core Behavior

• User mentions a project → help define scope, create folder
• User adds tasks → capture in project context
• Regular review prompts → surface stalled projects
• Create ~/projects/ as workspace

First Question

• "What does done look like?" — define success before starting
• Scope creep is the project killer — clear boundaries from day one
• If they can't define done, the project isn't ready to start

Project Types to Recognize

• One-time goal: clear end state, then archive (move apartments, plan trip)
• Ongoing area: never truly done, maintain indefinitely (health, career)
• Client work: external deadline, deliverables, often paid
• Learning: skill acquisition, may spawn other projects
• Creative: writing, art, building — process matters as much as output

Minimal Project Structure

• Folder with project name: ~/projects/kitchen-renovation/
• README.md: what, why, done criteria, deadline if any
• tasks.md: simple checklist, add as discovered
• notes.md: decisions made, research, reference material

When User Starts a Project

• Ask: "What's the one sentence description?"
• Ask: "When does this need to be done?" (or "no deadline")
• Ask: "What's the very next physical action?"
• Create folder with README containing answers

Task Capture

• Quick capture: "Add to kitchen project: call contractor"
• Tasks are concrete actions, not vague goals
• "Research options" is a task, "figure out renovation" is not
• Estimate size if useful: small/medium/large or hours

When Projects Grow

• More than 15 tasks → consider grouping into phases
• Multiple workstreams → split into areas within project
• Dependencies emerging → note which tasks block others
• Collaborators involved → note who owns what

Phase/Milestone Structure

For larger projects:

~/projects/kitchen-renovation/
├── README.md
├── phase-1-planning/
│   ├── tasks.md
│   └── notes.md
├── phase-2-demo/
├── phase-3-install/
└── archive/

Active Project Limits

• Suggest maximum 3-5 active projects — more means nothing progresses
• Distinguish active (working this week) from someday (parked intentionally)
• Parked projects go in ~/projects/_someday/
• Review someday quarterly — activate, archive, or delete

Weekly Project Review

• What progressed this week?
• What's the next action for each active project?
• Any projects stalled more than 2 weeks?
• Any someday projects ready to activate?

Stalled Project Detection

• No task completions in 2+ weeks → surface in review
• Ask: "Is this still a priority? Block or drop?"
• Options: push forward, park to someday, kill it
• Killing projects is healthy — better than zombie projects

Project Completion

• Define done checklist in README from start
• When complete: review what went well, what didn't
• Archive to ~/projects/_archive/year/
• Celebrate completion — don't just move to next thing

Client/Work Projects

• Add: deadline, contact info, rate if applicable
• Track time if billing: simple log in project folder
• Deliverables list with status
• Communication log: key decisions and approvals

What NOT To Suggest

• Complex project management app until files fail
• Rigid methodology (Agile, GTD, etc.) — adapt to user
• Gantt charts for personal projects — overkill
• Time tracking for non-billable work — adds friction

Project Templates

Offer to create templates for recurring project types:

• "You start client projects often — want a template?"
• Template: folder structure, README prompts, standard tasks
• Keep templates minimal — adapt per project

Integration Points

• Calendar: deadlines, milestones
• Contacts: collaborators, stakeholders
• Invoices: if client project with billing
• Goals: projects often serve larger goals

Someday/Maybe List

• Ideas not ready for commitment
• Review monthly — promote, delete, or keep parking
• No guilt about long lists — it's a holding pen
• "This would be cool but not now" is valid

Project Metrics (When Asked)

• How long did similar projects take?
• Completion rate: started vs finished
• Average project duration
• Don't track obsessively — only if user finds it useful