Intel (Intelligence Briefs)

Overview

Produce focused intelligence briefs on a topic by querying the intel CLI against locally collected feeds (RSS, HackerNews, Lobsters, EDGAR). Briefs combine trending signals, full-text search hits, and topic breakdowns into a concise, evidence-backed summary an agent or human can act on.

Use this skill when you need current signal on a technology, vendor, standard, or industry trend before planning, spec writing, or architecture decisions.

Success looks like: a brief with ranked signals, source citations, and a clear "so what" for the user's context.

Prerequisites

1. Build the tool:

   cd tools/intelligence && npm install && npm run build
   

2. Make intel available on PATH:

   npm link          # from tools/intelligence/
   

3. Create a config file:

   mkdir -p ~/.config/intel ~/.local/share/intel
   cp config/feeds.example.yaml ~/.config/intel/config.yaml
   # Edit ~/.config/intel/config.yaml to customize feeds
   

4. Seed the database (first run):

   intel collect --once
   

5. Install the collector as a background service so data stays fresh:

   ./service/install.sh        # macOS (launchd) / Linux (systemd)
   

   This installs a LaunchAgent (macOS) or systemd user unit (Linux) that starts on login and restarts on crash. Verify it's running:

   # macOS
   launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/com.intel.collector
   tail -f ~/Library/Logs/intel-collector.log
   
   # Linux
   systemctl --user status intel-collector
   journalctl --user -u intel-collector -f
   

   To uninstall: ./service/install.sh uninstall

6. Verify: intel stats — check events_total > 0 and newest_event is recent.

Chooser (Brief Type)

• Topic brief (default): Search + trends + topic activity for a specific subject. Use for "what's happening with X?"
• Trend scan: Top trending signals across all topics. Use for a general landscape check.
• Evidence pack: Bounded bundle of trends + supporting events. Use when feeding context into another skill (plan, spec, architecture).
• Source check: Health and freshness of configured feeds. Use to verify data quality before a brief.

Workflow

1. Verify data freshness:

   intel stats
   

   Check total_events and newest_event — if the database is empty or stale, run intel collect --once first.

2. Gather signals (choose based on brief type):

   Topic brief — run in parallel:

   intel search "<topic>" --since 7d --limit 20
   intel trends --window 60m --top 10
   intel topics --active
   

   Trend scan:

   intel trends --window 60m --top 15
   

   Evidence pack:

   intel pack --since 6h --top 10 --max-events 5
   

   Source check:

   intel sources
   

3. Deepen on high-signal hits — for the most relevant results, fetch full event detail:

   intel events --id <event_id>
   

4. Synthesize the brief using the output template below. Focus on:

   • What signals are strongest and why they matter to the user's context
   • What's missing or uncertain (data gaps, stale sources)
   • Actionable next steps or skill hand-offs

Clarifying Questions

• What topic or domain do you want a brief on?
• What time horizon matters? (last few hours, last week, last month)
• Is this for general awareness or feeding into a specific decision?
• Any particular sources or subtopics to prioritize?

Guardrails

• Do not present intel output as authoritative fact — these are signals from configured feeds, not exhaustive research.
• Do not skip the freshness check — stale data produces misleading briefs.
• Do not dump raw JSON to the user — always synthesize into the output template.
• Do not run intel collect in long-running daemon mode during a brief — use --once if a refresh is needed.

Output Template

When delivering a brief:

• Topic: the subject of the brief
• Data window: time range covered, event count, source count
• Top signals (3-5): title, source, timestamp, why it matters
• Trend context: what's rising/falling, velocity of change
• Gaps: stale sources, missing coverage areas, low-confidence signals
• So what: 1-2 sentence synthesis of what this means for the user's context
• Next skill: where to go from here (plan, spec, architecture, etc.)