`/co-math-init`¶

Scaffolds a structured proof-building project (paper.tex, goals, decisions log, workstreams) with strict mode: every gap flagged unproven, nothing complete without reviewer sign-off.

Pack: Theorist Toolbox

Category: infra

Field: economics

License: MIT

Updated: 2026-07

Stages: formal-modeling

↗ view SKILL.md on source · GitHub stars

Author: Moran Koren, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (korenmor@bgu.ac.il). Part of the Theorist Toolbox.

co-math-init¶

Bootstrap a new research project for the personal AI co-mathematician system, modelled after the Google DeepMind AI Co-Mathematician paper (Zheng et al., 2026-05-07).

This skill creates the directory layout, copies the LaTeX template, initializes the per-project hook configuration, and sets up the workstream registry. After init, the user can spawn workstreams via the project-coordinator sub-agent.

When to invoke¶

Trigger phrases: - /co-math-init - "start a new co-math project" - "init a research project" - "new mathematician project"

Steps¶

1. Gather inputs from the user¶

Ask via AskUserQuestion:

Project name — short, lowercase-kebab-case (e.g., ambidextrous-sofa). This becomes the directory name.
Initial research question — one sentence. Goes into goals.md. The user can refine later.
Strict mode — strict (default) or pragmatic. Strict means the prover sub-agent must mark every gap with \unproven{...} and never hand-wave. Pragmatic allows informal prose for minor steps. Default is strict unless the user explicitly says otherwise; this default is recorded in user memory and must be respected.
Parent directory — where to create the project. Default: current working directory.

2. Create the directory structure¶

Inside <parent>/<project-name>/:

Text Only

paper.tex
goals.md
decisions.md
PROJECT_README.md
co-math-config.json
workstreams/
  .gitkeep
references/
  .gitkeep
failed-explorations/
  .gitkeep
.co-math/
  approvals/
    .gitkeep
  workstream-registry.json
.claude/
  settings.json        # per-project hooks (Phase 3 — empty for now)

3. Populate files from templates¶

Templates live in this skill's templates/ directory. For each entry below, Read the template, do placeholder substitution, then Write to the project path:

Template	Destination in project
`templates/paper.tex`	`paper.tex`
`templates/goals.md`	`goals.md`
`templates/decisions.md`	`decisions.md`
`templates/PROJECT_README.md`	`README.md`
`templates/co-math-config.json`	`co-math-config.json`
`templates/claude-settings.json`	`.claude/settings.json`

Placeholders to substitute in each file:

Placeholder	Replace with
`{{PROJECT_NAME}}`	the project name
`{{RESEARCH_QUESTION}}`	the user's initial question
`{{DATE}}`	today's date in YYYY-MM-DD
`{{STRICT_MODE}}`	`true` or `false` (lowercase, JSON literal)

4. Initialize the workstream registry¶

Write .co-math/workstream-registry.json:

JSON

{
  "project": "<project-name>",
  "created": "<DATE>",
  "strict_mode": <true|false>,
  "next_id": 1,
  "workstreams": []
}

5. Print next steps to the user¶

After scaffolding, output a concise message: - Confirm the directory was created (with absolute path). - Explain the files: goals.md for refining the question, paper.tex is the living working paper, workstreams/ will fill up as the project-coordinator spawns work. - Tell them to invoke the project-coordinator sub-agent (once Phase 2 ships) to start the first workstream, OR — if Phase 2 isn't built yet — to manually edit goals.md and start drafting in paper.tex. - Note the verification ladder available to the coordinator: an informal prover proof (\unproven{} for any gap), or — for results worth machine-checking — a lean-prover workstream that formalises the lemma in Lean 4 and verifies it with lake build, closing the theorem with \leanproved{W{NNN}}. After any proof is APPROVED, a proof-readability pass can polish the exposition without touching the mathematics. - Note that hooks are not yet wired up (Phase 3 deliverable).

What this skill does NOT do¶

It does not start any workstream itself. That is the project-coordinator sub-agent's job.
It does not invoke any agent. Pure scaffolding.
It does not modify global Claude Code settings, only writes a per-project .claude/settings.json.

Notes on respecting prior user decisions¶

The default strict_mode value is always strict. If the user has previously asked to relax this for a specific project, that is recorded in that project's decisions.md, not as a global default. Each new project starts strict.

/co-math-init¶