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Telos

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danielmiessler
Telos

Dual-context skill: Personal TELOS reads and updates goals, beliefs, narratives, strategies, and more with timestamped backups; Project TELOS analyzes .md/.csv directories for dependency chains, bottlenecks, and alignment, generating reports, narrative points, or dashboards. USE WHEN Telos, life goals, projects, dependencies, update TELOS, narrative points, McKinsey report, dashboard, what am I wrong about, life frames, mental models. NOT FOR conversational constitutional review (use Interview).

Overview

Publisherdanielmiessler
RepositoryLifeOS
Skill nameTelos
Stars
19K
Forks
2.5K
Bundled files
55
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • 55 bundled files

    Scripts, templates, and references the model can read while it works. Files are read-only and never executed.

  • Open source

    Published by danielmiessler on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Telos AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/danielmiessler/LifeOS.git /tmp/LifeOS
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/LifeOS/LifeOS/install/skills/Telos .claude/skills/Telos
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Telos in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Telos on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Telos is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

🚨 MANDATORY: Voice Notification (REQUIRED BEFORE ANY ACTION)

You MUST send this notification BEFORE doing anything else when this skill is invoked.

  1. Send voice notification:

    bash
    curl -s -X POST http://localhost:31337/notify \
      -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
      -d '{"message": "Running the WORKFLOWNAME workflow in the Telos skill to ACTION"}' \
      > /dev/null 2>&1 &
  2. Output text notification:

    Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Telos** skill to ACTION...

This is not optional. Execute this curl command immediately upon skill invocation.

Telos

What It Does

Reads and updates two kinds of context. Personal TELOS: the principal's life context — goals, beliefs, wisdom, books, movies, challenges, narratives, strategies, mission, models, predictions, traumas, frames, lessons, wrong-beliefs — at ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/, updated through the Update workflow with timestamped backups. Project TELOS: analyzes a directory of .md/.csv files to extract dependency chains (PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS), bottlenecks, alignment, and progress, then produces a McKinsey-style report, n=24 narrative points, or a Next.js dashboard built by parallel engineers.

The Problem

Life context and project state both sprawl across many files, and acting on them by hand is error-prone. Personal goals, beliefs, and lessons drift out of date, and hand-editing them risks losing history or corrupting structure. Project documentation hides the dependency chains, bottlenecks, and misalignments that decide whether the work is on track — you can read every file and still not see how PROBLEMS connect to GOALS connect to PROJECTS. This skill gives both a single safe way in: structured updates with backups for the personal side, and automated relationship analysis plus rendered outputs for the project side.

How It Works

TELOS (Telic Evolution and Life Operating System) is a context-gathering system with two applications:

  1. Personal TELOS - {PRINCIPAL.NAME}'s life context system (beliefs, goals, lessons, wisdom) at ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/
  2. Project TELOS - Analysis framework for organizations/projects (relationships, dependencies, goals, progress)

The skill detects which context a request means (see Context Detection below), then routes to the right workflow. Personal updates always go through the Update workflow so backups and changelog entries happen automatically. Project analysis scans the target directory, builds a relationship graph, and renders the output format you asked for.

Workflow Routing

When executing a workflow, output this notification directly:

Running the **WorkflowName** workflow in the **Telos** skill to ACTION...
WorkflowTriggerFile
Update"add to TELOS", "update my goals", "add book to TELOS"Workflows/Update.md
InterviewExtraction"extract content", "extract interviews", "analyze interviews"Workflows/InterviewExtraction.md
CreateNarrativePoints"create narrative", "narrative points", "TELOS report", "n=24"Workflows/CreateNarrativePoints.md
WriteReport"write report", "McKinsey report", "create TELOS report", "professional report"Workflows/WriteReport.md

Note: For general project analysis, dashboards, dependency mapping, and executive summaries, the skill handles these directly without a separate workflow file.

Examples

Example 1: Update personal TELOS

User: "add Project Hail Mary to my TELOS books"
--> Invokes Update workflow
--> Creates timestamped backup of BOOKS.md
--> Adds book entry with formatted metadata
--> Logs change in updates.md with timestamp

Example 2: Analyze project with TELOS

User: "analyze ~/Projects/MyApp with TELOS"
--> Scans all .md and .csv files in directory
--> Extracts entities, relationships, dependencies
--> Returns analysis with dependency chains and progress metrics

Example 3: Build project dashboard

User: "build a dashboard for TELOSAPP"
--> Launches up to 16 parallel engineers
--> Creates Next.js dashboard with shadcn/ui + Aceternity
--> Returns interactive dashboard with dependency graphs, metrics cards, progress tables

Example 4: Generate narrative points

User: "create TELOS narrative for Acme Corp, n=24"
--> Invokes CreateNarrativePoints workflow
--> Analyzes TELOS context (situation, problems, recommendations)
--> Returns 24 crisp bullet points (8-12 words each)
--> Output is slide-ready for presentations or customer briefings

Example 5: Generate McKinsey-style report

User: "write a TELOS report for Acme Corp"
--> Invokes WriteReport workflow
--> First runs CreateNarrativePoints to generate story content
--> Maps narrative to McKinsey report structure
--> Generates web-based report with professional styling
--> Output at {project_dir}/report - run `bun dev` to view
--> White background, subtle Tokyo Night Storm accents
--> Includes: cover page, executive summary, findings, recommendations, roadmap

Context Detection

How {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} determines which TELOS context:

User RequestContextLocation
"my TELOS", "my goals", "my beliefs", "add to TELOS"Personal TELOS~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/
"Alma", "TELOSAPP", "analyze [project]", "dashboard for"Project TELOSUser-specified directory
"analyze ~/path/to/project"Project TELOSSpecified path

Part 1: Personal TELOS ({PRINCIPAL.NAME}'s Life)

Location

CRITICAL PATH: All personal TELOS files are located at:

~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/

Personal TELOS lives in the CORE USER directory, NOT directly under the Telos skill directory.

Personal TELOS Framework

All files located in ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/:

Core Philosophy

  • TELOS.md - Main framework document
  • MISSION.md - Life mission statement
  • BELIEFS.md - Core beliefs and world model
  • WISDOM.md - Accumulated wisdom

Life Data

  • BOOKS.md - Favorite books
  • MOVIES.md - Favorite movies
  • LEARNED.md - Lessons learned over time
  • WRONG.md - Things {PRINCIPAL.NAME} was wrong about (growth tracking)

Mental Models

  • FRAMES.md - Mental frames and perspectives
  • MODELS.md - Mental models used for decision-making
  • NARRATIVES.md - Personal narratives and self-stories
  • STRATEGIES.md - Strategies being employed in life

Goals & Challenges

  • GOALS.md - Life goals (short-term and long-term)
  • PROJECTS.md - Active projects
  • PROBLEMS.md - Problems to solve
  • CHALLENGES.md - Current challenges being faced
  • PREDICTIONS.md - Predictions about the future
  • TRAUMAS.md - Past traumas (for context and healing)

Change Tracking

  • updates.md - Comprehensive changelog of all TELOS updates

Working with Personal TELOS

Read Files

bash
# View specific file
read ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/GOALS.md
read ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/BELIEFS.md

# View recent updates
read ~/.claude/LIFEOS/USER/TELOS/updates.md

Update Personal TELOS

CRITICAL: Never manually edit. Use the Update workflow.

Workflow: Workflows/Update.md

The workflow provides:

  • Automatic timestamped backups
  • Change logging in updates.md
  • Version history preservation
  • Proper formatting and structure

Valid files for updates: BELIEFS.md, BOOKS.md, CHALLENGES.md, FRAMES.md, GOALS.md, LEARNED.md, MISSION.md, MODELS.md, MOVIES.md, NARRATIVES.md, PREDICTIONS.md, PROBLEMS.md, PROJECTS.md, STRATEGIES.md, TELOS.md, TRAUMAS.md, WISDOM.md, WRONG.md


Part 2: Project TELOS (Organizational Analysis)

Capabilities

For any project directory, TELOS provides:

  1. Relationship Discovery - Find how files/entities connect
  2. Dependency Mapping - Identify what depends on what
  3. Goal Extraction - Discover stated and implied objectives
  4. Progress Analysis - Track advancement and metrics
  5. Narrative Generation - Create executive summaries
  6. Visual Dashboards - Build beautiful UIs with data

Target Directory Detection

Flexible file discovery - no required structure:

bash
# User specifies directory
"Analyze ~/Projects/<your-org-tree>"
--> {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} scans for .md and .csv files anywhere in tree

# {DA_IDENTITY.NAME} automatically finds all .md and .csv files regardless of structure

Analysis

Point the skill at a project directory (named project, explicit path, or common location). A good analysis surfaces the dependency chains PROBLEMS→GOALS→STRATEGIES→PROJECTS, the bottlenecks blocking progress, whether projects align with stated objectives, progress/completion metrics, and risk areas (overdue or blocked work) — grounded in what the files actually say, never cached assumptions.

Discover the source files:

bash
find $TARGET_DIR -type f \( -name "*.md" -o -name "*.csv" \)

Deliver in whatever format was asked: markdown report (Mermaid diagrams), interactive web dashboard, JSON export, or executive summary.

Building Dashboards

The deliverable is an interactive Next.js dashboard that renders the analysis against the stack and design tokens below. Start from the shipped scaffold at DashboardTemplate/ (working Next.js app: file browser, markdown/CSV rendering, dependency views — see its README for the copy-and-run steps) rather than from scratch, then adapt pages to the analysis. Fan the build out across parallel agents however the work splits cleanly — data-parsing lib, shared components, per-page views, theme, integration — running independent pieces at once. (Wired per public issue #1555, @tzioup — the template previously shipped unreferenced.)

Tech Stack:

  • Next.js 14 + TypeScript
  • shadcn/ui for UI components
  • Aceternity UI for layouts
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Tokyo Night Day theme (professional light)

Features:

  • Dependency graphs (Mermaid or D3.js)
  • Progress tables (sortable, filterable)
  • Metrics cards (KPIs, stats)
  • Timeline visualizations
  • Relationship networks

Design tokens:

css
--background: #ffffff
--foreground: #1a1b26
--primary: #2e7de9
--accent: #9854f1
--destructive: #f52a65
--success: #33b579
--warning: #f0a020

Common TELOS Files

Standard Project TELOS Structure (auto-detected):

Context Files

  • OVERVIEW.md - Project overview
  • COMPANY.md - Organization context
  • PROBLEMS.md - Issues to solve
  • GOALS.md - Objectives
  • MISSION.md - Mission statement
  • STRATEGIES.md - Strategic approaches
  • PROJECTS.md - Active initiatives

Operational Files

  • EMPLOYEES.md - Team members
  • ENGINEERING_TEAMS.md - Team structure
  • BUDGET.md - Financial tracking
  • KPI_TRACKING.md - Metrics
  • APPLICATIONS.md - App inventory
  • TOOLS.md - Tooling
  • VENDORS.md - Third parties

Security Files

  • VULNERABILITIES.md - Security issues
  • SECURITY_POSTURE.md - Security state
  • THREAT_MODEL.md - Threats

Data Files (CSV)

  • data/VULNERABILITIES.csv - Vuln tracking
  • data/INCIDENTS.csv - Incident log
  • data/VENDORS.csv - Vendor data

Note: Files are optional. TELOS adapts to whatever exists.

Visualization Types

Available Visualizations:

  • Dependency Graphs - Mermaid or D3.js network
  • Progress Tables - shadcn/ui tables with filters
  • Metrics Cards - Aceternity card layouts
  • Timeline Charts - Progress over time
  • Status Dashboards - KPI overviews
  • Relationship Networks - Force-directed graphs
  • Bar Charts - Recharts for comparisons
  • Line Charts - Trend analysis

Security & Privacy

Personal TELOS:

  • NEVER commit to public repos
  • NEVER share publicly
  • Always backup before changes
  • Use Update workflow only

Project TELOS:

  • May contain sensitive data
  • Ask before sharing externally
  • Redact sensitive info in examples
  • Follow LifeOS security protocols

Gotchas

  • Telos data is personal and private. Never include in public repos, skills, or outputs.
  • Goals and dependencies change — always read current state before advising. Don't rely on cached knowledge.
  • Project dashboards pull from multiple sources. Verify data freshness before presenting.

Execution Log

After completing any workflow, append a single JSONL entry:

bash
echo '{"ts":"'$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)'","skill":"Telos","workflow":"WORKFLOW_USED","input":"8_WORD_SUMMARY","status":"ok|error","duration_s":SECONDS}' >> ~/.claude/LIFEOS/MEMORY/SKILLS/execution.jsonl

Replace WORKFLOW_USED with the workflow executed, 8_WORD_SUMMARY with a brief input description, and SECONDS with approximate wall-clock time. Log status: "error" if the workflow failed.

Bundled files

The model reads these on demand while the skill is loaded. They are exposed as readable files and are never executed.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Telos AI skill do?

Dual-context skill: Personal TELOS reads and updates goals, beliefs, narratives, strategies, and more with timestamped backups; Project TELOS analyzes .md/.csv directories for dependency chains, bottlenecks, and alignment, generating reports, narrative points, or dashboards. USE WHEN Telos, life goals, projects, dependencies, update TELOS, narrative points, McKinsey report, dashboard, what am I wrong about, life frames, mental models. NOT FOR conversational constitutional review (use Interview).

Why use Telos on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Telos is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Telos in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/danielmiessler/LifeOS/tree/main/LifeOS/install/skills/Telos. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and bundles its files and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Telos?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Telos?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Telos with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Telos AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by danielmiessler under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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