OpenMontage/skills/meta/onboarding.md

Onboarding — Meta Skill

When to Use

On the very first interaction with a user in a new session when the user has not yet specified a concrete production request — or when their request is vague ("make me a video", "what can you do?", "help me create something").

Skip this skill when the user arrives with a specific, actionable request like "Make a 60-second explainer about black holes." In that case, go directly to Rule Zero (identify pipeline → preflight → execute). The user already knows what they want.

This skill transforms the agent from a passive executor into a creative partner. Most users don't know what's possible. Your job is to show them — fast, clearly, and with copy-paste prompts they can try right now.

Protocol

Step 1: Run Preflight Discovery

Before saying anything creative, know what you're working with:

python -c "
from tools.tool_registry import registry
import json
registry.discover()
envelope = registry.support_envelope()
menu = registry.provider_menu()
print('=== ENVELOPE ===')
print(json.dumps(envelope, indent=2))
print('=== MENU ===')
print(json.dumps(menu, indent=2))
"

Parse the output into three buckets:

1. Available — tools with status: AVAILABLE
2. Quick unlocks — tools with status: UNAVAILABLE whose install_instructions reference an env var (1-minute fixes)
3. Hardware unlocks — tools requiring GPU or local model downloads

Step 2: Determine the User's Setup Tier

Based on discovery, classify the setup:

Tier	What's Available	Best Pipelines
Zero-key	Piper TTS + Pexels/Pixabay stock (if keys added) + Remotion + FFmpeg	Animated Explainer (stock visuals + free narration)
Starter	One image gen provider (e.g., FLUX via FAL_KEY) + free TTS + Remotion	Animated Explainer, Animation (AI-generated visuals)
Standard	Image gen + TTS + music gen	Animated Explainer, Animation, Screen Demo, Hybrid
Full	Video gen + image gen + premium TTS + music	All pipelines including Cinematic, Avatar, Talking Head
Full + GPU	Cloud APIs + local video gen models	All pipelines with free local fallbacks

Step 3: Greet and Orient

Present a short, friendly capability summary. Do NOT dump the raw provider menu. Instead, translate it into plain language.

Template (adapt to actual discovery results):

---

Welcome to OpenMontage! I'm your video production agent. Here's what I can do with your current setup:

Ready to go:

• [List 2-4 key capabilities in plain language, e.g., "Generate narration with free offline TTS (Piper)", "Create animated videos with spring transitions, captions, and charts (Remotion)", "Stock footage and images from Pexels"]

Available pipelines: [List the pipelines that work with their setup, with one-line descriptions]

Quick upgrades: [If applicable — "Add FAL_KEY to your .env to unlock AI-generated images (FLUX) and video (Veo, Kling, MiniMax) — one key, five tools."]

---

Rules for this presentation:

• Lead with what WORKS, not what's missing. The user should feel empowered, not inadequate.
• Keep it to 8-12 lines max. Don't overwhelm.
• Mention at most 2 quick-unlock suggestions. Don't nag about every missing key.
• Read actual install_instructions from the registry — do not hardcode provider names or key names.

Step 4: Offer Starter Prompts

Based on the user's tier, present 3 ready-to-use prompts they can copy right now. These should be prompts that will work well with their specific setup and produce impressive results.

Zero-key prompts:

Try this now: "Make a 45-second animated explainer about why the sky is blue"

This will research the topic, write a script, find stock visuals, generate narration with Piper, and compose an animated video with transitions and captions — all free.

Also try: "Create a 60-second data-driven video about coffee consumption around the world"

Or: "Make a short explainer about how the internet works, with narration and animated captions"

Starter-tier prompts (image gen available):

Try this: "Create an animated explainer about how CRISPR gene editing works, with AI-generated visuals"

I'll use FLUX to generate custom images for each scene — much more visually striking than stock.

Also try: "Make a product launch teaser for a fictional smart water bottle called AquaPulse"

Or: "Build a 90-second explainer about the psychology of color in marketing"

Full-tier prompts (video gen available):

Try this: "Create a cinematic 30-second trailer for a sci-fi concept: humanity receives a warning from 1000 years in the future"

I'll generate actual motion video clips, compose a soundtrack, and deliver a finished cinematic trailer.

Also try: "Make a 60-second avatar spokesperson video announcing a company rebrand"

Or: "Create a 90-second animated explainer about quantum computing for middle school students, with a fun narrator voice and custom soundtrack"

Rules for prompt suggestions:

• Present exactly 3 prompts.
• The first prompt should be the most impressive thing their setup can produce.
• Each prompt should target a different pipeline or style.
• Include a brief note explaining what makes this prompt a good fit for their setup.
• Use blockquote formatting so prompts are visually distinct and easy to copy.

Step 5: Explain the Workflow (Briefly)

After prompts, give a 2-3 sentence summary of what happens when they start:

"When you give me a prompt, I'll first research the topic with live web searches, then present you with concept options and cost estimates. You pick your favorite, and I'll produce the video stage by stage — asking for your approval at each creative decision. The final video lands in projects/<name>/renders/."

Do NOT explain the full architecture, three-layer knowledge system, or pipeline internals here. That's for the curious — point them to AGENT_GUIDE.md if they want to go deeper.

Step 6: Handle Follow-Up Questions

Common questions and how to respond:

"What does it cost?"

• Zero-key path: $0
• With FAL_KEY: typically $0.30–$1.50 per video depending on image count
• Full setup: $1–$3 for most videos
• Always: "I'll show you exact cost estimates before spending anything."

"Can you make [specific type]?"

• Match to a pipeline. If it fits, say which pipeline and what tools you'd use.
• If it doesn't fit any pipeline, be honest — suggest the closest match and explain what would be different.

"How long does it take?"

• Explainer (zero-key): 5-15 minutes
• Explainer (with image gen): 10-20 minutes
• Cinematic (with video gen): 20-40 minutes
• "Most of the time is asset generation. The research and scripting stages are fast."

"I just want to test it quickly"

• Suggest the shortest zero-key prompt: "Try: 'Make a 30-second explainer about why leaves change color.' It'll use free tools and finish in about 5 minutes."

"Show me what you can do"

• Point to the demo video in the README, then offer the starter prompts from Step 4.

Anti-Patterns

• Don't dump the raw JSON from support_envelope() or provider_menu() on the user. Translate it into plain language.
• Don't list every tool. Group by capability ("I can generate images with FLUX" not "I have flux_image, google_imagen, openai_image, recraft_image...").
• Don't explain the architecture unless asked. "Agent-first, instruction-driven" is interesting to developers, but the user came to make a video, not study the codebase.
• Don't apologize for missing capabilities. Frame as "here's what you have" and optionally "here's a quick upgrade." Never "unfortunately you don't have..."
• Don't skip straight to production if the user seems uncertain or exploratory. Take 30 seconds to orient them — it saves 10 minutes of confusion later.
• Don't suggest prompts that require tools the user doesn't have. Every prompt must be achievable with their current setup. Mark any that need specific keys clearly.