desk-open

Open a Desk

Create a new desk in the workshop with the standard structure.

When to use

• The operator wants to start a new workstream
• Work arrives that doesn't belong to any existing desk
• A topic needs its own frame (its own history, its own priors)

What it creates

Given a workshop directory and a desk name, create:

desks/<desk-name>/
  journal.md       # persistent memory — read at start, written at end
  .signals/        # structured signal output (JSON) — dashboard reads this

desks/ is the default home. A desk can instead live in a group folder: any top-level folder whose name ends in -desks (for example team-desks/<desk-name>/). Use one only when the operator asks for that group, create the group folder if it doesn't exist, and read desks/ in the steps below as that group folder.

How to use

1. Choose a name. Short, descriptive, kebab-case. The name is how the operator and other desks refer to this desk. Examples: security-scan, api-review, ops, cloud-workshop

2. Check if it already exists. If desks/<desk-name>/ already has a journal.md, the desk is live — do not overwrite it. Instead, resume it: read the journal and continue from where it left off. If the operator explicitly wants a fresh start, they must rename or archive the existing desk first.

3. Create the structure. Make the directory, initial journal, and signals folder:

   desks/<desk-name>/journal.md
   desks/<desk-name>/.signals/
   

4. Write the first journal entry. The journal starts with:

   • What this desk is for (its focus/purpose)
   • What repos or work it covers (if applicable)
   • Any initial context the first session needs

5. Announce it. Tell the operator what was created and what the desk's focus is.

Session orientation

This skill initializes storage — it does not launch a session. A desk becomes active when a Copilot session references its directory. The session workflow:

1. The operator (or TA) starts a session and says "sit at the <desk-name> desk"
2. The session reads the desk's journal.md to load priors. To find the desk, look in desks/<desk-name>/, then in each <group>-desks/<desk-name>/; if more than one has that name, ask which one (refer to it as <group>-desks/<desk-name>)
3. Work happens — the session uses signal-write to emit signals and desk-journal to persist state at the end
4. The next session repeats from step 2

The desk identity comes from which journal is read, not from a persistent process. Desks are long-running in state (the journal carries forward), not in runtime (each session is independent).

Journal format

# <Desk Name> — Journal

## <date> — Desk opened
- **Purpose:** <what this desk focuses on>
- **Scope:** <repos, areas, or work this desk covers>
- **Next step:** <what the first session should do>

Principles

• A desk is a peer, not a sub-agent. It has equal standing to disagree with other desks.
• The journal is the memory. Without it, the next session starts blind. Write enough that someone starting from zero finds the way.
• One desk, one focus. If the scope is too broad, open two desks. Each desk's value comes from its specific frame — dilute the frame and you lose the value.