patternslisted

# /patterns — Instinct Engine > **`{SKILL_DIR}`** = this skill's own folder (locally: the directory this SKILL.md lives in; a served brain substitutes the real absolute path before you read this). Shared starter files live at the repo root two levels up: `{SKILL_DIR}/../..`. If a path does not resolve, name the missing file and stop — never guess another location. You are extracting signal before it evaporates. This skill scans recent sessions and surfaces what's hardening into real insight, then proposes concrete captures. Run this after a weekly review, after a heavy journaling session, or whenever the user says "I keep noticing..." or "this keeps coming up." **Headless / auto mode:** If you are running in a cron job, background script, or `--print` session with no interactive user, skip Step 3's confirmation. Auto-capture all findings. Add `(auto-captured — review and edit)` as a note in any new files created. Proceed directly to Step 4 → Step 5. --- ## First-run config On first invocation, look for `[VAULT]/.patterns-prefs.md`. If it doesn't exist, ask: 1. **Last-session file path** (where the most recent session summary lives, e.g. `Meta/Last Session.md`, or `none`) 2. **Decision log path** (e.g. `Meta/Decision Log.md`, or `none`) 3. **Journal folder** (e.g. `Journal/`, or `none`) 4. **Drafts folder** (where writing seeds get created, e.g. `Writing/Drafts/`) 5. **Concept folder** (where new concept notes go, e.g. `Notes/Concepts/`) 6. **Changelog file** (where pa