User Context Skill

Overview

Provides structured user profile and context information to other skills and AI interactions. Ensures consistent personalization across all ARDEN features.

Purpose

• •Supply user profile information to skills
• •Maintain consistent context across sessions
• •Enable personalized note-taking and task management
• •Support context-aware AI responses

Components

Tools

• •user_context.sh: Retrieves user context in multiple formats

Context Files

User context is sourced from:

• •~/Notes/profile.md: Primary user profile (maintained by user)
• •Fallback variables in user_context.sh if profile.md is unavailable

Usage

Command Line

# Get user context in text format (default)
~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh

# Get user context in JSON format
~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh json

# Get compact context (for embedding in notes)
~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh compact

In Other Skills

# Include user context in a note
USER_CONTEXT=$(~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh compact)
echo "Author: $USER_CONTEXT" >> my-note.md

# Get full context for AI prompts
USER_INFO=$(~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh text)

In JavaScript/Node.js

const { execSync } = require('child_process');

// Get user context as text
const userContext = execSync(
  '~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh text'
).toString();

// Get user context as JSON
const userContextJson = JSON.parse(
  execSync('~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh json').toString()
);

Output Formats

Text Format (Default)

Human-readable format with sections:

• •Personal Information
• •Work Context
• •Environment
• •Communication Preferences

JSON Format

Structured JSON for programmatic use:

{
  "personal": { "name": "...", "role": "...", ... },
  "work_context": { ... },
  "environment": { ... },
  "preferences": { ... }
}

Compact Format

Single-line summary for embedding in notes:

Context: Hal Borland | Strategic Engineer @ FedEx Freight | Chicago | Tech: K8S, VMware, Azure, Linux

Integration Points

Note-Taking Skill

The note-taking skill uses user context to:

• •Add author information to notes
• •Personalize note templates
• •Include relevant work context

Context Loader Service

The context-loader.js service uses user context to:

• •Provide AI with user background
• •Enable personalized responses
• •Maintain conversation context

Daily Planning Skill

Uses user context to:

• •Customize morning briefings
• •Include relevant work information
• •Adapt to user preferences

Configuration

User context is defined in ~/Notes/profile.md. Update this file to change:

• •Personal information
• •Work context
• •Technologies
• •Preferences
• •Current project status

The user_context.sh script reads from this file for the most up-to-date information.

Maintenance

Updating User Context

1. •Edit ~/Notes/profile.md with current information
2. •Changes are immediately available to all skills
3. •No restart required

Adding New Context Fields

1. •Update ~/Notes/profile.md with new sections
2. •Modify user_context.sh to parse new fields
3. •Update documentation

Examples

Example 1: Add Context to Note

#!/bin/bash
NOTE_FILE="$HOME/Notes/daily/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md"
CONTEXT=$(~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh compact)

echo "---" > "$NOTE_FILE"
echo "author: $CONTEXT" >> "$NOTE_FILE"
echo "date: $(date)" >> "$NOTE_FILE"
echo "---" >> "$NOTE_FILE"
echo "" >> "$NOTE_FILE"
echo "# Daily Notes" >> "$NOTE_FILE"

Example 2: Use in AI Context

const userContext = execSync(
  '~/ARDEN/skills/user-context/tools/user_context.sh text'
).toString();

const aiPrompt = `
${userContext}

Based on the user context above, help with the following task:
${userRequest}
`;

Benefits

• •Consistency: Same context across all skills
• •Personalization: Tailored responses and actions
• •Efficiency: No need to repeat user information
• •Maintainability: Single source of truth in profile.md

Related Skills

• •note-taking: Uses context for note authorship
• •daily-planning: Uses context for personalized briefings
• •weather: Uses location from context

Future Enhancements

• •Auto-detect changes to profile.md
• •Cache context for performance
• •Add project-specific context
• •Include active TODO context
• •Time-based context (work hours, weekends)