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claude-code

Minutes minutes-setup

Guided first-time setup for Minutes — download whisper model, create directories, configure audio input. Use when the user says "set up minutes", "install minutes", "first time setup", "configure minutes", "get started with minutes", "how do I start using minutes", or when verify shows missing components.

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/silverstein/minutes
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/silverstein/minutes "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/.agents/skills/minutes/minutes-setup" ~/.claude/skills/silverstein-minutes-minutes-setup && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: .agents/skills/minutes/minutes-setup/SKILL.md
source content

Skill Path

Before running helper scripts or opening bundled references, set:

export MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.agents/skills/minutes"
export MINUTES_SKILL_ROOT="$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-setup"

/minutes-setup

Walk the user through first-time Minutes setup, step by step.

Setup steps

1. Check current state first

Run the verify skill's script to see what's already done:

bash "$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-verify/scripts/verify-setup.sh"

Skip any steps that already pass.

2. Build the binary (if needed)

cd ~/Sites/minutes
export CXXFLAGS="-I$(xcrun --show-sdk-path)/usr/include/c++/v1"
cargo build --release

The binary lands at 

target/release/minutes
. The user should add it to their PATH or create a symlink.

3. Download a whisper model

Ask the user which quality level they want using AskUserQuestion:

ModelSizeSpeedQualityBest for
tiny
75 MB~10x real-timeLowQuick tests, short memos
small
466 MB~4x real-timeGoodDaily meetings (recommended)
medium
1.5 GB~2x real-timeGreatImportant meetings, accents
large-v3
3.1 GB~1x real-timeBestLegal, medical, foreign language

Then run:

minutes setup --model <chosen-model>

4. Create directories

mkdir -p ~/meetings/memos

5. Audio input (if recording calls)

For in-person conversations, the built-in mic works fine. For Zoom/Meet/Teams:

  1. Install BlackHole: 
    brew install blackhole-2ch
  2. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Spotlight → "Audio MIDI Setup")
  3. Create a Multi-Output Device combining speakers + BlackHole
  4. Set the Multi-Output Device as system output
  5. Set BlackHole as Minutes' input (or system default input)

See 

minutes-record/references/audio-devices.md
for the full guide.

6. Verify

Run verify again to confirm everything passes:

bash "$MINUTES_SKILLS_ROOT/minutes-verify/scripts/verify-setup.sh"

7. Test recording

minutes record --title "Test recording"
# Speak for 10-15 seconds
minutes stop

Check the output file exists in 

~/meetings/
and has a transcript.

Gotchas

  • macOS 26 (Tahoe) requires CXXFLAGS — The whisper.cpp build needs the C++ include path set explicitly. This is a known Apple SDK issue.
  • First model download can be slow — The 
    small
    model is 466 MB. On slow connections, 
    tiny
    is a good starting point (75 MB).
  • BlackHole setup is the hardest part — Most users struggle with the Audio MIDI Setup step. Offer to walk through it if they get stuck.