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

manifest: tooling/skills/sources/minutes-setup/skill.md

source content

/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 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/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:

Model	Size	Speed	Quality	Best for
`tiny`	75 MB	~10x real-time	Low	Quick tests, short memos
`small`	466 MB	~4x real-time	Good	Daily meetings (recommended)
`medium`	1.5 GB	~2x real-time	Great	Important meetings, accents
`large-v3`	3.1 GB	~1x real-time	Best	Legal, 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:

Install BlackHole:
```
brew install blackhole-2ch
```
Open Audio MIDI Setup (Spotlight → "Audio MIDI Setup")
Create a Multi-Output Device combining speakers + BlackHole
Set the Multi-Output Device as system output
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 "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/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.