Building Minds

Package your expertise as a synthetic intelligence. No code required — just clear thinking, structured as a Mind that Claude Code absorbs as its own cognitive operating system.

Minds are the most distinctive product category on MyClaude. They are not software. They are structured cognition — a way of thinking, distilled into a format that Claude Code reads and follows. A Mind that thinks like a venture capitalist. A Mind that reasons with scientific rigor. A Mind that approaches creative problems the way Leonardo da Vinci did. Your expertise, installable with one command.

If you have a methodology, a framework, a way of seeing the world that others would pay to access — you can build a Mind. You don't write code. You write how you think.

What is a Mind?

A Mind is a MINDS.md file installed into .claude/minds/. When a buyer installs your Mind, Claude Code loads it as background context — shaping how Claude reasons, responds, and approaches every problem.

The difference between a Mind and a Skill: a Skill teaches Claude what to do. A Mind teaches Claude how to think. A Skill is a task. A Mind is a worldview.

Who creates Minds?

You don't need to be a developer. You need to be an expert in something.

• Strategists — package decision-making frameworks, business analysis methodologies
• Researchers — encode scientific reasoning, literature review protocols, hypothesis generation
• Consultants — distill years of domain expertise into structured thinking patterns
• Marketers — capture campaign strategy, audience analysis, content frameworks
• Educators — create pedagogical approaches, Socratic questioning methods
• Finance professionals — structure due diligence processes, valuation frameworks
• Creative directors — encode aesthetic principles, creative review processes

If you can explain how you think about problems in your domain, you can build a Mind.

Create your first Mind

Let's build a Mind that thinks like a strategic advisor. Concrete, useful, immediately valuable.

Scaffold the project

$ myclaude init strategic-advisor --type minds
$ cd strategic-advisor

You now have MINDS.md and vault.yaml.

Write MINDS.md

This is where your expertise lives. A good Mind has four elements:

1. Identity — who this Mind is and what it brings to the table
2. Thinking patterns — how it approaches problems
3. Constraints — what it never does (this is as important as what it does)
4. Response behavior — how it communicates

Here's a complete example:

# Strategic Advisor — First Principles

You are a strategic advisor who thinks in first principles.
You don't accept assumptions — you decompose every problem to
its fundamental truths and rebuild from there.

## How you think

1. When presented with any problem, ask: "What do we actually
   know to be true here?" Separate facts from assumptions.
2. Decompose complex situations into independent variables.
3. For each variable, ask: "Is there a reason this has to be
   this way, or is it this way because it's always been?"
4. Reconstruct the solution from the ground up, using only
   verified facts and first principles.
5. Always present at least one unconventional alternative
   that challenges the obvious approach.

## Decision framework

For every decision, evaluate:
- **Reversibility:** Is this a one-way door or a two-way door?
  Two-way doors: decide fast. One-way doors: decide carefully.
- **Asymmetry:** What's the upside if right vs. downside if wrong?
  Favor asymmetric bets.
- **Second-order effects:** What happens after what happens?
  Most people stop at first-order.

## What you never do

- Never agree just because the idea sounds plausible.
  Always stress-test with "what would have to be true for
  this to fail?"
- Never present a recommendation without stating your
  confidence level (high / medium / low) and why.
- Never use jargon as a substitute for clear thinking.
  If it can't be said simply, it isn't understood well enough.

## How you communicate

- Lead with the insight, not the analysis.
- Use concrete examples — abstract advice is free and worthless.
- When you disagree, strengthen their argument first (steel man),
  then explain where it breaks.
- Always end with a clear, actionable next step.

That's it. No code. No syntax to learn. Just structured expertise in plain language.

Wire vault.yaml

name: strategic-advisor
version: 1.0.0
type: minds
title: "Strategic Advisor — First Principles Thinking"
description: "A Mind that decomposes problems to first principles, challenges assumptions, and delivers strategic clarity. For founders, operators, and anyone making high-stakes decisions."
price: 9.99
tags:
  - strategy
  - decision-making
  - first-principles
  - business

Test locally

Before publishing, test your Mind by placing MINDS.md in your own .claude/minds/ directory:

$ mkdir -p .claude/minds/strategic-advisor
$ cp MINDS.md .claude/minds/strategic-advisor/

Start a new Claude Code session and try a problem. Does Claude reason differently? Does it challenge assumptions? Does it ask "what would have to be true for this to fail?" If yes, your Mind is working.

Publish

$ myclaude validate
$ myclaude publish

Your Mind is now live on MyClaude.

What makes a great Mind

The difference between a mediocre Mind and a great one:

The best Minds are opinionated. Claude Code is already good at being general. Your Mind's value is its specificity — the unique lens you bring to problems.

Advanced: Multi-section Minds

For deeper expertise, structure your Mind in layers:

# Domain Expert — [Your Field]

## Identity
Who this Mind is and what makes it unique.

## Core principles
The 3-5 non-negotiable beliefs that drive all reasoning.

## Thinking protocol
Step-by-step: how this Mind approaches a new problem.

## Common patterns
Situations this Mind has seen before and how to handle them.

## Anti-patterns
What this Mind specifically avoids and why.

## Communication style
How findings and recommendations are delivered.

Common questions

How long should a Mind be?

Long enough to be useful, short enough to fit in context. A strong Mind is typically 200-800 words. Claude Code reads the entire file every session — very long Minds consume context budget. Focus on density over length.

Can I create a Mind based on a public figure's methodology?

Yes, if you're encoding publicly available methodology (books, talks, frameworks), not claiming to be that person. A Mind that "applies Warren Buffett's investment principles" is fine. A Mind that says "I am Warren Buffett" is misleading.

What's the difference between a Mind and a CLAUDE.md?

A CLAUDE.md configures Claude Code's behavior for a specific project (coding standards, architecture rules). A Mind shapes how Claude thinks across any context — it's a cognitive lens, not a project config.

Can non-English speakers create Minds?

Yes. Claude Code is multilingual. Write your Mind in the language where your expertise is strongest. MyClaude supports EN, PT-BR, and ES — but the Mind itself can be in any language Claude understands.

Related pages

• What People Build — real examples of Minds and other products
• Product Categories — all 12 categories compared
• Publishing Guide — the basics of publishing any product type
• Monetization — pricing strategies for paid products