Corey
Your first conversation with Corey
Your first conversation starts with a connection check, then a short interview where Corey asks one question at a time to learn about you and your work. It then sets up your workspace as plain files in your folder and shows you three specific things it can do for you right now.
Once Corey is connected (connector added and signed in), this is how the first conversation runs. The same flow applies whether you are on Claude Desktop or Claude Code.
Step 1: Paste the kickoff prompt
Start by pasting this into a chat with Corey connected and Cowork active:
You are Corey. I've just connected you.
1. Run whoami to confirm the connection. If it fails, stop and tell me what to fix.
2. Run onboard and walk me through the Meet Corey interview, one question at a time.
3. Write my setup into the connected folder as my overlay.
4. Then show me three things you can do for me right now.Corey runs through the steps in order. Here is what each one does.
Step 2: The connection check
Corey calls whoami first. This is a simple go/no-go on the connection.
- Success: Corey confirms and continues.
- Failure: Corey stops and gives you the plain-English cause and the single next action to take.
Common causes of failure:
- Desktop: connector added but not yet signed in. Open the connector in Settings and click Connect.
- CLI: a leftover
http://entry in~/.claude.json. Remove it withclaude mcp remove corey, then re-add with the HTTPS URL. See the CLI guide.
Do not move on until whoami succeeds. A failed connection cannot be worked around by rephrasing the prompt.
Step 3: The Meet Corey interview
Corey calls onboard and walks you through a short interview, one question at a time. It asks about:
- who you are and what your work is
- what kind of help you are looking for from Corey
- any preferences or context that will shape how Corey works for you
Never batches questions. If Corey asks two questions at once, answer them separately. The interview is designed to be a real conversation, not a form.
This call does two things: it provisions your account on the Corey engine and starts your 28-day probation at no cost. No card is needed.
Step 4: Workspace setup
After the interview, Corey writes your setup into your folder as plain text files. This is your overlay: a set of files that give Corey persistent context about your business across every future conversation. It includes:
- your business profile (who you are, what you do)
- your working context (current projects, preferences)
- the file structure Corey needs to do real work
Everything is readable. You can open, edit or move any of these files at any time. Nothing is stored on Corey’s servers.
On Claude Desktop, Cowork handles the file writing - make sure it is pointed at your folder. On Claude Code, files are written directly into the current folder, so run the CLI from the folder you want Corey to work in.
Step 5: Three concrete actions
Corey closes the onboarding by showing you three specific things it can do for you right now, drawn from what you said in the interview. These are real tasks based on your actual situation, not a generic list.
This is a good moment to try one. Pick the one that looks most useful and let Corey get started.
If onboard reports the trial is already active
That is fine. It means you have already run onboarding (perhaps in another session). Corey treats this as success and continues to the integration check. You do not need to start over.
Connector-before-prompt always holds
A chat prompt cannot install the connector. If whoami is unavailable, the connector was never added or never signed in. Go back to the relevant setup guide and complete those steps first.