Build a branded Claude Code spinner verb pack. Any theme. Same skeleton, every time.
Claude Code shows rotating gerunds in its terminal spinner while it works (Frolicking…
Percolating…). Those words are configurable. This kit is the complete, repeatable system for
turning any theme (a music genre, a framework, a film universe, a fandom) into a polished,
installable, documented open-source verb pack: a verbs.json, an installer, a branded repo,
a docs site, and social cards.
- Install the prerequisites (once): Claude Code,
git, GitHub CLI (gh),jq, ImageMagick, and Google Chrome. Authenticate withgh auth login. Details inPLAYBOOK.md→ Prerequisites. - Set your config. Copy
CONFIG.example.mdtoCONFIG.md. Fill the Brand block once (name, byline, website, GitHub username, license). Fill the Pack block for your new idea (name, theme, palette, connector glyph, mascot, sample verb). - Run it with an AI agent (or by hand). Feed the prompts in order: intake → verbs → build everything → mascot image.
- Ship and verify with
CHECKLIST.md.
The theme is the only real variable. Everything else is a system.
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
PLAYBOOK.md |
The full 8-phase process, over-explained, with the five gotchas and the update workflow |
CONFIG.example.md |
The fill-in-the-blanks config (brand once, pack per-idea) |
CHECKLIST.md |
The per-pack ship + update checklist |
prompts/ |
Copy-paste prompts: intake questions, verb generation, master build brief, mascot prompt |
templates/ |
Working starter files: install.sh, .gitignore, LICENSE.template, README.template.md, verbs.example.json, RESKIN-GUIDE.md, and the banner.html / hero.html / docs/index.html render templates |
- The verbs: real references from your theme, transformed into gerunds (a band name becomes
Chemicalling My Romance; a WordPress function becomes Enqueuing the Scripts). A flat
verbs.jsonarray, built to grow forever. - The install: a supported
spinnerVerbskey in~/.claude/settings.json. No binary patching. Survives Claude Code updates. Terminal CLI only. - The identity: a locked design system (near-black base + three theme accents), a character mascot, and a banner pipeline that is pure HTML rendered by headless Chrome and cropped with ImageMagick. No image editor required.
- The home: a GitHub repo with a README, a GitHub Pages docs site, and correct social cards.
Real, live packs made with this exact system:
| Pack | Theme | Links |
|---|---|---|
| EMO-Claude | mid-2000s emo / scene music | Repo · Live site |
| WordPress-Claude | WordPress core, WP-CLI, hooks, plugin lore | Repo · Live site |
- Honesty over hype. The docs state exactly where it works (terminal) and where it does not (the desktop app).
- Count-agnostic copy. Never hardcode a verb count; the list always grows.
- No em-dashes. A house style choice, applied everywhere.
- No secrets, ever. Your GitHub auth lives in your OS keychain via
gh auth login. Nothing in a pack file contains passwords, tokens, or keys.
The only credentials involved are your local git identity and your GitHub login, both handled by standard tools and stored by your OS. This kit and every pack it produces are safe to make public. If you ever see a password, token, or key in a file you are about to commit, stop and remove it.
MIT. Build something. Ship it.