The 30-Second Rule
Connection, Clarity, Action within 30 seconds. The product principle.
A new user must feel Connection, Clarity, and Action within 30 seconds of opening CMMD. Every feature, every design choice, every roadmap call is evaluated against this.
The product mission, in one sentence
Section titled “The product mission, in one sentence”CMMD — Your Universe. Your Life and Your Work. To focus on what matters most.
The three experiences
Section titled “The three experiences”1. Connection — “This sidekick is mine.”
Section titled “1. Connection — “This sidekick is mine.””The user names their sidekick. The sidekick’s avatar, voice, and tone reflect them. The conversational layer feels like a thing they own, not a generic copilot.
How we deliver it:
- First-run name + avatar picker
useSidekickName()everywhere — never hardcode “Sidekick”- SidekickAvatar component (rounded square, not generic robot)
- Voice / persona preferences in Settings → Sidekick
2. Clarity — “It understands what matters today.”
Section titled “2. Clarity — “It understands what matters today.””The Sidekick surfaces the right thing immediately. Not a blank page. Not “ask me anything.” A specific, relevant prompt — today’s top task, an unread thread, an event in 15 minutes.
How we deliver it:
- Smart Brief pinned at top of Sidekick section
- Ambient context (date, time, user, integrations injected into system prompt)
- Intelligence Engine — context resolution across apps
- Morning routine: top tasks → calendar → unread
3. Action — “It can help me move forward right now.”
Section titled “3. Action — “It can help me move forward right now.””One message turns into real work: a task created, an event scheduled, a draft email, a Brain doc summarised, a project updated. Not “here’s how you could…” — actually do it.
How we deliver it:
- Sidekick tool catalog (~40 tools)
- Tool execution timeline (user sees what was done)
- Mode auto-elevation: Quick → Autopilot when tools are needed
- Composio integrations (Slack, Google, GitHub, Stripe, etc.)
How we judge a feature against the rule
Section titled “How we judge a feature against the rule”Before building anything, ask:
| Question | If yes | If no |
|---|---|---|
| Does this help Connection? | Build it | Does it help Clarity? |
| Does this help Clarity? | Build it | Does it help Action? |
| Does this help Action? | Build it | Does it make 30 seconds faster or deeper? |
| Does it add weight without serving the 3 experiences? | Don’t build it | Build it |
What this rules out
Section titled “What this rules out”- Multi-step setup wizards for new users (kills 30 sec)
- “Choose a workspace template” pages before the user has felt the product
- Generic AI experiences that ignore the user’s actual data
- Notifications that distract before the user has had Connection
- “Configure your dashboard” UX — the Sidekick should pick
Think of it as an operating system for attention
Section titled “Think of it as an operating system for attention”The job isn’t to replace 15 tools. The job is to give attention back. Every screen, every interaction, should make the user less busy, not more.
Where this lives in the codebase
Section titled “Where this lives in the codebase”- Hook:
useSidekickName()inclient/src/hooks/use-sidekick-name.ts - Component:
SidekickAvatarinclient/src/components/sidekick/ - Smart Brief:
client/src/components/dashboard/smart-brief.tsx - Sidekick chat input:
client/src/components/sidekick/sidekick-chat-input.tsx - Routing:
server/services/router/intent-classifier.ts,complexity-evaluator.ts
Related
Section titled “Related”- App — Sidekick — full reference for the AI layer
- Sidekick Routing Pipeline — how messages get routed
- App — Dashboard — where Connection/Clarity/Action lands