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Specialists

The 20+ built-in assistants and custom hires

Specialists

A specialist is a focused AI persona built on top of an agent backend. It bundles:

  • Backend agent — runs the work (built-in engine, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, etc.)
  • Rules — a Markdown system prompt defining behavior
  • Skills — extra capabilities (decks, spreadsheets, reports, MCP tools, etc.)
  • Display metadata — name, avatar (emoji or built-in icon), description

Headmaster ships with 20+ built-in specialists. You can also hire custom specialists from scratch.

Specialist picker dropdown

Screenshot placeholder: The specialist picker dropdown showing the 20+ built-in specialists.

The 20+ built-in Specialists

| Specialist | Role | What they do | | ---------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | The Writer | Slide creator | Decks, presentations, slide narratives. | | The Storyteller | Visual narrative specialist | Motion slides, visual storytelling, morph decks. | | The Visualizer | 3D and infographic specialist | 3D visuals, infographics, spatial diagrams. | | The Closer | Pitch deck creator | Pitch decks, fundraising materials, investor-ready docs. | | The Analyst | Spreadsheet creator | Spreadsheets, financial models, data analysis. | | The Dash | Dashboard creator | Dashboards, charts, data visualizations. | | The Modeler | Financial modeler | DCF, 3-statement models, forecasts, valuation. | | The Reporter | Document creator | Reports, briefs, memos, Word documents. | | The Researcher | Academic paper writer | Academic papers, deep research, citations. | | The Architect | Diagram expert | Flowcharts, ER diagrams, system design, architecture. | | The Designer | UI/UX designer | UI/UX, prototypes, design systems, 57+ styles. | | The Builder | Code and game developer | Code, games, complex logic, full-stack work. | | The Wordsmith | Creative writer | Fiction, narrative, creative writing, storytelling. | | The Coach | Life and productivity coach | Personal productivity, life coaching, goal setting. | | The Operator | Autonomous general worker | General autonomous tasks, workflow execution. | | The Planner | Project planner | Project breakdown, task tracking, roadmaps. | | The Recruiter | HR and hiring specialist | Job descriptions, candidate screening, hiring workflows.| | The Setup Crew | Integration and setup helper | Setup, configuration, integrations, plumbing. | | The DevOps | Infrastructure specialist | Deployment, CI/CD, infrastructure, DevOps. | | The Connector | Network and outreach | Networking, social media, outreach, communication. |

What makes a specialist

  • Local-first — runs on your machine. Rules are stored as Markdown files under the data directory.
  • Pluggable backend — every specialist can pick its own agent (built-in, Claude Code, Codex, etc.).
  • Customizable — built-in specialists allow tweaking backend, rules, skills, and description. Custom specialists are built from scratch.
  • Stackable skills — multiple skills can be enabled at once. Skills can be built-in, user-imported, or extension-contributed.

Picking a specialist

Click the specialist picker (next to the model selector at the bottom of the composer). A dropdown shows all 20+ specialists with their roles. Pick one and start typing. The specialist's personality, system prompt, and default skills apply to the conversation.

You can also pick a specialist by name: type /specialist <name> in the composer (e.g., /specialist The Builder).

Hiring a custom specialist

Want a specialist that isn't in the built-in set? Create one:

  1. Open Settings → My Headmaster → Your Hires.
  2. Click Hire a Specialist.
  3. Fill in:

Basic info fields

| Field | Required | Notes | |---|---|---| | Name | Yes | Display name in the specialist list | | Avatar | No | Emoji (default: robot emoji) | | Description | No | One-liner describing purpose | | Backend agent | Yes | Auto-detected agents — built-in, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Qwen, Cursor, etc. |

Available backends match what's detected on your machine. The built-in engine is always available with no install required.

  1. Click Save. The specialist appears in the picker and is available immediately.

Configuring rules

Rules are the specialist's system prompt — Markdown stored as .md files in the data directory. Fed to the backend agent as system instruction at runtime.

Good for

  • Workflows — "When the user asks for X, do A, then B, then C"
  • Constraints — "Never modify files outside the project root"
  • Domain context — "This codebase uses Bun + Vite; tests are Vitest"
  • Output style — "Always answer in Markdown with a TL;DR at the top"

Editing flow

  1. Open the specialist → Rules section.
  2. Use the Edit tab to write Markdown.
  3. Use the Preview tab to see the rendered output.
  4. Save — applies on the next conversation.

Example: File management specialist

# File Management Specialist

## Path conventions
- All files mentioned by the user live under the current project directory unless explicitly stated
- Use Glob to locate files when only the name is given — never ask "where is the file?"
- Avoid creating new files when an existing one can be edited

## Execution principles
- Break complex tasks into steps and report progress
- Confirm destructive operations (delete, overwrite) before executing
- Keep solutions minimal and focused

Best practices

  • Be explicit — short imperative sentences work best.
  • Use headings and bullet lists; agents pay attention to structure.
  • Provide concrete examples for cases you care about.
  • Don't dump large reference docs — use Skills for that.

Configuring skills

Skills extend specialists with packaged capabilities — file format processors, document generators, MCP tool bundles, domain-specific reference packs. Stored as SKILL.md documents loaded on demand.

Where skills come from

  1. Built-in — bundled with Headmaster (decks, spreadsheets, reports, Mermaid charts, etc.). Toggle on/off.
  2. Custom — your own skills, imported from a folder path.
  3. Extension — contributed by external agent extensions from the Agency.

Adding custom skills

Option A — Quick scan:

  1. Click Add skills.
  2. Pick an auto-detected common path (e.g., ~/.claude/skills, ~/skills).
  3. Confirm.

Option B — Manual path:

  1. Click Add skills.
  2. Paste absolute path(s), comma-separated: /path/to/skills, /another/path.
  3. Confirm — Headmaster scans for SKILL.md files.

Management

  • Toggle — check/uncheck to enable/disable a skill for this specialist.
  • Remove custom skill — hover the row, click the trash icon.
  • Built-in skills — can be disabled but not removed.

See Skills & The Agency for the full skills documentation.

Editing and deleting

Built-in specialists

  • Editable: Backend agent, rules, skills, description.
  • Locked: Name and avatar (kept recognizable).
  • Cannot be deleted — only disabled.

Custom specialists

  • Fully editable — including name and avatar.
  • Delete button at the bottom of the editor (cannot be undone).

Specialist vs. model

A specialist is a role with a personality and skill set. A model is the underlying LLM. You can use any specialist with any model — The Builder with Claude, The Builder with GPT-4o, The Builder with a local Qwen model. The specialist defines how the agent approaches the task; the model defines how smart the reasoning is.

Extension specialists

Specialists from the Hub registry appear alongside the built-in ones in the picker. Install them from the Agency (see Skills & The Agency). Extension specialists have the same capabilities as built-in ones — the only difference is they come from the community catalog.

Use cases

File management specialist

Backend: Built-in agent

# File Management Specialist

## Core duties
- Batch rename, smart classify, and organize files in the project directory
- Never delete without explicit confirmation
- Report a summary of every operation after completion

## Naming conventions
- Use snake_case for all new files
- Prefix temp files with `tmp_` and clean them up at the end of each session

Code review specialist

Backend: Claude Code or built-in agent

# Code Review Specialist

## Review checklist
- Flag debug prints (console.log, print, fmt.Println)
- Flag hardcoded secrets (API keys, passwords, tokens)
- Flag bare except/catch clauses
- Flag unresolved TODOs and FIXMEs
- Check for missing tests on new functions

## Output format
- List issues by severity: Critical, Warning, Info
- Include file path and line number for each issue
- Suggest a fix for each Critical issue

Research specialist

Backend: Built-in agent with web search enabled

# Research Specialist

## Process
1. Break the research question into sub-questions
2. Search for each sub-question independently
3. Cross-reference findings across sources
4. Flag contradictions and gaps
5. Write a structured summary with citations

## Output
- Executive summary (3 sentences)
- Key findings (bullet list with source links)
- Gaps and contradictions
- Recommended next steps
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