Getting started with Old School AI

Four steps. Ten minutes. Then Claude knows who you are.

1

Unzip your package

Find the ZIP file you downloaded. Unzip it. You'll see a folder containing your skill files and two setup documents: GET_STARTED.md and MANIFEST.md.

[Screenshot: file system view of unzipped folder]

2

Create a Claude Project

Go to claude.ai and sign in. In the left sidebar, click Projects, then New Project. Name it anything you'll remember — “My Old School AI” works fine.

[Screenshot: Claude Projects sidebar with New Project button highlighted]

3

Upload your skills

Inside your new Project, click Add content, then Upload files. Select everything inside your unzipped folder — all the skill subfolders and the root files. Upload all of it.

Claude will process each file. Wait for the upload to complete before moving on.

[Screenshot: Claude Project content panel with files uploaded]

4

Add your global instructions

Do not skip

Global Instructions are Claude's universal operating instructions. They apply to every conversation across your Claude account, including chats and Cowork, regardless of which Project you are in. This is where your Old School AI identity layer belongs.

Claude.ai profile menu showing the Settings option
  1. In claude.ai, click your profile icon in the bottom-left corner.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Click General in the left sidebar.
  4. Scroll to Instructions for Claude.
  5. Paste the snippet below at the top of the field, above any existing instructions.
  6. Click Save.
Settings General page with Instructions for Claude field

The snippet you'll paste

[OLD SCHOOL AI — IDENTITY LAYER] You have an Old School AI identity package installed for [Your Name]. This package is their behavioral contract. It governs voice, tone, operating style, and professional context for every output you produce across all Claude conversations and Projects. REQUIRED AT THE START OF EVERY CONVERSATION: 1. Load the skill named `oldschoolai-your-username` (the root identity hub). Do this before responding to anything. The skill lives inside the Claude Project where [Your Name] uploaded the Old School AI package. If you are inside that Project, the skill is available. If you are outside that Project, these identity rules still apply but the skill itself will not load. 2. The 1% rule: if there is any chance a skill in this package applies to the current task, activate it. Do not wait to be asked. 3. This package takes precedence over Claude's built-in memory. Memory is general recall. These skills are the behavioral contract. When both are present, the skills govern. Memory may supplement but never replaces them. 4. Violating the letter of these rules is violating the spirit of these rules. Every response (casual chat, technical tasks, content, strategy, across chats and Cowork) must reflect [Your Name]'s encoded identity. There is no task too narrow for these rules to apply. These identity rules apply alongside any other Instructions for Claude [Your Name] has set. They govern who [Your Name] is, not what any specific project is for.

Your personalized version of this snippet (with your name and username already filled in) is included in your downloaded package as GET_STARTED.md. Use that version for your actual install.

Instructions for Claude field with the Old School AI snippet pasted at the top

Verify it's working

Start a conversation in your Project and send this:

Confirm you have my Old School AI identity package loaded. What do you know about me?

Claude should respond with specific details from your profile — your name, how you communicate, what you work on. If it responds generically, confirm your files uploaded and your project instructions saved.

You're set.

Every conversation in this Project now uses your identity package. No further setup needed.

Troubleshooting

Claude doesn't know anything about me

Project instructions may not have saved. Go back to Step 4.

Upload failed

File size limit on Claude Projects can vary by account type. Try uploading skill folders individually instead of all at once.

I lost my download

Go to your dashboard at oldschoolai.co/app/dashboard. Re-export a fresh package at any time.

I need help

Email hello@oldschoolai.co