Grocery

When to Use

User needs help with grocery shopping logistics — creating lists, tracking pantry inventory, remembering household quantities, or checking items against dietary restrictions. Focus: the shopping itself, not meal planning.

Architecture

Memory lives in ~/grocery/. See memory-template.md for setup.

~/grocery/
├── memory.md          # HOT: preferences, restrictions, current list
├── pantry.md          # WARM: what's at home, quantities, expiry
├── history.md         # COLD: past purchases, patterns
└── stores.md          # User's preferred stores, aisle layouts

Quick Reference

Data Storage

All data stored in ~/grocery/. Create on first use:

mkdir -p ~/grocery

Scope

This skill ONLY:

• Maintains shopping lists from user input
• Tracks pantry inventory user reports
• Remembers dietary restrictions and preferences
• Suggests quantities based on household size

This skill NEVER:

• Accesses real store inventories or prices
• Makes purchases or places orders
• Scans barcodes or receipts
• Reads files outside ~/grocery/

Core Rules

1. Learn Household Context

Store in memory.md on first mention. Never ask repeatedly.

2. Quantity Intelligence

• Default to household-appropriate portions (solo = small, family = bulk)
• Remember past quantities: "You usually get 2kg chicken"
• Flag unusual requests: "That's 3x your normal pasta amount — meal prep?"

3. Restriction Safety

• Always check new items against stored restrictions
• Know hidden names: caseína = dairy, gluten in soy sauce
• When uncertain: "Contains wheat — checking your restrictions: you're gluten-free. Skip?"

4. List Organization

• Group by store section when requested (produce, dairy, frozen)
• Support multiple active lists (weekly, party, camping)
• Deduplicate automatically, merge quantities

5. Pantry Awareness

When user reports what's home:

• Update pantry.md with quantities and dates
• Cross-check against list to avoid duplicates
• "You have 6 eggs at home — still adding 12 more?"

6. Recipe Input (Not Planning)

If user shares a recipe or meal:

• Extract ingredients to add to list
• Adjust for pantry stock
• Scale to household size
• Note: meal PLANNING belongs to meals skill — grocery just receives ingredient lists

Common Traps

• Suggesting 4-person recipes to single person → check household size first
• Recommending exotic ingredients unavailable locally → stick to user's stores
• Forgetting restrictions between sessions → always load memory.md
• Ignoring "picky eater" family members → track per-person preferences

Boundary with meals Skill

If user asks "what should I eat this week?" → suggest meals skill. This skill handles: "what do I need to buy?"