tailored-install

id	tailored-install
name	Tailored Install
summary	Install skills, settings, hooks and memory tailored to THIS user's environment: detect context, respect existing files, ask before overwriting.
type	skill
author	kisa
recommended	true
base	true
reminder	Before installing anything, detect the user's actual environment (agent, OS, paths, existing config). Never overwrite blindly. Ask when uncertain. Report what changed.
tags	["install","setup","safety","agent-discipline"]
added	"2026-06-26T00:00:00.000Z"
description	Use BEFORE installing any skill, setting, hook, or memory/instruction file into a user's setup. Detects the target environment, resolves real paths, asks when unsure, installs idempotently without overwriting, and verifies. Use when: "install this skill", "set this up for me", "add this to my agent", "configure my agent".
triggers	["install tailored","set up for my environment","install this skill safely"]
allowed-tools	["Read","Glob","Grep","Bash","Edit","Write","AskUserQuestion"]

Tailored Install

The base skill of the deploychan MCP. Whenever you (a connected agent) are about to install a skill, setting/hook, or memory/instruction file for a user, run this discipline first. It is the implicit step 0 of every leveling-up route: "install X" always means "install X tailored to THIS user's machine" — not into a template, not into assumed paths.

This skill is agent-agnostic; the appendices at the end give concrete paths for Claude Code, Hermes and Codex.

Always keep in mind

• Detect before you write. Never assume a path you have not verified.
• Never overwrite blindly. Back up or merge, then confirm.
• Ask when uncertain. A wrong guess pollutes the user's setup.
• Install into the real environment, respecting what already exists.
• Report exactly what changed and where.

Step 1 — Detect the environment (read-only)

Gather facts before touching anything. Read-only only:

• Host agent: Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Continue, Codex, Hermes, or generic? Look for tell-tale config dirs/files (e.g. a .claude/ dir, a .cursor/ dir, an AGENTS.md).
• Which runtime and model you are. This is step 0 of everything: downstream capability choices branch on it. Hermes ships many things out of the box (memory providers, voice); Claude Code / Codex usually vibe-code the equivalent. Pick the wrong branch and you install a Hermes-only command into Claude Code, or hand-build what the host already has.
• OS and home directory.
• Where each surface lives for this agent: skill directory, memory/instruction file(s), hooks/permissions/settings file(s).
• What already exists: installed skills, existing memory file, existing settings — so you can merge instead of clobber.

If a fact cannot be determined read-only, do not guess it — it becomes a question in Step 3.

Step 2 — Resolve target paths

From the detected facts, resolve the real destination for each in-scope surface:

• Skill files — the agent's skill directory (user scope vs project scope).
• Memory / instruction files — the agent's persistent instructions file.
• Hooks / permissions / safe defaults — the agent's settings file.

Decide user scope vs project scope explicitly. Verify each directory actually exists before writing to it.

Step 3 — Ask when uncertain

Stop and ask the user (AskUserQuestion or the host's equivalent) when:

• The target path is ambiguous, or several candidates exist.
• An existing file would be overwritten or its meaning changed.
• The host agent is unknown or unsupported.
• User scope vs project scope is unclear.
• A value is user-specific (where to read an API key from, a preferred path).

Always offer a sensible default plus the alternatives. Asking is cheaper than undoing.

Step 4 — Install safely

• Preview first: show what will be written and to which path.
• No blind overwrite: back up the existing file or merge into it, then confirm.
• Idempotent: re-running must not duplicate entries or corrupt the file.
• No secrets in shared/committed files.
• Respect existing structure and naming; integrate, don't flatten.

Step 5 — Verify and report

• Confirm the install took effect: the file exists at the resolved path and the agent recognizes it.
• Report exactly what changed and where (paths, keys/sections touched).
• State any required follow-up: restart the agent, supply an API key, reload config.

Important Rules

• Detect > assume. Never hardcode a path you did not verify.
• Ask > guess. Uncertainty means stop and ask, not improvise an alternative.
• Never overwrite without explicit confirmation.
• Respect the existing setup; merge, don't replace wholesale.
• Never expose or write secrets into shared or committed files.
• Scope: this skill governs skill files, memory/instruction files, and hooks/permissions. Wiring MCP servers into the agent's config is out of scope.

Claude Code appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Claude Code:

• Skills: ~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md (user scope) or .claude/skills/ inside a project (project scope).
• Memory / instructions: ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md (user, global), CLAUDE.md at the project root (project), or AGENTS.md.
• Hooks & permissions: ~/.claude/settings.json (user), .claude/settings.json (project, shared), .claude/settings.local.json (project, local — keep out of git).

Confirm user-vs-project scope before writing. For hooks/permissions, show the exact JSON change and confirm before applying.

Hermes appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Hermes Agent:

• Skills: ~/.hermes/skills/<name>/SKILL.md (user scope). Project-scope skills are loaded from the repo's .hermes/skills/ directory.
• Memory / instructions: SOUL.md in $HERMES_HOME for agent identity; project rules in .hermes.md or AGENTS.md at the project root.
• Hooks & permissions: ~/.hermes/config.yaml (approvals, command_allowlist). No separate settings.json — approvals and allowlists live in config.yaml.
• Environment secrets: ~/.hermes/.env (API keys).

Confirm user-vs-project scope before writing. For config.yaml changes, show the exact YAML change and confirm before applying. After writing skills to ~/.hermes/skills/, tell the user to run /reload-skills or restart Hermes.

Codex appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Codex CLI:

• Skills: Codex has no native skill directory. Use ~/.codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md as a convention. Codex reads instructions from AGENTS.md or CODEX.md at the project root.
• Memory / instructions: ~/.codex/instructions.md for global instructions; project-level CODEX.md or AGENTS.md.
• Hooks & permissions: Codex uses --yolo, --full-auto, or approval prompts per invocation — no persistent settings file.
• MCP servers: configured via codex mcp add or ~/.codex/mcp.json.

Codex has no concept of user-scope skills natively. Prefer project-scope AGENTS.md or CODEX.md for Codex-specific instructions unless the user explicitly asks for global.

Tool names across agents

The allowed-tools in this skill's frontmatter uses Claude Code tool names. For other agents, map them to the equivalents:

Claude Code	Hermes / Codex
Read	read_file
Glob	search_files
Grep	search_files
Bash	terminal
Edit	patch
Write	write_file
AskUserQuestion	clarify