| name | sdd-tooling-guidance |
| description | Guidance for reaching external tools (CLI vs MCP vs manual) and suggesting missing integrations — load when the agent falls to manual narration for the same tool twice in a session, a tooling gap signal fires (pasted tool output, credential/401 errors, re-described external state), or the user asks how the agent should reach an external tool. On-demand (mode C); offer-only, never install or configure anything unprompted. |
| license | MIT |
| compatibility | ByeByeVibe control plane; applies to Claude Code and Cursor skill surfaces. |
| metadata | {"author":"byebyevibe","version":"1.0"} |
Tooling guidance — how to reach external tools, when to suggest integrations (ByeByeVibe)
External-tool actions (GitHub, Figma, dashboards, SaaS APIs) have a fixed resolution order. This skill teaches the cascade, how to detect a tooling gap, and how to suggest — never install — an integration. It is mode C — load on demand, never inject always-on.
Surface note (asymmetry): this is the Cursor mirror. It has no MCP-registry or connector-listing harness tools; when a suggestion is accepted, degrade to "suggest + point to doc/tooling-install.md". The Claude Code mirror may additionally reference native harness tools — no parity assumed.
Resolution cascade (normative)
When you need to act on an external tool, resolve in this order:
- Session operator override — "use MCP first" (or similar) is honored without debate, for the current session only. Never persist it; a new session returns to the default cascade unless the override is restated.
- Configured CLI (default) — zero permanent context cost, controllable output, scriptable, works in CI.
- Configured MCP (fallback) — use when no CLI is configured, or for tools where only MCP delivers the capability (e.g. structured design context via Figma MCP). The hierarchy is decided per tool, not by dogma: key → CLI → MCP, unless only MCP delivers the capability.
- Suggest configuring (offer-only, capped) — use the standard suggestion message below, subject to the shared cap and the durable-refusal check.
- Manual instructions (last resort) — narrate the dashboard steps for the operator.
Second-manual-fall trigger: falling to rung 5 for the same tool a second time in one session IS the detection event that arms the suggestion. No separate counter — the cascade closes its own loop.
Detection signals (conversation, secondary layer)
The static gap-check in scripts/verify-infra.sh is the primary detector (it reports presence/absence of .mcp.json / .cursor/mcp.json, manifest-listed CLIs, .env.example keys). These conversational signals are the secondary layer:
- Repeated manual narration for the same tool — the gold signal, self-observed via the cascade.
- User pastes external-tool output (missing read integration).
- User repeatedly asks for content "to paste elsewhere" (missing write integration).
- Credential/401 errors on commands you ran (missing
.env key).
- User re-describes external system state ("the board now shows…") (missing read access).
Paste caveat: manual paste can be a policy choice, not a gap. A paste alone, uncorroborated by another signal, is not sufficient grounds to suggest.
Before suggesting: durable-refusal check
Read openspec/infra.md first (rule R10). An integration whose row carries the declined status was considered and refused: do not re-suggest it — re-suggesting a refused integration is suggesting a policy violation, not helpfulness. Use the cascade's remaining rungs (manual instructions) instead. A commented-out key in .env.example means the same thing: considered and declined.
Standard suggestion message (verbatim shape)
Three fixed parts — reference this text, do not re-author it elsewhere:
- Will: "If we configure <tool> (CLI/MCP), I can do <action> directly in future sessions instead of narrating manual steps."
- Won't / costs: "I never install or configure anything myself — you run the steps. An MCP server would see <data scope>; keys live in
.env (never committed); only official sources/trusted registries. An active MCP charges its schemas to every session — for occasional use, CLI + key is cheaper."
- Decide: "Want to set it up? (yes / no / later)" — a "no" is recorded as
declined in openspec/infra.md and never re-suggested.
Shared anti-noise cap: at most one proactive suggestion per session across mechanisms (skill or tooling, per sdd-skill-guidance), strongest signal wins. If either kind of suggestion was already offered this session, note the new signal silently and move on.
When a suggestion is accepted
- Point the operator at
doc/tooling-install.md — per-tool entries with official-doc link, verification command, and "verified on YYYY-MM" marker. Never transcribe walkthroughs into chat when the doc has the entry.
- Keys go in
.env (never committed); MCP servers only from trusted registries or official sources.
- After setup, the operator runs
bash scripts/verify-infra.sh to record the new status in openspec/infra.md.
Guardrails
- Never install or configure an MCP, CLI, or key unprompted — no exceptions. Suggestion is an offer; the user decides and runs the steps.
- Never re-suggest a
declined integration or a commented-out .env.example key.
- No always-on injection of this guidance; mode C only.
- Shared cap: max one proactive suggestion per session across skill + tooling mechanisms.
- Report absence, never infer need — stack-inference gap analysis, durable per-tool preferences, usage telemetry, and preflight gap WARNs are v2 — do not build them ad hoc.
