| name | pull-openbrain-gemini-starter |
| description | Pull the latest changes from the upstream openbrain-gemini-starter repo, diff against this vault's infrastructure, and interactively apply each change with user approval. |
/pull-openbrain-gemini-starter
Pull improvements from the upstream openbrain-gemini-starter repo into this vault. The inverse of /push-openbrain-gemini-starter: that skill pushes vault improvements upstream; this skill pulls template improvements downstream.
The template repo must be cloned locally — by default at ~/openbrain-gemini-starter. Set the OPENBRAIN_TEMPLATE_DIR environment variable to override.
Inputs
$1 (optional): scope hint — one of all (default), skills, hooks, claude-md, templates, obsidian, or a specific path like .gemini/skills/capture-meeting/SKILL.md. Limits which files the skill compares.$2 (optional): --dry-run — show the planned changes but do not write anything to the vault.
Scope: what's comparable
Same in-scope paths as /push-openbrain-gemini-starter, but in the reverse direction (template → vault):
| Template path | Vault path | Notes |
|---|
.gemini/skills/*/SKILL.md | .gemini/skills/*/SKILL.md | Procedure improvements |
.openbrain/pre-commit.sh | .openbrain/pre-commit.sh | Pre-commit linter |
.openbrain/env.example | .openbrain/env.example | Secrets template |
+ Extras/Templates/*.md | + Extras/Templates/*.md | Note templates |
GEMINI.md | GEMINI.md | Operating manual (most delicate — see §"GEMINI.md handling") |
.obsidian/app.json, core-plugins.json, appearance.json, graph.json | same | Only universally useful settings |
bootstrap/ | bootstrap/ | Bootstrap scripts — include in diff, but flag for careful review |
README.md | README.md | Only if the template has real improvements |
Out of scope (never touch from template):
- Content folders:
+ Atlas/, + Spaces/, + Inbox/, + Sources/, + Archive/
~/.claude/projects/.../memory/ — auto-memory~/.config/openbrain/.env — secrets.obsidian/workspace.json, .obsidian/plugins/* — per-machine state
Procedure
1. Fetch latest template
Resolve paths:
VAULT="$(pwd)"
TEMPLATE="${OPENBRAIN_TEMPLATE_DIR:-$HOME/openbrain-gemini-starter}"
If the template directory exists, pull the latest changes; otherwise clone it:
if [ -d "$TEMPLATE/.git" ]; then
cd "$TEMPLATE" && git checkout main && git pull --rebase --autostash
else
git clone git@github.com:davidianstyle/openbrain-gemini-starter.git "$TEMPLATE"
fi
2. Inventory drift
For each in-scope path, compare template vs. vault:
diff -rq "$TEMPLATE/.gemini/skills/" "$VAULT/.gemini/skills/"
diff -rq "$TEMPLATE/.openbrain/" "$VAULT/.openbrain/"
diff -rq "$TEMPLATE/+ Extras/Templates/" "$VAULT/+ Extras/Templates/"
diff -u "$TEMPLATE/GEMINI.md" "$VAULT/GEMINI.md"
diff -rq "$TEMPLATE/bootstrap/" "$VAULT/bootstrap/"
Build a working list with three categories:
- Template-only files (exist in template, not in vault) — candidates for add
- Vault-only files (exist in vault, not in template) — skip (vault extensions, not regressions)
- Differing files (exist in both, different content) — candidates for update
Filter to in-scope paths. Drop anything matching out-of-scope rules.
3. Per-file analysis
For each candidate, read both versions. Classify each hunk:
- (I) Improvement from template: a real procedure change, bug fix, new feature, schema update, clearer wording that the vault should adopt. → propose to apply.
- (P) Personal in vault: the vault version has the user's specific data (account slugs, names, gids) where the template has placeholders. The vault version is correct for this vault — keep it. → skip.
- (G) Generic placeholder: the template uses
{{PLACEHOLDER}} or <slug> where the vault has resolved values. The vault values are correct. → skip.
- (N) Noise: whitespace, formatting nits, generated timestamps. → skip.
- (V) Vault-ahead: the vault has an improvement the template doesn't — this is a
/push-openbrain-gemini-starter candidate, not a pull candidate. → flag for future /push-openbrain-gemini-starter run.
4. De-genericize template content
When applying template content to the vault, reverse the genericization:
| Template form | Vault form |
|---|
the user / you (as subject) | The user's real name (where the vault convention uses it) |
{{USER_NAME}} | The user's full name (from GEMINI.md §1) |
{{USER_EMAIL}} | The user's primary email |
{{GOOGLE_ACCOUNTS_TABLE}} | Keep the vault's existing resolved table |
{{SLACK_WORKSPACES_TABLE}} | Keep the vault's existing resolved table |
{{ASANA_ROUTING_TABLE}} | Keep the vault's existing resolved table |
{{FATHOM_TABLE}} | Keep the vault's existing resolved table |
{{BOOTSTRAP_DATE}} | Keep the vault's existing date |
~/OpenBrain | The vault's actual path |
$HOME/... (generic) | The vault's absolute paths (if the vault uses them) |
mcp_google_<slug>__* | Vault's concrete MCP names |
mcp_slack_<workspace_slug>__* | Vault's concrete Slack MCP names |
<slug> pattern references | Keep vault's concrete slugs where they exist |
Important: Never blindly replace the vault's resolved routing tables or identity sections with template placeholders. Only port the structural/procedural improvements around them.
5. Present changes interactively
For each file with applicable (I) hunks, present the diff to the user via AskUserQuestion:
File: <path>
The template has the following improvement over the vault:
<unified diff of just the (I) hunks, de-genericized>
Options:
- Apply — write this change to the vault
- Skip — leave the vault version as-is
- Show full file — display both versions side by side
- Edit — apply with modifications (describe what you want changed)
Process files one at a time (or in small batches of closely related changes). Never bulk-apply without per-change confirmation.
6. Apply approved changes
For each approved change:
- Read the current vault file.
- Apply only the approved hunks using the
Edit tool.
- Verify the result is valid (no broken frontmatter, no orphaned placeholders).
After all approved changes are applied:
cd "$VAULT" && git status && git diff --stat
Do not commit. The vault's stop hook handles commits automatically. Just leave the changes as unstaged modifications.
7. Report
Output to the user:
- Applied: list of files changed in the vault, one line each, with a summary of what was pulled in.
- Skipped (personal/placeholder): files where the diff was entirely resolved-vs-generic and nothing needed porting.
- Skipped (user declined): files the user chose to skip.
- Vault-ahead (push candidates): files where the vault has improvements the template doesn't — suggest running
/push-openbrain-gemini-starter to port them upstream.
- Template-only files not added: new files in the template that weren't added to the vault (with a note on why, or ask if the user wants them).
Notes
- This skill is read-only on the template side, write-only on the vault side. It must never edit the template repo.
- The skill is idempotent: running it twice yields no changes the second time.
- The skill never touches secrets: it never reads
~/.config/openbrain/.env and never writes credentials into the vault.
--dry-run mode does steps 1–4 and shows what would be proposed, but skips the interactive apply loop and writes nothing.- If the scope is
all and the diff is large, batch the interactive prompts by category (skills first, then hooks, then templates, then GEMINI.md last since it's most sensitive).
- GEMINI.md changes require extra care — the vault version has fully resolved tables and user-specific content. Only port structural changes (new sections, reworded rules, new skill entries in tables). Never overwrite the resolved routing tables with
{{PLACEHOLDER}} markers.
- The
bootstrap/ folder is included in the diff but flagged as "careful review" — bootstrap changes may require re-running bootstrap/setup.sh after applying.
