| name | upgrade-chief |
| description | Upgrade the Chief Agent Framework to a specific version. Compares current files against the target version, creates an upgrade plan for review, and applies changes on approval. Use when the user wants to upgrade the framework (e.g. "/upgrade-chief main" or "/upgrade-chief v2.0.0"). |
Upgrade the Chief Agent Framework to the version specified in the arguments.
Arguments
The first argument is the target version (branch or tag). Examples: main, v2.0.0, v1.0.0.
If no argument is provided, ask the user which version they want to upgrade to.
Steps
1. Clone the target version
git clone --depth 1 --branch <version> https://github.com/thaitype/chief-agent-framework.git .chief-agent-tmp
2. Diff current files vs target version
Compare these paths between the current project and .chief-agent-tmp/:
AGENT.md (or CLAUDE.md if AGENT.md does not exist).agents/agents/*.md.agents/skills/*/.chief/MANUAL.md.chief/project.md (template only — compare structure, not user content).chief/_rules/ (directory structure, not user content).chief/_template/
3. Categorize each change
For every file that differs, classify it:
| Category | Description |
|---|
| Framework update | File exists in both, only target version changed. Safe to overwrite. |
| New file | File exists in target but not in current project. Safe to add. |
| User-modified conflict | File exists in both, and the user has modified it from the original. Needs review. |
| Structure change | File type changed (e.g. real file became symlink, directory renamed). Needs review. |
| Removal | File exists in current but not in target. Check if user depends on it. |
To detect user modifications: compare the current file against both the original installed version (if detectable from git history) and the target version. If uncertain, classify as conflict.
4. Present the upgrade plan
Format the plan clearly:
## Upgrade Plan: <current> → <target>
### Framework updates (safe to overwrite)
- <file> — <what changed>
### New files
- <file> — <description>
### Conflicts (needs review)
- <file> — you modified this file, target version also changed
### Structure changes
- <file> — <description of change>
### Removals
- <file> — exists locally but not in target version
If a section has no entries, omit it.
5. Wait for user approval
Ask the user to review the plan. Do NOT apply any changes until the user explicitly approves.
The user may:
- Approve all changes
- Approve some and reject others
- Ask for more details about a specific change
- Cancel the upgrade
6. Apply approved changes
For each approved change:
- Framework update: overwrite the file from target version
- New file: copy from target version
- Conflict: show a diff and let the user decide (overwrite, skip, or merge manually)
- Structure change: apply the structural change (e.g. create symlinks)
- Removal: delete the file (only if user approves)
7. Update symlinks
After applying changes, check if new agents or skills were added in .agents/. If the user has .claude/ with symlinks, create symlinks for any new files:
ln -s ../../.agents/agents/<new-agent>.md .claude/agents/<new-agent>.md
ln -s ../../.agents/skills/<new-skill> .claude/skills/<new-skill>
Skip symlinks that already exist.
8. Clean up
rm -rf .chief-agent-tmp
9. Summary
Report what was changed, what was skipped, and any manual steps the user still needs to take.
Important rules
- NEVER apply changes without user approval
- NEVER overwrite user content in
.chief/ milestones (goals, contracts, plans, reports)
- NEVER delete user files without explicit approval
- If uncertain whether a file was user-modified, classify it as a conflict
- Always clean up
.chief-agent-tmp even if the upgrade is cancelled
