update-cnw-templates

name	update-cnw-templates
description	Update the CNW (create-nx-workspace) template repos (nrwl/empty-template, nrwl/react-template, etc.) to a target nx version via nx migrate, verify each repo, and open a PR per repo. Clones repos it needs - assumes no local checkout. Use when asked to "update the CNW templates", "migrate the templates to nx X", "bump the template repos", or given a version like "update templates to 23.2.0".
allowed-tools	Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob, WebFetch

Update CNW Templates

Bump every CNW template repo to one target nx version, verify it still builds and still scaffolds, then open a draft PR per repo. Each template is an independent GitHub repo under nrwl/; create-nx-workspace --template nrwl/<repo> clones its main to scaffold a user's workspace. Each repo has a ci.yml that lints, tests, builds, typechecks, and e2es it on PRs - but the consumer path (scaffolding from main via --template) isn't covered there, and a force-push to main skips PR CI entirely (how the react template broke). So verify before you ship.

This skill makes no assumption that the repos are checked out locally. It clones what it needs. Anyone on the team can run it from a fresh machine.

Input

• Target nx version - e.g. 23.2.0. If omitted, use latest stable: npm view nx@latest version. Verify it exists: npm view nx@<version> version.
• Repos - one, several, or (default) all live templates. Names may be given with or without the -template suffix.
• Work dir - where clones land. Default ./tmp/cnw-templates/ (gitignored). Reuse an existing clone if one is already there and clean.

The template repos

All live under nrwl/<name>-template, push target branch main. --template accepts the full nrwl/<repo> form for all of them. Four templates also have a bare shorthand.

Template	--template value	Shorthand
empty	nrwl/empty-template	empty
typescript	nrwl/typescript-template	ts
react	nrwl/react-template	react
angular	nrwl/angular-template	angular
react-mfe	nrwl/react-mfe-template	-
nextjs	nrwl/nextjs-template	-
nestjs	nrwl/nestjs-template	-
express-api	nrwl/express-api-template	-
astro-starlight	nrwl/astro-starlight-template	-
remotion	nrwl/remotion-template	-
tanstack-start	nrwl/tanstack-start-template	-
tanstack-ai	nrwl/tanstack-ai-template	-

Before continuing, check that all the templates are live. A repo is live if GET https://api.github.com/repos/nrwl/<name>-template/commits/main returns 200 (a sha). If you hit 404 report it.

This table may change, and the user will tell you which repos to use (defaults to all in the table).

Procedure

1. Resolve version + repo set

npm view nx@<version> version                 # confirm target exists
# for each requested repo, confirm it's live:
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}" https://api.github.com/repos/nrwl/<name>-template/commits/main

1a. If in a Polygraph session, add the templates to it

If this skill runs inside a Polygraph session (the startup banner names a session ID), add every target template repo to the session so their per-repo PRs link together under one session. The repos are exact owner/repo refs, so add them directly - no discovery:

add_repo(sessionId: "<session-id>", repoIds: ["nrwl/empty-template", "nrwl/react-template", ...])

Add only the live repos you're actually touching. After add_repo, the PRs you open in step 5 join the session automatically - the link is the session, not any cross-reference in the PR bodies. If there's no session, skip this and proceed normally.

2. Clone (or reuse) each repo

All template repos are npm (package-lock.json). Clone over SSH; the working tree must be clean before you touch it.

mkdir -p tmp/cnw-templates && cd tmp/cnw-templates
git clone [e-mail]:nrwl/<name>-template.git      # or reuse an existing clean clone
cd <name>-template
git checkout main
git status --porcelain      # MUST be empty; if dirty, skip this repo and report
git fetch origin main && git reset --hard origin/main   # make sure we start from latest origin
grep '"nx"' package.json    # record current version

3. Migrate

Use CI=true to skip prompts.

CI=true npm install                             # node_modules at current version
CI=true npx nx migrate <target-version>         # updates package.json, writes migrations.json
CI=true npm install                             # apply the dep bump
if [ -f migrations.json ]; then
  CI=true npx nx migrate --run-migrations
  rm -f migrations.json
fi

4. Verify

NX_NO_CLOUD=true NX_DAEMON=false CI=true npx nx run-many -t build test lint typecheck --skip-nx-cache
NX_NO_CLOUD=true NX_DAEMON=false CI=true npx nx run-many -t e2e   # where the repo defines it

If any target fails, revert that repo (git checkout .) and report - never open a red PR.

5. Commit + PR (per repo)

Every template's main is a single "Initial commit" (verified across all 12 repos), so keep the branch to one commit (amend, don't stack) and squash-merge the PR.

cd tmp/cnw-templates/<name>-template
git checkout -b update-nx-<target-version>
git add -A
git commit -m "chore(deps): update to nx <target-version>"   # never mention AI/Claude
git push -u origin update-nx-<target-version>
# open a draft PR to main via the GitHub API (token from env/1Password, never hardcode):
curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $GH_TOKEN" -H "Accept: application/vnd.github+json" \
  "https://api.github.com/repos/nrwl/<name>-template/pulls" \
  -d '{"title":"chore(deps): update to nx <target-version>","head":"update-nx-<target-version>","base":"main","draft":true,"body":"<per-repo summary: old->new nx, migrations run>"}'

PR body: old -> new nx version, which migrations ran, and the verification result. For a not-yet-created repo (404 in step 1), skip the push - report it as "not created".

6. Sanity check after the PRs land - run-all-templates.sh

run-all-templates.sh (bundled next to this file) runs create-nx-workspace --template nrwl/<repo> for every template and reports pass/fail. It scaffolds from each repo's main, so run it as a follow-up once the template PRs are merged (or after you push to main) - a real end-to-end check that every template still scaffolds for users. It can't see an unpushed branch, so it's a post-merge step, not a pre-merge gate.

# all templates:
CNW_VERSION=<target-version> ./run-all-templates.sh
# a subset:
CNW_VERSION=<target-version> ONLY="empty-template react-template" ./run-all-templates.sh

7. Report

One table across all repos:

| Template        | Previous | Updated | Files | Status         |
| --------------- | -------- | ------- | ----- | -------------- |
| empty-template  | 23.1.0   | 23.2.0  | 2     | PR #NN (draft) |
| nuxt-template   | 23.1.0   | -       | -     | not created    |

Be ready to explain any change - which migration produced it and why.

Notes

• Always CI=true for nx/npm commands so nothing blocks on a prompt.
• Never push without confirmation. Open PRs as drafts; the owner reviews and marks ready.
• Patch bumps are usually just package.json + lockfile (no migrations.json). Minor/major can rewrite source - review the non-dep diff before committing.