evolve-claudemd

name	evolve-claudemd
description	Update existing CLAUDE.md files by analyzing code changes, GitHub PRs/issues, Jira/Confluence since last modification, with full accuracy audit.
hooks	{"PostToolUse":[{"matcher":"Write|Edit","hooks":[{"type":"command","command":"bash \"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}\"/skills/evolve-claudemd/scripts/claudemd-writeguard.sh","timeout":10}]}]}

Evolve CLAUDE.md

Update existing CLAUDE.md files by analyzing what changed in the codebase, GitHub, Jira, and Confluence since each file was last modified. Perform a full accuracy audit. Produce targeted, user-approved edits.

How this skill runs

This skill is an orchestrator. It keeps your (the top-level agent's) context lean by pushing work down two layers:

• Scripts (scripts/*.sh) do the deterministic git/grep/parse plumbing and emit compact output. Run them; don't reimplement their logic inline.
• Sub-agents (claudemd-* agent types) do the context-heavy gathering — 100s of PRs, Jira/Confluence, deep source reads. They burn that raw data in their own context and return only short digests. Dispatch them; do not pull raw PR bodies, full Confluence pages, or whole source trees into this conversation yourself.
• On-demand references (references/*.md) hold the bulky rules/rubrics/templates. Read each only at the step that consumes it.
• A PostToolUse write-guard hook validates every CLAUDE.md you write (no empty section headers). If it reports an issue, fix and rewrite.

Run the steps in order. Steps 2 and 5 dispatch sub-agents; Step 6 is the user-approval gate; nothing is written before approval.

---

Step 0 — Pre-flight

Run bash "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/scripts/preflight.sh. If it fails, stop and show its message. On success it prints the git remote= line — parse owner/repo from it for the GitHub sub-agent.

Step 1 — Discover

Run bash "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/scripts/discover.sh. It returns a JSON array (one record per CLAUDE.md: path, scope_dir, last_commit, last_date, commits_since, files_changed). Render a status table for the user:

| File | Last Updated | Commits Since | Files Changed |
|------|-------------|---------------|---------------|

Files with a null last_commit are uncommitted — audit against current state (see Edge Cases). If discover.sh returns [], warn the user there are no CLAUDE.md files and suggest /bootstrap-claudemd, then stop.

Step 2 — Gather (parallel sub-agents)

Dispatch these three agents in one message (independent work, run concurrently). Give each the scope info it needs; collect only their returned digests.

• claudemd-code-analyst — per scope_dir + since_commit: what code/data-model changes imply CLAUDE.md edits.
• claudemd-github-analyst — owner/repo + each file's since_date: convention & anti-pattern candidates with PR/issue evidence.
• claudemd-tracker-analyst — Jira project key + since_date: constraints to add/lift with ticket/page evidence. (If you don't know the project key, ask the user.)

For many CLAUDE.md files, run one code-analyst per scope; the github/tracker analysts can cover the repo once using the oldest since_date.

Step 3 — Audit

For each existing CLAUDE.md, dispatch claudemd-auditor (one per file, may run in parallel). It returns a baseline score and confirmed accuracy issues. The rubric lives in "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/references/scoring-rubric.md (the agent reads it).

Step 4 — Filter

Read "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/references/generation-rules.md. Apply the Generation Rules Filter and Validation Checklist to every proposed addition/removal from Steps 2–3 before presenting. Drop anything that fails the "if I remove this, will Claude mess up?" test or lacks a reason.

Step 5 — Coverage

Dispatch claudemd-coverage-scout with the directories that lack their own CLAUDE.md and the existing CLAUDE.md locations. It returns own-file / roll-up / already-covered decisions plus anti-pattern guardrails from hack comments.

Scout the whole tree, depth-agnostically — not just top-level modules. The highest-value new files are often deeply nested sub-packages with a distinct sub-architecture (e.g. manager/search/, grid/internal/replica/, dbo/migration/). Gate every candidate on the evidence test "would an agent working from the parent CLAUDE.md make a mistake here?" — never on file count. Load-bearing directories are frequently small (a 4-file id-generator with a transaction gotcha warrants a note; a 50-file "more of the same DAOs" package does not). For a large tree, fan out several coverage-scout agents over disjoint subtrees in one message. Feed the confirmed guardrails and roll-up detail back down per the altitude rule (Step 4 / generation-rules rule 12): a roll-up bullet lands in its parent, a distinct sub-architecture becomes its own child file so its detail leaves the parent.

Step 6 — Present analysis (approval gate)

Read "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/references/report-templates.md. Build the executive summary (with current + projected scores) and a per-file report from the digests. For large change sets, chunk by module and present incrementally — large drift gets MORE scrutiny, not less.

Ask the user to approve, modify, or skip each change set. Write nothing until they approve.

Step 7 — Apply approved changes

For each approved set:

• Updates: use Edit. Preserve structure and voice.
• New module files: use Write. Follow "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}"/skills/evolve-claudemd/references/generation-rules.md (Output Format + section order). Have the coverage-scout's findings in hand; deep-read the module's key files before writing.
• Removals: delete flagged lines; leave no empty section headers.

Verify every specific claim against source before writing it. Sub-agent digests are a map, not ground truth — before committing a bean name, class name, line number, constant, magic value, or exact behavior to a file, confirm it directly in the code (a targeted grep/Read). This catches digest generalizations (e.g. an autowired-List registry vs an explicit-arg setter) that would otherwise ship as authoritative-but-wrong guidance.

The write-guard hook runs after each write. If it reports an issue (empty section header), fix and rewrite.

Step 8 — Optional commit

Offer a commit; never commit without explicit approval. Suggested message:

Update CLAUDE.md files to reflect codebase evolution

- Updated N existing files
- Created N new module files
- Removed N stale references

---

Edge Cases

• CLAUDE.md never committed (null last_commit): audit against the entire current state — no "since" scope.
• Massive change set (hundreds of commits): highest priority — large drift means the file most likely misleads. Chunk by module, process each fully, present incrementally. Do NOT summarize away detail.
• Module deleted but CLAUDE.md remains: flag the file for deletion with what was removed and when.
• Jira/Confluence unavailable: tracker-analyst returns a note; proceed with code + GitHub only and flag constraint-relevance checks for manual review.
• No GitHub remote: preflight prints an empty remote; skip the github-analyst, proceed with local git only.
• Completed epic lifts a constraint: flag the constraint for removal/update with the epic key + completion date.
• File growing very large (200+ lines): consider splitting a child directory into its own CLAUDE.md; present the option.
• Repo has no CLAUDE.md files: suggest /bootstrap-claudemd.

User Tips

• Keep it concise: CLAUDE.md is part of the prompt — every line costs context. Dense beats verbose.
• Actionable commands: all documented commands should be copy-paste ready.
• Regular maintenance: run /evolve-claudemd periodically (monthly or after major feature work) to prevent drift.