| name | copyroom |
| description | Entry point for all CopyRoom work — scaffolding a repo from a template, template drift and updates, and adopting an existing repo. Routes to the copyroom-adopt and copyroom-template-edit sub-skills for the deep arcs. |
| auto_trigger | {"keywords":["scaffold a repo","template drift","template update","adopt a repo","templatize","copyroom new","copyroom update","copyroom template-checkout","copyroom inspect","copyroom doctor","agent-files","copyroom layer","personal layer","my-ai"]} |
CopyRoom — the coordinator
CopyRoom is a mode-aware CLI wrapper around Copier. It creates projects from
templates (new), updates them (update, a three-way merge), edits a template
from inside a project (template-checkout/template-test/template-preview),
runs a template author's workshop (render/golden/update-test), and adopts
existing repos (adopt/templatize). A repo can be managed by several templates
at once — layers (layer add, update --layer). Full surface: the CLI reference.
The law
- Run everything in
devenv shell. Never invoke bare uv/python/pytest/
copier/git; the shell pins Python and the pinned tools.
- Mode awareness. CopyRoom detects project vs. workshop from markers;
bootstrap commands (
new, adopt, templatize) and doctor/agent-files
run anywhere. Don't assume a command belongs to the current directory's mode.
- Never hand-edit an answers file (
.copier-answers.yml or a layer's
.copier-answers.<name>.yml). Copier regenerates it on every update; manual
edits corrupt the merge base.
- Layers are independent.
update converges one layer. The default is
base; --layer NAME selects another. Never make one layer manage another's
files. Run copyroom layer list to find which template owns a file.
- The template-edit loop is preview-only.
template-preview never applies
anything to the project — apply later with copyroom update <ref>.
- Clean worktree before
update. Commit or stash first; the clean tree is
the undo button (git checkout .).
- Exit codes:
0 ok · 1 finding · 2 infra/config · 3 usage.
Route
| Ask | Go to |
|---|
| Bring an existing repo under template management (adopt/templatize) | the copyroom-adopt skill |
| Edit the template from inside a generated project | the copyroom-template-edit skill |
| Add or converge a second template on a repo (e.g. the personal layer) | copyroom layer add / copyroom update --layer → docs/user/layers.md |
| Everything else (new/update/inspect/status/workshop) | the CLI reference + copyroom --help in the shell |
Detail lives in docs/user/ — read it before improvising; the docs own the facts.
For when to scaffold vs. adopt vs. update across a repo's lifecycle, see the repoman skill.
