name: up
description: Use when the user invokes /up or asks to persist a coding-agent rule or preference. Default: repo-level Markdown under the active repo. Use /up --repo for any repo, /up --global for the cross-runtime surfaces.
Update Coding-Agent Instructions
Core contract
Default scope is the active repo, not ~/.claude/. A rule lives in the
repo's Markdown files (CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / README.md / docs/**) where it
naturally applies — with one canonical copy and tight cross-references,
not scattered duplicates. The cross-runtime ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md family is
reached only when a rule must apply across every coding-agent surface in
every session, or when the operator passes --global.
Flags
/up — default, edit the active repo's Markdown files only./up --repo <path> — explicit repo override (when called from outside a repo)./up --global — full cross-runtime rewrite of the ~ surfaces
(legacy behavior; rare)./up --both — repo plus the narrowest needed ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
pointer (the common "this rule is repo-canonical but also useful globally"
case). The repo file gets the full text; the ~ file gets a
one-line pointer that names the repo owner.
Workflow
- Read the proposed instruction; search the active repo's Markdown
(
<repo>/CLAUDE.md, <repo>/AGENTS.md, <repo>/README.md, plus any
existing sub-doc) for the distinctive concepts. Don't search ~ first
unless --global was passed — the repo is the natural owner for most
rules, and editing ~ doesn't help anyone who clones your repo.
- Choose the narrowest owner in this order (first match wins):
- Repo behavior (one repo, scope = this worktree):
<repo>/CLAUDE.md,
<repo>/AGENTS.md, or <repo>/README.md — pick whichever the repo
already uses (look at file mtime + history of edits; if the repo has
CLAUDE.md, prefer it; some repos use only AGENTS.md).
- Multi-step workflow with thresholds / examples / reusable judgment:
a directory-form
skills/<name>/SKILL.md inside the repo under
.claude/skills/... or the repo's own skills dir; check what the
repo already does.
- Cross-runtime invariant needed in every session across machines:
canonical copy in
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md with concise pointers elsewhere.
This is the fallback, not the default.
- Runtime-only behavior: only that runtime's surface.
- Back up the target file before editing. Update the canonical copy once.
If
--both, add a one-line pointer in the ~ file at the right rule
spot — never duplicate the body.
- Keep slash commands as thin dispatchers to skills. Update Hermes
resolver metadata only when command routing changes.
- Machine-local content: never touch per-machine files in another
machine's home; if a rule is non-machine-specific, sync the same
ownership structure through
/mac or /linux. Report unreachable hosts.
Repo-Markdown catalog (default surfaces)
| Repo surface | When |
|---|
<repo>/CLAUDE.md | Repo-scoped rules, machine-local safety, methodology. AGENTS.md symlinks here in many Claude Code setups — write through the symlink target. |
<repo>/AGENTS.md | The newer/orchestrator-agnostic sibling; standalone (not a symlink) on Codex-driven repos. |
<repo>/README.md | User-facing summary; only editable if the rule is genuinely user-visible (rare — behavior rules belong in CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md). |
<repo>/docs/<topic>.md | Long-form docs (architecture, runbooks, design), referenced from CLAUDE.md. |
If the repo already has both CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md and they
disagree, the behavior that already worked is the canonical copy. Add a
cross-reference rather than rewriting both.
Cross-runtime surfaces (only when --global or --both)
| Runtime | Surface |
|---|
| Claude | ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md |
| Codex | ~/.codex/AGENTS.md |
| Gemini | ~/.gemini/GEMINI.md |
| Cursor | ~/.cursor/rules/env-preferences.mdc |
| Hermes | ~/.hermes/workspace/SOUL.md, only for Hermes behavior |
| Hermes routing | ~/.hermes/skills/RESOLVER.md, only for command or skill routing |
Brief-report contract (operational table goes in Markdown, not chat)
When /up writes or updates instructions, produce a brief Markdown
report (default location: <active-repo>/roadmap/up-changelog-<YYYYMMDD-HHMM>.md,
or ~/roadmap/up-changelog-<YYYYMMDD-HHMM>.md for --global). The table
must stay short:
| Surface | Status | One-line reason |
Three columns, one row per touched surface. No prose, no captured-chat —
the file IS the receipt. Do not dump the full table into the chat
reply. A two-line pointer in chat is enough.
Verification
- Grep the canonical surface (and pointers, if any) for the distinctive
phrase. There must be exactly one full semantic copy.
- Confirm every pointer exists in the targeted runtime files.
- After changing a skill, verify YAML frontmatter begins with
---.
- Smoke
codex debug prompt-input when available.
- Run the managed-file tests; brief report file is the only deliverable.
Common failure
Editing all surfaces "for consistency" creates semantic copies that drift.
Consistency = shared ownership + scoped overrides, not repeated prose.
Worse: editing ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md for a repo-specific rule means the
rule lives in your home directory but applies only to one repo — anyone
cloning the repo gets no instructions, anyone forking your home gets
instructions about the wrong repo. Repo scope is the safe default.
