skill-allowlist-syncer

name	skill-allowlist-syncer
description	Fully sync `Skill(<name>)` entries in `.claude/settings.json` under `permissions.allow` with the skills in the repo's `skills/` folder, adding entries for new skills and removing entries for skills that no longer exist.

Skill allowlist syncer

Scan the repo's skills/ folder for skill definitions and reconcile .claude/settings.json so the set of Skill(<name>) entries in permissions.allow exactly matches the current skills. Add entries for new skills and remove entries for skills that no longer exist. Non-skill permission entries (for example Bash(...), Read(...)) are never touched.

Quick start

Run the bundled script from anywhere inside the repo (requires Node.js 24+):

# Check mode: report drift and exit non-zero if any is found.
node skills/skill-allowlist-syncer/scripts/check-skill-allowlist.mjs

# Write mode: reconcile `.claude/settings.json` in place.
node skills/skill-allowlist-syncer/scripts/check-skill-allowlist.mjs --write

Exit codes:

• 0 - allowlist is in sync (check mode) or write succeeded.
• 1 - drift detected in check mode (one or more Skill(<name>) entries to add or remove).
• 2 - configuration error (missing repo root, missing settings.json, invalid JSON, missing skills folder).

Workflow

1. Check. Run the script without --write from the repo root. Read the printed report.
2. If result:ok, stop. The allowlist already matches the skills folder.
3. If result:drift, show the user the lists of entries to add and remove and ask for a one-line yes/no confirmation before applying.
4. Apply. On confirmation, rerun with --write. Confirm the final status line is result:written.
5. Report. Print the final list of skill entries added and removed, plus the absolute path of the file that was updated (the script prints both).

Output format

The script prints a header, three optional sections, and a final status line:

🔍 settings:           <absolute path>
🔍 skills_dir:         <absolute path>
🔍 skills_found:       <count>
🔍 non_skill_entries:  <count>

✅ Already in sync (<count>):
  - Skill(<name>)
  ...

➕ To add (<count>):
  - Skill(<name>)
  ...

➖ To remove (skill folder no longer exists) (<count>):
  - Skill(<name>)
  ...

result:ok|drift|written

Bundled resources

scripts/check-skill-allowlist.mjs

Checks (and, with --write, fixes) Skill(<name>) entries in .claude/settings.json against skills/ subdirectories.

Behavior:

• Locates the repo root via git rev-parse --show-toplevel (override with --repo-root <dir>).
• Reads .claude/settings.json. Uses skills.directory if set; otherwise defaults to skills.
• Collects desired skill names from each immediate skills/*/SKILL.md, parsing the name: field from YAML frontmatter. Falls back to the directory name when name: is missing or empty. Subdirectories without SKILL.md are skipped.
• Buckets permissions.allow entries against the regex ^Skill\(([^)]+)\)$. Non-Skill entries (Bash(...), Read(...), WebSearch, etc.) are always preserved untouched.
• On --write, rebuilds permissions.allow by keeping every non-Skill entry in its original position, then appending the desired Skill(<name>) entries sorted case-insensitively. Writes back with 2-space indentation and a trailing newline.

The script does not invoke any skills; it only edits the settings file.

Constraints

• Operate only on .claude/settings.json (the project-shared settings file). Do not modify .claude/settings.local.json or any user-level settings.
• Use the format Skill(<name>) exactly, with no extra whitespace inside the parentheses.
• Derive each skill name from the name: frontmatter field in SKILL.md. Only fall back to the directory name when the frontmatter is missing or empty.
• Only add or remove entries that match the literal pattern Skill(<name>). Never remove, reorder, or rewrite non-skill permissions.allow entries.
• When removing a stale Skill(<name>) entry, only remove it if <name> is not in the desired skills set.
• Do not modify any other key in settings.json (for example, $schema, skills, env, hooks).
• If .claude/settings.json exists but is not valid JSON, the script exits with code 2; stop and ask the user to fix it before proceeding.
• Do not invoke any of the skills being granted; this skill only edits the settings file.