lisa-update-projects

name	lisa-update-projects
description	This skill should be used when updating local Lisa projects in batches. It reads the project list and each project's target branch from the .lisa.workspaces.json workspace config, then for each host project works in a dedicated git worktree based off that target branch, runs the package manager update for @codyswann/lisa, migrates legacy CI workflows, checks for upstream changes, commits, pushes, and opens a PR targeting the configured branch with auto-merge enabled, auto-fixing any blockers to mergeability (upstreaming fixes when needed). As the final step, Lisa upgrades itself. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"CodySwannGT"}

Lisa Update Projects

Updates local Lisa projects in batches by running the package manager update command for @codyswann/lisa in each configured project, which triggers Lisa's postinstall script to apply template changes automatically.

Instructions

1. Read @.lisa.workspaces.json to get the list of host projects and each project's target branch. The file is a JSON map of project path → target branch (e.g. "~/workspace/foo/backend": "staging"); the value is the branch that project's update PR must target. Branches vary per project (main, staging, dev, …) — never assume main. Parse it with jq, never grep/sed.
2. For each project, git fetch the configured target branch from the remote so you have the latest commit to branch from.
3. Do all work for a host project inside a dedicated git worktree based off that project's configured target branch — never modify the project's primary checkout. Create it with the update branch in one step, e.g. git worktree add <worktree-path>/<project>-lisa-update-YYYY-MM-DD -b chore/lisa-update-YYYY-MM-DD origin/<target-branch>, where <target-branch> is the value from @.lisa.workspaces.json. This keeps the project's main working tree untouched, isolates each project's changes, and lets the parallel subagents operate without colliding. Clean up the worktree (git worktree remove) after the PR is opened and the branch is pushed.
4. If you can't create the worktree cleanly (e.g. an update branch already exists, the target branch can't be fetched, or the project has uncommitted changes you'd be discarding), don't do anything for that project. Ask the human what should be done about it before moving on.
5. Check if @codyswann/lisa is in the project's trustedDependencies array in package.json. If missing, add it using jq. Bun only runs postinstall scripts for trusted packages, so without this entry Lisa's postinstall (template application and file deletions) is silently skipped.
6. Determine the project's package manager from package.json engines BEFORE choosing a command. The engines field is authoritative — lockfile presence is not.
   • Read engines with jq -r '.engines // {}' package.json.
   • If engines.bun === "please-use-npm" (or engines.yarn / engines.pnpm use the same sentinel), that package manager is forbidden. Use npm.
   • If a forbidden lockfile exists anyway (e.g., bun.lock in a project where engines.bun === "please-use-npm"), it is rogue — bun ignores the engines string and writes the lockfile if invoked. Delete it (git rm bun.lock) and include the deletion in the commit.
   • Pick the update command from the surviving package manager:
     • bun.lock exists and bun is allowed → bun add -D @codyswann/lisa@latest (use bun add -D <pkg>@latest, not bun update <pkg>. bun update only walks within the existing semver range, so an exact-pinned 1.95.0 or a caret-pinned ^1.95.0 against a new major like 2.x is a no-op. bun add -D <pkg>@latest always resolves to the latest published version and rewrites the manifest.)
     • otherwise → npm install -D @codyswann/lisa@latest (use install -D not update; npm update only bumps within the existing semver range and won't move pinned versions or update the manifest)
   • Bun's postinstall runs templates automatically; npm's does not. After npm install -D, manually run node node_modules/@codyswann/lisa/dist/index.js --yes --skip-git-check . to apply templates.
   • Never run both bun add and npm install against the same project. That perpetuates the dual-lockfile bug. Pick one based on the engines field and stick to it.
7. After updating, check if @codyswann/lisa appears in the project's dependencies (not devDependencies). If so, move it: remove from dependencies and ensure it's in devDependencies. Use jq to check and the package manager to reinstall correctly.
8. Check for legacy inline Claude workflows that need migration. For each file in .github/workflows/ matching claude*.yml, claude*.yaml, auto-update-pr-branches.yml, auto-update-pr-branches.yaml, ci.yml, ci.yaml, deploy.yml, and deploy.yaml:
   • If the workflow has inline steps: blocks instead of calling uses: CodySwannGT/lisa/.github/workflows/reusable-*.yml@main, it is legacy.
   • Detect project capabilities independently (Rails: has bin/rails or config/application.rb; TypeScript: has tsconfig.json or package.json with TypeScript signals). A repo may be both.
   • Apply per-file mapping rules — not a single repo-wide template selection — so dual-stack repos get the correct template for each workflow file:
     • ci.yml/ci.yaml in a Rails project → rails/create-only/.github/workflows/ci.yml (calls quality-rails.yml@main)
     • deploy.yml/deploy.yaml in a Rails project → rails/create-only/.github/workflows/deploy.yml (calls release-rails.yml@main)
     • ci.yml/ci.yaml in a TypeScript-only project → typescript/create-only/.github/workflows/ci.yml (calls quality.yml@main)
     • claude*.yml/claude*.yaml → typescript/create-only/.github/workflows/ (e.g., claude.yml → reusable-claude.yml@main, claude-ci-auto-fix.yml → reusable-claude-ci-auto-fix.yml@main)
     • auto-update-pr-branches.yml/auto-update-pr-branches.yaml → typescript/create-only/.github/workflows/ (calls reusable-auto-update-pr-branches.yml@main)
   • The create-only templates are the source of truth for the correct caller format.
9. Remove stale file: references to bundled ESLint plugins from the project's package.json. Previous Lisa versions copied plugin directories and added file:./ dependencies; current Lisa deletes the directories but the package.json references remain. Use jq to remove these keys from both dependencies and devDependencies if they exist:
   • eslint-plugin-code-organization
   • eslint-plugin-component-structure
   • eslint-plugin-ui-standards
10. Remove stale $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/ references from the project's .claude/settings.json. Previous Lisa versions installed hook scripts into the project's .claude/hooks/ directory and registered them in .claude/settings.json. Current Lisa deletes these scripts via all/deletions.json and provides them through the plugin system (${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/hooks/ in plugin.json) instead. The settings.json references to the deleted scripts cause "No such file or directory" errors. Use jq to:

• Remove any hook entry objects where the command contains $CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR/.claude/hooks/
• Remove entire hook matcher blocks that become empty after removing those entries
• Remove entire hook category arrays that have no remaining matcher blocks
• Preserve all non-file-path hook entries (inline commands like echo ..., command -v entire ..., etc.)

11. Update create-only workflow schedules that have drifted from the current templates. For each create-only workflow in .github/workflows/ (e.g., claude-nightly-jira-triage.yml), compare the cron schedule against the corresponding template in typescript/create-only/.github/workflows/ (or rails/create-only/ for Rails projects) in the Lisa repo. If the project's schedule differs from the template, update it to match. For example, if the template uses 0 */2 * * * but the project still has 0 6 * * 1-5, update the project file.
12. Migrate the back-sync chain to config-driven form. The reusable workflow reusable-claude-sync-down-branches.yml now derives its source→target chain from .lisa.config.json deploy.order + deploy.branches (an explicit chain: in the wrapper still overrides it). For this project, using jq only:
    • Read deploy.branches. If it is absent or declares a single environment, make no change — single-env derives to an empty chain, and both a chain-less and an explicit wrapper stay valid.
    • If it declares multiple environments and deploy.order is missing, add deploy.order as the env-name keys ordered low→high by environment rank (dev < qa/test < staging < preprod/uat < production). If any env name is non-conventional and unrankable, leave deploy.order unset and flag the project for human review rather than guessing.
    • Compute the derived chain from deploy.order + deploy.branches. If .github/workflows/claude-sync-down-branches.yml carries a hardcoded chain: and the derived chain is byte-identical to it, remove the chain: line (and the now-empty with: block) so the wrapper becomes config-driven — behavior is provably unchanged. If the derived chain differs from the hardcoded one, leave both untouched and flag it: the mismatch means the project's deploy.branches/deploy.order disagrees with its actual back-sync wiring, and a human must reconcile which is correct (do not silently "fix" either side).

For steps 4-14, use up to 4 parallel subagents to accomplish those steps.

Fixing Upstream Bugs

If the Lisa postinstall crashes, rolls back changes, or applies incorrect templates during a project update, do not just work around it in the downstream project. Instead:

1. Diagnose the root cause in the Lisa source code at the current working directory.
2. Fix the bug in Lisa (create a branch, commit, push, and open a PR).
3. Wait for the fix to merge and release before continuing project updates, OR apply the workaround in downstream projects only as a temporary measure while the upstream fix is in flight.

Common symptoms that indicate an upstream Lisa bug:

• Postinstall crashes with errors (e.g., missing function, module resolution failures)
• Templates from a parent stack (typescript) overwriting child stack templates (expo, nestjs, cdk) — this means the postinstall crashed after applying parent templates but before child templates could override them, triggering a rollback
• Rollback messages in the postinstall output ([WARN] Rolling back changes...) followed by an error
• Files that should be stack-specific (eslint.config.ts, tsconfig.json, knip.json) containing generic TypeScript config instead of the expected child stack config

The goal is to fix bugs at the source so they don't recur on every future update across all projects.

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Source: CodySwannGT/lisa — distributed by TomeVault.