scout-repos

name	scout-repos
description	Fetch .claude/ configs from curated repos in sources.yml, compare against dotforge template, report novel patterns.

Scout Repos

Review curated public repos for Claude Code configuration patterns worth adopting.

Step 0: Discover tools

WebFetch and WebSearch are deferred tools — they may not be loaded yet. Run ToolSearch("WebFetch WebSearch") to ensure both tools are available before proceeding.

Step 1: Load sources

Read $DOTFORGE_DIR/practices/sources.yml. Build a list of repos with their focus areas.

Step 2: Fetch each repo's config

For each source, use gh CLI to fetch their Claude Code configuration files:

# Fetch CLAUDE.md
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/CLAUDE.md --jq '.content' | base64 -d 2>/dev/null

# Fetch .claude/ directory listing
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/.claude --jq '.[].name' 2>/dev/null

# Fetch specific files
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/.claude/settings.json --jq '.content' | base64 -d 2>/dev/null
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/contents/.claude/rules --jq '.[].name' 2>/dev/null

If gh fails (rate limit, private repo), try WebFetch on the raw GitHub URL:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{owner}/{repo}/main/CLAUDE.md
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/{owner}/{repo}/main/.claude/settings.json

If both fail, skip the repo and note it in the report.

Step 3: Analyze patterns

For each repo's config, extract patterns in the source's focus areas:

Hooks

• New hook event/matcher combinations not in dotforge
• Novel blocking logic (different from block-destructive or lint-on-save)
• Hook chaining patterns

Settings

• Deny list entries we don't have
• Permission patterns (granular vs wildcard)
• Hook wiring approaches

Rules

• Globs patterns we don't use
• Rule content structure (frontmatter fields, sections)
• Cross-file rule dependencies

Agents

• Agent definitions with novel roles
• Memory policies different from ours
• Orchestration patterns

Commands/Skills

• Custom commands we could generalize
• Skill structures with novel step patterns

Step 4: Compare against dotforge

For each discovered pattern, classify:

• Novel: not in dotforge → high interest, describe what it does and where it would go
• Variant: similar approach but different implementation → medium interest, note tradeoffs
• Superior: does what dotforge does but better → high interest, describe improvement
• Covered: dotforge already has this → skip
• Incompatible: conflicts with dotforge philosophy (e.g., too complex, too opinionated) → skip with note

Step 5: Report

═══ SCOUT REPOS ═══
Date: {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
Repos analyzed: {{N}}/{{total}}
Repos skipped: {{list of inaccessible repos}}

── NOVEL PATTERNS ──

{{repo}} (focus: {{areas}})
  🆕 {{pattern name}}
     What: {{description}}
     Where: {{file in their repo}}
     Impact on dotforge: {{which files would change}}
     Effort: {{low|medium|high}}

── SUPERIOR PATTERNS ──

{{repo}}
  ⬆️ {{pattern name}}
     Theirs: {{what they do}}
     Ours: {{what we do}}
     Why theirs is better: {{reason}}

── VARIANTS ──

{{repo}}
  🔀 {{pattern name}}
     Difference: {{what's different}}
     Tradeoff: {{why we might or might not adopt}}

── SUMMARY ──
Novel: {{N}} | Superior: {{N}} | Variants: {{N}} | Covered: {{N}}
Repos with most learnings: {{top 2-3 repos}}

── NEXT STEPS ──
For each novel/superior pattern:
  /forge capture "{{description from {{repo}}}}"
Then: /forge update to evaluate and incorporate.

Constraints

• DO NOT modify any dotforge files. Report only.
• DO NOT clone repos locally. Use gh api or WebFetch for read-only access.
• Respect rate limits — fetch only files relevant to the source's focus areas.
• If a repo has no .claude/ directory, check for CLAUDE.md only. Skip if neither exists.
• Maximum 10 repos per run to avoid rate limiting.