auto-startups-vast

name	auto-startups-vast
version	1.0.0
category	devops
description	Maintain the auto-startups-vast repo — skill symlink management, commit/push workflow, and repo structure conventions.
trigger	When adding, updating, removing, or committing skills in the auto-startups-vast repo, or when setting up symlinks between Hermes skills and the repo.

auto-startups-vast Repo Maintenance

Repo Location

~/repos/auto-startups-vast/
├── README.md
├── .env.example          # Template (never .env)
├── .gitignore
├── skills/                # ← Skills live here (source of truth)
│   ├── runpod-ai/
│   ├── story-to-video/
│   ├── vast-ai/
│   └── workflow-researcher/
├── workflows/
│   ├── comfyui/           # ComfyUI JSON templates
│   └── setup/             # Workflow download/setup scripts
├── discussion-and-docs/
├── scripts/               # Non-skill scripts (provision, bootstrap)
└── temp/                  # Scratch space (.gitignored except whitelisted)

Architecture: Repo = Source of Truth

All git-tracked skill files live in the repo. Hermes skill directories are symlinks pointing into the repo, so editing from either location modifies the same files.

Symlink Map

Hermes Skill Path	Symlink Target (repo)
~/.hermes/skills/creative/story-to-video	~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/story-to-video
~/.hermes/skills/runpod-ai	~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/runpod-ai
~/.hermes/skills/vast-ai	~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/vast-ai
~/.hermes/skills/workflow-researcher	~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/workflow-researcher

Why This Direction?

Git does NOT follow directory symlinks. If the repo holds a symlink → ~/.hermes/skills/, git only stores the symlink target path (e.g., /root/.hermes/skills/creative/story-to-video), not the file contents. Anyone cloning the repo gets a broken symlink.

By making the repo the source of truth and Hermes the symlink, we get:

• ✅ Git tracks real files (cloneable)
• ✅ Edits in Hermes skill dir instantly reflect in repo (same files via symlink)
• ✅ No sync/copy step between commits

Special Cases

• growthlabs-docs references are symlinked to Syncthing vault: ~/.hermes/skills/productivity/growthlabs-docs/references → ~/Syncthing/obsidian-vault/growthlabs-docs. This is NOT in the repo.
• vast-ai/.venv/ is gitignored — it's a local venv, not tracked.

Adding a New Skill to the Repo

1. Create the skill with skill_manage(action='create') — this puts it in ~/.hermes/skills/
2. Move it to the repo:

   mv ~/.hermes/skills/<category>/<skill-name> ~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/<skill-name>
   

3. Replace the original with a symlink:

   ln -s ~/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/<skill-name> ~/.hermes/skills/<category>/<skill-name>
   

4. Commit and push:

   cd ~/repos/auto-startups-vast
   git add skills/<skill-name>/
   git commit -m "feat: add <skill-name> skill"
   git push
   

Removing a Skill from the Repo

1. Remove the Hermes symlink:

   rm ~/.hermes/skills/<category>/<skill-name>
   

2. Remove from repo and commit:

   cd ~/repos/auto-startups-vast
   git rm -r skills/<skill-name>/
   git commit -m "chore: remove <skill-name> skill"
   git push
   

Commit & Push Workflow

Since repo files = real files and Hermes symlinks → repo:

cd ~/repos/auto-startups-vast

# Check what changed (edits via Hermes skill dir show up here)
git status
git diff

# Stage, commit, push
git add -A  # or selective paths
git commit -m "feat(story-to-video): describe change"
git push

No extra sync step needed — edits made through the Hermes symlink path modify the repo files directly.

Pitfalls

1. Never create a directory symlink in the repo pointing to ~/.hermes/skills/. Git won't track the contents. Always put real files in the repo and symlink from Hermes.

2. git add on a directory symlink stages the symlink itself, not the files inside. If you see new file: skills/<name> (without trailing /), it's a symlink — remove it and use real files instead.

3. .env files are gitignored. Never commit secrets. Use .env.example templates instead.

4. __pycache__/ and .venv/ are gitignored. Don't accidentally track Python bytecode or local venvs.

5. When replacing a real directory with a symlink in Hermes, make sure to delete the Hermes directory first, then create the symlink. ln -sf on an existing directory won't work — you must rm -rf first.

6. Verify symlinks after setup:

   ls -la ~/.hermes/skills/creative/story-to-video  # Should show arrow →
   cat ~/.hermes/skills/creative/story-to-video/SKILL.md | head -3  # Should work
   

Verification Commands

# Check all skill symlinks are intact
find ~/.hermes/skills -maxdepth 3 -type l -ls

# Check repo status
cd ~/repos/auto-startups-vast && git status

# Verify a specific symlink resolves
readlink -f ~/.hermes/skills/creative/story-to-video
# Should output: /root/repos/auto-startups-vast/skills/story-to-video