shimmy-tool-netcat

name	shimmy-tool-netcat
description	Guidance for using, changing, testing, and troubleshooting the Netcat/Ncat shim in this repository, including local image build behavior and network debugging safety.

Netcat Shim

Use this skill when working with shims/netcat, its local image, its tests, its docs, or Netcat/Ncat usage through Shimmy.

Files

• Kind dispatcher: ../../../shims/netcat
• Version shim: ../../../shims/netcat_7_92
• Local image: ../../../images/netcat_7_92/Containerfile
• User docs: ../../../docs/shims/netcat.md
• Tests: ../../../scripts/test-shimmy.sh
• Installer: ../../../scripts/install-shimmy.sh
• README: ../../../README.md
• Contributor guidance: ../../../CONTRIBUTING.md
• Shared prompt: ../../../docs/prompt-shimmy-project.md

Installed Workflow

When this skill is installed outside the Shimmy source checkout, do not rely on the repo-relative Files paths above. Prefer activated commands such as <tool> --version, inspect selected profile state with shimmy status --format manifest, and use SHIMMY_PROFILE_ACTIVE=upstream <tool> --version when validating the upstream profile. Use repo-local paths such as ./shims/<tool> only when intentionally editing or testing source files in the Shimmy checkout.

Current Behavior

• Default image: locally built localhost/shimmy-netcat-7_92:<context-hash>-<platform>
• Image override: SHIMMY_NETCAT_IMAGE
• Build override: SHIMMY_NETCAT_IMAGE_BUILD=always
• Pull override for image overrides: SHIMMY_NETCAT_IMAGE_PULL=always
• Base image override: SHIMMY_NETCAT_BASE_IMAGE
• Default base image: registry.access.redhat.com/ubi9/ubi-minimal:latest
• Runtime mode: stdin-friendly via podman run --rm -i
• Mount: $PWD to /work:rw
• Platform: shared Podman helper resolves linux/amd64 on Linux and linux/arm64 on macOS

Change Rules

1. Keep package installation inside ../../../images/netcat_7_92/Containerfile, not the kind dispatcher.
2. Use SHIMMY_NETCAT_IMAGE only as a full runtime image override; local build args apply only to Shimmy-built images.
3. Keep SHIMMY_NETCAT_IMAGE_PULL=always scoped to external image overrides.
4. Treat network probes as potentially environment-specific. Prefer netcat --help for routine validation.
5. If a Shimmy wrapper fails because of Podman reachability, sandboxing, or AI Agent approval symptoms, follow the shimmy-escalation workflow before using a non-shim fallback.
6. Update the runtime shim, local image, docs, tests, installer behavior, and README together when behavior changes.

Validation

• Direct smoke: ./shims/netcat --help
• Local build validation may pull or build images; use it only when the task changes image behavior.

Learning Guidance

• Capture Netcat-specific lessons here when they affect local image builds, base image choice, network probe behavior, stdin, or ncat package behavior.
• Promote reusable Shimmy design lessons to ../shimmy-create-tool/SKILL.md under Learning Guidance.