| name | nighthawk-local-repos |
| description | Local repository setup, required tools, and mandatory git pull procedure for all Nighthawk researcher agents. Read this skill before starting any research run. |
Nighthawk Local Repository Setup
This skill covers tool requirements, local repo paths, initial clone commands, and the mandatory git pull step that every Nighthawk researcher agent must perform before starting research.
Required Tools
| Tool | Purpose | Verify |
|---|
git | Clone and update local repos | git --version |
| GitHub Copilot in VS Code | Agent runtime (grep_search, file_search, read_file, semantic_search, edit) | Active in workspace |
Microsoft Learn MCP (microsoft-learn/*) | Official documentation, ARM template references | Available as deferred tool |
GitHub MCP (github/search_code etc.) | Remote code search — fallback only if local clone is absent | Available as deferred tool |
Local Repository Paths
All repos are cloned under repos/ in the workspace root. Always search local clones first using grep_search, file_search, read_file, and semantic_search. Only fall back to GitHub MCP if the local clone is missing and cannot be created.
ARO repos
| Repo | Local Path | Remote |
|---|
| ARO-RP | repos/ARO-RP/ | https://github.com/Azure/ARO-RP |
| azure-cli (ARO) | repos/azure-cli/ | https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli |
AKS repos
| Repo | Local Path | Remote |
|---|
| AKS | repos/AKS/ | https://github.com/Azure/AKS |
| AgentBaker | repos/AgentBaker/ | https://github.com/Azure/AgentBaker |
| cloud-provider-azure | repos/cloud-provider-azure/ | https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cloud-provider-azure |
| azure-cli (AKS) | repos/azure-cli/ | https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli |
| azure-cli-extensions | repos/azure-cli-extensions/ | https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli-extensions |
| cilium | repos/cilium/ (priority 3 only) | https://github.com/cilium/cilium |
azure-cli is shared — clone it once, it covers both az aro and az aks.
Initial Clone (one-time setup)
If any repo is missing, clone it with --depth=1 to keep it fast:
mkdir -p repos
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli.git repos/azure-cli
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Azure/ARO-RP.git repos/ARO-RP
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Azure/AKS.git repos/AKS
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Azure/AgentBaker.git repos/AgentBaker
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/cloud-provider-azure.git repos/cloud-provider-azure
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/Azure/azure-cli-extensions.git repos/azure-cli-extensions
Step 0: Pull Latest Code (mandatory before every research run)
Run git pull on the relevant repos in a terminal before starting a research session. This must be done manually by the user or via a terminal outside the agent:
git -C repos/ARO-RP pull --ff-only
git -C repos/azure-cli pull --ff-only
git -C repos/AKS pull --ff-only
git -C repos/azure-cli pull --ff-only
git -C repos/azure-cli-extensions pull --ff-only
git -C repos/AgentBaker pull --ff-only
git -C repos/cloud-provider-azure pull --ff-only
The agent does not run terminal commands. Pull must be done before invoking a researcher agent.
Search Priority
RULE: Local repos before MCP — no exceptions for code.
| Question type | Tool to use |
|---|
| Source code behavior, file paths, logic | grep_search / read_file against repos/ |
| Official docs, how-to guides, ARM schema | microsoft-learn/* MCP tools |
| Commit history / blame not available locally | github/list_commits / github/get_file_contents (last resort) |
| Local clone missing and unrecoverable | GitHub MCP (last resort) |
repos/ is gitignored — always set includeIgnoredFiles: true when using grep_search against it.
