sync-skills-shared-protocols

name	sync-skills-shared-protocols
description	[Skill Management] Use when shared protocol checklists change and need propagation across skills.

Codex compatibility note:

• Invoke repository skills with $skill-name in Codex; this mirrored copy rewrites legacy Claude /skill-name references.
• Task tracker mandate: BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all steps and keep it synchronized as progress changes.
• User-question prompts mean to ask the user directly in Codex.
• Ignore Claude-specific mode-switch instructions when they appear.
• Strict execution contract: when a user explicitly invokes a skill, execute that skill protocol as written.
• Subagent authorization: when a skill is user-invoked or AI-detected and its protocol requires subagents, that skill activation authorizes use of the required spawn_agent subagent(s) for that task.
• Do not skip, reorder, or merge protocol steps unless the user explicitly approves the deviation first.
• For workflow skills, execute each listed child-skill step explicitly and report step-by-step evidence.
• If a required step/tool cannot run in this environment, stop and ask the user before adapting.

Codex Project-Reference Loading (No Hooks)

Codex uses static project-reference loading instead of runtime-injected project docs. When coding, planning, debugging, testing, or reviewing, open project docs explicitly using this routing.

Always read:

• docs/project-config.json (project-specific paths, commands, modules, and workflow/test settings)
• docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md (routes to the full docs/project-reference/* catalog)
• docs/project-reference/lessons.md (always-on guardrails and anti-patterns)

Missing/stale context route: If docs/project-config.json, the docs index, lessons.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or any task-required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow setup route ($project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, $scan --target=<key>, $claude-md-init) before ordinary project-specific work. If Codex mirrors or AGENTS.md are missing/stale, ask the user to run $sync-codex; do not auto-run it.

Situation-based docs:

• Backend/CQRS/API/domain/entity changes: backend-patterns-reference.md, domain-entities-reference.md, project-structure-reference.md
• Frontend/UI/styling/design-system: frontend-patterns-reference.md, scss-styling-guide.md, design-system/README.md
• Spec authoring, docs/specs/ pathing, or TC format: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md
• Behavior/public-contract changes or spec-test-code sync: workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md plus the spec docs above
• Derived spec indexes/ERDs/reimplementation guides: spec-system-reference.md and source Feature Specs under docs/specs/
• Integration test implementation/review: integration-test-reference.md
• E2E test implementation/review: e2e-test-reference.md
• Code review/audit work: code-review-rules.md plus domain docs above based on changed files

Do not read all docs blindly. Start from docs-index-reference.md, then open only relevant files for the task.

Quick Summary

Goal: Two operations — (A) propagate updated content for existing SYNC: blocks across all skills, or (B) add a new SYNC: block to all skill/agent files that don't have it yet.

Renamed: formerly /sync-protocols — that name no longer resolves as a slash command; use $sync-skills-shared-protocols.

Canonical source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md

Workflow

Operation A: Update Existing Block Content

Use when a SYNC: block already exists in files and push updated content to all of them.

Step 1: Identify What Changed

If user specifies a tag name (e.g., sync-skills-shared-protocols understand-code-first):

• Sync only that tag

If no tag specified:

• Read sync-inline-versions.md
• Ask user which tag(s) to sync, or "all"

Step 2: Read Canonical Content

For each tag to sync:

1. Read .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md
2. Extract content under ## SYNC:{tag-name} heading (everything between that heading and the next --- or ## SYNC:)

Step 3: Find All Skills with Tag

grep -rl "SYNC:{tag-name}" .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md

Step 4: Replace Content in Each Skill

For each file found:

1. Find <!-- SYNC:{tag-name} --> open tag
2. Find <!-- /SYNC:{tag-name} --> close tag
3. Replace everything between them with the canonical content
4. Do NOT touch :reminder blocks — those are separate, shorter versions

Step 5: Verify

Run these checks after all replacements:

# 1. SYNC tag balance (all opens have matching closes)
# 2. Content matches canonical source
# 3. No content outside SYNC blocks was modified

Report:

• Tags synced
• Files updated (count)
• Any balance issues

Step 6: Reminder Blocks

:reminder blocks (<!-- SYNC:{tag}:reminder -->) are 1-line summaries at the bottom of skills for AI recency attention. These are NOT auto-synced — they are hand-written. Skip them unless user explicitly asks to update reminders too.

---

Operation B: Add a New Block to All Files

Use when a NEW SYNC: block needs to be inserted into all 183 skill/agent files that don't have it yet. This is a bulk-insert operation — not a content-update.

When to use: A new protocol rule is added to .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md and should appear in static carriers (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, Codex, skills, and agents).

Step B1: Add block content to canonical source

Edit .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md and add a new section:

## SYNC:{new-block-name}

> **[Rule content here]**

---

Step B2: Add block to sync-hooks-to-skills.py

Edit .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py:

1. Add entry to BLOCKS dict:

BLOCKS = {
    # ... existing blocks ...
    "new-block-name": """\
<!-- SYNC:new-block-name -->

> **[Full block content here — exactly as it should appear in files]**

<!-- /SYNC:new-block-name -->""",
}

2. Add 1-line reminder to REMINDERS dict:

REMINDERS = {
# ... existing reminders ...
"new-block-name": """\

> **[IMPORTANT]** Use task tracking to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

<!-- SYNC:new-block-name:reminder -->
**MUST ATTENTION** [one-line summary of the rule].
<!-- /SYNC:new-block-name:reminder -->""",
}

3. Add the block name to the relevant tier list(s) (controls which targets receive it + insertion order):

# Skills keep the original 2-block set — do NOT add agent-only rules here.
SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER = ["critical-thinking-mindset", "ai-mistake-prevention"]

# Core-6: every agent (skills/SKILL.md is unaffected).
CORE_BLOCK_ORDER = ["critical-thinking-mindset", "ai-mistake-prevention",
                    "sequential-thinking-protocol", "task-tracking-external-report",
                    "project-reference-docs-guide", "agent-bootstrap"]

# Code-10: Core-6 + code-investigation blocks, for agents that read/review AND fix code.
CODE_BLOCK_ORDER = CORE_BLOCK_ORDER + ["understand-code-first", "evidence-based-reasoning",
                                       "cross-service-check", "fix-layer-accountability"]

# Readonly-Code-8: Core-6 + reading-discipline blocks only, for read-only/design
# agents that locate/read/design code but never fix a layer or cross a service
# boundary (excludes the two mutation-oriented blocks).
READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER = CORE_BLOCK_ORDER + ["understand-code-first", "evidence-based-reasoning"]

Agent tiering: agents no longer share one block list. find_target_files() classifies each .claude/agents/*.md by explicit membership in one of three sets:

• CODE_AGENTS (17 code/review/fix agents → CODE_BLOCK_ORDER, Code-10).
• READONLY_CODE_AGENTS (4 read-only/design agents — researcher, scout, scout-external, ui-ux-designer → READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER, Core-6 + understand-code-first + evidence-based-reasoning; the mutation-oriented cross-service-check + fix-layer-accountability are deliberately excluded to save tokens on agents that only locate/read/design code).
• CORE_ONLY_AGENTS (8 non-code agents → CORE_BLOCK_ORDER, Core-6).

An agent in none of the three sets (or in more than one) raises SystemExit — no silent default; classify it before the script will run. Skills always use SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER. Pass --agents-only to scope a run to agents (skip skills).

Adding a new agent: add its basename to exactly one of CODE_AGENTS / READONLY_CODE_AGENTS / CORE_ONLY_AGENTS in sync-hooks-to-skills.py and in the regression suite .claude/hooks/tests/suites/agent-universal-rules.test.cjs (TC-UAR-005 fails until both agree). The two enforce one invariant.

Note — the inserter is insert-only. Moving an agent from CODE to READONLY_CODE (or otherwise dropping a block from its tier) does NOT remove the now-excess SYNC block from its .md on disk — process_file only inserts missing blocks. Strip the excess block(s) from the agent .md source by hand (or a scoped one-off) so the regression suite's tier assertions pass.

Step B3: Run the script (dry-run first)

python .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py --dry-run --verbose
# Verify: expected N updated, 0 errors

python .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py --verbose
# Verify: 183 updated (or close — some may already have it → skip)

Step B4: Verify

# Confirm target files now contain the new block. Expected count is TIER-AWARE:
#   - block in SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER          → all skills + all agents
#   - block in CORE_BLOCK_ORDER           → all 29 agents (skills excluded)
#   - block in READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER  → 21 agents (17 code + 4 readonly-code)
#   - block in CODE_BLOCK_ORDER           → 17 code agents only
grep -rl "SYNC:new-block-name" .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md .claude/agents/*.md | wc -l

# Then run the agent-coverage regression suite — it asserts tier membership,
# disjointness, and SYNC tag balance across all 29 agents.
node .claude/hooks/tests/run-all-tests.cjs --filter=agent-universal

Check a representative file of each affected tier manually to confirm placement and formatting.

---

Usage Examples

$sync-skills-shared-protocols understand-code-first     # Sync one tag (Operation A)
$sync-skills-shared-protocols all                        # Sync all tags (Operation A)
$sync-skills-shared-protocols                            # Interactive — asks which tags
# Adding new block: use Operation B workflow above (script-driven)

Rules

• ALWAYS edit sync-inline-versions.md FIRST, then run this skill
• NEVER modify content outside <!-- SYNC:tag --> boundaries
• NEVER touch :reminder blocks unless explicitly asked
• If close tag is missing in a target file, SKIP that file and report it as an error
• Use the Grep tool (not shell grep) per project conventions
• Verify tag balance after every sync run
• For bulk-insert (Operation B): use sync-hooks-to-skills.py — NEVER do it manually across 288 files

---

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

Shared Protocol Duplication Policy — Inline protocol content in skills (wrapped in <!-- SYNC:tag -->) is INTENTIONAL duplication. Do NOT extract, deduplicate, or replace with file references. AI compliance drops significantly when protocols are behind file-read indirection. To update: edit .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md first, then grep SYNC:protocol-name and update all occurrences.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Before changing a constant, limit, flag, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow duplication policy: inline protocols are INTENTIONAL, never extract to file references

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

Closing Reminders

Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):

• Critical Thinking: apply critical+sequential thinking; trace every claim, confidence >80%.
• Shared Protocol Duplication: inline protocols are intentional; never extract to file references.
• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION edit sync-inline-versions.md FIRST before syncing to skills IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION verify SYNC tag balance after every sync run IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION NEVER modify content outside <!-- SYNC:tag --> boundaries IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION skip files with missing close tags and report as errors

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using task tracking.

Hookless Prompt Protocol Mirror (Auto-Synced)

Source: .claude/.ck.json + .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md (:full blocks) + .claude/scripts/lib/hookless-prompt-protocol.cjs

[WORKFLOW-EXECUTION-PROTOCOL] [BLOCKING] Workflow Execution Protocol — MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST CRITICAL. Do not skip for any reason.

Generic portability boundary: Reusable skills and protocol text stay project-neutral; project-specific conventions are discovered from docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/. Apply shared AI-SDD from shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md. Read docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md, then open the project reference docs named there. For spec, test-case, behavior-change, public-contract, or docs/specs/ work, route through the local spec docs named by the docs index: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md, and workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md when specs/tests/code must stay synchronized. If either file or a required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init (or the narrow lower-level route such as $project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, or $scan --target=<key>) before ordinary project-specific work. Any supported AI tool may execute when this shared context and local docs are available.

1. DETECT: If the prompt starts with an explicit slash skill/workflow command, execute it directly. Otherwise match the prompt against the workflow catalog and skill list.
2. ANALYZE: Choose the best option: execute directly, invoke a skill, activate a standard workflow, or compose a custom step combination.
3. AUTO-SELECT: Pick the best option yourself. Do not ask the user to choose between direct execution, skill, standard workflow, or custom workflow.
4. ACTIVATE: For a selected workflow, call $start-workflow <workflowId>; for a selected skill, invoke that skill; for a custom workflow, sequence custom steps directly; for direct execution, proceed with the task.
5. CREATE TASKS: task tracking for ALL workflow/skill/custom steps before execution when the selected path has multiple steps.
6. EXECUTE: Advance per the Workflow Step Advancement & Parallel Phases rule in your context instructions — model-driven; a sub-agent completion advances a step identically to an inline call; a parallel-phase group is an all-return barrier (advance only after ALL members return, never serialize it)

Shared AI-SDD Protocol Markers

Source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract

AI-SDD Artifact Contract — Shared spec-driven development rules stay portable and source-owned.

1. Keep reusable AI-SDD principles in .claude; put repository-specific paths, commands, owners, products, and formats in project config/reference docs.
2. Preserve cycle: spec -> plan -> tasks -> implement -> verify -> update spec/docs.
3. Trace every requirement or invariant through decision, task, TC/test, source evidence, and docs/spec update.
4. Treat code-to-spec extraction as reference-only until accepted by the canonical spec owner.
5. Any supported AI tool may plan, implement, review, or verify with synced context; using multiple tools is optional.
6. Update .claude source first, then sync generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md. — why: mirrors are generated artifacts; hand-edits are overwritten on the next sync
7. If docs/project-config.json, root instruction files, or a required project-reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow lower-level route before ordinary project-specific work.

Active reference: shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md in the active skills root.

---

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract:reminder

• MANDATORY Apply shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md; keep reusable AI-SDD in .claude and local rules in project docs.
• MANDATORY Code-to-spec extraction is reference-only until canonical acceptance; any supported AI tool may execute with synced context.
• MANDATORY Update .claude source before syncing generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md.
• MANDATORY Missing or stale project config, root instruction files, or required reference docs route project-specific work through $project-init or the narrow setup route automatically. [TASK-PLANNING] [MANDATORY] BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all planned steps, then keep it synchronized as each step starts/completes.

[LESSON-LEARNED-REMINDER] [BLOCKING] Task Planning & Continuous Improvement — MANDATORY. Do not skip.

Break work into small tasks (task tracking) before starting. Add final task: "Analyze AI mistakes & lessons learned".

Extract lessons — ROOT CAUSE ONLY, not symptom fixes:

1. Name the FAILURE MODE (reasoning/assumption failure), not symptom — "assumed API existed without reading source" not "used wrong enum value".
2. Generality test: does this failure mode apply to ≥3 contexts/codebases? If not, abstract one level up.
3. Write as a universal rule — strip project-specific names/paths/classes. Useful on any codebase.
4. Consolidate: multiple mistakes sharing one failure mode → ONE lesson.
5. Recurrence gate: "Would this recur in future session WITHOUT this reminder?" — No → skip $learn.
6. Auto-fix gate: "Could $code-review/$code-simplifier/$security-review/$lint catch this?" — Yes → improve review skill instead.
7. BOTH gates pass → ask user to run $learn. [CRITICAL-THINKING-MINDSET] Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination principle: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination. AI Attention principle (Primacy-Recency): Put the 3 most critical rules at both top and bottom of long prompts/protocols so instruction adherence survives long context windows. Goal-driven execution: Define success criteria first, loop until verified, and stop only when observable checks pass. Tests verify intent: Tests must protect business rules/invariants and fail when the protected intent breaks, not only mirror current behavior.

Common AI Mistake Prevention (System Lessons)

• Re-read files after context compaction. Edit requires prior Read in same context; compaction wipes read state. Re-read before editing.
• Grep for old terms after bulk replacements. AI over-trusts find/replace completeness. Grep full repo after bulk edits for missed refs in docs/configs/catalogs.
• Check downstream references before deleting. Deletions cascade doc/code staleness. Map referencing files before removal.
• After memory loss, check existing state before creating new. Compaction wipes prior-work memory. Query current state to resume — never blindly duplicate.
• Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, method signatures. Grep to confirm existence before documenting/referencing.
• Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream consumers. Trace the full chain.
• When renaming, grep ALL consumer file types. Some file types silently ignore missing refs (no compile error). Search code, templates, configs, generated files.
• Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Code existing ≠ code executing. Trace early exits, error branches, conditional skips — not just happy path.
• Update docs that embed canonical data when source changes. Docs inlining derived data (workflows, schemas, configs) go stale silently. Update all embedding docs alongside source.
• Verify sub-agent results after context recovery. Background agents may finish while parent compacted — grep-verify output, don't trust assumed completion.
• Cross-check full target list against sub-agent assignments. Parallel sub-agents by category miss boundary items. Reconcile union of assignments against target list before proceeding.
• Sub-agents inherit knowledge only from their agent .md definition — use custom agent types, not built-in Explore. Tool adoption = permission + knowledge + enforcement (numbered workflow step).
• Persist sub-agent findings incrementally, not as a final batch. Long sub-agents hit cutoffs before final write — findings lost. Instruct append-per-section to report file.
• When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace caller (wrong data) vs callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site.
• Grep ALL removed names after extraction/refactoring. Primary file "done" ≠ secondary files clean. Grep entire scope for every removed symbol before declaring complete.
• Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing. Pattern-matching as "wrong" skips context. Before changing any constant/limit/flag: read comments, git blame, surrounding code.