| name | manage |
| description | Create, update, or delete agents, skills, rules, and hooks with full cross-reference propagation. Trivial edits (typos, small fixes ≤10 words) applied inline without agent; `.md` content-edits delegated to foundry:curator; code file edits (`.js`, `.py`, `.ts`) delegated to foundry:sw-engineer; large cross-ref fan-outs (> 3 files) also delegate. The parent orchestrates MEMORY.md, README, audit, calibration, and the final report. Also manages settings.json permissions atomically with permissions-guide.md. NOT for: validation/quality audit of existing agents/skills (use /foundry:audit); implementing application source code changes outside `.claude/` (use develop:feature or develop:fix — requires `develop` plugin). |
| argument-hint | create <agent|skill|rule> <name> "desc" | update <name> [new-name|"change"|spec.md] | delete <name> | add perm <rule> "desc" "use-case" | remove perm <rule> |
| effort | medium |
| disable-model-invocation | true |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Grep, Glob, Agent, TaskList, TaskCreate, TaskUpdate, AskUserQuestion, Skill |
Note: disable-model-invocation: true — /manage user-invoked only, no Skill() chaining from orchestrators. When suggesting /manage as follow-up, invoking skill must present as user-run command, not auto step.
Manage lifecycle of agents, skills, rules, hooks in .claude/. Handles creation with rich domain content, atomic renames with cross-ref propagation, content editing (trivial edits inline; .md files → foundry:curator; code files *.js/*.py/*.ts → foundry:sw-engineer; rule edits inline), clean deletion with broken-ref cleanup. Keeps MEMORY.md inventory in sync with disk.
-
$ARGUMENTS: required, one of:
create agent <name> "description" — create new agent with generated domain content
create skill <name> "description" — create new skill with workflow scaffold
create rule <name> "description" — create new rule file with frontmatter and sections
update <name> <new-name> — rename; type auto-detected from disk
update <name> "change description" — content-edit; trivial → inline, .md → foundry:curator, code → foundry:sw-engineer, rule → inline
update <name> <spec-file.md> — content-edit from spec file; trivial → inline, .md → foundry:curator, code → foundry:sw-engineer, rule → inline
delete <name> — delete; type auto-detected from disk (agents, skills, rules, hooks); asks user if ambiguous
add perm <rule> "description" "use case" — add permission to settings.json allow list and permissions-guide.md
remove perm <rule> — remove permission from settings.json allow list and permissions-guide.md
-
Names must be kebab-case (lowercase, hyphens only)
-
Descriptions must be quoted when containing spaces
-
Permission rules use Claude Code format: WebSearch, Bash(cmd:*), WebFetch(domain:example.com)
-
--skip-audit — optional flag: skip Step 9 /audit validation (use inside audit fix loop to avoid recursion)
-
Spec-file paths must be quoted — update <name> <spec-file.md> requires the spec path quoted if it contains any whitespace (e.g. update my-agent "docs/My Spec.md"); unquoted paths with spaces split into multiple arguments and trigger argument-shape mismatch. Recommended: keep spec filenames free of spaces.
Update/delete mode — name looked up across agents, skills, rules automatically:
- One match on disk → proceed with that type
- Multiple matches →
AskUserQuestion: (a) agent, (b) skill, (c) rule
- No match → report error and stop
Update second-argument discrimination:
- Two bare kebab-case args (second arg no spaces, no
.md extension) → rename mode
- One name + quoted string → content-edit mode (trivial → inline;
.md: foundry:curator; code *.js/*.py/*.ts: foundry:sw-engineer; rule: inline)
- One name + path ending in
.md → content-edit mode (trivial → inline; .md: foundry:curator; code *.js/*.py/*.ts: foundry:sw-engineer; rule: inline)
Examples:
/foundry:manage create agent task-planner "Planning specialist for decomposing epics into actionable tasks"
/foundry:manage update my-agent "add a section on error handling patterns"
/foundry:manage update optimize docs/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-<spec-name>.md
/foundry:manage delete old-agent-name
/foundry:manage add perm "Bash(jq:*)" "Parse and filter JSON" "Extract fields from REST API responses"
- AGENTS_DIR:
.claude/agents
- SKILLS_DIR:
.claude/skills
- RULES_DIR:
.claude/rules
- HOOKS_DIR:
.claude/hooks
- AVAILABLE_COLORS: indigo, lime, magenta, teal, violet
Each Step 4 spawn applies the health monitoring in _shared/agent-spawn-protocol.md §8b — rely on the harness completion notification, then read the agent's output file; optional single health_sentinel.py probe per turn (no sleep loop). Substitute only its own <ID> suffix and output-file glob; do not re-paste the snippet per spawn.
Colors in use are read from the live Grep in Step 3 (authoritative) — no static used-color list to maintain. AVAILABLE_COLORS is the candidate pool for a new agent; pick the first entry not already in the Step-3 set.
Task hygiene: call TaskList first; close orphaned tasks. Task tracking: create tasks for each major phase; mark in_progress/completed throughout.
Step 1: Parse and validate
Extract operation, type, name, optional arguments from $ARGUMENTS.
export CSID="${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$PPID}"
SKIP_AUDIT=false
[[ "$ARGUMENTS" == *"--skip-audit"* ]] && SKIP_AUDIT=true
ARGUMENTS=$(echo "$ARGUMENTS" | sed 's/\(^\|[[:space:]]\)--skip-audit\([[:space:]]\|$\)/ /g' | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//' | sed 's/[[:space:]]*$//')
echo "$SKIP_AUDIT" > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-skip-audit-${CSID}"
echo "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-skip-audit-${CSID}" > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-skip-audit-path-${CSID}"
Unsupported flag check — after all supported flags extracted (--skip-audit), scan $ARGUMENTS for remaining --<token> tokens. If found: print ! Unknown flag(s): \--`. Supported: `--skip-audit`.then invokeAskUserQuestion` — (a) Abort (stop, re-invoke with correct flags) · (b) Continue ignoring (skip unknown flags, proceed). On Abort: stop.
Validation rules:
- Name must match
^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$ (kebab-case)
- For
create: name must NOT already exist on disk; description required
- For
update/delete: name MUST already exist on disk
- For
update rename: new-name must NOT already exist on disk
- For
add perm: rule must NOT already exist in settings.json allow list; description and use case required
- For
remove perm: rule MUST already exist in settings.json allow list
Type auto-detection (for update and delete): first verify post-install context exists:
[ -d .claude/agents ] || { printf "! .claude/agents not found — run /foundry:setup first or confirm working directory is project root\n"; exit 1; }
Then run all four Glob checks in parallel:
- Agent: pattern
agents/<name>.md, path .claude/
- Skill: pattern
skills/<name>/SKILL.md, path .claude/
- Rule: pattern
rules/<name>.md, path .claude/
- Hook: pattern
hooks/<name>.js, path .claude/
Results:
- One non-empty result → resolved type; proceed
- Multiple non-empty results →
AskUserQuestion: "Multiple entities named <name> found. Which one? (a) agent (b) skill (c) rule (d) hook" — note: (d) hook valid for update and delete only; create hook not yet implemented (use Edit tool on hooks/<name>.js directly until create-hook mode added)
- All empty → report "No agent, skill, rule, or hook named
<name> found" and stop
For create, check only relevant type's path.
Delete confirmation gate — when $MODE is delete, immediately after type resolution invoke AskUserQuestion: "Delete <name> (<type>)? This cannot be undone. (a) Confirm · (b) Abort". On Abort: stop. On Confirm: proceed to Step 4.
jq -e --arg rule '<rule>' '.permissions.allow | index($rule) != null' .claude/settings.json >/dev/null 2>&1
Update second-argument discrimination — apply after type resolved. Set shell variable MODE from the parsed operation; consumed by the delete confirmation gate above, the edit-complexity classifier below, and the per-mode workflow branches in Step 4. Recognised values: create, rename, content-edit, delete, add-perm, remove-perm.
| Argument shape | MODE |
|---|
create <type> <name> "..." | create |
update <name> <new-name> (two bare kebab-case args; second has no spaces, no .md) | rename (validate new-name does NOT already exist) |
update <name> "<change>" (one name + quoted string) | content-edit (validate spec non-empty; set DIRECTIVE = the quoted string) |
update <name> <spec>.md (one name + path ending in .md; must be quoted if path contains spaces) | content-edit (validate spec file exists on disk and path ends in .md; report error if not found; set DIRECTIVE = contents of the spec file via Read tool) |
delete <name> | delete |
add perm <rule> "..." "..." | add-perm |
remove perm <rule> | remove-perm |
Assign MODE in shell before the edit-complexity classification below so the [[ "$MODE" == "content-edit" ]] guard fires correctly:
If validation fails, report error and stop.
Edit complexity classification (content-edit mode only):
Classify $DIRECTIVE as trivial when ALL conditions hold:
| Condition | Required |
|---|
| Word count ≤ 10 | ✓ |
Matches pattern: typo, spelling, rename X to Y, change X to Y, replace X with Y, fix (a/the)? (typo/bug/error), add missing, remove [word], correct | ✓ |
Both must hold — either failing → substantive. Trivial edits: apply inline with Edit tool — no agent spawn.
Step skip rules:
- Perm operations: skip Steps 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 — go Step 1 → Step 4 → Step 10
- Hook operations: skip Steps 2, 3, 6 (no color inventory, no MEMORY.md roster entry, no README table row); in Steps 5 and 7 skip cross-ref propagation (hook filenames not referenced from agent/skill markdown) — go Step 1 → Step 4 → Step 9 → Step 10
- Content-edit operations: skip Step 2 (entity already exists); skip Step 3 color inventory (no create); in Steps 5–7 only update cross-refs and README if name or description changed. Step 6 count: only update if name added or removed — content-only edits do not change agent/skill count.
- Trivial content-edits: additionally skip Steps 6–7 (no roster/description change possible); proceed Step 1 → Step 4 → Step 8 → Step 10
Step 2: Overlap review (create only)
Before creating, check if existing agents/skills already cover requested functionality:
- Read descriptions of all existing agents (use
Read(file_path=..., limit=3) on each .md in agents/) and skills (use Read(file_path=..., limit=3) on each SKILL.md)
- Compare new description against each existing — look for domain overlap, similar workflows, redundant scope
- Present findings:
- No overlap: proceed to Step 3
- Partial overlap: name overlapping agent/skill, explain coverage vs what new one adds, use
AskUserQuestion: "Extend existing (Recommended)" / "Proceed" / "Abort"
- Strong overlap: recommend against creation — suggest using or extending existing agent/skill
Skip for update, delete, perm operations.
Step 3: Inventory current state
Snapshot current roster for later comparison. Steps 2 and 3 are independent reads — issue Glob calls for both in same response.
Use Glob (pattern agents/*.md, path .claude/) for agents and Glob (pattern skills/*/, path .claude/) for skills. Use Grep (pattern ^color:, glob agents/*.md, path .claude/, output mode content) to collect colors in use.
Extract names inline from Glob results — strip .claude/agents/ prefix and .md suffix for agents; strip .claude/skills/ prefix and trailing / for skills; strip .claude/rules/ prefix and .md suffix for rules. Sort alphabetically when building roster string.
Step 4: Execute operation
Mode: Create Agent
-
Fetch latest Claude Code agent frontmatter schema:
Health monitoring (CLAUDE.md §6): after spawning the web-explorer agent, apply the §8b boilerplate from _shared/agent-spawn-protocol.md with <ID> = web-explorer and find glob agent-schema.md (poll path .cache/manage).
- Read returned summary; extract: valid frontmatter fields (
name, description, tools, disallowedTools, model, permissionMode, maxTurns, effort, initialPrompt, skills, mcpServers, hooks, memory, background, isolation, color), current model shorthands, new fields
- Note new fields worth including. Adjust template to reflect current schema. If new field broadly useful for agent's role (e.g.
maxTurns for long-running agents), include with sensible default and inline comment.
-
Pick first unused color from AVAILABLE_COLORS pool (compare against Step 3 colors)
-
Choose model based on role complexity:
opusplan — plan-gated roles (solution-architect, oss:shepherd, foundry:curator)
opus — complex implementation roles (foundry:sw-engineer, research:scientist, foundry:perf-optimizer)
sonnet — focused execution roles (research:data-steward (requires research plugin), foundry:web-explorer, foundry:doc-scribe, foundry:creator, foundry:qa-specialist, oss:cicd-steward)
haiku — high-frequency diagnostics ONLY (e.g. linting-expert); NOT for analysis/auditing roles that require substantive reasoning
-
Resolve template path (cascade primary → project-local → cache scan; only the cache scan runs if neither cheaper path exists, since each candidate must satisfy -d before being assigned):
MANAGE_TPL=$(python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/resolve_skill_subdir.py" manage templates) || { printf "! BREAKING: manage templates not found — run /foundry:setup first\n"; exit 1; }
- Spawn foundry:sw-engineer subagent to scaffold and write the agent file.
foundry:curator is the wrong delegate here — its NOT-for explicitly excludes creating or scaffolding agents/skills; curator only reviews and edits existing config. foundry:sw-engineer owns scaffolding (treat agent .md as a config artifact whose authoring is a software task — frontmatter schema, tool selection, structural completeness).
Before passing schema file path to sw-engineer: verify file exists on disk using Read tool (limit=1). If schema file path from JSON envelope does not exist, proceed with default frontmatter fields (name, description, model, color) — note omission in Step 10 report.
Run `cat "<MANAGE_TPL>/agent-scaffold.md"` via the Bash tool (substitute resolved path from bash block above — do not pass literal `$MANAGE_TPL` to the agent).
Also read the schema file at the path returned in the step 1 JSON to incorporate any new frontmatter fields (skip if schema file not found — use default frontmatter fields: name, description, model, color).
Scaffold `.claude/agents/<name>.md` with:
- Frontmatter: name=<name>, description=<description>, model=<model>, color=<color>; add any broadly-useful new fields from the schema
- Body: rich domain-specific content for the role described by the description, following all content rules and tool selection guidelines in the scaffold template
Write the file using the Write tool.
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","file":".claude/agents/<name>.md","lines":N,"confidence":0.N}
Health monitoring (CLAUDE.md §6): after spawning the foundry:sw-engineer agent, apply the §8b boilerplate from _shared/agent-spawn-protocol.md with <ID> = sw-engineer-agent and the find glob matching this agent's output files.
CRITICAL — worktree isolation copy: foundry:sw-engineer runs with isolation: worktree — scaffolded file lands in a temporary worktree, not the main tree. After agent completes: (1) read the worktree path from the agent result (returned in worktree field or as part of the result message); (2) run: cp <worktree-path>/.claude/agents/<name>.md .claude/agents/<name>.md (substitute actual paths); (3) proceed with Steps 5–9 on the main-tree copy. Without this step, Steps 5–9 Globs find nothing.
Mode: Create Skill
-
Fetch latest Claude Code skill frontmatter schema:
Health monitoring (CLAUDE.md §6): after spawning the web-explorer agent, apply the §8b boilerplate from _shared/agent-spawn-protocol.md with <ID> = web-explorer-skill and the find glob matching this agent's output files.
- Read returned summary; extract: valid frontmatter fields (
name, description, argument-hint,disable-model-invocation, user-invocable, allowed-tools, model, effort, shell, paths, context, agent, hooks), new fields
- Note new fields worth including. Adjust template to reflect current schema. Include
model or context: fork only when skill's purpose clearly benefits.
-
Re-resolve MANAGE_TPL at the start of each skill invocation; do not assume it is set from a prior step. Most /foundry:manage create skill ... invocations enter Create Skill mode directly without going through Create Agent first, so the variable will be unset. Run the resolution block from Create Agent step 4 above (cascade primary → project-local → cache scan with the -d guards) before reading any template path.
-
Resolve $_FOUNDRY_SHARED before spawning — sub-agents do not inherit shell variables:
_FOUNDRY_SHARED=$(python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/resolve_shared_path.py" foundry skills/_shared 2>/dev/null || echo "plugins/cc_foundry/skills/_shared")
echo "Shared dir: $_FOUNDRY_SHARED"
Spawn foundry:sw-engineer subagent to create directory and scaffold the skill file (foundry:curator NOT-for excludes scaffolding new agents/skills — see Create Agent rationale above):
Run: `mkdir -p .claude/skills/<name>` using the Bash tool.
Run `cat "<MANAGE_TPL>/skill-scaffold.md"` via the Bash tool (substitute resolved path from bash block above — do not pass literal `$MANAGE_TPL` to the agent).
Also read the schema file at the path returned in the step 1 JSON to incorporate any new frontmatter fields.
Run `cat "<_FOUNDRY_SHARED>/bin-authoring-guide.md"` via the Bash tool (substitute resolved `$_FOUNDRY_SHARED` value from bash block above — echoed as `"Shared dir: <path>"`) and follow it — before writing any fenced code block in the new SKILL.md, apply the extraction gate. Write a bin/ script directly if verdict is MEDIUM or HIGH. Also apply the Prose over Code check (bin-authoring-guide.md §Prose over Code): if tokens(block) > tokens(equivalent prose/table/schema) at identical precision — write prose/table instead of the code block. Exempt: examples, templates, exact-syntax blocks. For any bin/ script returning 2+ values: apply §Script Output Routing — write each value to `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/<skill>-<name>-${CSID}` file; skill checks exit code only; never `eval` stdout.
Scaffold `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` with:
- Frontmatter: name=<name>, description=<description>; add other fields per schema and scaffold guidance
- Body: rich workflow scaffold derived from the description, following all content rules in the scaffold template
Write using the Write tool.
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","file":".claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md","lines":N,"confidence":0.N}
Health monitoring (CLAUDE.md §6): after spawning the foundry:sw-engineer agent, apply the §8b boilerplate from _shared/agent-spawn-protocol.md with <ID> = sw-engineer-skill and the find glob matching this agent's output files.
Mode: Update Agent (rename)
Atomic rename — write new file before deleting old:
-
Read .claude/agents/<old-name>.md using the Read tool.
-
Write new file to .claude/agents/<new-name>.md using the Write tool (copy content of old file with name: line updated to <new-name>).
-
Verify new file exists and is valid: Read(file_path=".claude/agents/<new-name>.md", limit=5)
rm .claude/agents/<old-name>.md
Mode: Update Skill (rename)
Atomic rename — create new directory before removing old:
-
Create new directory:
mkdir -p .claude/skills/<new-name>
-
Read old SKILL.md, update name: line in frontmatter, Write to new location.
After updating name: in frontmatter: also scan the new SKILL.md body for TRIGGER conditions, NOT-for lines, and example invocations that still reference the old skill name — update those inline with Edit tool before proceeding to Step 5.
-
Verify new file exists: Read(file_path=".claude/skills/<new-name>/SKILL.md", limit=5)
rm -r .claude/skills/<old-name>
Mode: Delete Agent
rm .claude/agents/<name>.md
Mode: Delete Skill
rm -r .claude/skills/<name>
Mode: Update Agent/Skill (content-edit)
Before executing type-specific content-edit mode, determine approach:
File-type → agent routing:
| File extension | Agent |
|---|
.md (agents, skills, SKILL.md) | foundry:curator |
.js, .py, .ts, .sh (code) | foundry:sw-engineer |
Rule .md (under rules/) | inline Edit — no agent |
If EDIT_TRIVIAL=true (classified in Step 1):
- Read file using Read tool
- Apply directive directly using Edit tool — no agent spawn
- Proceed to Step 8; skip Steps 5–7 unless name or description changed in edit
If EDIT_TRIVIAL=false: proceed to type-specific mode below for full agent-delegated edit.
Mode: Content-Edit Agent
- Determine change directive:
- Quoted description → use as-is
- Spec file path → Read spec file; use content as directive
- Resolve
_FS_VAL (concrete path) before constructing spawn prompt — sub-agents do not inherit shell variables, so the prompt must contain a literal path, not a $VAR reference:
_FS_VAL=$(python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/resolve_shared_path.py" foundry skills/_shared 2>/dev/null || echo "plugins/cc_foundry/skills/_shared")
echo "Shared dir for curator prompt: $_FS_VAL"
- Spawn foundry:curator subagent — substitute
<_FS_VAL> with the path from above when emitting the prompt:
Read `.claude/agents/<name>.md`.
Apply this change: <directive>
Rules:
- Preserve frontmatter fields (name, description, tools, model, color) unless the change explicitly targets them
- Preserve XML tags (<role>, <workflow>, <notes>) — targeted edits only; do not rewrite unchanged sections
- If the change modifies the agent's purpose: update the description: frontmatter field
- If the change adds any fenced code block: run `cat "<_FS_VAL>/bin-authoring-guide.md"` via the Bash tool and apply the extraction gate — write a bin/ script instead if verdict is MEDIUM or HIGH. Also apply the Prose over Code check (bin-authoring-guide.md §Prose over Code): if tokens(block) > tokens(equivalent prose/table/schema) at identical precision — write prose/table instead of the code block. Exempt: examples, templates, exact-syntax blocks. For any bin/ script returning 2+ values: apply §Script Output Routing — write each to `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/<skill>-<name>-${CSID}` file; never `eval` stdout.
- After editing: verify XML tag balance, step numbering, cross-ref validity
Write all changes using the Edit tool.
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","file":".claude/agents/<name>.md","edits":N,"description_changed":true|false,"confidence":0.N}
Use description_changed from returned JSON to decide whether Steps 5–7 need cross-ref propagation.
Mode: Content-Edit Skill
- Determine change directive (same as Content-Edit Agent).
- Resolve
_FS_VAL (concrete path) before constructing the spawn prompt:
_FS_VAL=$(python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/resolve_shared_path.py" foundry skills/_shared 2>/dev/null || echo "plugins/cc_foundry/skills/_shared")
echo "Shared dir for curator prompt: $_FS_VAL"
- Spawn foundry:curator subagent — substitute
<_FS_VAL> with the path from above:
Read `.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md`.
Apply this change: <directive>
Rules:
- Preserve frontmatter fields (name, description, argument-hint, disable-model-invocation, allowed-tools)
- Preserve XML tags (<objective>, <inputs>, <workflow>, <notes>) — targeted edits only; do not rewrite unchanged sections
- If the change modifies the skill's purpose: update the description: frontmatter field
- If the change adds any fenced code block: run `cat "<_FS_VAL>/bin-authoring-guide.md"` via the Bash tool and apply the extraction gate — write a bin/ script instead if verdict is MEDIUM or HIGH. Also apply the Prose over Code check (bin-authoring-guide.md §Prose over Code): if tokens(block) > tokens(equivalent prose/table/schema) at identical precision — write prose/table instead of the code block. Exempt: examples, templates, exact-syntax blocks. For any bin/ script returning 2+ values: apply §Script Output Routing — write each to `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/<skill>-<name>-${CSID}` file; never `eval` stdout.
- After editing: verify XML tag balance, step numbering, workflow gate completeness
Write all changes using the Edit tool.
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","file":".claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md","edits":N,"description_changed":true|false,"confidence":0.N}
Use description_changed from returned JSON to decide whether Steps 5–7 need cross-ref propagation.
Mode: Content-Edit Rule
- Read
.claude/rules/<name>.md using the Read tool.
- Determine change directive (same as Content-Edit Agent).
- Apply changes directly using the Edit tool:
- Preserve YAML frontmatter (description, paths) unless change explicitly targets them
- Rule files are free-form markdown with
## sections — no XML tags
- Targeted edits — do not rewrite unchanged sections
- Adding new section: match heading level and style of existing sections
- If change modifies rule's scope: also update
description: and paths: frontmatter fields
- After editing: verify YAML frontmatter valid, no broken internal references
Mode: Create Rule
No schema fetch needed — rule files simpler than agents/skills (only frontmatter + free-form markdown sections).
Rule scope guidance: empty paths: = global rule (applies everywhere); populated paths: = scoped (e.g., paths: ["src/**/*.py"] for Python-only rules). Default to global unless rule is clearly language/directory-specific.
Write .claude/rules/<name>.md with this structure:
---
description: <one-line description from user>
paths:
- '<glob pattern matching the rule's scope>'
---
## <First Section Title>
[Real domain-specific rules derived from the description — not generic boilerplate. 20-60 lines total.]
Content rules:
- Generate real domain content from description (e.g., for "torch-patterns": actual PyTorch patterns, not generic "write clean code")
- Use
## sections for major topics, bullets for individual rules
- Include code examples only when they carry domain-specific patterns
- Match tone and density of existing rules files (terse, imperative, no padding)
Mode: Update Rule (rename)
Atomic update — write new file before deleting old:
- Read
.claude/rules/<old-name>.md using the Read tool.
- Rule files have no
name: frontmatter field — filename IS identifier. Write new file at .claude/rules/<new-name>.md with identical content.
- Verify new file exists:
Read(file_path=".claude/rules/<new-name>.md", limit=5)
rm .claude/rules/<old-name>.md
Mode: Delete Rule
rm .claude/rules/<name>.md
Mode: Content-Edit Hook
Hook files are JavaScript — delegate to foundry:sw-engineer (not foundry:curator):
- Determine change directive (same as Content-Edit Agent).
- Spawn foundry:sw-engineer subagent:
Read `.claude/hooks/<name>.js`.
Apply the hook authoring standards from the `\<hook_authoring>` section in your agent definition — file-header structure, exit code semantics, stdin pattern, and anti-patterns.
Apply this change: <directive>
Rules:
- Preserve the file header block (PURPOSE, HOW IT WORKS, EXIT CODES) unless the change explicitly modifies that logic
- Preserve CommonJS require() style; do not convert to ESM
- stdin must use event-based accumulation (process.stdin.on("data"/"end")); never readFileSync("/dev/stdin")
- All subprocess calls must use execFileSync or spawnSync (args array — no execSync with shell strings)
- All logic must be wrapped in try/catch; catch always exits 0
- After editing: verify exit codes match documented cases, no shell injection surface added
Write all changes using the Edit tool.
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","file":".claude/hooks/<name>.js","edits":N,"confidence":0.N}
Mode: Delete Hook
rm .claude/hooks/<name>.js
After deleting the hook file, also remove its entry from .claude/settings.json so Claude Code does not invoke a missing script. Identify the hook's matcher pattern (the entry's matcher field, or command substring containing the deleted filename) and run jq to strip every block referencing it. Substitute <name> with the deleted hook's basename (no .js suffix):
export CSID="${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$PPID}"
HOOK_NAME="<name>"
echo "$HOOK_NAME" > "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-hook-name-${CSID}"
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/remove_hook_from_registry.py" \
--json-file .claude/settings.json \
--hook-name "$HOOK_NAME" \
--path-pattern "\\.claude/hooks/${HOOK_NAME}\\.js"
Verify the entry is gone:
export CSID="${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$PPID}"
IFS= read -r HOOK_NAME < "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-hook-name-${CSID}" 2>/dev/null || HOOK_NAME=""
jq --arg hook "$HOOK_NAME" '[.. | objects | select(.command? // "" | test($hook + "\\.js"))] | length' .claude/settings.json
Also update plugin hooks.json registry — if the deleted hook was registered in the foundry plugin's own hooks.json, /foundry:setup would re-add it to settings.json on the next sync, resurrecting a broken reference. Strip the matching entry from the plugin registry too:
export CSID="${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$PPID}"
IFS= read -r HOOK_NAME < "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-hook-name-${CSID}" 2>/dev/null || HOOK_NAME=""
PLUGIN_HOOKS_JSON="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/hooks/hooks.json"
if [ -f "$PLUGIN_HOOKS_JSON" ]; then
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/remove_hook_from_registry.py" \
--json-file "$PLUGIN_HOOKS_JSON" \
--hook-name "$HOOK_NAME" \
--path-pattern "${HOOK_NAME}\\.js"
jq --arg hook "$HOOK_NAME" '[.. | objects | select(.command? // "" | test($hook + "\\.js"))] | length' "$PLUGIN_HOOKS_JSON"
else
printf " (no plugin hooks.json at %s — skipping registry cleanup)\n" "$PLUGIN_HOOKS_JSON"
fi
Mode: Add Permission
Adds rule to both settings.json and permissions-guide.md atomically.
-
Determine guide category from rule prefix:
WebSearch → ## Web
WebFetch(domain:...) → ## WebFetch — allowed domains
WebFetch (bare, no domain) → ## WebFetch — allowed domains
Agent(subagent_type:*) → ## Shell utilities (agent dispatch rules)
mcp__* → ## Shell utilities (MCP tool rules)
Bash(gh ...) → ## GitHub CLI — read-only
Bash(git log:*), Bash(git show:*), Bash(git diff:*), Bash(git rev-*:*), Bash(git ls-*:*), Bash(git -C:*), Bash(git branch:*), Bash(git tag:*), Bash(git status:*), Bash(git describe:*), Bash(git shortlog:*) → ## Git — read-only
Bash(git add:*), Bash(git checkout:*), Bash(git stash:*), Bash(git restore:*), Bash(git clean:*), Bash(git apply:*) → ## Git — local write
Bash(pytest:*), Bash(python ...), Bash(ruff:*), Bash(mypy:*), Bash(pip ...) → ## Python toolchain
Bash(brew ...), Bash(codex:*) → ## macOS / ecosystem
- All other
Bash(...) → ## Shell utilities
-
Update settings.json — atomic jq edit via shared helper:
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/jq_write.py" .claude/settings.json '.permissions.allow += [$rule]' --arg rule "<rule>"
-
Also append to plugin's permissions-allow.json so /foundry:setup syncs it to ~/.claude/settings.json on reinstall:
PERM_FILE="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/.claude-plugin/permissions-allow.json"
if [ -f "$PERM_FILE" ]; then
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/jq_write.py" "$PERM_FILE" '. += [$rule] | unique' --arg rule "<rule>"
fi
-
Update permissions-guide.md — append new row to end of correct section (before its trailing --- separator). New row format:
| `<rule>` | <description> | <use case> |
Use Edit tool to insert row: find last table row in target section and insert after it.
-
Verify both files updated:
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/verify_perm.py" "<rule>" .claude/settings.json .claude/permissions-guide.md present
Mode: Remove Permission
Removes rule from both settings.json and permissions-guide.md atomically.
-
Update settings.json — atomic jq edit via shared helper:
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/jq_write.py" .claude/settings.json 'del(.permissions.allow[] | select(. == $rule))' --arg rule "<rule>"
-
Update permissions-guide.md — use Edit tool to remove table row containing `<rule>`.
-
Verify both files clean:
python "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-plugins/cc_foundry}/bin/verify_perm.py" "<rule>" .claude/settings.json .claude/permissions-guide.md absent
Step 5: Propagate cross-references
Search all .claude/ markdown files for changed name and update references:
Use Grep to find all references:
- Pattern
<name>, glob agents/*.md, path .claude/, output mode content
- Pattern
<name>, glob skills/*/SKILL.md, path .claude/, output mode content
- Pattern
<name>, glob rules/*.md, path .claude/, output mode content
- Pattern
<name>, file .claude/CLAUDE.md, output mode content
- Pattern
<name>, file README.md, output mode content
For update (rename): Count files grep returns. ≤ 3 files: apply inline with Edit tool. > 3 files: spawn foundry:curator subagent. For hook renames: also update hook entry in .claude/settings.json hooks array if hook filename referenced there by path.
Apply these cross-reference updates (<old-name> → <new-name>):
<list each file path with the required substitution>
Use the Edit tool for each file (replace_all: true where appropriate).
Return ONLY: {"status":"done","files_updated":N}
For delete: Review each reference. Deleted name in:
- Cross-ref suggestion — remove or replace with closest alternative
- Inventory list — remove entry
- Workflow spawn directive — flag for manual review
For create: No cross-ref propagation needed.
For content-edit: Run propagation only if entity's description: frontmatter changed — propagate new description to any MEMORY.md or README summary lines that quote it. Skip if only internal content changed.
Rename occurrence validation (rename mode only)
After cross-reference propagation, scan for remaining occurrences using word-boundary matching to reduce noise from short or common names:
rg --fixed-strings -n '\b<old-name>\b' plugins/ .claude/ README.md docs/ 2>/dev/null \
|| grep -rn "\b<old-name>\b" plugins/ .claude/ README.md docs/ 2>/dev/null \
| grep -v ".git/" | grep -v "__pycache__"
Grep returns zero hits: report "✓ No remaining occurrences of <old-name> found." and proceed.
Large hit set gate — hits exceed 50: invoke AskUserQuestion before classifying: "Found N occurrences of <old-name> — this name may be too generic for safe automated classification. Proceed with classification or abort?" Options: (a) Proceed · (b) Abort. On abort: stop and report to user.
Hits within limit: read a 5-line context window (2 lines before + matched line + 2 lines after) for every hit using the Read tool, assign each hit a stable integer id (1…N). Then spawn a haiku-model Agent to classify in batches of ≤30 hits — pass model="haiku" explicitly. Before spawning, resolve the entity's canonical surface forms from the rename context: slash-command form (`/foundry:<old-name>` or `/<old-name>`), subagent_type value, file-path pattern (.claude/agents/<old-name>.md, .claude/skills/<old-name>/). Include these in the prompt as <entity_context>.
Haiku agent prompt (one spawn per batch of ≤30 hits):
Classify grep hits for a rename: `<old-name>` → `<new-name>` (type: <agent|skill|rule|hook>).
Canonical surface forms for this entity: <entity_context>
For each hit output exactly one JSON object per line (no prose):
{"id":<N>,"file":"...","line":<N>,"verdict":"genuine"|"false_positive"|"ambiguous","reason":"one sentence"}
Classification rules — word match alone is NOT sufficient; read context:
- genuine: matches a canonical surface form; clearly names this specific entity (slash-command, subagent_type, NOT-for/TRIGGER cross-ref, dispatch directive, README table row)
- false_positive: generic English word used differently, unrelated comment, example string, sentence where the word means something else entirely
- ambiguous: context too short, name too generic, or evidence conflicts
Hits:
--- HIT {id} ---
file: {file}
line: {line}
context:
{line-2}: ...
{line-1}: ...
> {line}: <matched line>
{line+1}: ...
{line+2}: ...
JSON parse fallback: returned output contains malformed JSON or missing id fields → retry once with the parse error appended to the prompt. On second failure, mark all unresolved hits "ambiguous" and escalate to the user.
Collect all batch results. Classify each hit:
- Genuine reference → Apply Edit tool fix targeting the exact token at the classified line — do NOT use
replace_all: true on the whole file; replace only the specific occurrence on that line.
- False positive → Skip; log haiku's reason.
- Ambiguous → Collect for user escalation.
After all haiku fixes applied and all user-resolved fixes applied, run one final grep to confirm:
rg --fixed-strings -n '\b<old-name>\b' plugins/ .claude/ README.md docs/ 2>/dev/null \
|| grep -rn "\b<old-name>\b" plugins/ .claude/ README.md docs/ 2>/dev/null \
| grep -v ".git/" | grep -v "__pycache__"
Remaining hits must exactly equal the documented false-positive set (by file+line). Any remaining hit not in the false-positive list is an unresolved genuine reference — loop through classification once more for those, or flag in Step 10 as requiring manual review.
Collect ambiguous hits and invoke AskUserQuestion — show file + 5-line context per hit, ask: "Is this a real reference to <old-name> that should be updated, or a false positive?" Batch max 4 per call; loop if more. Apply user-confirmed fixes before the final grep.
Step 6: Update MEMORY.md roster (auto-memory)
MEMORY.md is Claude Code's auto-memory file — not stored under .claude/. Injected into conversation context at session start. Absolute path appears near top of system prompt (e.g. ~/.claude/projects/.../memory/MEMORY.md). Use that absolute path with Edit tool. If system prompt parsing fails or path absent, fall back to:
MEMORY_FALLBACK=~/.claude/projects/$(pwd | sed 's|[/.]|-|g' | sed 's/^-//')/memory/MEMORY.md
[ -f "$MEMORY_FALLBACK" ] && echo "Fallback MEMORY.md: $MEMORY_FALLBACK" || echo "MEMORY.md not found at fallback path — skip roster update"
Regenerate inventory lines from disk:
Use Glob (agents/*.md, path .claude/) for agents, Glob (skills/*/, path .claude/) for skills, Glob (rules/*.md, path .claude/) for rules. Extract names inline from returned paths (strip path prefix and .md/trailing-/ suffix), join as comma-separated string.
Use Edit tool with absolute auto-memory path to update these roster lines in MEMORY.md:
- Agents: doc-scribe, foundry:sw-engineer, ...
- Skills: review, research, ...
- Rules (N): artifact-lifecycle, ... (update count N when rules created or deleted)
For content-edit: Skip if only internal content changed; update only if description changed.
Step 7: Update README.md
README.md (project root):
- create agent: add row to
### Agents table — columns: | **name** | Short tagline | Key capabilities |
- create skill: add row to
### Skills table — columns: | **name** | \/name` | Description |`
- update (rename): find and replace old name in table row
- delete: remove row for deleted name
.claude/README.md (config README) — Rules table only:
- create rule: add row to Rules reference table — columns:
| rule-file | Applies to | What it governs |
- update rule (rename): replace old name in Rules table row
- update rule (content-edit): update "What it governs" column if rule's description changed
- delete rule: remove row for deleted rule
Keep descriptions concise (one line), consistent in tone with surrounding rows. Do not add/remove table columns.
For content-edit (agent/skill): Update README if description OR model field changed. Model changes update the Model column only; description changes update the description column.
Step 8: Verify integrity
Confirm no broken references remain:
Use Grep (pattern [a-z]+:[a-z]+(-[a-z]+)* to find cross-plugin references, or See [a-z-]+ agent for cross-references, glob {agents/*.md,skills/*/SKILL.md}, path .claude/, output mode content). Avoid broad kebab-case patterns — they match code examples and produce false positives.
Use Glob (agents/*.md, path .claude/) and Glob (skills/*/, path .claude/) for on-disk inventory; extract names inline. Use Grep to search for changed name and confirm:
- Update (rename): zero unresolved genuine references to old name; documented false positives (accepted by user in Step 5 validation) may remain and must be listed in Step 10
- Delete: zero hits for deleted name (or flagged references noted)
- Create: new file exists with valid structure
- Content-edit: target file has valid structure (XML tag balance for agents/skills; YAML frontmatter for rules)
Add rules to on-disk inventory check: Glob (rules/*.md, path .claude/), extract names inline.
For create and update (rename): verify tool efficiency — cross-check agent/skill's declared tools (tools: or allowed-tools:) against tool names in workflow body. Declared tool not referenced anywhere → flag as cleanup candidate in Step 10 report (report only — do not block operation).
Step 9: Audit and calibrate
Invoke Skill(skill="foundry:audit", args="--skip-gate") to validate created/modified files without triggering interactive follow-up gate (requires foundry plugin). Skip if invoked with --skip-audit or if current manage operation runs inside audit-initiated fix session — outer audit covers it.
export CSID="${CLAUDE_CODE_SESSION_ID:-$PPID}"
IFS= read -r _SKIP_FILE < "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-skip-audit-path-${CSID}" 2>/dev/null || _SKIP_FILE="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/manage-skip-audit-${CSID}"
IFS= read -r SKIP_AUDIT < "$_SKIP_FILE" 2>/dev/null || SKIP_AUDIT="false"
[[ "$SKIP_AUDIT" == "true" ]] && { echo "[--skip-audit] skipping Step 9 audit"; }
For targeted check of only affected file, spawn foundry:curator directly:
- For
create: audit new file for structural completeness, cross-ref validity, content quality
- For
update: audit renamed file, verify no stale references remain
- For
delete: audit remaining files for broken references to deleted name
Include audit findings in final report. Do not proceed to sync if any critical findings remain.
Calibration — invoke Skill(skill="foundry:calibrate", args="<name>") after audit passes (requires foundry plugin). Mandatory only when the edit changes the routing surface — an agent/skill description: field, or a TRIGGER/SKIP/NOT-for line. For pure body/prose edits that leave the routing surface untouched (workflow steps, examples, <notes>, wording polish), calibration is optional — suggest it, don't force it. Routing accuracy is unaffected by non-routing edits, so the 10–30 min run rarely pays off; skipping keeps small polishes cheap.
Then, only when the routing surface changed, invoke Skill(skill="foundry:calibrate", args="routing --fast") to confirm overall routing accuracy unaffected (requires foundry plugin). Skip this for pure body/prose edits.
Skip calibration entirely for: trivial edits, renames, deletes, rule operations, perm operations.
Step 10: Summary report
- Operation: what was done (create/update/delete + type + name, or add/remove perm + rule)
- Files Changed: table of file paths and actions (created/renamed/deleted/cross-ref updated/appended/removed)
- Cross-References: count of files updated, broken refs cleaned (n/a for perm operations)
- Rename Occurrence Validation (rename mode only): three buckets — Fixed (N genuine references updated, list files) · False positives (N skipped, list file + one-line reason each) · User-resolved (N ambiguous, list file + user decision); if any genuine references could not be cleanly resolved, flag explicitly as requiring manual review
- Current Roster: agents (N) and skills (N) with comma-separated names (n/a for perm operations)
- Audit Result: audit findings (pass / issues found) (n/a for perm operations)
- Calibration Result: recall score and routing accuracy from Step 9 (n/a for trivial edits, renames, deletes, perms, and pure body/prose edits that left the routing surface untouched — note calibration was suggested-but-skipped in that case)
- Follow-up: perm ops → confirm both
settings.json and permissions-guide.md updated; run /foundry:setup to sync ~/.claude/
End response with ## Confidence block per CLAUDE.md output standards.
Challenger review gate — after emitting the summary report and Confidence block, invoke AskUserQuestion to offer adversarial review of the just-completed changes. Skip this gate entirely when: MODE is delete, add-perm, or remove-perm; OR EDIT_TRIVIAL=true; OR MODE is rename (structural change only, no content to challenge). Gate is mandatory for: create (agent, skill, rule), non-trivial content-edit (agent, skill, rule).
AskUserQuestion: "Run foundry:challenger to adversarially review the changes just made?"
(a) Skip — done [default]
(b) Challenge — spawn foundry:challenger on modified file(s)
On (b): spawn foundry:challenger inline (foreground, not background):
Agent(subagent_type="foundry:challenger", prompt="Adversarially review the changes just made to <list modified file paths>. Challenge: correctness of design decisions, completeness, potential regressions, and whether the stated goal was achieved. Read-only. Write full findings to .temp/manage-challenger-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md using the Write tool. Return ONLY: {\"status\":\"done\",\"file\":\".temp/manage-challenger-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md\",\"findings\":N,\"confidence\":0.N}")
Print challenger's findings count and confidence; note any HIGH findings that warrant a follow-up /manage update pass. On (a): print → Done. and stop.
Cycle guard: this challenger dispatch is from the orchestrator (manage skill itself), not from a sub-agent — cycle detection in <notes> does not apply here. Do NOT spawn challenger from inside foundry:curator or foundry:sw-engineer sub-agents spawned by manage.
- Atomic updates: write-before-delete prevents data loss on interruption; perm ops must update both
settings.json and permissions-guide.md
- settings.json format: jq with atomic tmp-file pattern (
jq ... > .tmp && mv .tmp dest) — avoids fragile sed/awk on JSON; indent=2 via jq --indent 2 when formatting required
- README.md tables: agent/skill tables in project
README.md; rules table in .claude/README.md — keep row format consistent with existing rows
- No auto-edit for agent/skill/rule operations: skill does not mutate settings.json for non-perm operations
- Color pool: AVAILABLE_COLORS lists unused colors; if exhausted, reuse with note
- Inline bash / extraction gate + prose compression: before writing any fenced bash block directly into a
.md file (agent, skill, rule) via Edit/Write, apply two checks from bin-authoring-guide.md: (1) extraction gate — verdict MEDIUM or HIGH → write a bin/ script instead; verdict LOW → inline is acceptable; (2) Prose over Code — if tokens(block) > tokens(equivalent prose/table/schema) at identical precision → write prose/table instead. Exempt: examples, templates, exact-syntax blocks. Same rules enforced in spawn prompts to foundry:curator and foundry:sw-engineer (see Content-Edit Agent/Skill modes). This note applies to orchestrator-level inline edits.
- Cycle detection: sub-tasks spawned by manage (foundry:sw-engineer, foundry:curator, foundry:doc-scribe) must not invoke manage again. Circular dispatch — manage→sw-engineer→curator→manage — causes infinite loops. If a sub-task needs manage capabilities, surface the need back to the orchestrator; never chain manage from inside a manage-spawned sub-agent.
- Follow-up chains:
- create or non-trivial update of agent/skill →
Skill(skill="foundry:audit", args="--skip-gate") → Skill(skill="foundry:calibrate", args="<name>") (mandatory) → Skill(skill="foundry:calibrate", args="routing --fast")
- trivial update or rename or delete →
Skill(skill="foundry:audit", args="--skip-gate") → Skill(skill="foundry:calibrate", args="routing --fast") (if description changed)
- add/remove perm → confirm both files updated; run
/foundry:setup