meta-safety

name	meta-safety
description	Multi-repo safety discipline — precision operations, dependency checking, and efficiency tips.

Meta Safety Skill

Multi-repo workspaces are powerful but require awareness. Meta gives you precision tools to operate on exactly what you need, saving turns and avoiding unintended changes.

Session Start

1. meta project list --json — workspace map in one call
2. meta git status — see state of all repos at once
3. Note which repos provide shared dependencies (check .meta.yaml for provides/depends_on)

Precision Operations

Instead of cd-ing into repos one by one, use meta flags to target exactly what you need:

# Target specific repos
meta --include repo1,repo2 exec -- command

# Target by tag
meta --tag backend exec -- cargo test

# Exclude repos
meta --exclude legacy exec -- npm update

# Dependency-aware order
meta --ordered exec -- cargo build

# Combine: tagged repos, in order, excluding one
meta --tag backend --exclude legacy --ordered exec -- make deploy

Before Modifying Shared Code

When modifying a repo that other repos depend on:

1. Check dependents: Use meta_analyze_impact <repo-name> (MCP tool) to see transitive dependents
2. Plan cascading changes: If meta_core changes, repos that depend on it may need updates
3. Build in order: meta --ordered exec -- cargo build respects the dependency graph

Efficient Commits

# Commit in exactly the repos you modified
meta --include repo1,repo2 git commit -m "feat: update shared API"

# Push only tagged repos
meta --tag backend git push

# Per-repo commit messages (when changes differ)
# Use meta_git_multi_commit MCP tool

Query DSL (MCP)

The meta_query_repos MCP tool filters repos by state:

Query	Result
dirty:true	Repos with uncommitted changes
tag:backend	Repos tagged "backend"
dirty:true AND tag:backend	Combine filters
branch:feature-x	Repos on a specific branch

Efficiency Tips

• One meta git status replaces N individual git status calls
• One meta --tag X exec -- cmd replaces N cd && cmd sequences
• meta_analyze_impact before modifying providers prevents cascading fix-up commits
• meta --ordered exec -- cargo build builds in correct dependency order automatically
• meta --dry-run exec -- dangerous-cmd previews before executing