Replicate the requested semantic change and newer generic guidance, not the originating skill file wholesale.
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Identify every skill or rule created, updated, or explicitly invoked in the same user message, excluding propagate-skill itself only when it is the workflow trigger rather than an artifact to propagate. Resolve skill sources at .agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md and rule sources at .agents/rules/<name>.md. For every selected skill, read its declared ## Dependencies section, add each named skill dependency to the artifact set, and repeat recursively until the dependency graph is complete. Deduplicate dependencies and report cycles rather than recursing indefinitely. Propagate dependencies even when the user named only the parent skill.
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Determine whether the workspace is on the user's local computer or in a cloud or ephemeral environment. Use filesystem layout, repository remotes, environment markers, and accessible sibling repositories as evidence. If the environment is cloud or remains ambiguous, do not search broadly or mutate other repositories; report the limitation or ask the user.
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On a local computer, find the repository collection containing the current repository by inspecting its parent directories and nearby Git worktrees. Search bounded repository roots first; do not crawl the entire home directory when the collection root is discoverable.
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Establish the in-scope target repositories from the bounded collection and the user's request. Assess every selected skill or rule, including recursively selected dependencies, independently for applicability to every candidate target, using that repository's languages, frameworks, tooling, workflow, and existing agent configuration; do not use predefined skill-to-repository mappings. For every selected skill, update its existing .agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md or create the missing skill directory and source file only in targets where the assessment is positive. For every selected rule, update its existing .agents/rules/<name>.md or create it only where the assessment is positive. Apply propagation only inside the selected .agents/skills/<name>/ or .agents/rules/<name>.md paths; never create or edit provider mirrors such as .codex, .claude, or .cursor.
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Before comparing, read the complete originating file and the complete existing target file (when present), plus enough nearby target guidance to understand its repository-specific context. Never infer that files are identical from matching names, prior propagation, hashes, or a partial diff. Compare full text, line counts, and an exact diff before deciding whether a target is current. Then classify every difference before changing it:
- Requested semantic delta — behavior the user explicitly requested in this propagation. Treat a direct change to the originating skill or rule as generic and propagate it to every applicable consumer unless the user, the source wording, or target evidence makes it repository-specific. Rewrite only that delta where it fits.
- Stale generic guidance — target wording known to be an older revision of the same repository-neutral guidance now present in the origin, based on repository history, a prior propagation, or another unambiguous superseding contract. Replace it with the newer originating wording. Never preserve or report stale generic wording as candidate conflicting or target-specific guidance merely because it differs from the current requested delta.
- Candidate conflicting guidance — extra or different behavior found in a consumer that is not part of the current requested delta. First determine whether it is repository-specific. If it is generic conflicting guidance, preserve it where it is, report the exact difference and applicability evidence, and ask whether its wording should be merged into every applicable consumer and the originating repository. Do not make that choice merely because the files differ.
- Target-specific guidance — behavior justified by the target's own tools, product, or workflow. Preserve it and report the variance.
Exact byte-for-byte synchronization is permitted only when the user explicitly asks to unify the complete artifact after deciding how any differing guidance should be handled.
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If origin-specific guidance is irrelevant to or conflicts with a target and cannot be generalized without changing its meaning, omit it from that target or remove it if replication already introduced it. Keep it unchanged in the origin, record the exact conflict, and ask whether the originating skill should also be corrected. Never overwrite conflicting target-specific guidance.
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Treat guidance present only in another repository as a separate consistency opportunity, not part of the requested replication. Preserve repository-specific guidance. For generic conflicting guidance, report the source, exact behavioral difference, applicability evidence, and recommended scope, then ask whether it should also be merged into every applicable consumer and the originating skill. Do not make that consistency merge until the user chooses.
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For changes limited to .agents skills or rules, validate the Markdown and run git diff --check; do not run unit, integration, typecheck, lint, build, agent-sync, or source-to-mirror tests because no repository has tests for skill content. Do not hand-edit provider mirrors; repository CI owns their generation.
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For cross-repository coordination, follow coordinate-repositories for bounded discovery, isolated-worktree safety, validation, and pull-request state handling. When the user authorizes persistent propagation, carry only canonical .agents artifacts and agent-synchronization implementation or workflow files; exclude provider outputs, unrelated in-progress work, and manually copied mirrors. Before deciding to reuse an existing pull request, query its current state: a merged pull request is treated as no pull request, so create a new branch and focused pull request. Reuse only an open pull request for the same active branch and task scope. Title the pull request as a synchronization of agent files (for example, chore: sync agent files); do not frame consumer changes as modernizing or changing the synchronization system.
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Report the repositories updated, skipped, or blocked; the requested delta applied; validation results; every created pull-request link; and any repository-specific guidance awaiting the user's consistency decision.
