| name | mthds-upgrade |
| description | Upgrade MTHDS CLI tools to the latest compatible versions. Use when user says "upgrade mthds", "update mthds", "mthds upgrade", "update my tools", "upgrade pipelex", "update pipelex", "upgrade plxt", "update tools". |
| min_mthds_version | 0.12.1 |
Upgrade MTHDS CLI tools
Upgrade mthds-agent and its managed tools to the latest versions.
Process
Step 0 — Environment Check (mandatory, do this FIRST)
Run this command to check toolchain status:
bash -c '
# Pick the cached env-check from the plugin version with the highest semver.
# Pad each numeric segment to fixed width so lex sort matches semver sort
# (avoids the 0.10 < 0.9 lex-order trap). Sort keys are digits-only by
# construction, so the [[ > ]] compare is locale-independent. Bash 3.2 OK.
_best_f=""; _best_k=""
for f in "${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}"/plugins/cache/*/mthds/*/bin/mthds-env-check; do
[ -x "$f" ] || continue
_v="${f%/bin/*}"; _v="${_v##*/}"
_k=""; IFS=. read -ra _parts <<<"${_v%%[-+]*}"
for _p in "${_parts[@]}"; do _p=${_p%%[!0-9]*}; _k="${_k}$(printf %06d "${_p:-0}")"; done
[[ "$_k" > "$_best_k" ]] && { _best_f="$f"; _best_k="$_k"; }
done
[ -n "$_best_f" ] && exec "$_best_f" "0.12.1" --codex
echo "MTHDS_ENV_CHECK_MISSING"
'
Interpret the output:
MTHDS_AGENT_MISSING → STOP. Do not proceed. Tell the user:
The mthds-agent CLI is required but not installed. Install it with:
npm install -g mthds
Then re-run this skill.
MTHDS_AGENT_VERSION_UNKNOWN → STOP. The installed mthds-agent returned an unparseable version. Tell the user:
Could not parse the output of mthds-agent --version. Your installation may be corrupt. Reinstall with:
npm install -g mthds@latest
Then re-run this skill.
-
MTHDS_AGENT_OUTDATED <installed> <required> → The installed mthds-agent is too old for this plugin. Do not hard-stop. Instead, tell the user their mthds-agent (v<installed>) is older than the required v<required>, then follow the upgrade flow to offer upgrading mthds-agent via npm install -g mthds@latest. After the upgrade flow completes (whether the user upgraded or declined), proceed to Step 1. The upgrade flow's "Not now" and "Never ask" options let users continue with current versions.
-
MTHDS_UPDATE_CHECK_FAILED ... → WARN. The update check command failed. Show the error output to the user. Suggest checking network connectivity and mthds-agent installation. Proceed to Step 1 with current versions.
-
UPGRADE_AVAILABLE ... → Read upgrade flow and follow the upgrade prompts before continuing to Step 1.
-
JUST_UPGRADED ... → Announce what was upgraded to the user, then continue to Step 1.
-
UP_TO_DATE ... → Proceed to Step 1. The line is a terse list of verified installed versions (e.g. UP_TO_DATE mthds-agent=0.10.0 plxt=0.4.0 plugin=0.12.0); if you mention the env-check in your preamble acknowledgement, relay the agent and plugin versions you saw. Two "explicit-quiet" variants share the same prefix and are also clean — proceed to Step 1 without warning, and do not relay the quiet state unless the user is troubleshooting:
UP_TO_DATE update-check=disabled — the user has turned update-check off via config.
UP_TO_DATE update-check=snoozed — the user has an active snooze on the current version key; an upgrade would otherwise be available, but they explicitly asked for quiet.
-
No output → WARN. The env-check produced no output at all, which usually means mthds-agent itself is broken or the wrapper script bailed before printing. Tell the user the environment check could not be confirmed, then proceed cautiously to Step 1.
-
MTHDS_ENV_CHECK_MISSING → WARN. The env-check script was not found at either expected path. Tell the user the environment check could not run, but proceed to Step 1.
-
CODEX_CONFIG_NEEDS_SETUP → Codex's ~/.codex/ is not set up for the mthds plugin, so the bundled .mthds validation hook will not load. When this fires it is the only terminal status the env-check emits — update-check is skipped entirely (not run, not suppressed) because fixing the hook is the prerequisite and update-check's upgrade marker is one-shot; the user re-runs and gets fresh update info next time. The env-check may print one or more #-prefixed diagnostic lines after the status — relay them if present. Resolve this before Step 1:
- Preview — run
mthds-agent codex apply-config --dry-run and show the user the output. WOULD_APPLY lists the keys it will add under applied; ALREADY_OK means no keys need adding. Either way, relay any warnings entries — those (e.g. read-only sandbox, hooks disabled) need a hand-fix apply-config will not perform. If ALREADY_OK with no warnings, treat as resolved and go to Step 1.
- Ask — use AskUserQuestion: "Apply Codex config now?" with options "Apply now" / "Skip".
- Apply now — run
mthds-agent codex apply-config:
APPLIED / ALREADY_OK → tell the user the config is fixed and they must restart Codex for the validation hook to load (it will not load in this session). Relay any warnings — those still need a hand-fix.
- Error about conflicting keys → show it verbatim; the user must hand-edit
~/.codex/config.toml, then re-run mthds-agent codex apply-config.
- Error from the sandbox blocking the write to
~/.codex/config.toml → ask the user to run mthds-agent codex apply-config themselves in a terminal, then restart Codex.
- Skip — tell the user the validation hook stays off until they run
mthds-agent codex apply-config and restart Codex.
Then proceed to Step 1. This session has no PostToolUse hook. The mthds skills still run mthds-agent validate bundle explicitly, so .mthds files built or edited through a skill are still semantically validated — but the write-time plxt lint/fmt pass depends on the hook and will not run until Codex is restarted.
-
Any other output → WARN. The preamble produced unexpected output. Show it to the user verbatim. Proceed to Step 1 cautiously.
Step 1: Force Version Check
mthds-agent update-check --force
Interpret the output:
UP_TO_DATE ...: All tools are up to date. Relay the verified versions to the user, then stop. Two "explicit-quiet" variants are also possible — tell the user the check did not actually run normally this time:
UP_TO_DATE update-check=disabled: the user has turned update-check off via config — the check did not consult the network this run. To run a real check, suggest they re-enable update-check (mthds-agent config set update-check true) and re-run this skill.
UP_TO_DATE update-check=snoozed: the user has an active snooze on the current version key — an upgrade is actually available but suppressed. --force clears snooze, so re-running this skill (which calls update-check --force) should produce the real status; if you still see snoozed, that indicates a config issue.
UPGRADE_AVAILABLE <json>: Upgrades are available. Read ../shared/upgrade-flow.md and follow the upgrade flow.
JUST_UPGRADED <json>: Tools were just upgraded. Report what changed and stop.
- No output / non-zero exit / any other output: WARN.
mthds-agent update-check --force produced no recognizable signal — the binary may be broken, missing a subcommand, or have failed before printing. Show the user any output verbatim, suggest reinstalling mthds-agent (npm install -g mthds@latest), then stop. Do not assume "all current".
Step 2: Report Summary
After upgrade completes (or if already up to date), summarize:
- Which tools were checked
- Which were upgraded (with old -> new versions)
- Which failed (with manual install commands)
- Current status of all tools
Reference
- Error Handling — read when CLI returns an error to determine recovery
- MTHDS Agent Guide — read for CLI command syntax or output format details
- Upgrade Flow — read for upgrade prompt details and user preference handling