wsx

name

wsx

description

Windows-first AI workspace manager for linked local repositories. Use only when the user explicitly asks to create or manage a wsx workspace, or when you have confirmed the current folder is already a wsx workspace and need wsx-specific inspection, health checks, multi-repo execution, or agent instruction setup. Prefer tree for discovery, grep for narrowing, and exact-file reads instead of broad content extraction.

Workspace X (wsx)

Use Workspace X through the wsx command only for a confirmed Workspace X workspace built from links to existing local repositories, or when the user explicitly asks you to create one. Do not invoke wsx for ordinary repository work outside a confirmed wsx workspace. This tool is Windows-first and is designed for AI agents as well as humans.

When To Use

Use wsx only when one of these is true:

• The user explicitly asks to create or manage a Workspace X workspace
• You have confirmed the current directory is already a wsx workspace by the presence of .wsx.json

Only after that confirmation should you use the other wsx features such as health checks, multi-repo execution, tree discovery, or agent instruction setup.

Core Model

A Workspace X workspace contains:

• A local workspace config file: .wsx.json
• One linked directory per configured repository at the workspace root

Treat these as product invariants:

• Store absolute paths directly in .wsx.json.
• Treat .wsx.json as local workspace state. wsx init should ensure it is gitignored without overwriting an existing .gitignore.
• Treat link_type as runtime state. Detect it from disk; do not store it in .wsx.json.
• On Windows, link creation should try symlinks first and fall back to directory junctions on permission errors.
• wsx exec forwards argv directly. Shell behavior exists only if the caller explicitly invokes a shell such as powershell -Command.

Operating Principles

• Prefer parseable output. If another tool or agent will consume the result, use --json when the command supports it.
• Prefer narrow inspection over broad extraction.
• Position tree as the default discovery command.
• Position grep as the default narrowing command after discovery.
• Respect .gitignore behavior by default. Only use --no-ignore when ignored files are the explicit target.

Token Discipline

This section applies only after wsx is confirmed to be the right tool. Follow it strictly.

Preferred inspection order

1. Run wsx doctor --json in an unfamiliar workspace.
2. Run wsx list --json to understand linked repos and resolved paths.
3. Run wsx tree to see shape and directory layout.
4. Run wsx grep to find the exact files or symbols you need.
5. Read exact files directly after grep has narrowed the target.
6. Run wsx prompt only when the user explicitly needs a reusable system prompt for another agent.

What counts as wasteful

• Reading broad swaths of files to "see what is here" instead of using tree first
• Running wide searches without --include or --exclude when the question is already scoped
• Using --all on tree or unconstrained file reads without a specific reason
• Using --no-ignore without a specific reason
• Emitting markdown when structured JSON would be easier for a downstream tool
• Running wsx exec with shell syntax but forgetting to invoke a shell

Good patterns

• Use wsx tree --depth 2 for quick structure
• Use wsx grep "SymbolName" --json to locate precise files before extraction
• Use wsx grep "openapi" --include "*.yaml,*.json" before opening schema files
• Read only the exact files identified by tree and grep
• Keep the number of opened files proportional to the question being asked

Bad patterns

• Reading a whole repo when tree or grep would identify the relevant files
• wsx prompt when a short ad hoc explanation would do
• wsx exec -- git status | cat because exec does not implicitly use a shell

Recommended Agent Workflow

For most work inside a wsx workspace:

1. wsx doctor --json
2. wsx list --json
3. wsx tree --depth 2
4. wsx grep ... or wsx status --json
5. Read exact files only after tree and grep have narrowed the target

For automation:

• Prefer doctor --json, list --json, status --json, fetch --json, exec --json, and grep --json

For setup:

• Use agent-init when generating workspace instruction files
• Use favorite add, favorite list, and favorite remove when managing reusable global path aliases
• Use skill-install or skill-uninstall when managing the bundled wsx skill

Command Reference

wsx init [name]

Creates a new workspace root with .wsx.json.

Use it when:

• Starting a new wsx workspace
• Creating the local workspace config scaffold

Expectations:

• Ensures .wsx.json is added to the workspace .gitignore
• Preserves the workspace model defined above

wsx add <path> [--as name]

Adds an existing local repository into the workspace config and creates the runtime link at the workspace root.

Use it when:

• Linking an existing repo into the workspace
• Adding a repo with a different visible workspace name via --as

Expectations:

• Accepts absolute paths and supports --favorite <NAME> as an input shortcut
• Also supports --favorite <NAME> for adding a saved global favorite directly
• Rejects circular references and name conflicts
• Stores the resolved absolute path in .wsx.json

wsx remove <name>

Removes the workspace link and config entry for one linked repo.

Use it when:

• Detaching a repo from the workspace

Expectation:

• It must not modify or delete the target repository itself

wsx list [--json]

Lists linked repos, resolved paths, and runtime link state.

Use it when:

• You need a reliable inventory of the workspace
• You want structured repo metadata before running other commands

Agent guidance:

• Prefer --json for automation and downstream tooling

wsx doctor [--json]

Validates workspace health and portability.

Use it when:

• Entering an unfamiliar workspace
• Checking for invalid stored paths, broken links, config problems, or stale generated workspace instruction files

Behavior:

• It also warns when generated workspace AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md files are missing or stale relative to the current workspace state

Agent guidance:

• Always prefer wsx doctor --json

wsx status [--json] [--parallel]

Runs git status --short --branch across linked repositories.

Use it when:

• You need to see which repos are dirty, detached, ahead, behind, or unavailable

Agent guidance:

• Prefer --json when another tool will consume the result
• Use --parallel when you want faster multi-repo status checks while keeping workspace output order stable

wsx fetch [--json] [--parallel]

Runs git fetch --prune across linked repositories.

Use it when:

• Refreshing repo remotes safely across the workspace

Agent guidance:

• Prefer this over inventing custom multi-repo fetch loops
• Use --parallel only when concurrency helps and ordered human output is not the main concern

wsx exec [--json] [--parallel] -- <cmd>

Runs one argv-forwarded command across linked repositories.

Use it when:

• You need the same command run in each linked repo

Critical rule:

• wsx exec does not invoke a shell implicitly

Examples:

wsx exec -- git checkout main
wsx exec --parallel -- npm run lint
wsx exec -- powershell -Command "git fetch; git status"

Agent guidance:

• Use --json for machine-readable output
• If you need pipes, redirection, or shell operators, explicitly invoke powershell -Command

wsx tree [--all] [--depth N]

Shows a workspace tree across linked repos.

Use it when:

• You need cheap structure discovery before content extraction
• You need to compare folder layout across repos

Agent guidance:

• This is the default workspace discovery command
• The default depth is intentionally shallow and usually sufficient
• Use --all only when ignored files are relevant

wsx grep <pattern> [--include glob,...] [--exclude glob,...] [--context N] [--json]

Searches across linked repositories in workspace config order.

Use it when:

• Locating files, symbols, text fragments, TODOs, or config keys
• Narrowing the exact files you should open next

Agent guidance:

• This is the default narrowing command after tree
• Use --include and --exclude aggressively to narrow scope
• Use --json when a tool or agent will post-process the results

wsx prompt [--copy]

Generates an AI system prompt for the current workspace.

Use it when:

• The user wants a reusable prompt to hand another agent or model
• A fresh agent needs compact workspace orientation

Agent guidance:

• Do not use this by default. It is for prompt generation, not ordinary inspection.
• Use --copy only when copying to the clipboard is the actual goal

wsx agent-init [--purpose text]

Generates synchronized CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md files for the workspace.

Use it when:

• Bootstrapping agent instructions for a workspace

Expectations:

• Overwrites either target file if it already exists at the workspace root
• Emits a warning when existing files are replaced
• Keeps AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md identical in this phase
• Indexes linked-repo instruction file references instead of importing file contents
• Discovers linked-repo CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md files in the repo root and immediate child directories, plus exact .github/copilot-instructions.md
• Renders discovered instruction references as workspace-relative paths that start with the linked repo directory name

wsx favorite add <path> --name <NAME>

Saves a reusable global favorite path.

Use it when:

• You want a reusable path alias across multiple workspaces

Expectation:

• Stores the favorite in user-scoped global config, not inside the workspace

wsx favorite list [--json]

Lists saved global favorites.

Use it when:

• You need to inspect which reusable path aliases are available

Agent guidance:

• Prefer --json when another tool will consume the result

wsx favorite remove <NAME>

Removes one saved global favorite.

Use it when:

• Cleaning up or renaming a stale global path alias

wsx skill-install [--scope local|global]

Installs or refreshes the bundled wsx SKILL.md.

Use it when:

• Making the wsx guidance available to an agent platform

Guidance:

• local is the default scope
• Prefer local scope unless the user explicitly wants global installation
• Re-running skill-install refreshes the existing wsx skill in place
• global installs the canonical skill in ~/.agents/skills/wsx
• global also creates a Claude-visible link in ~/.claude/skills/wsx
• On Windows, the Claude link uses a symlink when available and falls back to a junction on permission errors

wsx skill-uninstall [--scope local|global]

Removes the bundled wsx skill from the selected scope.

Use it when:

• Cleaning up an installed wsx skill
• global removes both the canonical install and the Claude mirror link

JSON-Oriented Workflows

Use these when another tool or agent needs structured output:

wsx doctor --json
wsx list --json
wsx status --json --parallel
wsx fetch --json --parallel
wsx exec --json -- go test ./...
wsx grep --json "TODO"

Design And Handoff Sources

• The product source of truth is the current README.md, CLI help output, and tests
• Keep implementation behavior, README.md, and this SKILL.md aligned
• Keep this SKILL.md, README.md, and actual CLI behavior aligned