sync-skills-shared-protocols

Quick Summary

Goal: Two operations — (A) propagate updated content for existing SYNC: blocks across all skills, or (B) add a new SYNC: block to all skill/agent files that don't have it yet.

Renamed: formerly /sync-protocols — that name no longer resolves as a slash command; use /sync-skills-shared-protocols.

Canonical source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md

Workflow

Operation A: Update Existing Block Content

Use when a SYNC: block already exists in files and push updated content to all of them.

Step 1: Identify What Changed

If user specifies a tag name (e.g., sync-skills-shared-protocols understand-code-first):

• Sync only that tag

If no tag specified:

• Read sync-inline-versions.md
• Ask user which tag(s) to sync, or "all"

Step 2: Read Canonical Content

For each tag to sync:

1. Read .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md
2. Extract content under ## SYNC:{tag-name} heading (everything between that heading and the next --- or ## SYNC:)

Step 3: Find All Skills with Tag

grep -rl "SYNC:{tag-name}" .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md

Step 4: Replace Content in Each Skill

For each file found:

1. Find <!-- SYNC:{tag-name} --> open tag
2. Find <!-- /SYNC:{tag-name} --> close tag
3. Replace everything between them with the canonical content
4. Do NOT touch :reminder blocks — those are separate, shorter versions

Step 5: Verify

Run these checks after all replacements:

# 1. SYNC tag balance (all opens have matching closes)
# 2. Content matches canonical source
# 3. No content outside SYNC blocks was modified

Report:

• Tags synced
• Files updated (count)
• Any balance issues

Step 6: Reminder Blocks

:reminder blocks (<!-- SYNC:{tag}:reminder -->) are 1-line summaries at the bottom of skills for AI recency attention. These are NOT auto-synced — they are hand-written. Skip them unless user explicitly asks to update reminders too.

---

Operation B: Add a New Tiered Block

Use when a NEW SYNC: block needs tiered propagation. Derive the on-disk target inventory at runtime; never copy a fixed skill or agent count into this contract.

• SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER is the base tier for every skill.
• ORCHESTRATOR_SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER extends that base only for skills in ORCHESTRATOR_SKILLS.
• Agent tiers remain independently governed by the injector's explicit agent sets.

This is a bulk-insert operation, not a content update. Verify the computed target set before writing so orchestration-only rules never leak into every skill.

When to use: A new protocol rule is added to .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md and should appear in static carriers (CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, Codex, skills, and agents).

Step B1: Add block content to canonical source

Edit .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md and add a new section:

## SYNC:{new-block-name}

> **[Rule content here]**

---

Step B2: Add block to sync-hooks-to-skills.py

Edit .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py:

1. Add entry to BLOCKS dict:

BLOCKS = {
    # ... existing blocks ...
    "new-block-name": """\
<!-- SYNC:new-block-name -->

> **[Full block content here — exactly as it should appear in files]**

<!-- /SYNC:new-block-name -->""",
}

2. Add 1-line reminder to REMINDERS dict:

REMINDERS = {
# ... existing reminders ...
"new-block-name": """\

> **[IMPORTANT]** Use `TaskCreate` to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting.

<!-- SYNC:new-block-name:reminder -->
**MUST ATTENTION** [one-line summary of the rule].
<!-- /SYNC:new-block-name:reminder -->""",
}

3. Add the block name to the relevant tier list(s) (controls which targets receive it + insertion order):

# Skills-3: the two universal blocks + the orchestration block. Do NOT add
# agent-only rules here. `parallel-subagent-dispatch` is deliberately SKILL-ONLY
# — not because an agent cannot spawn, but because an agent receives ONE brief an
# orchestrator has ALREADY partitioned, so re-running the partitioning protocol in
# the leaf re-decides an upstream decision. It is ALSO declared in
# agent_protocol_matrix.py EXCLUDED_ORCHESTRATION and in the TC-UAR-017
# AGENT_ADOPTION_EXEMPT set (see "Skill-only blocks" below).
SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER = ["critical-thinking-mindset", "ai-mistake-prevention",
                     "parallel-subagent-dispatch"]

# Core-6: every agent (skills/SKILL.md is unaffected).
CORE_BLOCK_ORDER = ["critical-thinking-mindset", "ai-mistake-prevention",
                    "sequential-thinking-protocol", "task-tracking-external-report",
                    "project-reference-docs-guide", "agent-bootstrap"]

# Code-10: Core-6 + code-investigation blocks, for agents that read/review AND fix code.
CODE_BLOCK_ORDER = CORE_BLOCK_ORDER + ["understand-code-first", "evidence-based-reasoning",
                                       "cross-service-check", "fix-layer-accountability"]

# Readonly-Code-8: Core-6 + reading-discipline blocks only, for read-only/design
# agents that locate/read/design code but never fix a layer or cross a service
# boundary (excludes the two mutation-oriented blocks).
READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER = CORE_BLOCK_ORDER + ["understand-code-first", "evidence-based-reasoning"]

Agent tiering: agents no longer share one block list. find_target_files() classifies each .claude/agents/*.md by explicit membership in one of three sets:

• CODE_AGENTS (17 code/review/fix agents → CODE_BLOCK_ORDER, Code-10).
• READONLY_CODE_AGENTS (4 read-only/design agents — researcher, scout, scout-external, ui-ux-designer → READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER, Core-6 + understand-code-first + evidence-based-reasoning; the mutation-oriented cross-service-check + fix-layer-accountability are deliberately excluded to save tokens on agents that only locate/read/design code).
• CORE_ONLY_AGENTS (8 non-code agents → CORE_BLOCK_ORDER, Core-6).

An agent in none of the three sets (or in more than one) raises SystemExit — no silent default; classify it before the script will run. Skills always use SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER. Pass --agents-only to scope a run to agents (skip skills).

Adding a new agent: add its basename to exactly one of CODE_AGENTS / READONLY_CODE_AGENTS / CORE_ONLY_AGENTS in sync-hooks-to-skills.py and in the regression suite .claude/hooks/tests/suites/agent-universal-rules.test.cjs (TC-UAR-005 fails until both agree). The two enforce one invariant.

Note — the inserter is insert-only. Moving an agent from CODE to READONLY_CODE (or otherwise dropping a block from its tier) does NOT remove the now-excess SYNC block from its .md on disk — process_file only inserts missing blocks. Strip the excess block(s) from the agent .md source by hand (or a scoped one-off) so the regression suite's tier assertions pass.

Skill-only blocks (orchestration). A block in SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER but in NO agent tier reaches every skill and zero agents. TC-UAR-017 treats that shape as drift by default — a protocol that reached ≥3 skills but no agent is usually an oversight — so declare a genuinely skill-only block in BOTH lists:

• .claude/hooks/tests/suites/agent-universal-rules.test.cjs → AGENT_ADOPTION_EXEMPT — the ONLY list TC-UAR-017 reads. Omit the block here and the suite fails.
• .claude/scripts/agent_protocol_matrix.py → EXCLUDED_ORCHESTRATION — read only by that file's own --validate check (b) (agent_protocol_matrix.py:481), which rejects a per-agent manifest that assigns an excluded block without an ORCHESTRATION_WHITELIST entry. Omit it here and no test fails; the manifest is simply free to assign the block to an agent.

No cross-check exists. The two lists are enforced by two SEPARATE mechanisms and nothing verifies they agree — TC-UAR-017 never reads EXCLUDED_ORCHESTRATION (it appears in that test file only in a comment and a failure-message string). Keeping them in step is a convention, not an enforced invariant: update both by hand in the same change.

The bar for that exemption is caller-side ownership: the block must drive orchestration the leaf either cannot perform (it has no access to the parent conversation, workflow state, or the user) or has no basis to perform (the decision was already made upstream before its brief was issued). Current members — nested-task-creation, subagent-return-contract, sub-agent-selection, parallel-phase-advancement, parallel-subagent-dispatch, goal-contract-satisfaction-loop — expand workflow steps, choose/brief sub-agents, partition a task list into parallel waves, or drive a user-facing convergence loop. parallel-subagent-dispatch is the second kind: an agent CAN spawn (agent files generally carry no tools: restriction), but it receives one already-partitioned brief, so re-running PAR/SEQ tagging inside it re-decides upstream's call. An agent that legitimately fans out carries that instruction in its own .claude/agents/*.md definition instead.

Step B3: Run the script (dry-run first)

python .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py --dry-run --verbose
# Verify: expected N updated, 0 errors

python .claude/scripts/sync-hooks-to-skills.py --verbose
# Verify: the computed on-disk tier inventory was processed; already-current targets skip

Step B4: Verify

# Confirm target files now contain the new block. Expected count is TIER-AWARE.
# The skill tier and the agent tiers are INDEPENDENT lists — a block reaches
# agents only if it is ALSO in an agent tier, so union the rows that apply:
#   - block in SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER ONLY     → every discovered skill, 0 agents
#                                           (skill-only ⇒ must be declared in BOTH
#                                            exemption lists — see "Skill-only blocks")
#   - block in SKILL_BLOCK_ORDER + CORE   → every discovered skill + every discovered agent
#   - block in CORE_BLOCK_ORDER           → every discovered agent (skills excluded)
#   - block in READONLY_CODE_BLOCK_ORDER  → 21 agents (17 code + 4 readonly-code)
#   - block in CODE_BLOCK_ORDER           → 17 code agents only
grep -rl "SYNC:new-block-name" .claude/skills/*/SKILL.md .claude/agents/*.md | wc -l

# Then run the agent-coverage regression suite — it asserts tier membership,
# disjointness, and SYNC tag balance across the discovered agent inventory.
node .claude/hooks/tests/run-all-tests.cjs --filter=agent-universal

Check a representative file of each affected tier manually to confirm placement and formatting.

---

Usage Examples

/sync-skills-shared-protocols understand-code-first     # Sync one tag (Operation A)
/sync-skills-shared-protocols all                        # Sync all tags (Operation A)
/sync-skills-shared-protocols                            # Interactive — asks which tags
# Adding new block: use Operation B workflow above (script-driven)

Rules

• ALWAYS edit sync-inline-versions.md FIRST, then run this skill
• NEVER modify content outside <!-- SYNC:tag --> boundaries
• NEVER touch :reminder blocks unless explicitly asked
• If close tag is missing in a target file, SKIP that file and report it as an error
• Use the Grep tool (not shell grep) per project conventions
• Verify tag balance after every sync run
• For bulk-insert (Operation B): use sync-hooks-to-skills.py — NEVER do it manually across 288 files

---

<!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset -->

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset --> <!-- SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy -->

Shared Protocol Duplication Policy — Inline protocol content in skills (wrapped in <!-- SYNC:tag -->) is INTENTIONAL duplication. Do NOT extract, deduplicate, or replace with file references. AI compliance drops significantly when protocols are behind file-read indirection. To update: edit .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md first, then grep SYNC:protocol-name and update all occurrences.

<!-- /SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy --> <!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention -->

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect. Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns. When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention --> <!-- SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy:reminder -->

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION follow duplication policy: inline protocols are INTENTIONAL, never extract to file references

<!-- /SYNC:shared-protocol-duplication-policy:reminder --> <!-- SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

<!-- /SYNC:critical-thinking-mindset:reminder --> <!-- SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

<!-- /SYNC:ai-mistake-prevention:reminder --> <!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay -->

Project Protocol Overlay — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the Target column of the project's skill-protocol index (docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md by default; a referenceDocs entry in docs/project-config.json overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > *. That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill. Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: .claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md.

Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay --> <!-- SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

MUST ATTENTION resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > *, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user.

<!-- /SYNC:project-protocol-overlay:reminder -->

Closing Reminders

Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):

• Critical Thinking: apply critical+sequential thinking; trace every claim, confidence >80%.
• Shared Protocol Duplication: inline protocols are intentional; never extract to file references.
• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.

IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION edit sync-inline-versions.md FIRST before syncing to skills IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION verify SYNC tag balance after every sync run IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION NEVER modify content outside <!-- SYNC:tag --> boundaries IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION skip files with missing close tags and report as errors

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using TaskCreate.