update-claudeclaw
Efficiently bring upstream ClaudeClaw updates into a customized install, with preview, selective cherry-pick, and low token usage.
Best use case
update-claudeclaw is best used when you need a repeatable AI agent workflow instead of a one-off prompt.
Efficiently bring upstream ClaudeClaw updates into a customized install, with preview, selective cherry-pick, and low token usage.
Teams using update-claudeclaw should expect a more consistent output, faster repeated execution, less prompt rewriting.
When to use this skill
- You want a reusable workflow that can be run more than once with consistent structure.
When not to use this skill
- You only need a quick one-off answer and do not need a reusable workflow.
- You cannot install or maintain the underlying files, dependencies, or repository context.
Installation
Claude Code / Cursor / Codex
Manual Installation
- Download SKILL.md from GitHub
- Place it in
.claude/skills/update-claudeclaw/SKILL.mdinside your project - Restart your AI agent — it will auto-discover the skill
How update-claudeclaw Compares
| Feature / Agent | update-claudeclaw | Standard Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Support | Not specified | Limited / Varies |
| Context Awareness | High | Baseline |
| Installation Complexity | Unknown | N/A |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this skill do?
Efficiently bring upstream ClaudeClaw updates into a customized install, with preview, selective cherry-pick, and low token usage.
Where can I find the source code?
You can find the source code on GitHub using the link provided at the top of the page.
SKILL.md Source
# About Your ClaudeClaw fork drifts from upstream as you customize it. This skill pulls upstream changes into your install without losing your modifications. Run `/update-claudeclaw` in Claude Code. ## How it works **Preflight**: checks for clean working tree (`git status --porcelain`). If `upstream` remote is missing, asks you for the URL (defaults to `https://github.com/sbusso/claudeclaw.git`) and adds it. Detects the upstream branch name (`main` or `master`). **Backup**: creates a timestamped backup branch and tag (`backup/pre-update-<hash>-<timestamp>`, `pre-update-<hash>-<timestamp>`) before touching anything. Safe to run multiple times. **Preview**: runs `git log` and `git diff` against the merge base to show upstream changes since your last sync. Groups changed files into categories: - **Skills** (`.claude/skills/`): unlikely to conflict unless you edited an upstream skill - **Source** (`src/`): may conflict if you modified the same files - **Build/config** (`package.json`, `tsconfig*.json`, `agent/`, `src/runtimes/docker/`): review needed **Update paths** (you pick one): - `merge` (default): `git merge upstream/<branch>`. Resolves all conflicts in one pass. - `cherry-pick`: `git cherry-pick <hashes>`. Pull in only the commits you want. - `rebase`: `git rebase upstream/<branch>`. Linear history, but conflicts resolve per-commit. - `abort`: just view the changelog, change nothing. **Conflict preview**: before merging, runs a dry-run (`git merge --no-commit --no-ff`) to show which files would conflict. You can still abort at this point. **Conflict resolution**: opens only conflicted files, resolves the conflict markers, keeps your local customizations intact. **Validation**: runs `npm run build` and `npm test`. **Breaking changes check**: after validation, reads CHANGELOG.md for any `[BREAKING]` entries introduced by the update. If found, shows each breaking change and offers to run the recommended skill to migrate. ## Rollback The backup tag is printed at the end of each run: ``` git reset --hard pre-update-<hash>-<timestamp> ``` Backup branch `backup/pre-update-<hash>-<timestamp>` also exists. ## Token usage Only opens files with actual conflicts. Uses `git log`, `git diff`, and `git status` for everything else. Does not scan or refactor unrelated code. --- # Goal Help a user with a customized ClaudeClaw install safely incorporate upstream changes without a fresh reinstall and without blowing tokens. # Operating principles - Never proceed with a dirty working tree. - Always create a rollback point (backup branch + tag) before touching anything. - Prefer git-native operations (fetch, merge, cherry-pick). Do not manually rewrite files except conflict markers. - Default to MERGE (one-pass conflict resolution). Offer REBASE as an explicit option. - Keep token usage low: rely on `git status`, `git log`, `git diff`, and open only conflicted files. # Step 0: Preflight (stop early if unsafe) Run: - `git status --porcelain` If output is non-empty: - Tell the user to commit or stash first, then stop. Confirm remotes: - `git remote -v` If `upstream` is missing: - Ask the user for the upstream repo URL (default: `https://github.com/sbusso/claudeclaw.git`). - Add it: `git remote add upstream <user-provided-url>` - Then: `git fetch upstream --prune` Determine the upstream branch name: - `git branch -r | grep upstream/` - If `upstream/main` exists, use `main`. - If only `upstream/master` exists, use `master`. - Otherwise, ask the user which branch to use. - Store this as UPSTREAM_BRANCH for all subsequent commands. Every command below that references `upstream/main` should use `upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` instead. Fetch: - `git fetch upstream --prune` # Step 1: Create a safety net Capture current state: - `HASH=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)` - `TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)` Create backup branch and tag (using timestamp to avoid collisions on retry): - `git branch backup/pre-update-$HASH-$TIMESTAMP` - `git tag pre-update-$HASH-$TIMESTAMP` Save the tag name for later reference in the summary and rollback instructions. # Step 2: Preview what upstream changed (no edits yet) Compute common base: - `BASE=$(git merge-base HEAD upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH)` Show upstream commits since BASE: - `git log --oneline $BASE..upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` Show local commits since BASE (custom drift): - `git log --oneline $BASE..HEAD` Show file-level impact from upstream: - `git diff --name-only $BASE..upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` Bucket the upstream changed files: - **Skills** (`.claude/skills/`): unlikely to conflict unless the user edited an upstream skill - **Source** (`src/`): may conflict if user modified the same files - **Build/config** (`package.json`, `package-lock.json`, `tsconfig*.json`, `agent/`, `src/runtimes/docker/`, `launchd/`): review needed - **Other**: docs, tests, misc Present these buckets to the user and ask them to choose one path using AskUserQuestion: - A) **Full update**: merge all upstream changes - B) **Selective update**: cherry-pick specific upstream commits - C) **Abort**: they only wanted the preview - D) **Rebase mode**: advanced, linear history (warn: resolves conflicts per-commit) If Abort: stop here. # Step 3: Conflict preview (before committing anything) If Full update or Rebase: - Dry-run merge to preview conflicts. Run these as a single chained command so the abort always executes: ``` git merge --no-commit --no-ff upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH; git diff --name-only --diff-filter=U; git merge --abort ``` - If conflicts were listed: show them and ask user if they want to proceed. - If no conflicts: tell user it is clean and proceed. # Step 4A: Full update (MERGE, default) Run: - `git merge upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH --no-edit` If conflicts occur: - Run `git status` and identify conflicted files. - For each conflicted file: - Open the file. - Resolve only conflict markers. - Preserve intentional local customizations. - Incorporate upstream fixes/improvements. - Do not refactor surrounding code. - `git add <file>` - When all resolved: - If merge did not auto-commit: `git commit --no-edit` # Step 4B: Selective update (CHERRY-PICK) If user chose Selective: - Recompute BASE if needed: `BASE=$(git merge-base HEAD upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH)` - Show commit list again: `git log --oneline $BASE..upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` - Ask user which commit hashes they want. - Apply: `git cherry-pick <hash1> <hash2> ...` If conflicts during cherry-pick: - Resolve only conflict markers, then: - `git add <file>` - `git cherry-pick --continue` If user wants to stop: - `git cherry-pick --abort` # Step 4C: Rebase (only if user explicitly chose option D) Run: - `git rebase upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` If conflicts: - Resolve conflict markers only, then: - `git add <file>` - `git rebase --continue` If it gets messy (more than 3 rounds of conflicts): - `git rebase --abort` - Recommend merge instead. # Step 5: Validation Run: - `npm run build` - `npm test` (do not fail the flow if tests are not configured) If build fails: - Show the error. - Only fix issues clearly caused by the merge (missing imports, type mismatches from merged code). - Do not refactor unrelated code. - If unclear, ask the user before making changes. # Step 6: Breaking changes check After validation succeeds, check if the update introduced any breaking changes. Determine which CHANGELOG entries are new by diffing against the backup tag: - `git diff <backup-tag-from-step-1>..HEAD -- CHANGELOG.md` Parse the diff output for lines starting with `+[BREAKING]`. Each such line is one breaking change entry. The format is: ``` [BREAKING] <description>. Run `/<skill-name>` to <action>. ``` If no `[BREAKING]` lines are found: - Skip this step silently. Proceed to Step 7 (skill updates check). If one or more `[BREAKING]` lines are found: - Display a warning header to the user: "This update includes breaking changes that may require action:" - For each breaking change, display the full description. - Collect all skill names referenced in the breaking change entries (the `/<skill-name>` part). - Use AskUserQuestion to ask the user which migration skills they want to run now. Options: - One option per referenced skill (e.g., "Run /add-whatsapp to re-add WhatsApp channel") - "Skip — I'll handle these manually" - Set `multiSelect: true` so the user can pick multiple skills if there are several breaking changes. - For each skill the user selects, invoke it using the Skill tool. - After all selected skills complete (or if user chose Skip), proceed to Step 7 (skill updates check). # Step 7: Check for skill updates After the summary, check if skills are distributed as branches in this repo: - `git branch -r --list 'upstream/skill/*'` If any `upstream/skill/*` branches exist: - Use AskUserQuestion to ask: "Upstream has skill branches. Would you like to check for skill updates?" - Option 1: "Yes, check for updates" (description: "Runs /update-skills to check for and apply skill branch updates") - Option 2: "No, skip" (description: "You can run /update-skills later any time") - If user selects yes, invoke `/update-skills` using the Skill tool. - After the skill completes (or if user selected no), proceed to Step 8. # Step 8: Summary + rollback instructions Show: - Backup tag: the tag name created in Step 1 - New HEAD: `git rev-parse --short HEAD` - Upstream HEAD: `git rev-parse --short upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH` - Conflicts resolved (list files, if any) - Breaking changes applied (list skills run, if any) - Remaining local diff vs upstream: `git diff --name-only upstream/$UPSTREAM_BRANCH..HEAD` Tell the user: - To rollback: `git reset --hard <backup-tag-from-step-1>` - Backup branch also exists: `backup/pre-update-<HASH>-<TIMESTAMP>` > **Service name:** Derived from the directory name: `com.claudeclaw.<dirname>` (macOS) / `claudeclaw-<dirname>` (Linux). - Restart the service to apply changes: - If using launchd: `launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claudeclaw.plist && launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claudeclaw.plist` - If running manually: restart `npm run dev`
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