/update-claudeclaw

name: update-claudeclaw
description: Efficiently bring upstream ClaudeClaw updates into a customized install, with preview, selective cherry-pick, and low token usage.

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` an