Artifact Lifecycle Skill

Convenience wrapper for the unified artifact lifecycle workflow.

Overview

This skill provides a simplified interface to the comprehensive artifact lifecycle management workflow at .claude/workflows/core/skill-lifecycle.md .

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Create a new artifact (skill, agent, hook, workflow, template, schema)

• Update an existing artifact

• Deprecate an artifact with migration guidance

• Check if an artifact already exists

Quick Start

// Invoke this skill Skill({ skill: 'artifact-lifecycle' });

Workflow Reference

Full Workflow: .claude/workflows/core/skill-lifecycle.md

Phases

Phase 1: Discovery

Check if artifact exists, compare versions.

Agent: architect Output: Discovery report with recommendations

Phase 2: Decision

Determine action: CREATE, UPDATE, or DEPRECATE.

Agent: planner Output: Action plan with tasks

Phase 3: Action

Execute the determined action.

Agent: developer + appropriate creator skill Tools:

• Skill({ skill: "skill-creator" }) for skills

• Skill({ skill: "agent-creator" }) for agents

• Skill({ skill: "hook-creator" }) for hooks

• Skill({ skill: "workflow-creator" }) for workflows

Phase 4: Integration

Update registries, catalogs, and CLAUDE.md.

Agent: developer Updates:

• creator-registry.json

• skill-catalog.md (for skills)

• CLAUDE.md Section 3 (for agents) or Section 8.5/8.6 (for skills/workflows)

Phase 5: Validation

Test integration and verify references.

Agent: qa Checks:

• Artifact invocable

• References valid

• No broken cross-references

Usage Examples

Create New Skill

User: "Create a skill for Kubernetes deployment"

Router spawns with: Skill({ skill: "artifact-lifecycle" })

Workflow determines: CREATE mode Invokes: skill-creator Updates: registry, catalog, CLAUDE.md Validates: skill invocable

Update Existing Agent

User: "Update the devops agent to support Terraform Cloud"

Router spawns with: Skill({ skill: "artifact-lifecycle" })

Workflow determines: UPDATE mode Version: 1.0.0 → 1.1.0 Updates: agent file, CHANGELOG Validates: agent referenced correctly

Deprecate Workflow

User: "Deprecate the old deployment workflow"

Router spawns with: Skill({ skill: "artifact-lifecycle" })

Workflow determines: DEPRECATE mode Adds: deprecation notice, migration guide Updates: CLAUDE.md with replacement reference Validates: no broken references

Configuration

Parameter Values Default

artifact_type skill, agent, hook, workflow, template, schema auto-detect

operation create, update, deprecate, integrate auto-detect

version_bump major, minor, patch minor

Iron Laws

• ALWAYS use type-specific creator skills — never treat artifact-lifecycle as a shortcut that bypasses research-synthesis, companion-check, or validation; each phase exists for a reason.

• ALWAYS determine operation mode before starting action (CREATE/UPDATE/DEPRECATE) — never begin Phase 3 without a confirmed Phase 2 decision; wrong operation = wasted or dangerous work.

• NEVER skip Phase 5 validation — artifacts must be verified as invocable before the lifecycle task is marked complete; broken artifacts delivered as complete are worse than none.

• ALWAYS update catalog and CLAUDE.md in Phase 4 — artifacts without catalog/routing entries are invisible to agents and the router; integration without registration is incomplete.

• NEVER use artifact-lifecycle for simple single-artifact updates — use type-specific updaters (skill-updater, agent-updater, workflow-updater); lifecycle is for multi-phase orchestration only.

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern Why It Fails Correct Approach

Skipping research-synthesis before CREATE Risk of creating a duplicate or outdated artifact Always run research-synthesis first

Starting action before Phase 2 decision Wrong operation applied; CREATE when UPDATE needed Complete Phase 2 before Phase 3

Skipping Phase 5 validation Broken artifacts delivered as complete Always run invocability check

No catalog/registry update in Phase 4 Artifact is invisible to agents and router Always update catalog, registry, and CLAUDE.md

Using artifact-lifecycle for simple version bumps Heavyweight process for lightweight work Use skill-updater/agent-updater for UPDATE mode

Not specifying artifact_type Wrong creator skill invoked silently Always specify or verify artifact_type in Phase 1

Memory Protocol

• Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md before starting

• Record decisions to .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

• Record issues to .claude/context/memory/issues.md

Related Skills

• skill-creator

• Direct skill creation

• agent-creator

• Direct agent creation

• workflow-creator

• Direct workflow creation

• codebase-integration

• External artifact integration

Related Workflows

• .claude/workflows/core/skill-lifecycle.md

• Full lifecycle workflow

• .claude/workflows/core/external-integration.md

• External artifact integration

• .claude/workflows/core/router-decision.md

• Router decision flow