Spec Kitty Sync Plugin

You are an active administrator for the Spec-Driven Development framework. This skill handles both initial setup and ongoing updates, ensuring the CLI, templates, plugin, and agent environments are all in sync.

Key principle: This project maintains two layers of knowledge:

• Upstream content (auto-synced from spec-kitty CLI) — command templates, rules, mission configs

• Custom augmented knowledge (hand-maintained) — best practices, safety guidance, workflow notes, project-specific conventions

The sync must NEVER overwrite custom augmented knowledge. Instead, the agent reviews upstream changes and intelligently reconciles them with existing custom content.

Visual References

• Update flow: See sync-plugin-flow.mmd

• Initial install flow: See init-install-flow.mmd

Execution Protocol

CRITICAL RULE: Do not simulate these steps. You must invoke the bash commands and read their outputs.

Step 0: Detect Mode (Init vs Update)

Check if .kittify/ exists in the project root:

test -d .kittify && echo "UPDATE" || echo "INIT"

• INIT mode: First-time setup. Use spec-kitty init . (no --force ).

• UPDATE mode: Refresh existing setup. Use spec-kitty init . --force .

Step 1: Install or Upgrade the CLI

Install or update the spec-kitty-cli package:

pip install --upgrade spec-kitty-cli

Confirm the installed version:

spec-kitty --version

Step 2: Initialize or Refresh Templates

Pull the latest command templates, mission configs, and scripts into .kittify/ :

INIT mode (first time):

spec-kitty init . --ai windsurf

This creates .kittify/ , .windsurf/workflows/ , mission configs, and git hooks.

UPDATE mode (existing project):

spec-kitty init . --ai windsurf --force

This refreshes existing templates without affecting project-specific configs.

Step 3: Sync to Spec-Kitty Plugin (Automated)

Convert the refreshed .kittify/ templates into distributable plugin components inside plugins/spec-kitty-plugin/ :

python3 plugins/spec-kitty-plugin/skills/spec-kitty-agent/scripts/sync_configuration.py

This generates skills, rules, and templates that agents can consume.

IMPORTANT: This step ONLY touches auto-generated files (14 command skill SKILL.md files, rules, templates). It does NOT touch custom skills listed below.

Step 3b: Review & Reconcile Custom Knowledge (Agent-Reviewed)

This is the intelligence step. After the automated sync, you MUST review what changed and reconcile with custom augmented skills.

3b.1: Identify What Changed

Compare the new .kittify/ content against what was there before:

git diff --stat -- .kittify/ .windsurf/ ../../

Summarize the key changes for the user (new commands, removed commands, changed templates, updated mission configs).

3b.2: Review Custom Skills

The following contain custom augmented knowledge that is NOT generated by sync_configuration.py . They MUST be reviewed for staleness after every upstream update:

Custom Skills (in skills/ , never touched by sync):

Custom Skill Contains Review For

skills/spec-kitty-workflow/SKILL.md

End-to-end workflow guide, safety steps, best practices New commands/phases added upstream, safety guidance still accurate

skills/spec-kitty-sync-plugin/SKILL.md

This skill (meta) Script paths still valid, new sync features

skills/spec-kitty-agent/SKILL.md

Agent config sync, combined lifecycle New agent configs, changes to sync scripts

AUGMENTED.md Files (in skills/*/references/ , adjacent to auto-synced SKILL.md — never overwritten):

Augmented File Contains Review For

skills/spec-kitty-merge/references/AUGMENTED.md

Pre-merge safety protocol, branch protection awareness, kitty-specs conflict resolution New merge flags, changed CLI behavior

skills/spec-kitty-implement/references/AUGMENTED.md

Worktree discipline, commit hygiene, dependency management New implement flags, changed validation rules

skills/spec-kitty-review/references/AUGMENTED.md

Batch review protocol, review standards, dependency verification New review commands, changed lane logic

For each custom skill:

• Read the current content

• Compare against the new upstream .kittify/ command templates

• Check if any new features, commands, or workflow changes require updates

• Check if any existing custom guidance references deprecated features

3b.3: Propose Updates (Never Overwrite)

If changes are needed in custom skills:

• ADD new sections for new upstream features

• UPDATE references to renamed or changed commands

• PRESERVE all custom best practices, safety guidance, and project-specific notes

• FLAG any conflicts between upstream changes and custom guidance for user review

Present proposed changes to the user in diff format before applying them.

3b.4: Protected Files Checklist & Escalation Taxonomy

Before completing the sync, verify these files were NOT deleted or corrupted:

• .agent/rules/constitution.md (symlinked from .kittify/memory/ )

• .agent/rules/standard-workflow-rules.md

• .agent/rules/01_PROCESS/* (policy files)

• .agent/rules/02_OPERATIONS/*

• .agent/rules/03_TECHNICAL/*

test -f .agent/rules/constitution.md && echo "constitution OK" || echo "MISSING!" ls .agent/rules/01_PROCESS/ .agent/rules/02_OPERATIONS/ .agent/rules/03_TECHNICAL/ 2>/dev/null | head -20

Escalation Taxonomy (Missing Data Response) If ANY protected file is missing or ls returns an error, trigger the Escalation Taxonomy:

• Stop: Do not proceed to Step 4 (Bridging).

• Alert: 🚨 PROTECTED FILE MISSING 🚨

• Explain: State which file is missing (e.g., "constitution.md was deleted during update").

• Recommend: "We must restore this file from git history before bridging plugins."

• Draft: Ask the user for permission to run git checkout -- <file> .

Step 4: Deploy to Agent Environments (Interactive)

ASK THE USER before deploying:

Which plugins should I install/update?

• Only spec-kitty-plugin (just the updated spec-kitty commands)

• All plugins (full ecosystem sync across all 80+ plugins)

If spec-kitty-plugin only: Invoke the npx skills installer targeted specifically at plugins/spec-kitty-plugin :

npx skills add ./plugins/spec-kitty-plugin --force

If all plugins: Invoke the npx skills installer across the entire plugins/ directory:

npx skills add ./plugins/ --force

Step 5: Confirmation

Inform the user:

• Whether this was an INIT or UPDATE

• Which CLI version is now installed

• How many skills/rules/templates were synced (auto-generated)

• What changed in the upstream update (key diff summary)

• Whether any custom skills needed reconciliation (and what was proposed)

• Whether all protected files are intact

• Which plugins were bridged to which agents

• That they must Reload their Window (or restart the agent session) to see the new commands