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Update Instructions

Documents
update-instructions

Update Instructions is an Agent Skill for documents published in the majiayu000/claude-skill-registry repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Smart merge for CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md instruction files that preserves user customizations while updating SpecWeave sections. Use after plugin refresh, version upgrade, or when instruction files need sync. Parses SW-managed sections and preserves user content.

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How to use this skill

Bring this guide into your coding agent with a prompt tailored to the tool you use.

  1. Open your project in Codex.
  2. Copy and paste the prompt below.
  3. Review files and risks before approving any action.
Prompt to paste
Inspect the Agent Skill at https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/blob/HEAD/skills/data/update-instructions/SKILL.md and all supporting files. Report provenance, permissions, scripts, dependencies, and security risks. Propose an exact installation into .agents/skills/update-instructions, but wait for my approval before writing files or running scripts.

Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use.

Update Instructions Skill

Smart merge for CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md instruction files.

What It Does

  1. Reads existing instruction files (if present)
  2. Parses SW-managed sections (marked with <!-- SW:SECTION:X -->)
  3. Preserves user content (anything between or after SW sections)
  4. Updates SW sections with latest template content
  5. Writes merged result back to file

When to Use

  • After running specweave refresh-marketplace
  • After upgrading SpecWeave version (npm update -g specweave)
  • When CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md seem outdated
  • To sync instruction files with latest framework features

Usage

/sw:update-instructions

Or via CLI:

npx specweave update-instructions

How Merge Works

Fresh Install (no existing file)

Creates new file with all SW sections + meta header

Legacy File (no SW markers)

Prepends new SW content, preserves original below separator

Marked File (has SW markers)

Updates SW sections in-place, preserves user content between sections

Section Format

Template sections (in .template files):

<!-- SECTION:rules required -->
## Rules
Content here...
<!-- /SECTION -->

Generated sections (in output files):

<!-- SW:META template="claude" version="1.0.0" sections="header,rules,..." -->

<!-- SW:SECTION:header version="1.0.0" -->
Content...
<!-- SW:END:header -->

User Customization

Add custom content between SW sections or after the last section:

<!-- SW:END:docs -->

## My Custom Section

This will be preserved during updates!

Files Affected

  • CLAUDE.md - Claude Code instruction file
  • AGENTS.md - Generic AI tool instruction file

Project-Specific Learnings

Before starting work, check for project-specific learnings:

# Check if skill memory exists for this skill
cat .specweave/skill-memories/update-instructions.md 2>/dev/null || echo "No project learnings yet"

Project learnings are automatically captured by the reflection system when corrections or patterns are identified during development. These learnings help you understand project-specific conventions and past decisions.