ClaudeKit Updater Skill
Safely update ClaudeKit Engineer projects to the latest version with automated backup, testing, and verification.
Core Capabilities
Single Project Update
- Update one project with test branch
- Automatic backup creation
- Preserve user settings (settings.local.json)
- Full verification checks
- Easy rollback if needed
Batch Updates
- Update multiple projects sequentially
- Pause between projects for testing
- Consolidated status reporting
- Skip non-ClaudeKit projects
Discovery
- Find all ClaudeKit projects in home directory
- Verify project structure
- Check for uncommitted changes
- Detect git repository status
Safety Features
- Timestamped backups (.claude.backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS)
- Git test branches (safe mode)
- Never modifies user code
- Preserves custom settings
- Verification checks (6-9 checks)
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when:
- User wants to update ClaudeKit to latest version
- New features/skills/commands are available
- Maintaining multiple ClaudeKit projects
- Applying framework updates
- User says "update ClaudeKit" or "upgrade ClaudeKit"
Update Process
Safe Mode (Default)
- Create timestamped backup
- Create git test branch
- Update framework files (agents, commands, workflows, skills, hooks)
- Preserve settings.local.json
- Run verification checks
- Report results with next steps
Quick Mode
- Create timestamped backup
- Update directly (no test branch)
- Preserve settings
- Verify
- Report results
What Gets Updated
Modified (54 files):
.claude/agents/- All 14 agent definitions.claude/commands/- All 36 command files.claude/workflows/- All 4 workflow files
Added (516 files):
.claude/skills/- 19 new skills.claude/hooks/- Security and notification hooks- Configuration files (.env.example, metadata.json, etc.)
Preserved:
- All user project code (everything outside .claude/)
.claude/settings.local.json- Git history
- Custom commands/agents
Usage Examples
Example 1: Update Single Project
# User request: "Update my Lex-Stream project to latest ClaudeKit"
# Step 1: Read project location
cd ~/Lex-Stream
# Step 2: Run update script
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh ~/Lex-Stream
# Step 3: Verify output shows:
# ✓ Backup created
# ✓ Test branch created
# ✓ Framework updated
# ✓ Settings preserved
# ✓ Verification: X/X checks passed
# ✓ Update complete
# Step 4: Report results to user
Example 2: Update Multiple Projects
# User request: "Update all my ClaudeKit projects"
# Step 1: Find projects
find ~ -type d -name ".claude" -maxdepth 3 2>/dev/null | sed 's|/.claude||'
# Step 2: Run batch script
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/batch-update-example.sh
# Or update one by one:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh ~/Lex-Stream
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh ~/Lex-stream-2
Example 3: Quick Mode Update
# User request: "Quickly update my project"
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh ~/my-project --quick
Example 4: Find ClaudeKit Projects
# User request: "What ClaudeKit projects do I have?"
find ~ -type d -name ".claude" -maxdepth 3 2>/dev/null | sed 's|/.claude||'
# Example output:
# /Users/sam/Lex-Stream
# /Users/sam/Lex-stream-2
Verification Steps
After running update, verify:
cd ~/project-path
# Check new files exist
ls .claude/skills/ai-multimodal/SKILL.md
ls .claude/commands/code.md
ls .claude/commands/use-mcp.md
ls .claude/skills/backend-development/SKILL.md
# Check git status
git branch
# Should show: update-claudekit-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
# Check file count
find .claude -type f | wc -l
# Should show ~570+ files (was ~60)
# Check backup exists
ls -la | grep .claude.backup
Post-Update: Test & Merge
Testing
cd ~/project-path
claude
# Try new commands:
/ask "what's new in v1.14?"
/code
/use-mcp
/review:codebase
Merge (if tests pass)
git add .
git commit -m "chore: update ClaudeKit Engineer to v1.14.0"
git checkout main
git merge update-claudekit-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
git branch -d update-claudekit-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
Rollback (if tests fail)
git checkout main
git branch -D update-claudekit-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
# Main branch unchanged - easy rollback!
Troubleshooting
Uncommitted Changes Error
# Error: "You have uncommitted changes"
cd ~/project-path
git add .
git commit -m "chore: commit before ClaudeKit update"
# Then run update again
Template Not Found
# Verify template exists
ls /Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/.claude/
# Should show: agents, commands, workflows, skills, hooks
Verification Checks Failed
# Check which files are missing
ls .claude/skills/ai-multimodal/
ls .claude/commands/code.md
# If missing, run update again
Script Not Executable
chmod +x /Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh
What's New in Latest Version
v1.14.0 Features:
- 19 new skills (ai-multimodal, backend-dev, mobile-dev, databases, devops, etc.)
- 9 new commands (/code, /use-mcp, /review:codebase, /fix, etc.)
- 2 new agents (mcp-manager, scout-external)
- Better token efficiency (uses Haiku where appropriate)
- Security hooks (scout-block prevents .env exposure)
- Notification hooks (Discord, Telegram)
- Performance improvements
Success Criteria
✅ Update Successful When:
- Script completes without errors
- Backup created with timestamp
- Test branch created (safe mode)
- Verification shows X/X checks passed
- New files visible in .claude/skills/
- settings.local.json preserved
- User code untouched
Important Notes
- Only .claude/ directory is modified - User code is 100% safe
- Always creates backup - Easy rollback available
- Safe mode creates test branch - Main branch never touched
- Settings preserved - settings.local.json is restored
- Quick mode available - Use --quick flag for faster updates
File Locations
Update Script:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/update-claudekit-project.sh
Batch Script:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/batch-update-example.sh
Documentation:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/UPDATE-PROJECTS.md
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/CLAUDE-UPDATE-INSTRUCTIONS.md
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/HOW-TO-USE-WITH-FRESH-CLAUDE.md
Desktop References:
~/Desktop/claudekit-update-cheatsheet.txt
~/Desktop/FRESH-CLAUDE-PROMPT.txt
Skill Activation Examples
Example prompts that should activate this skill:
- "Update my ClaudeKit project"
- "Upgrade Lex-Stream to latest ClaudeKit"
- "Update all my ClaudeKit Engineer projects"
- "What ClaudeKit projects can I update?"
- "Apply the latest ClaudeKit framework updates"
- "Update to ClaudeKit v1.14"
- "Upgrade my ClaudeKit to get the new skills"
Response Template
When user requests update:
I'll update your ClaudeKit project(s) to the latest version (v1.14.0).
[Run update script and show progress]
Update Results:
✓ Backup created: .claude.backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
✓ Test branch: update-claudekit-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
✓ Framework updated: 54 files modified, 516 files added
✓ Settings preserved: settings.local.json ✓
✓ Verification: X/X checks passed
What's New:
• 19 new skills (ai-multimodal, backend-dev, mobile-dev, etc.)
• 9 new commands (/code, /use-mcp, /review:codebase)
• Better token efficiency
• Security hooks
Next Steps:
1. Test: cd ~/project && claude
2. If good, merge: git checkout main && git merge update-claudekit-*
3. If issues, rollback: git checkout main && git branch -D update-claudekit-*
Common User Requests
| Request | Action | |---------|--------| | "Update Lex-Stream" | Run script on ~/Lex-Stream | | "Update all projects" | Use batch script or iterate | | "What's new?" | Show changelog from v1.14.0 | | "Quick update" | Add --quick flag | | "Find my projects" | Use find command for .claude dirs | | "Rollback update" | Checkout main, delete test branch | | "Merge update" | Commit, checkout main, merge |
References
- Changelog:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/CHANGELOG.md - Template:
/Users/sam/claudekit-engineer/.claude/ - Comparison:
temp-update-files/claudekit-update-comparison.md - GitHub: https://github.com/claudekit/claudekit-engineer
- Docs: https://docs.claudekit.cc
This skill enables safe, automated ClaudeKit project updates with full backup and rollback capabilities.
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