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CLI Flag Conventions

Explains Skillset's shared CLI flag rules and projects the complete contract-owned flag and environment vocabulary.

The CLI command reference documents which options each public route accepts. This page owns the cross-command rules and projects the exhaustive flag vocabulary from CLI_FLAGS; it does not duplicate route assignments by hand.

Rules

  • --root <path> is the only public workspace-location override. Canonical source and output roots come from skillset.yaml and .skillset/.
  • Preview is the default for plan-first mutations. --yes confirms a fully specified mutation without selecting what it should do.
  • --write enables deterministic ordinary writes for comprehensive or continuous workflows. --fix is the CI-specific repair flag for check --ci.
  • --use source|output selects reconciliation direction. Reconcile still requires --yes to apply the selected plan non-interactively.
  • --scope narrows source units or generated destination groups; it never redirects workspace roots.
  • --json selects one finite versioned result document. --jsonl selects a versioned event stream. Protocol commands may retain route-specific --format when the value changes protocol encoding.
  • Removed flags fail as unknown; compatibility aliases are not retained.
  • Human and machine modes share the CLI exit classes. Unknown or misplaced flags are usage failures.

Contract-owned flag vocabulary

Flag Family Value Meaning
--activation output boolean Inspect bounded provider activation evidence for status or explain.
--adopt <value>... mode repeatable-value Select detected adoption candidates by stable id, or all.
--agent-runtime mode boolean Render provider agent-runtime hook guidance.
--all selection boolean Select every configured generated output rather than updated output.
--append mutation boolean Append to an existing pending change reason.
--attach <value> selection value Attach a new adaptive hook to an existing source-unit selector; without it, new hook writes a shared definition to the source root hooks/ folder.
--background mode boolean Queue an ad hoc test and return after recording it.
--bump <value> input value Set the release impact of a change entry.
--ci mode boolean Run check with strict non-interactive CI policy and reporting.
--claude-setting-sources <value> input value Select Claude-native setting sources for an explicit Claude ad hoc test.
--compat [value...] selection optional-value Filter lookup facts by one or more providers.
--command <value> input value Set the command action for a new adaptive hook.
--context-fields <value> selection value Select normalized hook runtime context fields.
--details output boolean Show projection-level source and output paths.
--draft mode boolean Create a new skill under the selected container’s _drafts directory.
--event <value>... input repeatable-value Select a hook event; repeat where the route permits.
--events selection boolean Show lookup event facts.
--examples selection boolean Show lookup examples.
--field <value> selection value Select one lookup field path.
--fields selection boolean Show lookup field facts.
--fix mutation boolean With check –ci, repair the ordinary drift allowed by local check –write.
--format <value> output value Select a protocol command encoding such as hook context env or json.
--from <value> input value Select the provider origin for local import.
--frontmatter selection boolean Show lookup frontmatter facts.
--group <value> selection value Select or assign a change group.
--help output boolean Print help for the selected command route.
--id <value> input value Set an explicit stable source-unit id.
--in <value> selection value Select the containing plugin for a new source unit.
--include <value>... selection repeatable-value Include an optional setup scaffold component; ci is the only component.
--discard-edits mutation boolean Overwrite hand-edited generated output during a repair instead of preserving it.
--isolated mode boolean Use the isolated generated-output mirror instead of live output roots.
--json output boolean Emit exactly one versioned finite JSON result document.
--jsonl output boolean Emit a versioned newline-delimited event stream.
--kind <value> selection value Select the import source kind.
--lines <value> selection value Limit retained run output lines.
--list output boolean List integrity-checked generated-output backups without restoring them.
--name <value> input value Set a route-specific human or stable name where the route permits it.
--only <value> selection value Restrict check to one named readiness component.
--plugin <value>... selection repeatable-value Select plugins for an ad hoc test rendering.
--pre-commit selection boolean Select the pre-commit hook snippet.
--pre-push selection boolean Select the pre-push hook snippet.
--preset <value>... input repeatable-value Apply a named skill preset: assets, evals, examples-file, minimal, reference-file, references, scripts, or support.
--prompt <value> input value Provide an inline ad hoc test prompt.
--prompt-file <value> input value Provide a source-local ad hoc test prompt file.
--provider <value>... selection repeatable-value Constrain a new adaptive hook to a compatible provider.
--reason <value> input value Provide change or release reason text, with ‘-’ meaning stdin.
--reason-file <value> input value Read change or release reason text from a file.
--ref <value> selection value Select a change or release record by reference.
--report <value> output value Write an additional command-owned report artifact without changing source truth.
--root <value> context value Select the repository root; defaults to cwd or Git root according to the route.
--runner <value> selection value Select the hook runner syntax to print.
--schema selection boolean Show lookup schema facts.
--scope <value>... selection repeatable-value Select a route-owned source unit or generated destination scope; never changes workspace roots.
--script <value> input value Set the script action for a new adaptive hook.
--since <value> selection value Select the Git baseline for change-aware checks or ledgers.
--staged selection boolean Restrict a change check or status read to staged changes.
--target <value> selection value Select one provider target for a route.
--targets <value> selection value Select the initial provider set for the new workspace.
--timeout-ms <value> mode value Set the run timeout in milliseconds.
--updated selection boolean Select only generated output affected by current source, the default build mode.
--use <value> mode value Select source or output as the authority for a reconciliation plan.
--values selection boolean Show lookup finite-value facts.
--version output boolean Print the Skillset product version.
--write mutation boolean Enable deterministic ordinary output writes for a route whose default is continuous or comprehensive preview.
--repair <value>... mode repeatable-value Classify generated output against the lock and a fresh render, restoring missing output and refusing to discard hand edits. Names the managed output paths to repair, or repairs all of them.
--yes mutation boolean Confirm a fully specified plan-first mutation without prompting.

Reserved combinations

  • check --fix without --ci fails.
  • check --ci --write fails; CI uses --fix so automation intent is visible.
  • check --since and --report without --ci fail.
  • --updated and --all are mutually exclusive.
  • --prompt and --prompt-file are mutually exclusive and imply an ad hoc test.
  • --use accepts exactly source or output; --yes without --use cannot apply reconcile.
  • restore --list is read-only and cannot be combined with a backup id or --yes.
  • --json and --jsonl are mutually exclusive. Leaf-route support follows the structured-output ADR, not a permissive global parser.

These combinations remain authored policy because the CLI flag registry does not encode cross-flag constraints. Parser tests verify their runtime behavior.

Environment contract

Environment overrides exist only for explicit runtime-test and installed-hook integration boundaries. Ordinary source, check, build, update, and reconcile behavior has no environment-variable compatibility layer.

Variable Contract
SKILLSET_HOOK_COMMAND Override the Skillset executable and optional arguments used by an explicitly installed hook integration. Quote executable paths that contain spaces; shell syntax and quoted shell expansions run through /bin/sh on POSIX and %ComSpec% on Windows.
SKILLSET_HOOK_EVENT Carry the normalized hook event into an explicit hook command.
SKILLSET_PROVIDER Carry the selected provider into an explicit hook command.
SKILLSET_SESSION_ID Carry the provider session id into an explicit hook command.
SKILLSET_TEST_CLAUDE_BIN Override the Claude executable for an explicit ad hoc or declared runtime test.
SKILLSET_TEST_CLAUDE_SETTING_SOURCES Set the default Claude setting-source isolation for an explicit runtime test.
SKILLSET_TEST_CODEX_BIN Override the Codex executable for an explicit ad hoc or declared runtime test.
SKILLSET_TEST_CURSOR_BIN Override the Cursor executable for an explicit ad hoc or declared runtime test.

Standard XDG_CACHE_HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, and XDG_STATE_HOME behavior remains platform context rather than Skillset CLI vocabulary.

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