Sync

Sync Child Project from Parent Template

Pull improvements from a parent template into the current child project. This is the counterpart to the feedback skill — feedback pushes changes UP, sync pulls changes DOWN.

When to Use

• After the feedback skill commits changes to a parent template
• When a child project was forked before recent parent improvements
• When the user notices their template files are outdated compared to the parent
• Periodically, to keep child projects aligned with the latest template conventions

Prerequisites

• $PROJECT_TEMPLATES_DIR — directory containing all template repos
• The current project must have a stack.json with a parent field
• The parent template must be available locally (or cloneable from GitHub)

Step 1: Identify Parent and Current Level

Read stack.json from the current project:

cat stack.json

Extract: level, parent, stack. If parent is null (Level 0), there is nothing to sync from — inform the user and stop.

Step 2: Locate Parent Template

Use the same fallback chain as the feedback skill:

1. $PROJECT_TEMPLATES_DIR/{parent}/
2. ../{parent}/
3. Offer to clone from git@github.com:stackmakers-ai/{parent}.git

Step 3: Compare Files

Compare key template files between parent and child. Focus on files that are inherited (not project-specific):

Files to Compare

Files to Skip (project-specific)

Do NOT sync these — they contain project-specific content:

• stack.json (different level and parent)
• CLAUDE.md (customized per project)
• .env.example (may have project-specific additions)
• project-config/SKILL.md (contains resource IDs)
• Any domain-specific skills, agents, or rules

How to Compare

For each file in the comparison list:

# Check if file exists in both
PARENT_FILE="$PARENT_DIR/$FILE_PATH"
CHILD_FILE="./$FILE_PATH"

if [ -f "$PARENT_FILE" ] && [ -f "$CHILD_FILE" ]; then
  # Compare content
  diff "$PARENT_FILE" "$CHILD_FILE"
elif [ -f "$PARENT_FILE" ] && [ ! -f "$CHILD_FILE" ]; then
  echo "NEW in parent: $FILE_PATH"
elif [ ! -f "$PARENT_FILE" ] && [ -f "$CHILD_FILE" ]; then
  echo "ONLY in child: $FILE_PATH (may be project-specific)"
fi

Step 4: Present Diff Summary

Show the user what changed:

## Sync Report: {child-project} ← {parent-template}

### New in Parent (not in your project)
- .claude/skills/new-skill/SKILL.md — {description from skill frontmatter}
- .claude/rules/new-rule.md

### Modified in Parent (your version differs)
- .claude/commands/commit.md — {brief description of changes}
- .claude/rules/safety.md — {brief description of changes}
- scripts/sync-context.sh — {brief description of changes}

### Unchanged
- .claude/skills/brainstorming/SKILL.md — identical
- (... list of identical files)

### Skipped (project-specific)
- stack.json, CLAUDE.md, .env.example, project-config/SKILL.md

Step 5: User Decision

For each changed file, ask the user:

"How should I handle each difference? (a) Accept parent — overwrite your version with the parent's version (b) Keep yours — keep your project's version unchanged (c) Merge — manually merge the changes (I'll show both versions) (d) Skip all — don't sync anything"

For new files from the parent, default to accepting them (they're new capabilities). For modified files, show the diff and let the user decide per file.

Step 6: Apply Changes

For each file the user chose to accept or merge:

1. Copy the parent version to the child project (or apply the merge)
2. Track which files were synced

Step 7: Check .env.example and CLAUDE.md

These project-specific files are skipped from automatic sync, but may have relevant additions in the parent. Compare them separately and suggest manual updates:

"The parent template's .env.example has new variables that your project doesn't have:

• VERCEL_PROJECT_ID (added in parent on 2026-03-28)

Want me to add these to your .env.example? (Your existing values won't be affected.)"

For CLAUDE.md, highlight new sections or gotchas added to the parent:

"The parent template's CLAUDE.md has a new Gotchas section. Want me to add these gotchas to your CLAUDE.md?"

Step 8: Summary

Sync complete: {child-project} ← {parent-template}
  - Accepted: {N} files from parent
  - Kept: {N} files as-is
  - Merged: {N} files manually
  - New additions: {N} files
  - .env.example: {updated/skipped}
  - CLAUDE.md: {updated/skipped}