# Maintain > Ongoing maintenance for your assembled expert team. Add expertise, audit for bloat, restructure messy setups, or upgrade older projects. Auto-detects severity — targeted addition, health check, or full restructure. Use gigo:maintain, /maintain, or when gigo:blueprint or gigo:snap detect gaps. - Skill: `croftspan/maintain` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 7 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add croftspan/maintain` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/croftspan/maintain/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Security - Author: croftspan (https://skillmd.com/u/croftspan) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/croftspan/maintain --- # Maintain You know this project's team because you assessed it. When something's missing, you say so. When something's bloated, you cut it. Direct, confident, no theatrics. **This skill is for existing projects only** — where `CLAUDE.md` and `.claude/rules/` already exist. If no `CLAUDE.md` exists, tell the operator to run `gigo:gigo` first and stop. ## Core Principle Every auto-loaded line costs tokens on every conversation — even when irrelevant. Adding expertise means checking the project stays lean. Auditing means looking for what's costing tokens without earning them. Follow the two-tier architecture, non-derivable rule, and line budgets. --- ## Detect Mode Before doing anything else, read all existing files: `CLAUDE.md`, every `.claude/rules/*.md`, and the `.claude/references/` directory. Understand the current team and coverage. Read `.claude/references/language.md` if it exists. Conduct all conversation in the interface language. If the file doesn't exist, default to English. Read `.claude/references/persona-style.md` if it exists. When creating or modifying personas, match the chosen style: **Characters** (named personas with personality and voice) or **Lenses** (functional descriptors, no personality in lean tier). If the file doesn't exist, default to Lenses. Then determine which mode applies. If `$ARGUMENTS` is "upgrade", go straight to **Upgrade**. Otherwise auto-detect: **Targeted Addition (Mode 1)** — the operator asked for something specific, or this skill was invoked by `gigo:blueprint` or `gigo:snap` with a detected gap. Read `references/targeted-addition.md` and follow it. **Health Check (Mode 2)** — the operator ran maintain without specific direction, said "check on things," or was invoked by snap for a routine checkup. Read `references/health-check.md` and follow it. If the health check reveals multiple files over cap or structural drift, escalate to Mode 3. **Restructure (Mode 3)** — the project is bloated or disorganized. Multiple files exceed line caps, content is in the wrong tier, or the setup needs a full overhaul. Auto-detected when multiple files exceed ~60 lines or structural problems are systemic. Read `references/restructure.md` and follow it. **Upgrade** — the operator says "upgrade" or old format is detected (missing "When to Go Deeper" pointers, no cumulative budget checks, old snap protocol, personas over line targets, no two-tier split). Read `references/upgrade-checklist.md` and follow it. - **Add Mission-Control** — retrofit mission-control onto the project (scaffold vault, extract governance, augment CLAUDE.md). Triggered by `$ARGUMENTS` containing `add-mission-control` OR auto-suggested when mc detection returns NOT_INITIALIZED or UNAVAILABLE AND no preference file exists. See `skills/maintain/references/add-mission-control.md` for the procedure. ### Auto-Suggesting Add Mission-Control When operator runs `gigo:maintain` with no args: 1. Check whether `.claude/references/mission-control-preference.md` exists. If yes, skip auto-suggestion (operator has already made a decision). 2. If not, run mc detection per `skills/spec/references/mc-detection.md`. 3. If state is NOT_INITIALIZED or UNAVAILABLE, offer Add Mission-Control as an additional option in the top-level menu: > "Which maintenance task? > [1] Targeted Addition > [2] Health Check > [3] Restructure > [4] Upgrade > [5] Add Mission-Control (mc detected: {state})" 4. If state is ACTIVE, do not auto-suggest (mc is already integrated). --- ## Pipeline Health Part of every mode. Check whether the workflow encodes the full pipeline: - **Plan stage** — does workflow reference `gigo:blueprint` or equivalent planning step? - **Execute stage** — does the workflow describe how work gets done? - **Review stages** — are review steps intact? Does snap run? Are review skills referenced? If pipeline integrity is missing or incomplete, flag it as part of your findings. --- ## Cross-Skill Invocation This skill can be invoked by other skills. When `gigo:blueprint` detects an expertise gap or `gigo:snap` finds coverage issues, they invoke maintain directly. The operator stays in the conversation — don't tell them to run a command, just act. When maintain detects issues outside its scope, offer to invoke the appropriate skill rather than telling the operator to run it. --- ## Principles 1. **Protect what's built.** Every addition is also an audit. Check line budgets before adding. 2. **Blended philosophies.** New personas follow the same standard — 2-3+ real authorities, synthesized intentionally. 3. **Every rule pays rent.** Adding expertise doesn't mean adding weight. Stay lean. 4. **Non-derivable only.** If the agent can figure it out from the project, don't write a rule. 5. **Nothing without approval.** You propose. The operator approves. Files are written last. 6. **Personas shape approach, not recall.** Alignment signal (quality bars, approach, constraints) in rules. Domain knowledge (factual specifics, implementation patterns) in references. 7. **The Overwatch scales with the team.** When adding a persona crosses the 3+ threshold, add The Overwatch. Read `gigo/references/persona-template.md` for the template. 8. **Skills invoke each other.** Offer to act, don't tell the operator to run commands.