How do I install the Decodie Flag Stale skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add owenbush/decodie-flag-stale in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Decodie Flag Stale safe to use?

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Which AI agents work with Decodie Flag Stale?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Decodie Flag Stale free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free. This skill is licensed under MIT.

Who published Decodie Flag Stale?

owenbush (@owenbush) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Decodie Flag Stale by owenbush — Agent Skill

Name: Decodie Flag Stale
Author: owenbush

Decodie Flag Stale

Fast CI-friendly check for entries whose source files have changed since last verification. Compares entry source files against git diff without reading source code. Flags stale entries in index.json. Use in CI pipelines or before releases to detect outdated documentation.

owenbush Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Decodie — Flag Stale Mode

Fast, CI-friendly counterpart to verify mode. For every entry with a verified_sha, check whether any of its source files have changed since that SHA, and flip stale: true on entries that have. Does not read source files or recompute anchor hashes — only diffs filenames against git history.

This mode modifies .decodie/index.json only.

Activation

Takes no arguments. Always operates on the full index.

Setup

Confirm .decodie/ exists. If not: "No .decodie/ directory found — nothing to check." Stop.
Confirm git repository:
```
git rev-parse --git-dir
```
If not: "Not a git repository — flag-stale requires git history. Run verify mode instead." Stop.
Read .decodie/index.json. If empty: "No entries to check." Stop.

Detection Process

For each entry:

Skip entries with no verified_sha. Report as unverified.
Skip entries with no sources (and no references[].file fallback). Report as no-sources.
Compute changed files:
```
git diff --name-only <verified_sha>..HEAD
```
If the SHA is unknown to git (history rewritten), treat as stale.
Compare changed files against entry's source files. If any match, the entry is stale.
Update:
- Newly stale → set stale: true. Leave verified_sha unchanged.
- Already stale → no change (still counted).
- No source files in diff → leave stale as-is. Do not flip stale back to fresh — only verify mode can do that.

Write updates back to index.json.

Reporting

Decodie flag-stale
  Newly stale:  N entries
  Already stale: M entries
  Fresh:        F entries
  Unverified:   U entries (no verified_sha -- run verify mode)
  No sources:   K entries

If newly stale, list them:

Newly stale:
  - entry-1711540000-a1b2 -- src/lib/foo.ts
  - entry-1711540123-c3d4 -- src/lib/bar.ts, src/lib/baz.ts

Important Notes

One-way flag. Only flips stale to true. Clearing requires verify mode.
No source file reads. Based purely on git diff --name-only. This is what makes it fast enough for CI.
No exit-code policy. Whether stale entries block a PR is a per-repo decision.
No git history rewriting. Only read-only git commands.

---name: decodie-flag-staledescription: Fast CI-friendly check for entries whose source files have changed since last verification. Compares entry source files against git diff without reading source code. Flags stale entries in index.json. Use in CI pipelines or before releases to detect outdated documentation.license: MIT---# Decodie — Flag Stale ModeFast, CI-friendly counterpart to verify mode. For every entry with a `verified_sha`, check whether any of its source files have changed since that SHA, and flip `stale: true` on entries that have. Does not read source files or recompute anchor hashes — only diffs filenames against git history.This mode **modifies `.decodie/index.json` only**.## ActivationTakes no arguments. Always operates on the full index.## Setup1. Confirm `.decodie/` exists. If not: "No `.decodie/` directory found — nothing to check." Stop.2. Confirm git repository: ```bash git rev-parse --git-dir ``` If not: "Not a git repository — `flag-stale` requires git history. Run verify mode instead." Stop.3. Read `.decodie/index.json`. If empty: "No entries to check." Stop.## Detection ProcessFor each entry:1. **Skip entries with no `verified_sha`.** Report as `unverified`.2. **Skip entries with no `sources`** (and no `references[].file` fallback). Report as `no-sources`.3. **Compute changed files:** ```bash git diff --name-only <verified_sha>..HEAD ``` If the SHA is unknown to git (history rewritten), treat as stale.4. **Compare** changed files against entry's source files. If any match, the entry is stale.5. **Update:** - Newly stale → set `stale: true`. Leave `verified_sha` unchanged. - Already stale → no change (still counted). - No source files in diff → leave `stale` as-is. Do **not** flip stale back to fresh — only verify mode can do that.Write updates back to `index.json`.## Reporting```Decodie flag-stale Newly stale: N entries Already stale: M entries Fresh: F entries Unverified: U entries (no verified_sha -- run verify mode) No sources: K entries```If newly stale, list them:```Newly stale: - entry-1711540000-a1b2 -- src/lib/foo.ts - entry-1711540123-c3d4 -- src/lib/bar.ts, src/lib/baz.ts```## Important Notes- **One-way flag.** Only flips `stale` to `true`. Clearing requires verify mode.- **No source file reads.** Based purely on `git diff --name-only`. This is what makes it fast enough for CI.- **No exit-code policy.** Whether stale entries block a PR is a per-repo decision.- **No git history rewriting.** Only read-only git commands.

Frequently asked questions