# Tree

> Operate the `first-tree tree` CLI. Primary commands — inspect, init, publish, verify, upgrade. Advanced primitives — bootstrap, bind, integrate, workspace. CI helpers — review, generate-codeowners, inject-context. Use whenever you need to read/write a Context Tree repo, onboard a repo or workspace, or manage tree ownership, publishing, and CI integration. (Drift-detection `sync` lives under the `gardener` product.)

- Skill: `serenakeyitan/tree` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add serenakeyitan/tree`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/serenakeyitan/tree/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Integrations & APIs
- Author: serenakeyitan (https://skillmd.com/u/serenakeyitan)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/serenakeyitan/tree

---


# Tree — Operational Skill

This skill is the operational handbook for the `tree` product. If you have
not yet loaded the `first-tree` entry-point skill, load that first — it
explains *what* a Context Tree is and *why* you would use one. This skill
covers *how* to drive the `first-tree tree` CLI.

## When To Use This Skill

Load this skill when the task involves any of:

- Running a `first-tree tree <command>` subcommand
- Onboarding a repo, a shared tree, or a workspace root to a Context Tree
- Writing or verifying `NODE.md` files, `soft_links`, or ownership frontmatter
- Publishing a tree repo to GitHub or refreshing bound source/workspace repos
- Wiring Context Tree CI (CODEOWNERS, PR review, SessionStart hooks)

## Core Concepts

The tree CLI centers on three concepts:

- **source / workspace root** — a repo (or a workspace of repos) whose work
  should consult a Context Tree
- **tree repo** — the repository that stores the `NODE.md` + leaf-node files
- **binding** — the relationship that wires a source/workspace root to a
  specific tree repo

Most commands accept or classify one of these three shapes.

## Default Onboarding Workflow

1. Run `first-tree tree inspect --json`.
2. Run `first-tree tree init` — it handles both cases:
   - no existing tree → creates a sibling tree and binds it
   - existing tree → pass `--tree-path <path>` or `--tree-url <url>` and it binds
3. If the current root is a workspace, pass `--scope workspace`.
   `init` syncs currently discovered child repos by default; rerun
   `first-tree tree workspace sync` after adding new repos.

`init` internally delegates to `bind` (and to `bootstrap` when scaffolding a new
tree), installs the bundled `first-tree` skill in both the source and the tree
repo, and refreshes binding metadata in both locations. Use `bind` directly only
when you need explicit `--mode` control (e.g. `workspace-member` binds).

## CLI Commands

### Primary (start here)

| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `first-tree tree inspect` | Classify the current folder and report bindings / child repos |
| `first-tree tree status` | Alias for `inspect` (human-friendly name) |
| `first-tree tree init` | Onboard a repo or workspace — creates a new tree, or binds to an existing one when given `--tree-path` / `--tree-url` |
| `first-tree tree verify` | Validate a tree repo: frontmatter, owners, soft_links, members, progress |
| `first-tree tree upgrade` | Refresh the installed skill payloads or tree metadata from the bundled package |
| `first-tree tree publish` | Publish a tree repo to GitHub and refresh locally bound source/workspace repos |

### Advanced (agent / power-user)

These are primitives `init` composes, plus CI helpers and member-management
utilities. Reach for them only when the primary commands don't cover the case.

| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `first-tree tree bootstrap` | Low-level tree-repo bootstrap for an explicit tree checkout. Use when the current repo itself is the tree (`--here`) or when `init`'s scaffolding default is wrong. |
| `first-tree tree bind` | Lower-level primitive used by `init --tree-path`. Exposes `--mode standalone-source / shared-source / workspace-root / workspace-member` that `init` normally infers. |
| `first-tree tree integrate` | Install the first-tree skill + source-integration block in the current repo without touching any tree repo. |
| `first-tree tree workspace sync` | Bind newly added child repos to the shared tree, or rerun the workspace-member binding step manually. `init --scope workspace` already syncs currently discovered repos by default. |
| `first-tree tree review` | CI helper: run Claude Code PR review against tree changes |
| `first-tree tree generate-codeowners` | Regenerate `.github/CODEOWNERS` from tree ownership |
| `first-tree tree inject-context` | Output a Claude Code SessionStart hook payload from `NODE.md` |
| `first-tree tree invite` | Invite a new member to the Context Tree (human, personal_assistant, or autonomous_agent) |
| `first-tree tree join` | Accept an invite and join a Context Tree |
| `first-tree tree help onboarding` | Show the onboarding narrative |

For full options on any command, run `first-tree tree <command> --help`.

## Recommended Invocation

```bash
npx first-tree tree <command>
```

This is the recommended human-facing one-off invocation. The CLI auto-checks for
updates on every invocation; pass `--skip-version-check` to suppress the
check for latency-sensitive callers like SessionStart hooks.

To refresh source/workspace integration or tree metadata from the current
package:

```bash
npx first-tree tree upgrade
```

If you only need to wipe and reinstall the four shipped skill payloads under
`.agents/skills/*` and `.claude/skills/*`, use `npx first-tree skill upgrade`
instead.

## Ownership

- Every directory has a `NODE.md` declaring `owners` in its frontmatter.
- Empty `owners: []` inherits from the parent.
- `owners: [*]` means anyone may edit.
- Otherwise only the listed owners may approve changes.

Ownership model and node-naming rules: see the
`ownership-and-naming.md` reference in the `first-tree` entry-point skill.

## Related Skills

- `first-tree` — entry-point skill: methodology, references, and routing
  between product skills. Load this first.
- `breeze` — load if the task involves the breeze daemon or notifications.
- `gardener` — load if the task involves any tree-maintenance runtime:
  drift sync (`gardener sync`), verdict comments on source-repo PRs
  (`gardener comment`), or responses to sync-PR review feedback
  (`gardener respond`).