Sync Agents

Sync Agents Skill

The agent roster lives in three places that must stay in lock-step:

1. .github/agents/*.agent.md — the canonical agent definitions (one file per agent)
2. AGENTS.md — the roster table, model routing, handoff org chart, and org rules
3. .github/copilot-instructions.md — the "Operating Modes" table

If they drift, agents reading one source will believe a different reality than agents reading another. This skill detects drift and reports it. It does not auto-fix — a human must decide which source is correct, because drift usually means a real intent change that needs review.

When to Run

• After adding, removing, or renaming an agent
• After changing an agent's model routing (preferred or fallback)
• After changing an agent's edit permissions ("Can edit code?")
• Before tagging a template release
• As part of pre-merge review on any PR that touches .github/agents/, AGENTS.md, or .github/copilot-instructions.md

What "Consistent" Means

For every agent that exists in any of the three sources, all three must agree on:

The org-chart diagram in AGENTS.md (Architect → Scaffolder → Builder → Reviewer → merge) must include exactly the agents that exist as files.

Steps

1. Enumerate canonical agents: list every .github/agents/*.agent.md file. This is the source of truth set.

2. Parse front-matter from each agent file: name, description, model, tools, handoffs.

3. Parse the AGENTS.md roster table under "Agent Roster". Extract one record per row.

4. Parse the copilot-instructions.md "Operating Modes" table. Extract one record per row.

5. Diff the three sets:

   • Missing: agents in .github/agents/ but not in either table
   • Orphan: rows in either table with no matching agent file
   • Mismatch: same agent, different value for a field listed in the table above

6. Parse the AGENTS.md org-chart code block. Confirm it lists exactly the agents in the file set, in the documented order.

7. Report:

   • 🟢 If everything matches: print sync-agents: OK — N agents in sync and exit
   • 🔴 If drift is found: print a structured report grouped by Missing | Orphan | Mismatch | OrgChart, listing the file, field, and conflicting values for each finding. Do not modify any file.

Output Format

sync-agents report
─────────────────────────────────────────
Canonical agents (from .github/agents/): architect, builder, reviewer, scaffolder

🔴 Mismatch: builder.preferred_model
   .github/agents/builder.agent.md  → "Codex GPT-5.3"
   AGENTS.md                        → "Claude Sonnet 4.6"
   .github/copilot-instructions.md  → "Codex GPT-5.3"

🔴 Orphan: AGENTS.md row "Coordinator" has no matching .github/agents/coordinator.agent.md

🟢 Org chart matches file set

Why This Skill Does Not Auto-Fix

Drift usually means someone changed something on purpose and forgot to propagate. Auto-fixing would silently overwrite the intended change. The human reviewer should:

1. Decide which source reflects the actual intent.
2. Hand-edit the other two to match.
3. Re-run sync-agents to confirm green.

Auto-fix is a footgun for a structure where the canonical source is the agent's behavior, not just its name.

Test and Validate (mandatory — this skill validates the template, so it must itself be validated)

A drift-detection skill that gives false-greens is worse than no skill at all. After invoking this skill, the operator must verify the check actually fired.

1. Positive control: confirm the report includes the count of canonical agents found. If the number is 0, the file scan failed — investigate before trusting any green result.
2. Negative control on first run: deliberately introduce a one-character drift in AGENTS.md (e.g., change Builder to Builders), re-run, and confirm the skill reports a 🔴. Revert the test edit. This proves the check actually compares values rather than just claiming success.
3. Coverage check: confirm every agent file in .github/agents/ appears in the report's "Canonical agents" line. A missing file = a broken file scan.
4. Re-read after fix: after any drift is corrected by hand, re-run the skill and confirm a clean 🟢 report before claiming the fix is complete.
5. Capture the final 🟢 report in the PR or handoff message as evidence.

Invocation

• From an agent: invoke this skill by name when working on agent definitions or before merging changes to .github/agents/, AGENTS.md, or copilot-instructions.md.
• From a slash command: future /sync prompt can wrap this skill.
• From CI: a thin wrapper script can parse the same files and exit non-zero on drift. Not shipped with the template — projects that want CI enforcement add it themselves.

Source: tom-swift-tech/copilot_template — distributed by TomeVault.