Update Project Standards

Update or create standards in .maister/docs/standards/ based on conversation context or a provided description. Automatically detects the best-matching category and file. Supports both baseline categories (global, frontend, backend, testing) and custom user-defined categories.

Usage

/maister-standards-update                                    # Detect from conversation
/maister-standards-update "always use React.memo for lists"  # From description
/maister-standards-update --from=/path/to/other-project      # Sync from another project

Mode: Sync from External Project (`--from=PATH`)

When --from=PATH is provided, the skill switches to sync mode — importing standards from another project's .maister/docs/standards/ into the current project. This bypasses Phases 1-3 and uses a dedicated flow.

SYNC STEP 1: Validate Source

Resolve the path (absolute or relative to cwd)
Check PATH/.maister/docs/standards/ exists. If not, inform the user and stop.
Check .maister/docs/standards/ exists in the current project. If not, offer to run /maister-init first.

SYNC STEP 2: Analyze Differences

Scan source project's standards/*/ — list all categories and files
Scan current project's standards/*/ — list all categories and files
For each source file, compare against the local counterpart:
- Missing locally: Category or file doesn't exist in the current project
- Differs: Both exist but content differs (read and compare)
- Identical: No action needed
Present a summary to the user via ask_user (sequential single-select):
- Group by status: "New standards to add" and "Standards that differ"
- Each item shows: [category]/[file] with brief description of what it contains
- Options: individual files to sync, plus "Select all new" / "Select all different" convenience options
- User selects which standards to import

SYNC STEP 3: Apply Selected Standards

For each selected standard:

Missing locally: Copy the file from source. Create category directory if needed.
Differs: Show a brief diff summary and use ask_user per file:
- "Replace with source version" — overwrite local file
- "Merge (append new sections)" — read both files, append ### sections from source that don't exist locally
- "Skip" — leave local file unchanged

SYNC STEP 4: Update INDEX.md

Invoke docs-operator subagent via Task tool (subagent_type: maister-docs-operator):

"Regenerate INDEX.md to include all newly added/updated standards. Verify .github/copilot-instructions.md integration."

Wait for docs-operator to complete, then immediately proceed to SYNC STEP 5.

SYNC STEP 5: Summarize

Display: standards added, standards updated, standards skipped, and total count. Suggest reviewing the imported standards and committing.

Mode: Conversation / Description (default)

When --from is NOT provided, the skill uses the standard detect-and-update flow below.

PHASE 1: Detect Standard

Step 1: Gather input

If argument provided: Use the description as primary input. Also scan last 15-20 messages for additional context, examples, or related conventions.
If no argument: Scan last 15-20 messages for convention discussions. Look for patterns like "we should always...", "our convention is...", "prefer X over Y", "never use...", code examples showing patterns.

Step 2: Discover existing categories and files

Scan .maister/docs/standards/*/ to find all existing categories and standard files. This determines what's available — not limited to baseline categories.

Step 3: Match to category and file

Based on the topic detected, suggest the best-matching existing category and file. Consider:

File names and their content (read existing files if topic is close)
Whether the convention fits an existing file or needs a new one

Step 4: Present suggestion

If confident match → ask_user: "This convention about [topic] fits [category/file]. Update it?" (Yes / Choose different / Cancel)
If ambiguous → ask_user listing possible categories/files + "Create new category" + "Create new file in [category]"
If nothing detected (no argument, no conversation context) → ask user to describe the convention they want to document

PHASE 2: Determine Action

Check if the target file exists:

Exists → update mode
Doesn't exist → create mode (if new category, create the directory too)

No user prompt needed — just inform: "Updating existing standard: [name]" or "Creating new standard: [category/name]"

PHASE 3: Gather Standard Content

If updating

Read current content
Show summary of existing practices
Ask what to add/change
Extract: new practices, modifications, removals, code examples

If creating

Inform user of target path
Ask for practices, conventions, code examples, do's/don'ts
Optionally show plugin baseline if similar standard exists in docs-manager's bundled docs

PHASE 4: Apply via docs-manager

Each standard uses a ### heading with 1-10 lines description (excluding code snippets). Multiple standards per topic file. Split large topics into sub-topic files.

Invoke docs-operator subagent via Task tool (subagent_type: maister-docs-operator) with context:

For updates:

"Update documentation file: standards/[category]/[name].md. Current content: [content]. Add/change: [new conventions]. Integrate new practices, maintain markdown formatting, organize logically, preserve existing unless conflicts. Update INDEX.md entry with practice-specific description (enumerate actual practices, not generic category)."

For creates:

"Create documentation file: standards/[category]/[name].md. Category: [category]. Content: [conventions]. Create with proper markdown, organized sections, code examples. Add to INDEX.md with practice-specific description. Verify .github/copilot-instructions.md integration."

Wait for docs-operator to complete, then immediately proceed to Phase 5.

PHASE 5: Validate & Summarize

Verify standard file exists and has content
Verify INDEX.md references the standard with practice-specific description (not generic)
Verify .github/copilot-instructions.md integration
Display summary: what was updated/created, practices added, next steps (review, commit, share with team)

Prerequisites

If .maister/docs/ doesn't exist, offer to run /maister-init first.

standards-update