SKILL.md
Install Script Generator
Generate robust, cross-platform installation scripts that users can run with a single bash command via GitHub raw URLs. This SKILL.md is a lean index — long templates and tables live under references/ to protect the agent's context budget.
When to Use
- The user asks for a
curl | bashone-liner for their project. - A repo needs a
install.shthat auto-detects OS, arch, and package manager. - A Python/Go/Node/Rust module should be installable in one command from a fresh machine.
Skip this skill for Dockerfiles, CI/CD pipelines, or one-off local shell scripts.
Prerequisites
- The repo has a known
<owner>/<repo>(checkgit remote -v) and a default branch. - The target software's build system is identifiable (
Makefile,package.json,setup.py,Cargo.toml,go.mod, etc.). python3is available locally if you plan to run the helper scripts underscripts/.
Reference Files (read on demand to save tokens)
| File | When to read |
|---|---|
references/install-template.md |
When generating install.sh — full bash template with detection helpers, dependency installer, and main entry point |
references/readme-snippet.md |
When updating the README — copy-paste install block plus URL format notes |
references/edge-cases.md |
When handling unusual OS/sudo/path scenarios and writing step reports |
scripts/env_explorer.py |
Local environment probe (OS, arch, package managers, sudo) |
scripts/plan_generator.py |
Generates installation_plan.yaml from env + target |
scripts/executor.py |
Dry-runs installation_plan.yaml with rollback, before Phase 3 generation |
scripts/doc_generator.py |
Renders user-facing USAGE_GUIDE.md |
Do not inline these contents into the conversation; link to them. Keeping SKILL.md short preserves the context window for the actual install logic.
Repo Sync (mandatory before edits)
Before creating, updating, or deleting files in an existing repo, sync the current branch with remote:
branch="$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)"
git fetch origin
git pull --rebase origin "$branch"
If the working tree is dirty, git stash push -u -m pre-sync first, sync, then git stash pop. If origin is missing or rebase/stash conflicts occur, stop and ask the user before continuing.
Workflow
Phase 1 — Exploration
- Identify the target software/module/tool.
- Inspect the repo for build files (
Makefile,package.json,setup.py,Cargo.toml,go.mod, ...). - List dependencies the software needs to build and run.
- Capture
<owner>/<repo>and the default branch fromgit remote -vandgit branch --show-current. Ask the user if missing. - Run
python3 scripts/envexplorer.pyto capture OS, arch, package managers, shell, and sudo availability intoenvinfo.json.
Phase 2 — Planning
- Resolve the dependency graph and order operations.
- Detect existing installations to avoid duplicate work.
- Plan a verification step for each phase.
- Plan rollback / cleanup on failure.
- Run
python3 scripts/plangenerator.py --target "<name>" --env-file envinfo.json --deps <dep1> <dep2> ...(pass the dependencies resolved in step 1, space-separated; omit--depsonly if there are none) to emitinstallation_plan.yaml. - Run
python3 scripts/executor.py --plan installation_plan.yaml --dry-runand confirm the report lists every step in the intended order with a rollback command present for each. Dry-run skips execution, so this checks the plan's shape, not that installation or rollback actually works.
Phase 3 — Generation (primary output)
Generate install.sh at the repo root using references/install-template.md. The template contains four sections you compose:
- Header + colour helpers (
info,ok,warn,err,die). - Detection helpers (
detectos,detectarch,detectpackagemanager,need_sudo). install_depsswitch covering apt/dnf/yum/pacman/brew/zypper.install<tool>(customised per target),verifyinstallation, andmain.
Read references/install-template.md for the exact code; do not paste it into chat. If Windows support is needed, also generate install.ps1 (one-liner: irm <raw_url> | iex).
Phase 4 — Documentation
- Insert the install block from
references/readme-snippet.mdinto the project README, substituting<owner>/<repo>/<branch>. - Run
python3 scripts/docgenerator.py --target "<name>" --plan installationplan.yamlto emitUSAGE_GUIDE.md. - Print the final one-liner so the user can copy it.
Output Files
| File | Description | |
|---|---|---|
install.sh |
Primary output — standalone installer for `curl \ | bash` |
install.ps1 |
Optional Windows PowerShell installer | |
env_info.json |
Local environment probe | |
installation_plan.yaml |
Ordered install steps | |
USAGE_GUIDE.md |
User-facing docs |
Acceptance Criteria
install.shexists at repo root, starts with#!/usr/bin/env bashandset -euo pipefail.- Auto-detects OS, architecture, and package manager; exits non-zero with a clear message on unsupported targets.
- Handles
sudogracefully (root, sudo, or fail-fast). - Verifies the installation at the end (
command -v $TOOL_NAMEplus--versionwhen available). - README contains a
curl -sSL ... | bashone-liner that resolves to the raw GitHub URL. - Expected output on success ends with
[ OK ] Installation complete!.
Edge Cases
See references/edge-cases.md for the full list. Highlights:
- Unsupported OS / architecture —
diewith the detected value; user sees what failed. - No package manager —
install_depsaborts with the manager it expected. - No sudo —
need_sudoexits withRun as root or install sudo. - Windows native — generate
install.ps1separately;install.shwarns under MSYS/Cygwin. - Script in subdirectory — adjust the raw URL path; note it in the README snippet.
Step Completion Reports
After each phase, emit a ◆ block with √/× checks and a Result: PASS | FAIL | PARTIAL line. The exact templates for the four phases live in references/edge-cases.md so you can copy them verbatim without bloating SKILL.md.
Expected Output
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/owner/mytool/main/install.sh | bash
Expected runtime banner:
[INFO] OS: linux | Arch: x86_64 | Package Manager: apt
[ OK ] Dependencies installed
[ OK ] mytool 1.2.0 installed successfully
[ OK ] Installation complete!