Update project CLAUDE.md to latest Navigator version, preserving customizations. Use when user says "update CLAUDE.md", "migrate to v3", or when detecting outdated Navigator configuration.
Installation
Details
Usage
After installing, this skill will be available to your AI coding assistant.
Verify installation:
npx agent-skills-cli listSkill Instructions
name: nav-update-claude description: Update project CLAUDE.md to latest Navigator version, preserving customizations. Use when user says "update CLAUDE.md", "migrate to v3", or when detecting outdated Navigator configuration. allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash version: 1.0.0
Navigator CLAUDE.md Updater Skill
Update project's CLAUDE.md to latest Navigator version (v3.1) while preserving project-specific customizations.
When to Invoke
Invoke this skill when the user:
- Says "update my CLAUDE.md", "migrate CLAUDE.md to v3"
- Says "update Navigator configuration", "fix my CLAUDE.md"
- Mentions outdated commands like "/nav:start" and wants to upgrade
- Complains that Claude doesn't understand Navigator workflow
DO NOT invoke if:
- CLAUDE.md already references v3.1 and natural language commands
- User is editing CLAUDE.md for project-specific reasons (not Navigator updates)
- Working on plugin's root CLAUDE.md (not user projects)
Execution Steps
Step 1: Detect Current CLAUDE.md Version
Check if CLAUDE.md exists and detect version:
if [ ! -f "CLAUDE.md" ]; then
echo "β No CLAUDE.md found in current directory"
echo ""
echo "Run 'Initialize Navigator in this project' first."
exit 1
fi
Use version_detector.py to analyze CLAUDE.md:
python3 "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/functions/version_detector.py" CLAUDE.md
This script checks for:
- Version markers (e.g., "Navigator Version: 3.1.0")
- Slash command references (
/nav:start,/nav:doc, etc.) - Skills vs commands language
- Natural language examples
Outputs:
outdated- Has/nav:commands or v1/v2 markerscurrent- Already v3.1 with natural languageunknown- Can't determine (custom/non-Navigator file)
If current:
β
CLAUDE.md is already up to date (v3.1)
No migration needed.
Exit successfully.
If unknown:
β οΈ CLAUDE.md doesn't appear to be a Navigator file
This might be a custom configuration. Manual review recommended.
Proceed with migration anyway? [y/N]
If user declines, exit. If accepts, continue.
Step 2: Backup Current CLAUDE.md
Always create backup before modifying:
cp CLAUDE.md CLAUDE.md.backup
echo "π¦ Backup created: CLAUDE.md.backup"
Step 3: Extract Project-Specific Customizations
Use claude_updater.py to parse current CLAUDE.md:
python3 "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/functions/claude_updater.py" extract CLAUDE.md > /tmp/nav-customizations.json
This extracts:
- Project name (from title)
- Project description (from Context section)
- Tech stack (languages, frameworks)
- Code standards (custom rules beyond Navigator defaults)
- Forbidden actions (project-specific restrictions)
- PM tool configuration (Linear, GitHub, Jira, etc.)
- Custom sections (anything not in Navigator template)
Step 4: Generate Updated CLAUDE.md
Apply latest template with extracted customizations:
# Template fetching now automatic via get_template_path():
# 1. Tries GitHub (version-matched)
# 2. Falls back to bundled if offline
python3 "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/functions/claude_updater.py" generate \
--customizations /tmp/nav-customizations.json \
--template "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/../../templates/CLAUDE.md" \
--output CLAUDE.md
Template Source Priority:
- GitHub (version-matched): Fetches from
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alekspetrov/navigator/v{version}/templates/CLAUDE.md- Matches installed plugin version (e.g., v4.3.0)
- Always up-to-date with release
- Works with pre-releases
- Bundled (fallback): Uses
templates/CLAUDE.mdfrom installed plugin- Offline fallback
- Guaranteed availability
What this does:
- Loads template (GitHub or bundled)
- Replaces placeholders with extracted data
- Preserves custom sections
- Updates Navigator workflow to natural language
- Removes slash command references
- Adds skills explanation
Step 5: Show Diff and Confirm
Display changes for user review:
echo ""
echo "ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ"
echo "π CHANGES TO CLAUDE.MD"
echo "ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ"
echo ""
# Show unified diff
diff -u CLAUDE.md.backup CLAUDE.md || true
echo ""
echo "ββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ"
Step 6: Verify and Commit
Show summary of changes:
β
CLAUDE.md Updated to v3.1
Key changes:
β Removed slash command references (e.g., /nav:start)
β Added natural language examples ("Start my Navigator session")
β Added skills architecture explanation
β Updated Navigator workflow section
β Preserved your project-specific customizations:
- Tech stack: [list]
- Code standards: [count] custom rules
- Forbidden actions: [count] custom rules
Backup saved: CLAUDE.md.backup
Next steps:
1. Review changes: git diff CLAUDE.md
2. Test: "Start my Navigator session" should work
3. Commit: git add CLAUDE.md && git commit -m "chore: update CLAUDE.md to Navigator v3.1"
4. Remove backup: rm CLAUDE.md.backup
Rollback if needed: mv CLAUDE.md.backup CLAUDE.md
Step 7: Update .nav-config.json
If config exists, migrate to latest version with new sections:
if [ -f ".agent/.nav-config.json" ]; then
python3 "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/functions/config_migrator.py" .agent/.nav-config.json
fi
What this does:
- Detects current config version
- Adds missing sections based on version:
- v5.4.0+:
simplificationconfig - v5.5.0+:
auto_updateconfig - v5.6.0+:
task_modeconfig
- v5.4.0+:
- Updates version marker to current
Example output:
β
Config migrated: v5.4.0 β v5.6.0
Changes:
+ auto_update: (new section added)
+ task_mode: (new section added)
~ version: 5.4.0 β 5.6.0
Dry run (preview changes without applying):
python3 "$SKILL_BASE_DIR/functions/config_migrator.py" .agent/.nav-config.json --dry-run
Predefined Functions
functions/version_detector.py
Purpose: Detect CLAUDE.md version (outdated, current, unknown)
Usage:
python3 version_detector.py CLAUDE.md
Output: Prints one of: outdated, current, unknown
Exit codes:
- 0: Success (version detected)
- 1: File not found
- 2: Parse error
Detection logic:
- Check for version marker:
Navigator Version: X.X.X - Check for slash commands:
/nav:start,/jitd:, etc. - Check for natural language examples:
"Start my Navigator session" - Check for skills section
Heuristics:
- Has
/nav:β outdated - Version < 3.0 β outdated
- Version >= 3.0 + natural language β current
- No version + no Navigator markers β unknown
functions/claude_updater.py
Purpose: Extract customizations and generate updated CLAUDE.md
Usage:
# Extract customizations
python3 claude_updater.py extract CLAUDE.md > customizations.json
# Generate updated file
python3 claude_updater.py generate \
--customizations customizations.json \
--template ../../templates/CLAUDE.md \
--output CLAUDE.md
Extract mode outputs JSON:
{
"project_name": "MyApp",
"description": "Brief project description",
"tech_stack": ["Next.js", "TypeScript", "PostgreSQL"],
"code_standards": ["Custom rule 1", "Custom rule 2"],
"forbidden_actions": ["Custom restriction 1"],
"pm_tool": "github",
"custom_sections": {
"Deployment": "Custom deployment instructions..."
}
}
Generate mode:
- Loads template
- Replaces
[Project Name]withproject_name - Replaces
[Brief project description]withdescription - Replaces
[List your technologies...]withtech_stack - Appends custom code standards
- Appends custom forbidden actions
- Inserts custom sections at end
functions/config_migrator.py
Purpose: Migrate .nav-config.json to latest version, adding missing sections
Usage:
# Migrate config (applies changes)
python3 config_migrator.py .agent/.nav-config.json
# Preview changes without applying
python3 config_migrator.py .agent/.nav-config.json --dry-run
# JSON output
python3 config_migrator.py .agent/.nav-config.json --json
Version-specific configs added:
- v5.4.0:
simplification(code clarity improvements) - v5.5.0:
auto_update(auto-update on session start) - v5.6.0:
task_mode(unified workflow orchestration)
Output example:
β
Config migrated: v5.4.0 β v5.6.0
Changes:
+ auto_update: (new section added)
+ task_mode: (new section added)
~ version: 5.4.0 β 5.6.0
Exit codes:
- 0: Success (config migrated or already current)
- 1: Error (file not found, invalid JSON)
Error Handling
No CLAUDE.md found:
β No CLAUDE.md found in current directory
This project doesn't appear to have Navigator initialized.
Run "Initialize Navigator in this project" first.
Backup failed:
β Failed to create backup: CLAUDE.md.backup
Check file permissions and disk space.
Parse error:
β Failed to parse CLAUDE.md
The file might be corrupted or have unusual formatting.
Manual review required.
Backup saved at: CLAUDE.md.backup
Template not found:
β Navigator template not found
This might be a plugin installation issue.
Try reinstalling Navigator plugin: /plugin update navigator
Success Criteria
Migration is successful when:
- CLAUDE.md backed up successfully
- Version detected correctly
- Customizations extracted
- New file generated with v3.1 template
- Project-specific content preserved
- Diff shown to user for review
- Commit instructions provided
Rollback Procedure
If migration fails or user is unhappy:
# Restore backup
mv CLAUDE.md.backup CLAUDE.md
# Or compare and manually fix
diff CLAUDE.md.backup CLAUDE.md
Notes
This skill:
- Preserves all customizations (tech stack, standards, restrictions)
- Non-destructive (always creates backup)
- Idempotent (running multiple times is safe)
- Transparent (shows diff before finalizing)
What gets updated:
- Navigator version marker
- Slash commands β natural language
- Workflow examples
- Skills vs commands explanation
- Token optimization strategy
What gets preserved:
- Project name and description
- Tech stack
- Code standards
- Forbidden actions
- PM tool configuration
- Custom sections
Related Skills
- nav-init: Initialize Navigator in new project (creates CLAUDE.md from scratch)
- nav-start: Start session (uses updated CLAUDE.md)
- nav-task: Task documentation (benefits from updated workflow)
Examples
Example 1: Simple Update
User: "Update my CLAUDE.md to v3.1"
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