Skills
skills/base44/skills/sync-cli-skill

sync-cli-skill

Installation
SKILL.md

Sync CLI Skill

Synchronize the skills/base44-cli/ skill with the latest CLI source code from the Base44 CLI repository using git-based change detection.

Usage

When activated, this skill will ask for:

  1. CLI source folder path (required) - The local path to the Base44 CLI source code (must be a git repository)

How It Works

This skill uses git to efficiently detect changes:

  1. Reads the locally stored version from CLI_VERSION (e.g., v0.0.17)
  2. Compares against the CLI source repository to find changed command files
  3. Only processes commands that have actually changed

Steps

Step 1: Gather Input

Ask the user for the CLI source folder path using the AskQuestion tool if available, otherwise ask conversationally:

Required:

  • CLI source folder path (e.g., ~/projects/base44-cli or /Users/me/base44-cli)

If the user provided this in the initial prompt, use that value.

Step 2: Validate Source Folder and Discover Structure

  1. Check that the provided path exists and is a git repository (.git/ directory exists)
  2. Check for package.json with CLI-related content
  3. Discover the commands directory - look for directories containing command files:
    • Common patterns: src/cli/commands/, src/commands/, commands/, lib/commands/
    • Look for files with .command( or program.command patterns
  4. Identify the CLI source root - the parent directory containing both commands and shared code

Store these discovered paths for use in subsequent steps:

  • <commands-path>: Path to commands directory (e.g., src/cli/commands)
  • <cli-root>: Path to CLI source root (e.g., src/cli)

If validation fails or structure is unclear, ask the user to clarify.

Step 3: Read Local Version and Detect Changes

  1. Read the stored version from CLI_VERSION in the skills repository root (e.g., v0.0.17)

  2. Get changed command files using git in the CLI source folder:

    # From the CLI source folder, list command files changed since the stored version
git diff --name-only <stored-version> HEAD -- <commands-path>

    If the stored version tag doesn't exist, fall back to:

    # List all command files if tag is missing
git ls-files <commands-path>

  3. Get infrastructure changes (CLI source root excluding commands):

    # From the CLI source folder, list infra files changed since the stored version
git diff --name-only <stored-version> HEAD -- <cli-root> | grep -v "<commands-path>"

  4. Present findings to the user before proceeding:

    Found X changed command files since vX.X.X:
- <commands-path>/deploy.ts
- <commands-path>/entities/push.ts
- <commands-path>/auth/login.ts

Found Y infrastructure changes (may affect all commands):
- <cli-root>/utils/api-client.ts
- <cli-root>/config/defaults.ts

  5. If no changes detected (neither commands nor infra): Report "No changes since version X" and exit

Step 4: Check Infrastructure Changes

Before processing individual commands, review any infrastructure changes that may affect all commands:

What to Look For

Review each changed non-command file and categorize by impact type:

Impact Type What to look for Documentation Action
API/Client changes Base URLs, endpoints, headers, request/response handling May affect multiple commands' behavior
Config/Defaults Default values, environment variables, config file paths Update SKILL.md config section
Authentication Token handling, login flow, session management Update auth-related references
Global options CLI-wide flags like --verbose, --json, --help Update SKILL.md global options
Output formatting How results are displayed, logging behavior Note in affected command references
Types/Interfaces Shared type definitions Usually internal, but may indicate API changes
Error handling Exit codes, error messages, validation Update troubleshooting section
Dependencies package.json changes Check for behavior-affecting updates

Note: The actual file structure varies by CLI. Discover the structure by examining the git diff output rather than assuming specific paths.

How to Handle Infra Changes

  1. Read each changed infra file to understand what changed
  2. Identify cross-cutting impacts:
    • New global options → Update SKILL.md "Global Options" section
    • Changed defaults → Note in affected command references
    • Auth flow changes → Update auth-related references
    • New environment variables → Document in SKILL.md
    • API endpoint changes → May affect multiple commands
  3. Flag for SKILL.md update if the change affects:
    • How users configure the CLI
    • Prerequisites or setup steps
    • Error messages users might see
    • Output format

Example Infrastructure Change

Changed file: (some config/defaults file)

Before:
  export const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 30000;
  
After:
  export const DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 60000;

Impact: All commands now have 60s timeout instead of 30s
Action: Update SKILL.md "Configuration" or "Troubleshooting" section

Step 5: Process Each Changed Command

For each changed command file, perform the following steps:

Step 5a: Route Command to the Correct Skill

Commands are split across skills by concern. Before reading or updating a reference, determine which skill owns the command.

Known command routing:

Command Target Skill Reason
logs skills/base44-troubleshooter/ Troubleshooting / debugging concern
Everything else skills/base44-cli/ Project management concern

For new/unknown commands, reason about ownership based on the command's purpose:

Concern Target Skill Examples
Observability, debugging, diagnostics, monitoring skills/base44-troubleshooter/ logs, monitor, status, health
Project setup, resource management, deployment, auth skills/base44-cli/ create, deploy, entities push, login

If a new command's purpose is ambiguous, read its source code and ask: "Would a developer use this to build/manage the app, or to investigate/debug it?" Route accordingly. When genuinely unclear, ask the user.

Use the target skill's references/ folder for reading and writing reference files, and update that skill's SKILL.md command table accordingly.

Step 5b: Read Existing Skill Reference

Read the corresponding reference file from the target skill's references/ folder:

skills/base44-cli/                      <- project management commands
├── SKILL.md
└── references/
    ├── auth-login.md      <- for <commands-path>/auth/login.ts
    ├── auth-logout.md
    ├── auth-whoami.md
    ├── create.md          <- for <commands-path>/create.ts
    ├── deploy.md
    ├── entities-create.md <- for <commands-path>/entities/create.ts
    ├── entities-push.md
    ├── functions-create.md
    ├── functions-deploy.md
    ├── rls-examples.md
    └── site-deploy.md

skills/base44-troubleshooter/           <- troubleshooting commands
├── SKILL.md
└── references/
    └── project-logs.md    <- for <commands-path>/logs.ts (or similar)

Mapping rule: <commands-path>/{parent}/{name}.ts → references/{parent}-{name}.md

If no reference file exists for a new command, note it for creation in the appropriate skill.

Step 5c: Compare Source with Documentation

Compare the CLI source code with the existing skill documentation:

Extract from Source

Parse the command file to extract:

  • Command name and aliases
  • Description/help text
  • Available options and flags (name, alias, description, default, required, type)
  • Usage examples (if present)
  • Subcommands
Detect Changes

Identify differences:

Command-Level:

  1. New commands (source exists, no reference file)
  2. Changed command descriptions

Option/Argument-Level (CRITICAL): 3. New options added 4. Removed options 5. Changed option descriptions 6. Changed option defaults 7. Changed option types (e.g., string to boolean) 8. Changed required status 9. Changed option aliases (e.g., -f to -F) 10. Option converted to positional argument (e.g., create -n my-app → create my-app) 11. Positional argument converted to option (e.g., create my-app → create -n my-app)

Detecting Option ↔ Positional Changes:

Look for these patterns in Commander.js:

  • Named option: .option('-n, --name <value>', 'description') or .requiredOption(...)
  • Positional argument: .argument('<name>', 'description') or in command definition .command('create <name>')

When an option disappears but a positional argument with similar semantics appears (or vice versa), flag this as a breaking change that affects how users invoke the command.

Document the Comparison
Command: deploy (<commands-path>/deploy.ts)

Source options:
  --force (-f): Force deployment [boolean, default: false]
  --env <name>: Target environment [string, required]

Documented options (references/deploy.md):
  --force (-f): Force deploy without confirmation [boolean, default: false]  
  --env <name>: Environment name [string, optional]

Changes detected:
  - --force: description changed
  - --env: required status changed (required vs optional)

Command: create (<commands-path>/create.ts)

Source (current):
  Positional: <name> - The app name [required]
  Options: --template (-t): Template to use [string, optional]

Documented (references/create.md):
  Options:
    -n, --name <name>: The app name [string, required]
    --template (-t): Template to use [string, optional]

Changes detected:
  - BREAKING: --name (-n) option converted to positional argument <name>
    Old syntax: npx base44 create -n my-app
    New syntax: npx base44 create my-app

Step 5d: Update Reference File

Update or create references/{command-name}.md with the following format:

# base44 {command}

{Description from source}

## Syntax

```bash
npx base44 {command} [options]

Options

Option Description Required
-o, --option <value> {description} {yes/no}

Examples

{example usage from source}

Notes

{Any important behavioral notes}


### Step 6: Update Main Skill Files (if needed)

After processing all changed commands, update the SKILL.md of each affected skill:

**For `skills/base44-cli/SKILL.md`** (project management commands):
1. Update the **Available Commands** tables if commands were added/removed
2. Update **Quick Start** if workflow changed
3. Update **Common Workflows** sections if relevant

**For `skills/base44-troubleshooter/SKILL.md`** (troubleshooting commands):
1. Update the **Available Commands** table if troubleshooting commands were added/removed
2. Update the **Troubleshooting Flow** if command behavior changed

**General rules:**
- Keep the existing structure and formatting of each skill
- Do NOT change the frontmatter description unless explicitly asked

### Step 7: Update CLI_VERSION and Skill Frontmatter

After successfully updating all changed commands:

1. Get the current version/commit from the CLI source:
   ```bash
   # Get latest tag, or HEAD commit if no tags
   git describe --tags --always

  1. Update CLI_VERSION in the skills repository root with the new version (e.g., v0.0.47)

  2. Update metadata.sourcePackage in skills/base44-cli/SKILL.md frontmatter. Set name to base44 (the npm package being synced) and version to the new version without the v prefix (e.g., 0.0.47). Example:

    metadata:
  sourcePackage:
    name: base44
    version: 0.0.47

    This allows the Base44 CLI to detect when installed skills are out of date.

Step 8: Present Summary

After all updates, present a summary to the user:

## Sync Summary

### Version Updated
- Previous: v0.0.17
- Current: v0.0.20

### Changed Command Files Processed
- <commands-path>/deploy.ts
- <commands-path>/entities/push.ts

### Infrastructure Changes Reviewed
- (list infra files from git diff output)
- Example: config.ts (timeout increased to 60s)
- Example: api-client.ts (no user-facing changes)

### Files Updated
- references/deploy.md (updated options)
- references/entities-push.md (updated description)
- SKILL.md (updated command table, added timeout note)
- CLI_VERSION (v0.0.17 → v0.0.20)
- skills/base44-cli/SKILL.md frontmatter metadata.sourcePackage.version (0.0.17 → 0.0.20)

### Breaking Changes (highlight prominently)
- `create`: `-n, --name` option converted to positional argument
  - Old: `npx base44 create -n my-app`
  - New: `npx base44 create my-app`

### Option Changes
- `deploy --env`: now required (was optional)
- `entities push --dry-run`: default changed from true to false

### New Commands
- (none)

### Removed Commands  
- (none)

### Manual Review Recommended
- [List any changes that need verification]

Important Notes

  • Git-based detection: This skill relies on git tags/commits to detect changes. Ensure the CLI source folder is a valid git repository.
  • Preserve existing content: Don't remove detailed explanations, examples, or warnings unless they're outdated
  • Keep formatting consistent: Match the existing style of SKILL.md and reference files
  • Maintain progressive disclosure: Keep detailed docs in references, summaries in SKILL.md
  • Flag uncertainties: If source code is unclear, flag it for manual review
  • Respect RLS/FLS docs: The entities-create.md and rls-examples.md contain hand-written security documentation - update carefully

Troubleshooting

Issue Solution
Tag not found in CLI repo Use git tag -l to list available tags, or fall back to comparing with a commit hash
Infra changes not detected Check if shared code is in non-standard directories; adjust the git diff paths
Unsure if infra change affects users Look for exports used by command files; if internal-only, note but skip documentation
Can't find command files Try searching for .command( or program.command patterns
Options not detected Look for .option( patterns in commander.js files
Positional args not detected Look for .argument( or <argName> in .command('cmd <argName>') patterns
Option → positional change missed Compare old options list with new arguments list; if an option disappeared and a similar argument appeared, it's likely a conversion
Missing descriptions Check for description: properties or .description( calls
Subcommand structure Commands like entities push may be in entities/push.ts
Changed args not detected Compare each option property: name, alias, description, default, required, type
No changes detected but expected Verify the stored version in CLI_VERSION matches a valid git tag/commit
Weekly Installs
26
Repository
base44/skills
GitHub Stars
71
First Seen
Feb 8, 2026
Security Audits
Gen Agent Trust HubWarn
SocketPass
SnykPass
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