Sync Brain Starter

Sync Brain Starter

Syncs reusable parts from the private brain repo (~/brain) to the public template repo (~/tech/brain-starter). Copies skills, configs, and templates — then shows a diff for review before committing.

Trigger phrases

• /sync-brain-starter
• "sync brain starter"
• "push changes to the template"
• "update brain-starter"

Step-by-step workflow

1. Run the sync script

bash ~/brain/scripts/sync-brain-starter.sh

This copies:

• Vault skills (curated list): wrap-session-up, ingest-article, defuddle, obsidian-cli, obsidian-markdown, obsidian-bases, json-canvas, gws-obsidian-prep, project-sync, research-spike, save-answer, lint-brain, qmd, find-skills, sync-brain-starter
• Configs: commitlint.config.js, .husky/commit-msg, docs/templates.md, docs/integrations.md

It does NOT copy:

• CLAUDE.md, README.md, package.json, .claude/memory/MEMORY.md -- these are generalized differently in the template
• Global/plugin skills -- brain-starter no longer bundles plugin skills (gstack, gws, todoist, m365, etc.). Users install these globally via their own install commands.

2. Review the diff

cd ~/tech/brain-starter && git diff

Check for leaks before committing:

• Personal names (your name, family members, colleagues)
• Company or client names
• Email addresses or OAuth accounts
• Hardcoded absolute paths (e.g. /Users/yourname/)
• Internal project references (Jira ticket keys, specific repo names)
• Company-specific tool configs

If any personal references slipped through, fix them in the brain-starter copy before committing. Do NOT modify the brain repo source — the template versions may intentionally differ.

3. Update the README

If any new skills were added, docs created, or features changed, update ~/tech/brain-starter/README.md:

• New skill? → Add a row to the vault skills or global skills table
• New doc (e.g. docs/integrations.md)? → Reference it in the "What's included" section
• Skill count changed? → Update the "X Claude Code skills" number in the intro
• New prerequisite tool? → Add it to the Prerequisites table

Always check the README is accurate before committing — it's the first thing users see.

4. Commit and push

Use feat or fix only for user-facing changes. Use chore for everything else — only feat and fix trigger release PRs.

cd ~/tech/brain-starter
git add -A
git commit -m "feat(skill): update [skill-name] with [what changed]"
git push

5. Report

Brain starter sync complete.

Synced:
- [list of files that changed]

No changes:
- [list of files that were already up to date]

Pushed to: {your brain-starter fork URL}

Important constraints

• Never auto-commit — always show the diff and wait for confirmation
• Check for personal info — every sync is a potential leak vector
• Use correct commit types — chore for infra, feat for new skills/features, fix for bug fixes. Only feat/fix create releases.
• Don't modify brain repo — this skill only copies brain → brain-starter, never the reverse
• If a new vault skill was added to brain that should be public, add it to the SKILLS array in ~/brain/scripts/sync-brain-starter.sh
• Global/plugin skills are NOT synced -- brain-starter only ships vault-native skills. Plugin skills (gstack, gws, todoist, render, etc.) install themselves globally via their own repos

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: michaeljauk
• Source: michaeljauk/brain-starter
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.