Update Ravenclaude

---
name: update-ravenclaude
description: "Bring a RavenClaude install up to date when it's stale, when new skills/agents aren't showing, or after upstream changes ship. Covers both hosts: under GitHub Copilot CLI the update is `git pull` in the marketplace clone then re-running `ravenclaude setup` (idempotent); under Claude Code it's `/plugin marketplace update ravenclaude` then `/reload-plugins`. Read this skill on triggers like 'update ravenclaude', 'ravenclaude is stale', 'refresh skills', or 'new skills not showing'."
---

# Skill: update-ravenclaude

This skill is the canonical reference for **how to refresh a RavenClaude install** so that newly shipped skills, agents, hooks, and posture changes take effect. The mechanics differ by host (GitHub Copilot CLI vs. Claude Code), so the skill covers both.

## When to use it

Reach for this skill on any of these signals:

- "update ravenclaude" / "bring ravenclaude up to date"
- "ravenclaude is stale" / "my version is behind"
- "refresh skills" / "reload skills"
- "new skills aren't showing" / "I don't see the agent/skill that was just added"
- after you know upstream shipped a change (a new plugin version, a new skill, a hook fix) and you want it locally

## Path B — GitHub Copilot CLI (the `git pull` + re-wire flow)

The Copilot bridge loads everything **live from your marketplace clone** — skills (`.claude/skills`), hooks (`.github/hooks`), MCP config, and the `rc` alias are all read live from disk. So an update is two steps:

```shell
# 1. Pull latest upstream changes into the marketplace clone
cd ~/RavenClaude && git pull

# 2. Re-wire skills, hooks, and posture into the current project
bash ~/RavenClaude/scripts/ravenclaude setup --project . [--with-plugin <name>]
```

Notes:

- **`--with-plugin <name>`** (e.g. `--with-plugin power-platform`) should be included **only if that plugin was part of your original setup**. A base, core-only update omits it.
- **`ravenclaude setup` is idempotent** — safe to re-run at any time. It re-wires the live surfaces and never clobbers an existing `.ravenclaude/comfort-posture.yaml`.
- `ravenclaude update` (a bare `git pull` + regenerate, no project re-wire) is the lighter form when you only need fresh marketplace content and don't need the current project re-wired.

### When the pull stalls on local changes (the common Copilot stall)

The marketplace clone is **both** the git checkout you pull into **and** the live runtime surface
Copilot reads from — so two tracked files get written by normal use and then block `git pull`:

| File | Written by | Upstream also edits it? |
|---|---|---|
| `.ravenclaude/comfort-posture.yaml` | you, `/set-posture`, the dashboard | yes |
| `.claude/settings.json` | `apply-comfort-posture.py` at session start | yes |

`git pull --ff-only` refuses to overwrite them, so the update stops before it starts. Resolve it
**before** re-running the update — do not let the session guess:

```shell
# See exactly what is dirty
git -C ~/RavenClaude status --porcelain --untracked-files=no

# Keep local tuning (robust — survives upstream editing the same file)
git -C ~/RavenClaude switch -c local-posture
git -C ~/RavenClaude commit -am 'local posture tuning'
git -C ~/RavenClaude switch main && git -C ~/RavenClaude pull --ff-only

# Discard a formatting-only diff (e.g. a stray space before a SKILL.md `---`)
git -C ~/RavenClaude checkout -- <path>
```

`git stash push … && git pull && git stash pop` is the quicker form, but it **conflicts whenever
upstream edited the same file** — which is exactly the posture/settings case above. Prefer the
branch. Untracked files (a staged contribution under `docs/staging/incoming/`) never block a pull;
leave them alone.

`ravenclaude update` reports the real git error and the dirty file list when this happens, and says
**"NOT up to date"** rather than a green "up to date" — it still re-materializes skills/hooks from
the unchanged checkout, so a stalled pull leaves you running the *old* content.

**It also exits non-zero**, so the signal survives for anything that reads an exit code rather than
the terminal — the dashboard's Update button derives its success flag from exactly that. Two
deliberate boundaries:

- **Only an attempted-and-failed pull is non-zero.** A `$MARKET` that is not a git checkout exits
  **0**: nothing was attempted, and the re-materialize genuinely succeeded.
- **Chain with `;`, not `&&`.** The `rc` function and the suggested alias both use `;` for this
  reason — the commonest cause of a failed pull is your own posture tuning, and `&&` would turn that
  into "Copilot will not start". A stale checkout is still a working checkout.

## Path A — Claude Code (the marketplace-update flow)

Claude Code caches installed plugins, so the refresh is a marketplace update followed by a reload:

```text
/plugin marketplace update ravenclaude
/reload-plugins
```

- Run `/reload-skills` as well if a **skill** specifically isn't showing after the reload.
- If the cache is genuinely broken (tool lockout, "decision helper missing"), escalate to `/reset-plugin-cache` (alias `/ragnarok`) — read its command doc first; it's high-blast-radius and dry-run by default.

## Why the two hosts differ

| Host | Loads plugin content… | Update is… |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Copilot CLI | **live from the clone on disk** | `git pull` + `ravenclaude setup` (idempotent) |
| Claude Code | from a **cached copy** | `/plugin marketplace update` + `/reload-plugins` |

This is why a Copilot update is "just `git pull`" (the design pillar of the bridge — no re-install ever) while a Claude Code update has to invalidate and reload the cache.

## See also

- `GETTING_STARTED.md` § "Updating RavenClaude (Copilot CLI)" — the consumer-facing copy of the Copilot flow.
- `scripts/ravenclaude` — the `setup` / `install` / `update` / `status` subcommands.
- `commands/reset-plugin-cache.md` — the disaster-recovery reset for a broken Claude Code cache.

## Related: plugin lifecycle

Routine refresh is marketplace update + `/reload-plugins` (this skill). Per-project last-used tracking / deprecate notices live under comfort-posture `plugin_lifecycle:` — see `knowledge/concepts/plugin-lifecycle.md`. Do **not** use `/reset-plugin-cache` (/ragnarok) for routine cleanup or install.