Core

---
name: wicked-garden-core
description: |
  Core utility surface for the wicked-garden plugin: help/overview, first-run
  setup + codebase onboarding, the wicked-* peer installer, selective state
  reset, the where-am-i path manifest, and structured issue filing.

  Use when: "wicked-garden help", "show wicked-garden commands", "what can
  wicked-garden do", "set up wicked-garden", "setup", "--reconfigure",
  "onboard this codebase", "install wicked tools", "add peers", "install
  layers", "reset wicked-garden", "clear state", "--list-projects",
  "where am I", "path manifest", "report issue", "file a bug",
  "--list-unfiled", or any former /wicked-garden:{help|setup|install|reset|
  where-am-i|report-issue} invocation.
metadata:
  role: router
  phases: "*"
  archetypes: "*"
---

# Wicked Garden Core

One entry point for the plugin's utility verbs. **Run this skill inline, never as a
hand-off** — the setup / install / reset / report-issue actions are interactive wizards
that converse with the user: your harness's native question prompt where it has one,
else a numbered plain-text list and STOP-and-wait (the PLAIN_TEXT mode every ref
documents). Everything runs in the parent context.

## Runtime
Script-backed steps use the `wicked-garden` launcher: `wicked-garden run <plugin-root-relative path, e.g. scripts/…> [args]`. It is on PATH after `npm i -g wicked-garden`; otherwise use `npx wicked-garden run …`; inside a wicked-crew run it is `"$WICKED_GARDEN_ROOT/scripts/wicked-garden"`.
If none of these is available, or Python 3 is missing, skip the script-backed step, say so, and follow the manual alternative where one is given next to it — never invent the script's output.
Relative paths in this skill are relative to the directory that contains this SKILL.md.
Runtime resolution in depth — the Python/Node detection ladders, usage patterns and troubleshooting —
is `refs/runtime.md`.

## Action router

| Action | Trigger phrases / args | How |
|--------|------------------------|-----|
| `help` | no args, "help", "overview" | Default — show the overview below |
| `setup` | "setup", "--reconfigure", "onboard this codebase" | read `refs/setup.md` (relative to this skill's base directory) and follow it |
| `install` | "install", "add peers", "install layers" | read `refs/install.md` and follow it |
| `reset` | "reset", "clear state", `--all` `--only` `--keep` `--force` `--list-projects` `--all-projects` | read `refs/reset.md` and follow it |
| `where-am-i` | "where am I", "path manifest", `--fence` `--env` | Inline section below |
| `report-issue` | "report issue", "file a bug", `bug` `ux-friction` `unmet-outcome` `--list-unfiled` | read `refs/report-issue.md` and follow it |

## Action: help (default)

Show this overview when invoked with no action or asked for help.

The Wicked Garden Marketplace — gap-filling capabilities for modern coding-agent
harnesses. It reads each prompt as one or more **work-shape archetypes** (v11) and
applies the right rigor/gate, re-derives "done" from evidence, surfaces relationships
grep can't see, and otherwise stays out of the harness's way.

### Headline skills

| Skill | What it does |
|-------|--------------|
| `wicked-garden-prove` | Re-derive "done" from recorded evidence (the produces-gate). Its `compile` action emits a self-contained, vault-backed gate into any repo. |
| `wicked-garden-core` | This skill — setup, install, reset, where-am-i, report-issue, help. |
| `wicked-garden-deliberate` | Critically analyze a request before doing the work — challenge assumptions, find root causes, propose better approaches. |
| `wicked-garden-archetype` | The v11 work-shape playbooks (below). |
| `wicked-garden-governed-worker` | The discipline every governed unit follows, by role (creator / evaluator / neutral): the repo's checks run in-tree with exit codes pasted, evaluators output-only, honest counts, no questions into a headless run. |

### Archetypes (v11 work-shape model)

Invoke the `wicked-garden-archetype` skill with a work-shape name to run its
playbook. Each prompt classifies into one or more of these; run them in
dependency order.

| Archetype | Shape |
|-----------|-------|
| `triage` | classify → routing decision |
| `explore` | frame → diverge → converge |
| `specify` | elicit → structure → validate (SMART acceptance criteria) |
| `decide` | brief → options → score → record (ADR) |
| `ship` | canary → ramp → full → soak (rollout verdict) |
| `review` | scope → assess → findings → remediate-or-accept (hard verdict) |
| `incident` | triage → investigate → mitigate → resolve → followup |
| `build` | plan → implement → test → review |
| `migrate` | plan → expand → backfill → cutover → contract |

### Domain skills

Each domain is one consolidated skill that routes to its actions.

| Skill | Description | Key actions |
|-------|-------------|-------------|
| `wicked-garden-agentic` | Design, review, and audit agentic AI systems | review · design · audit · frameworks |
| `wicked-garden-data` | Data analysis, pipelines, ML, and ontology recommendations | analyze · pipeline · ml · ontology |
| `wicked-garden-demo` | Plan, record and review a polished product demo video — presenter script, per-chapter recordings, and contact-sheet QA | plan · record · review |
| `wicked-garden-engineering` | Architecture, code review, debugging, docs, planning, and deterministic multi-file code transformations | review · debug · arch · plan · apply |
| `wicked-garden-jam` | Multi-model brainstorming + structured council (independent second opinion) | council · brainstorm · quick · revisit |
| `wicked-garden-domain` | Extract a codebase's domain model — business rules + provenance, entities, requirements on the estate graph — a foundational substrate build/migrate/review/modernize all consume (none own) | extractor · modeler · coverage |
| `wicked-garden-draft` | The quality floor for document deliverables drafted from a repo (brochures, one-pagers, pages, decks): contrast ≥ 4.5:1 and print text ≥ 7pt, the RENDERED page count honours the brief, every number/URL cited, mocks labelled, no placeholders — with one self-check run before "done" | self-check · contrast · pages · claims |
| `wicked-garden-editor-scaffold` | Build an artifact editor plugin for wicked-studio: scaffold a spec-2 pack with one self-contained wicked.editor/1 editor, ask only for the permissions it uses, re-pin its hash, run the conformance cases in headless Chromium against studio's plugin host, then install it into a wicked-crew daemon's editors (the daemon re-runs the conformance) | scaffold · pin · conformance · install |
| `wicked-garden-learn` | Learn a topic or an event from outside sources into the repository as KNOWLEDGE: research with cited sources, a claims ledger (every claim with its URL and observed_at), a chat walkthrough, text-only skills that cite the claims; a refresh proposes only changes (confirm, supersede, contradict, retire), never a silent delete; index merged knowledge into estate | scope · research · synthesize · walkthrough · author · review · check · index |
| `wicked-garden-mcp` | Use an MCP tool from a governed wicked-crew unit on any seat: list the tools your unit may try, then call one through the broker (policy-judged, recorded, secrets never handed out) | list · call |
| `wicked-garden-mcp-scaffold` | Build an MCP server the wicked-crew broker can govern: scaffold a TypeScript server (fastmcp, OpenTelemetry, loglayer — the default) or a zero-dependency one-file stdio server (Node or Python), generate its tools from an OpenAPI document through wicked-crew's conversion service, annotate them honestly, probe initialize + tools/list with each tool's broker class, then install it for running (registry + CLI configs, idempotent by key) | scaffold · openapi · probe · install |
| `wicked-garden-mem` | Cross-session memory + knowledge over wicked-estate: store/recall learnings, cited answers, document ingest (binary via vision), session capture | store · recall · answer · review · forget · maintain · ingest · capture |
| `wicked-garden-persona` | Define and invoke named personas to perform work with a specific lens | as · define · list |
| `wicked-garden-platform` | Security, infrastructure, compliance, CI/CD, incidents, traces, and plugin diagnostics | security · compliance · incident · health |
| `wicked-garden-product` | Requirements, customer feedback, strategy, UX, accessibility, and design review | elicit · acceptance · analyze · strategy · ux-review |
| `wicked-garden-qe` | Evidence-gated quality engineering: strategy, scenario authoring, execution, independent verdicts, ledger insight, and the 3-agent acceptance pipeline | setup · plan · author · execute · review · insight · accept |
| `wicked-garden-repo-learn` | Learn an unfamiliar repo (churn → hotspots → read the load-bearing intersection) and capture BOTH memories and policies as inert estate proposals a human reviews | churn · hotspots · read · capture |
| `wicked-garden-search` | Structural code search, lineage, blast-radius, and codebase intelligence | blast-radius · lineage · hotspots · service-map · index |

> **Cross-session memory + knowledge is the `wicked-garden-mem` domain**
> (wicked-estate is the engine): `store` / `recall` / `answer` / `ingest`
> replace the retired wicked-brain skill cluster. Relationship graphs <!-- historical -->
> (blast-radius / lineage / hotspots) live in the **wicked-estate MCP**
> (`BlastRadius` / `Lineage` / `TraverseGraph` / `RankHotspots`, ADR 0005) —
> the `wicked-garden-search` skill wraps them; symbol lookup is the estate
> MCP `SearchEntity` tool.

### Quick start

- **Orient**: invoke this skill's `where-am-i` action.
- **Build a feature**: `wicked-garden-archetype` with `build "add a user authentication system"`.
- **Re-derive "done" from evidence**: `wicked-garden-prove`.
- **Review code**: `wicked-garden-engineering` with `review ./src`.
- **Independent multi-model second opinion**: `wicked-garden-jam` with `council "should we adopt event sourcing here?"`.
- **Search code relationships**: estate MCP `SearchEntity` for the symbol, then `wicked-garden-search` with `blast-radius src/payments.py`.
- **Store a decision**: `wicked-garden-mem` (store action).

### How it works

1. Every prompt is classified into one or more **archetypes** by the
   `UserPromptSubmit` hook; each archetype owns its own phase shape, HITL
   discipline, and cost band (steering, not a fixed pipeline).
2. **Specialist domains** (engineering, platform, product, qe, data, agentic,
   jam, search) provide deep expertise the harness routes into. Context is
   assembled on demand (pull-model) via the `wicked-garden-mem` skill — there
   is no per-prompt push.
4. **`wicked-garden-prove`** re-derives an archetype's "done" through the
   evidence gate rather than trusting a "tests pass" claim.
5. **State** persists across sessions via wicked-estate memory, search
   indexes, the event log, and native tasks.

### Getting more help

Invoke any domain skill with an action name (e.g. `wicked-garden-engineering`
with `review`). Invoke `wicked-garden-core` with no action to return to this
overview.

## Action: where-am-i

Read-only query that prints a single compact manifest of the storage
roots used by wicked-garden dispatches. Subagents should include
"invoke wicked-garden-core where-am-i first" as a directive instead of
hand-enumerating paths — it costs fewer tokens and closes a class of
path-mismatch bugs. Provenance: Issue #576.

Arguments: `--json` (JSON manifest, default) · `--fence` (wrap the JSON in a
fenced `json` block for paste) · `--env` (substitute env-var forms — the plugin-root
variable — where the corresponding environment variable is present).

Invoke the helper script and stream its stdout to the user verbatim. This
action is a thin wrapper — do not re-interpret the manifest.

```bash
wicked-garden run scripts/where_am_i.py "$@"
```

Output shape:

```json
{
  "plugin_root": "/abs/path",
  "source_cwd": "/abs/path",
  "active_project_id": "string-or-null",
  "project_artifacts": "/abs/path/to/projects-or-specific-project",
  "bus_db": "/abs/path"
}
```

Any field that cannot be resolved emits `null` and logs a one-line note to
stderr. The script never raises and is safe to invoke from any cwd. Graceful
degradation: a missing plugin-root variable falls back to the checkout inferred
from the script location; missing
bus DB emits `"bus_db": null`; no active crew project emits
`"active_project_id": null` and points `project_artifacts` at the crew
projects domain root.