MCPInstall

project-references

Look up conventions, patterns, and concrete implementations from your own GitHub repositories checked out locally under /projects/referenzen/. Use this skill whenever there is uncertainty about how something is done in your codebase family — e.g. Helm chart structure, Kubernetes manifests, framework configuration patterns, Docker Compose conventions, CI/CD pipeline setup, or any other recurring architectural decision. Invoke it proactively before guessing at a convention; always cite the source project and path when a pattern is adopted. Also use when the user asks to check out, update, or search reference repositories, or to generate an overview/report of GitHub Actions triggers (push, pullrequest, schedule/cron) across repositories.

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Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/dboeckli/ai-agent-skills --skill project-references
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads project-references automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.


Project References

This skill manages a local mirror of your own GitHub repositories under ~/projects/referenzen/ and lets you look up conventions and implementation patterns without guessing or reading all repos blindly.

All operations are read-only on the reference projects themselves. Only git clone and git pull write into that directory — never edits.


Instructions

Step 1: Check whether the relevant repo is already cloned

ls ~/projects/referenzen/

If the needed repo is missing, run scripts/clone-or-update.sh owner/repo to clone it first.

Step 2: Ask the user which reference project is most relevant

Do not scan all repos blindly — that fills context. Ask: "Which of your sibling projects uses this pattern?" or list the available repos and let the user pick.

Step 3: Search targeted — file first, then grep

Use find to locate a file by name, then cat or grep to read only the relevant section. For search commands and patterns, consult references/search-patterns.md.

Step 4: Cite the source when adopting a pattern

Always state which project and file path a pattern came from before applying it:

Pattern adopted from your-service → helm-charts/Chart.yaml line 4

Step 5: Sync only when explicitly requested

Run scripts/sync-all.sh only when the user says "sync all" or "update all references". For a single repo, prefer scripts/clone-or-update.sh.


Examples

Example 1: Looking up a Helm chart convention

User says: "How should I structure the Helm chart for this project?"

Actions:

  1. Run ls ~/projects/referenzen/ to see available repos
  2. Ask: "Which sibling project should I use as reference?" — user says your-service
  3. Run find ~/projects/referenzen/your-service -name "Chart.yaml" to locate it
  4. Read the file, note the structure (apiVersion, dependencies, version pattern)
  5. Apply the same structure; cite: "adopted from your-service/helm-charts/Chart.yaml"

Result: Helm chart consistent with sibling projects, traceable source cited.

Example 2: Checking out a new reference repo

User says: "Clone my other-service project as a reference"

Actions:

  1. Run bash scripts/clone-or-update.sh owner/other-service
  2. Stream output so user sees CLONE/PULL/SKIP progress
  3. Confirm with ls ~/projects/referenzen/other-service/

Result: Repo available locally for pattern lookups; no edits made.

Example 3: Finding a configuration pattern

User says: "How do I configure the database pool like in the other projects?"

Actions:

  1. ls ~/projects/referenzen/ — pick a relevant sibling project
  2. grep -rn "database.pool" ~/projects/referenzen/your-service/src/main/resources/
  3. Read the relevant config section
  4. Cite: "pattern from your-service/src/main/resources/application.yaml line 42"

Result: Exact config from a proven sibling project, not guessed.

Example 4: Overview of GitHub Actions triggers

User says: "When do my projects run their GitHub Actions — push, PR, or schedule?"

Actions:

  1. Run bash scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh (add --glob to narrow to one pipeline, --root for a different checkout directory)
  2. Present the sorted overview (weekday/time, human-readable plus original cron) and the event-only workflows
  3. Point the user to the generated report at target/workflow-triggers.md

Result: Consolidated, time-sorted trigger overview across all reference repos plus a Markdown report, without opening each workflow file.


Repository source

Two sources are supported — prefer the manual list when it exists:

  1. Manual list (~/claude-shared/projekte.txt): one GitHub repo URL or owner/name slug per line, blank lines and # comments ignored.
  2. Automatic discovery: gh repo list --limit 200 --json nameWithOwner when the file is absent or the user explicitly asks for a full sync.

Scripts

Two ready-made scripts live in scripts/ — use them instead of writing inline Bash. Both accept REFERENZEN_DIR as an env override (default: ~/projects/referenzen).

scripts/clone-or-update.sh <owner/repo>

Clones a single repository or pulls if it already exists locally. Refuses to pull when local changes are present (exit code 2) — never stashes or resets.

bash scripts/clone-or-update.sh owner/your-repo

Exit codes: 0 = ok, 2 = skipped (local changes), 3 = clone/pull failed.

scripts/sync-all.sh [--list <file>] [--limit <n>]

Iterates over all repositories and calls the clone-or-update logic for each. Prefers ~/claude-shared/projekte.txt as source; falls back to gh repo list when the file is absent. Prints a summary line at the end.

# Sync everything (auto-detect source)
bash scripts/sync-all.sh

# Use a specific list file
bash scripts/sync-all.sh --list ~/claude-shared/projekte.txt

# Limit gh repo list to 50 repos
bash scripts/sync-all.sh --limit 50

Do not run sync-all blindly — use it only when the user explicitly says "sync all" or "update all references". For a single repo prefer clone-or-update.sh.

scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh [--root <dir>] [--glob <pattern>] [--out <file>] [--no-report]

Scans every repo checkout for .github/workflows/*.yml and *.yaml, extracts the triggers from the on: block (push, pull_request, schedule, workflow_dispatch, release, …) plus any cron: expressions, prints the overview and writes a Markdown report. Scheduled workflows are sorted by weekday/time and shown with a human-readable run time (e.g. Monday 02:05) next to the original cron expression; workflows without a schedule are listed in a separate event-only section. Read-only, no network access.

  • --root <dir> — directory containing repo checkouts. Default: $REFERENZEN_DIR or ~/projects/referenzen.
  • --glob <pattern> — optional filename filter, e.g. maven-build.yml. Default: all workflows.
  • --out <file> — Markdown report path. Default: target/workflow-triggers.md (relative to the current project directory, created if missing).
  • --no-report — print to stdout only, skip the report file.
# Overview + report for all reference repos
bash scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh

# Only maven-build.yml, custom report location
bash scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh --glob 'maven-build.yml' --out target/maven-triggers.md

# A different checkout root (e.g. Windows mount)
bash scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh --root /mnt/c/Development/projects/all-git-repos

Workflows

1. Check out or update repositories

Run the appropriate script and stream output so the user sees every CLONE / PULL / SKIP action as it happens.

2. Search within reference projects

Scope the search to what the user actually needs. Prefer targeted lookups over broad recursive greps. For ready-made search commands and citing patterns, consult references/search-patterns.md.

3. Discover available reference projects

ls ~/projects/referenzen/

If ~/claude-shared/projekte.txt exists, show its contents alongside to explain which repos are tracked vs. which are locally present.

4. Overview of GitHub Actions triggers

Run scripts/list-workflow-triggers.sh to get a cross-repo overview of every workflow's on: triggers and cron: entries. It also writes the report to target/workflow-triggers.md. Use --glob to focus on a single pipeline (e.g. maven-build.yml) and --root for a different checkout directory.


When to suggest this skill proactively

Suggest looking up a reference project when:

  • The user asks how something is structured and the answer may vary by project convention (Helm chart layout, Flyway migration naming, Dockerfile patterns, Maven plugin ordering, etc.)
  • There is more than one reasonable approach and consistency with sibling projects matters
  • The user says "like the other projects" or "same as before" without specifying which project

Ask the user which reference project is most relevant rather than scanning all of them — scanning is expensive in context.


Safety rules

  • Never edit, stage, commit, or delete files inside ~/projects/referenzen/.
  • If git pull would fail due to local changes, report the conflict clearly and stop — do not stash, reset, or force.
  • Do not expose repository contents that contain secrets (.env, credential files) in the response — read and cite structure only.

FAQ

What does the project-references skill do?

Look up conventions, patterns, and concrete implementations from your own GitHub repositories checked out locally under /projects/referenzen/. Use this skill whenever there is uncertainty about how something is done in your codebase family — e.g. Helm chart structure, Kubernetes manifests, framework configuration patterns, Docker Compose conventions, CI/CD pipeline setup, or any other recurring architectural decision. Invoke it proactively before guessing at a convention; always cite the source project and path when a pattern is adopted. Also use when the user asks to check out, update, or search reference repositories, or to generate an overview/report of GitHub Actions triggers (push, pullrequest, schedule/cron) across repositories.

How do I install project-references?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/dboeckli/ai-agent-skills --skill project-references in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/project-references/ (personal) or .claude/skills/project-references/ (project).

Which AI agents can use project-references?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is project-references safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains project-references?

It is published by dboeckli in dboeckli/ai-agent-skills. It has 3,886 recorded installs.

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