Trellis Meta-Skill

Version Compatibility

Item	Value
Trellis CLI Version	0.3.0-beta.5
Skill Last Updated	2026-01-31
Min Claude Code Version	1.0.0+

⚠️ Version Mismatch Warning: If your Trellis CLI version differs from above, some features may not work as documented. Run trellis --version to check.

---

Platform Compatibility

Feature Support Matrix

Feature	Claude Code	Cursor	OpenCode (Future)
Core Systems
Workspace system	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Planned
Task system	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Planned
Spec system	✅ Full	✅ Full	✅ Planned
Slash commands	✅ Full	✅ Full	⏳ TBD
Agent definitions	✅ Full	⚠️ Manual	⏳ TBD
Hook-Dependent Features
SessionStart hook	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD
PreToolUse hook	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD
SubagentStop hook	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD
Auto context injection	✅ Full	❌ Manual	⏳ TBD
Ralph Loop	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD
Multi-Agent/Session
Multi-Agent (current dir)	✅ Full	⚠️ Limited	⏳ TBD
Multi-Session (worktrees)	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD
claude --resume	✅ Full	❌ None	⏳ TBD

Legend

• ✅ Full: Feature works as documented
• ⚠️ Limited/Manual: Works but requires manual steps
• ❌ None: Not supported on this platform
• ⏳ TBD: Under consideration for future support

Platform-Specific Notes

Claude Code (Full Support)

All features work as documented. Hooks provide automatic context injection and quality enforcement.

Cursor (Partial Support)

• Works: Workspace, tasks, specs, commands (read manually)
• Doesn't work: Hooks, auto-injection, Ralph Loop, Multi-Session
• Workaround: Manually read spec files at session start; no automatic quality gates

OpenCode (Future Consideration)

• Need to evaluate OpenCode's extension/hook capabilities
• May require adapter layer for hook compatibility
• Core file-based systems should work once integrated

Designing for Portability

When customizing Trellis, consider platform compatibility:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    PORTABLE (All Platforms)                  │
│  - .trellis/workspace/    - .trellis/tasks/                 │
│  - .trellis/spec/         - .claude/commands/               │
│  - File-based configs     - JSONL context files             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
┌─────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────┐
│                  CLAUDE CODE ONLY                            │
│  - .claude/hooks/         - .claude/settings.json hooks     │
│  - SubagentStop control   - Auto context injection          │
│  - Ralph Loop             - Multi-Session worktrees         │
│  - claude CLI features    - --resume, --agent flags         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

---

Purpose

This is the meta-skill for Trellis - it documents the original, unmodified Trellis system. When customizing Trellis for a specific project, record changes in a project-local skill (trellis-local), keeping this meta-skill as the authoritative reference for vanilla Trellis.

Skill Hierarchy

~/.claude/skills/
└── trellis-meta/              # THIS SKILL - Original Trellis documentation
                               # ⚠️ DO NOT MODIFY for project-specific changes

project/.claude/skills/
└── trellis-local/             # Project-specific customizations
                               # ✅ Record all modifications here

Why this separation?

• User may have multiple projects with different Trellis customizations
• Each project's trellis-local skill tracks ITS OWN modifications
• The meta-skill remains clean as the reference for original Trellis
• Enables easy upgrades: compare meta-skill with new Trellis version

---

Self-Iteration Protocol

When modifying Trellis for a project, follow this protocol:

1. Check for Existing Project Skill

# Look for project-local skill
ls -la .claude/skills/trellis-local/

2. Create Project Skill if Missing

If no trellis-local exists, create it:

mkdir -p .claude/skills/trellis-local

Then create .claude/skills/trellis-local/SKILL.md:

---
name: trellis-local
description: |
  Project-specific Trellis customizations for [PROJECT_NAME].
  This skill documents modifications made to the vanilla Trellis system
  in this project. Inherits from trellis-meta for base documentation.
---

# Trellis Local - [PROJECT_NAME]

## Base Version
Trellis version: X.X.X (from package.json or trellis --version)
Date initialized: YYYY-MM-DD

## Customizations

### Commands Added
(none yet)

### Agents Modified
(none yet)

### Hooks Changed
(none yet)

### Specs Customized
(none yet)

### Workflow Changes
(none yet)

---

## Changelog

### YYYY-MM-DD
- Initial setup

3. Record Every Modification

When making ANY change to Trellis, update trellis-local/SKILL.md:

Example: Adding a new command

### Commands Added

#### /trellis:my-command
- **File**: `.claude/commands/trellis/my-command.md`
- **Purpose**: [what it does]
- **Added**: 2026-01-31
- **Why**: [reason for adding]

Example: Modifying a hook

### Hooks Changed

#### inject-subagent-context.py
- **Change**: Added support for `my-agent` type
- **Lines modified**: 45-67
- **Date**: 2026-01-31
- **Why**: [reason]

4. Never Modify Meta-Skill for Project Changes

The trellis-meta skill should ONLY be updated when:

• Trellis releases a new version
• Fixing documentation errors in the original
• Adding missing documentation for original features

---

Architecture Overview

Trellis transforms AI assistants into structured development partners through enforced context injection.

System Layers

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        USER INTERACTION                              │
│  /trellis:start  /trellis:parallel  /trellis:finish-work            │
└─────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                                  │
┌─────────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────────┐
│                         SKILLS LAYER                                 │
│  .claude/commands/trellis/*.md   (slash commands)                   │
│  .claude/agents/*.md             (sub-agent definitions)            │
└─────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                                  │
┌─────────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────────┐
│                          HOOKS LAYER                                 │
│  SessionStart     → session-start.py (injects workflow + context)   │
│  PreToolUse:Task  → inject-subagent-context.py (spec injection)     │
│  SubagentStop     → ralph-loop.py (quality enforcement)             │
└─────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┘
                                  │
┌─────────────────────────────────▼───────────────────────────────────┐
│                       PERSISTENCE LAYER                              │
│  .trellis/workspace/  (journals, session history)                   │
│  .trellis/tasks/      (task tracking, context files)                │
│  .trellis/spec/       (coding guidelines)                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Design Principles

Principle	Description
Specs Injected, Not Remembered	Hooks enforce specs - agents always receive context
Read Before Write	Understand guidelines before writing code
Layered Context	Only relevant specs load (via JSONL files)
Human Commits	AI never commits - human validates first
Pure Dispatcher	Dispatch agent only orchestrates

---

Core Components

1. Workspace System

Track development progress across sessions with per-developer isolation.

.trellis/workspace/
├── index.md                    # Global overview
└── {developer}/                # Per-developer
    ├── index.md                # Personal index (@@@auto markers)
    └── journal-N.md            # Session journals (max 2000 lines)

Key files: .trellis/.developer (identity), journals (session history)

2. Task System

Track work items with phase-based execution.

.trellis/tasks/{MM-DD-slug-assignee}/
├── task.json           # Metadata, phases, branch
├── prd.md              # Requirements
├── implement.jsonl     # Context for implement agent
├── check.jsonl         # Context for check agent
└── debug.jsonl         # Context for debug agent

3. Spec System

Maintain coding standards that get injected to agents.

.trellis/spec/
├── frontend/           # Frontend guidelines
├── backend/            # Backend guidelines
└── guides/             # Thinking guides

4. Hooks System

Automatically inject context and enforce quality.

Hook	When	Purpose
SessionStart	Session begins	Inject workflow, guidelines
PreToolUse:Task	Before sub-agent	Inject specs via JSONL
SubagentStop:check	Check agent stops	Enforce verification (Ralph Loop)

5. Agent System

Specialized agents for different phases.

Agent	Purpose	Restriction
dispatch	Orchestrate pipeline	Pure dispatcher
plan	Evaluate requirements	Can reject unclear reqs
research	Find code patterns	Read-only
implement	Write code	No git commit
check	Review and self-fix	Ralph Loop controlled
debug	Fix issues	Precise fixes only

6. Multi-Agent Pipeline

Run parallel isolated sessions via Git worktrees.

plan.py → start.py → Dispatch → implement → check → create-pr

---

Customization Guide

Adding a Command

1. Create .claude/commands/trellis/my-command.md
2. Update trellis-local skill with the change

Adding an Agent

1. Create .claude/agents/my-agent.md with YAML frontmatter
2. Update inject-subagent-context.py to handle new agent type
3. Create my-agent.jsonl in task directories
4. Update trellis-local skill

Modifying Hooks

1. Edit the hook script in .claude/hooks/
2. Document the change in trellis-local skill
3. Note which lines were modified and why

Extending Specs

1. Create new category in .trellis/spec/my-category/
2. Add index.md and guideline files
3. Reference in JSONL context files
4. Update trellis-local skill

Changing Task Workflow

1. Modify next_action array in task.json
2. Update dispatch or hook scripts as needed
3. Document in trellis-local skill

---

Resources

Reference documents are organized by platform compatibility:

references/
├── core/              # All Platforms (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.)
├── claude-code/       # Claude Code Only
├── how-to-modify/     # Modification Guides
└── meta/              # Documentation & Templates

core/ - All Platforms

Document	Content
overview.md	Core systems introduction
files.md	All .trellis/ files with purposes
workspace.md	Workspace system, journals, developer identity
tasks.md	Task system, directories, JSONL context files
specs.md	Spec system, guidelines organization
scripts.md	Platform-independent scripts

claude-code/ - Claude Code Only

Document	Content
overview.md	Claude Code features introduction
hooks.md	Hook system, context injection
agents.md	Agent types, invocation, Task tool
ralph-loop.md	Quality enforcement mechanism
multi-session.md	Parallel worktree sessions
worktree-config.md	worktree.yaml configuration
scripts.md	Claude Code only scripts

how-to-modify/ - Modification Guides

Document	Scenario
overview.md	Quick reference for all modifications
add-command.md	Adding slash commands
add-agent.md	Adding new agent types
add-spec.md	Adding spec categories
add-phase.md	Adding workflow phases
modify-hook.md	Modifying hook behavior
change-verify.md	Changing verify commands

meta/ - Documentation

Document	Content
platform-compatibility.md	Detailed platform support matrix
self-iteration-guide.md	How to document customizations
trellis-local-template.md	Template for project-local skill

---

Quick Reference

Key Scripts

Script	Purpose
get_context.py	Get session context
task.py	Task management
add_session.py	Record session
multi_agent/start.py	Start parallel agent

Key Paths

Path	Purpose
.trellis/.developer	Developer identity
.trellis/.current-task	Active task pointer
.trellis/workflow.md	Main workflow docs
.claude/settings.json	Hook configuration

---

Upgrade Protocol

When upgrading Trellis to a new version:

1. Compare new meta-skill with current
2. Review changes in new version
3. Check trellis-local for conflicts
4. Merge carefully, preserving customizations
5. Update trellis-local with migration notes

## Changelog

### 2026-02-01 - Upgraded to Trellis X.Y.Z
- Merged new hook behavior from meta-skill
- Kept custom agent `my-agent`
- Updated check.jsonl template