flow-next-setup_skill

Overview

This skill provides an optional local setup for flowctl and creates CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md instructions in your repo. It lets teams run Flow-Next workflows from the command line and surface agent guidance files for other tooling. Use it when you want a portable, local way to coordinate plan-first workflows and multi-model gates.

How this skill works

The setup copies a flowctl binary into .flow/bin and adds usage instructions to CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md in the repository. It also ensures scripts are copied (not symlinked) for portability, detects existing installs, and can update the files safely on re-run. The plugin remains functional without this local install; this is an optional convenience layer for CLI access and agent interoperability.

When to use it

• You want CLI access to flowctl for local development or CI tasks
• You need human- or tool-readable CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md for other AI agents or code-review tools
• You plan to run Ralph autonomous mode or overnight runs with local orchestration
• You want a portable setup that works across machines without symlink issues
• You prefer an explicit, repo-contained installation for auditability

Best practices

• Keep .flow/bin in your PATH for easy CLI invocation and document this in CONTRIBUTING.md
• Commit CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md so other agents and reviewers have stable instructions
• Run the setup on CI agents to ensure reproducible environments and avoid per-machine differences
• Re-run the setup when updating Flow-Next versions to let it detect and apply safe updates
• Treat the local install as optional; maintain plugin-based workflows for users who prefer no local artifacts

Example use cases

• Developer installs flowctl locally to run plan-first workflows and iterate rapidly from the terminal
• Team adds CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md so Codex, Cursor, or other agents can follow the same repo-specific guidance
• CI pipeline runs the setup step to ensure flowctl is available for automated multi-model review gates
• Maintainer enables Ralph autonomous mode for overnight coding while keeping instructions embedded in the repo
• Contributor re-runs setup to update helper scripts without breaking other environments