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Installing CM-Stack

CM-Stack is a set of Markdown skill files (skills/<name>/SKILL.md) plus two context files (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md) that point agents at those skills. There is no build step and no runtime dependency -- "installing" just means getting those files somewhere your agent will read them, in a format it understands.

Pick the section below that matches your harness. If your tool isn't listed, see Generic / unlisted harnesses.

Before you start: clone or fork

git clone https://github.com/clearmeasure/cm-stack.git C:\tools\cm-stack

All instructions below assume you have a local copy of this repo. If you plan to customize skills for your team (per the README: "fork it, adapt the skills to your stack"), fork first and clone your fork instead.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Copilot CLI discovers skills from ~/.copilot/skills/<name>/.

git clone https://github.com/clearmeasure/cm-stack.git $env:USERPROFILE\.copilot\skills\cm-stack

Skills appear as /clarity, /quality, /stability, /speed, /team, /scorecard, /values-check in any session. No restart required for new sessions; an already-running session won't pick up the change.

Live-editing note: if you're iterating on a skill file, clone once, then edit in place -- no symlink needed since Copilot CLI reads the file fresh each invocation.

Claude Code

Claude Code discovers skills from ~/.claude/skills/<name>/.

git clone https://github.com/clearmeasure/cm-stack.git $env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\cm-stack

Alternative: install as a plugin

This repo ships a .claude-plugin/plugin.json manifest, so it can also be installed through Claude Code's plugin system if you prefer that flow (e.g. for org-wide distribution via a plugin marketplace) rather than a bare skills clone. Consult your Claude Code version's plugin-install docs for the exact command, and point it at this repo's URL or local path.

Cursor, Windsurf, and other "rules file" agents

Tools that don't have a discoverable skills directory but do support a project- or user-level instructions/rules file (e.g. .cursorrules, .windsurfrules, a custom system prompt) won't auto-discover skills/. Wire them up manually:

  1. Clone CM-Stack somewhere stable (see Before you start).
  2. Copy the content of AGENTS.md (or CLAUDE.md -- they're equivalent) into your tool's rules/instructions file, or @-reference/include it if your tool supports file includes.
  3. Replace the relative links (README.md, docs/FIVE_PILLARS.md, skills/<name>/SKILL.md) with the actual path to your CM-Stack clone.
  4. When you want to invoke a skill, tell the agent explicitly, e.g.:

    "Load skills/quality/SKILL.md from C:\tools\cm-stack and follow it to review my last 5 merged PRs."

This works for any chat-based coding agent that can read files or take pasted instructions, even without native skill/plugin support.

Generic / unlisted harnesses

If your agent supports any of these, use that mechanism:

  • A skills or plugins directory -- clone/symlink this repo into it, following the pattern in the sections above.
  • A project-level context file (AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .aiconfig, etc.) that's auto-loaded per session -- copy or reference this repo's AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md.
  • File attachments / @-mentions in a prompt -- attach or reference the specific skills/<name>/SKILL.md you want to run for that session.

If none of those exist, fall back to manual invocation: paste the contents of the relevant skills/<name>/SKILL.md directly into your prompt along with your request. Every skill file is self-contained (frontmatter, instructions, and example output), so this always works as a last resort.

Symlinking instead of cloning (for skill development)

If you're actively editing skills in your own local clone and want changes to show up immediately in an agent's skills directory without re-cloning:

# Windows (run as Administrator, or enable Developer Mode)
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink `
  -Path $env:USERPROFILE\.copilot\skills\cm-stack `
  -Target C:\tools\cm-stack\skills
# macOS/Linux
ln -s /path/to/cm-stack/skills ~/.claude/skills/cm-stack

Updating

  • Cloned install: git -C <clone-path> pull
  • Symlinked install: pull in your working copy; the symlink picks it up automatically.
  • Copied-into-rules-file install: re-copy AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md and any changed SKILL.md content after pulling.

Check CHANGELOG.md after updating -- skill behavior/output changes are recorded there per an entry's version bump in VERSION.

Verifying the install

Regardless of harness, confirm the install worked before relying on it:

  1. Start a session inside a different project (not this repo).
  2. Ask the agent to run one skill, e.g. "Load CM-Stack, run /clarity on this project" (or the manual-invocation phrasing for your harness).
  3. Confirm the output roughly matches the "Example output" section in skills/clarity/SKILL.md -- a scored table with findings, not a generic response.
  4. If the agent doesn't recognize the skill or /command, re-check the path it discovers skills/context from and confirm the clone/symlink/copy step above actually landed there (Get-ChildItem the target directory).

Troubleshooting

Symptom Likely cause Fix
Agent doesn't recognize /clarity etc. Skill directory not on the agent's discovery path, or session started before install Confirm the exact path your agent version scans (check its docs -- paths change between versions); start a fresh session after installing
Agent gives a generic answer instead of following the skill's structure Skill was loaded as plain text, not as a skill/plugin Explicitly tell the agent to "follow the instructions in SKILL.md exactly," or re-invoke using your harness's native skill/plugin mechanism
Symlink creation fails on Windows No admin rights / Developer Mode disabled Enable Developer Mode (Settings > For Developers) or run PowerShell as Administrator, or just use a plain clone instead
Skills work but output is stale after a git pull Copied-into-rules-file install, or agent cached the file at session start Re-copy the updated file, or restart the session

Uninstalling

Delete the clone/symlink from your agent's skills directory (or remove the copied section from your rules/context file). No other cleanup is required.