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claude-code

GenesisTools gt:automate

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/genesiscz/GenesisTools
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/genesiscz/GenesisTools "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/genesis-tools/skills/automate" ~/.claude/skills/genesiscz-genesistools-gt-automate && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: plugins/genesis-tools/skills/automate/SKILL.md
source content

Automate Tool Usage Guide

Create and run reusable automation presets that chain GenesisTools commands.

Quick Reference

TaskCommand
Run a preset
tools automate run <name-or-path>
Run with overrides
tools automate run <name> --var startDate=2026-02-01
Dry run (preview)
tools automate run <name> --dry-run
List presets
tools automate list
Show preset details
tools automate show <name>
Create interactively
tools automate create

Creating Presets via Conversation

When a user wants to create an automation, help them build the JSON preset:

  1. Identify the workflow steps -- What tools commands do they need?
  2. Identify variables -- What values change between runs?
  3. Identify conditions -- Are there any if/else branches?
  4. Build the JSON -- Write the preset file
  5. Save it -- Write to 
    ~/.genesis-tools/automate/presets/<name>.json

Preset JSON Format (Full Schema)

{
  "$schema": "genesis-tools-preset-v1",
  "name": "Preset Name",
  "description": "What this preset does",
  "trigger": { "type": "manual" },
  "vars": {
    "varName": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Human description",
      "default": "value",
      "required": true
    }
  },
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "unique-step-id",
      "name": "Human-readable name",
      "action": "github search",
      "params": {
        "query": "search term",
        "--repo": "owner/repo",
        "--format": "json"
      },
      "output": "resultVar",
      "onError": "stop",
      "interactive": false
    }
  ]
}

Variable Types

  • "string"
    -- text values
  • "number"
    -- numeric values
  • "boolean"
    -- true/false

Error Strategies (
onError
)

  • "stop"
    (default) -- halt execution on failure
  • "continue"
    -- log error and proceed to next step
  • "skip"
    -- silently skip and proceed

Expression Syntax

Expressions use 

{{ }}
delimiters and are resolved at runtime:

ExpressionPurposeExample
{{ vars.name }}
Reference a preset variable
{{ vars.startDate }}
{{ steps.id.output }}
Previous step's full output
{{ steps.search.output }}
{{ steps.id.output.field }}
Nested output field
{{ steps.search.output.count }}
{{ env.HOME }}
Environment variable
{{ env.USER }}
{{ expr > 0 }}
Boolean expression
{{ steps.x.output.count > 0 }}

When the entire value is a single expression, the raw type is preserved (boolean, number, object). When expressions are embedded in a larger string, they are interpolated as strings.

Built-in Actions

ActionPurposeKey Params
if
Conditional branch
condition
(required), 
then
, 
else
(step IDs to jump to)
log
Print a message
message
prompt
Ask user for input
message
, 
default
shell
Run a raw shell command
command
(required), 
cwd
(optional)
set
Set variables in contextAny key=value pairs in params

Action Format for Tools Commands

The 

action
field maps directly to 
tools <action>
:

  • "action": "github search"
    => runs 
    tools github search
  • "action": "collect-files-for-ai"
    => runs 
    tools collect-files-for-ai
  • "action": "azure-devops workitem"
    => runs 
    tools azure-devops workitem

Param Conventions

  • Keys starting with 
    --
    or 
    -
    become CLI flags
  • Boolean 
    true
    includes the flag, 
    false
    omits it
  • Array values are joined with commas
  • Other keys are treated as positional arguments (the key name is a label, only the value is passed)

Examples

Simple: Run a shell command and log result

{
  "$schema": "genesis-tools-preset-v1",
  "name": "Hello Automate",
  "trigger": { "type": "manual" },
  "vars": {
    "name": { "type": "string", "description": "Your name", "default": "World" }
  },
  "steps": [
    { "id": "greet", "name": "Say hello", "action": "log", "params": { "message": "Hello, {{ vars.name }}!" } },
    { "id": "date", "name": "Get date", "action": "shell", "params": { "command": "date '+%Y-%m-%d'" }, "output": "currentDate" },
    { "id": "done", "name": "Summary", "action": "log", "params": { "message": "Done at {{ steps.date.output }}" } }
  ]
}

With Branching: Search and conditionally download

{
  "$schema": "genesis-tools-preset-v1",
  "name": "Monthly Invoice Search",
  "trigger": { "type": "manual" },
  "vars": {
    "startDate": { "type": "string", "description": "Start date", "default": "2026-01-01" }
  },
  "steps": [
    { "id": "search", "name": "Search Mail", "action": "macos-mail search", "params": { "query": "invoice", "--from": "{{ vars.startDate }}", "--format": "json" }, "output": "results" },
    { "id": "check", "name": "Has results?", "action": "if", "condition": "{{ steps.search.output.count > 0 }}", "then": "download", "else": "empty" },
    { "id": "download", "name": "Download", "action": "macos-mail download", "params": { "--ids": "{{ steps.search.output.ids }}" } },
    { "id": "empty", "name": "No results", "action": "log", "params": { "message": "Nothing found." } }
  ]
}

Running Presets

# By name (looks in ~/.genesis-tools/automate/presets/)
tools automate run monthly-invoice-search

# By file path
tools automate run ./my-preset.json

# With variable overrides
tools automate run monthly-invoice-search --var startDate=2026-02-01 --var outputDir=/tmp/invoices

# Dry run (shows what would execute without running)
tools automate run monthly-invoice-search --dry-run

Storage

  • Presets: 
    ~/.genesis-tools/automate/presets/*.json
  • Config/metadata: 
    ~/.genesis-tools/automate/config.json
  • Run metadata tracks last run date and total run count per preset