Packager

Stage a product for distribution with triple manifests (MyClaude + Anthropic Plugin + Agent Skills universal).

When to use: After /validate passes. Before /publish.

When NOT to use: If the product hasn't been validated yet (run /validate first).

Activation Protocol

0. Shared preamble: Load

   references/quality/activation-preamble.md

   — context assembly, persona adaptation, deterministic routing rules.
1. Identify product:

   $ARGUMENTS

   as slug →

   workspace/{slug}/

   1b. Mode selection (Express vs Guided). Read

   creator.yaml → preferences.workflow_style

   . Resolve the flow mode:

   • --express

     flag OR

     workflow_style == "autonomous"

     → Express mode. Skip the "confirm before stage" prompt, skip the manifest preview step, and produce a single post-stage summary. The safety invariants below still hold — only the conversational confirmations are trimmed.

   • workflow_style == "guided"

     or missing → Guided mode (default). Confirm before staging, show manifest preview, and walk the creator through the pipeline with full voice.
2. Read

   .meta.yaml

   → verify state is "validated" and MCS score >= 75%
3. Read

   creator.yaml

   → load author metadata for manifests. If missing → "Creator profile not found. Run

   /onboard

   first." and stop.
4. Maintain creator persona: Adapt language, depth, and examples to

   profile.type

   and

   technical_level

   throughout this skill's execution. A developer gets code examples; a domain expert gets plain language.
5. Load

   product-dna/{type}.yaml

   → get install_target
6. Load

   config.yaml

   → vault_defaults for missing fields 6b. Load proactives: Load

   references/engine-proactive.md

   — wire #1 (pipeline guidance: after package, guide to /publish), #20 (test mandate: if MCS-2+ and

   .meta.yaml.test_result != "pass"

   , block packaging with message "Run /test first").
7. Load voice identity: Load

   references/quality/engine-voice-core.md

   . Every user-facing line in this skill honors the ✦ signature, three tones, and six anti-patterns.
8. CLI contract: Load

   references/cli-contract.md

   for unified error handling. This skill has conditional severity based on pricing model. Severity map:
   • Blocking (paid products only):

     stripe status

     — if product price > 0 and Stripe not connected, halt packaging
   • Silent-skip (free products):

     stripe status

     — irrelevant for free products, skip without warning
   • Silent-skip:

     search --category {type} --sort price-desc

     — competitive pricing scan, skip without warning on failure
   • All queries: append

     2>/dev/null

     , 15s timeout, treat invalid JSON as CLI absent

Core Instructions

PACKAGING PIPELINE

SAFETY INVARIANTS — see end of file (positioned per D19 attention-aware authoring for maximum model compliance).

Step 1 — Verify Validation

Read

.meta.yaml

• If state != "validated" AND state != "packaged": "Product not validated. Run /validate first."
• If MCS score < 75%: "Product below MCS-1 threshold. Run /validate --fix."
• If mcs_target is "MCS-2" or "MCS-3" AND (test_result is null OR test_result != "pass"): "MCS-2+ products require behavioral testing before packaging. Run /test first." — BLOCKING. This gate ensures structural validation (/validate) AND behavioral validation (/test) both pass before distribution.

Step 1.5 — Package Rename (if applicable)

Check

product-dna/{type}.yaml

package_rename

.publish/

Currently applies to:

• minds:

  AGENT.md

  →

  {slug}.md

  (flat file convention for

  .claude/agents/

  )

This rename ensures the installed filename matches Claude Code's native discovery pattern.

Step 2 — Strip WHY Comments + Inject Attribution (SE-D17)

Create a clean copy of all product files.

REMOVE:

• <!-- WHY: ... -->

  (HTML comment blocks — may span multiple lines)
• Lines matching

  # WHY:

  pattern (markdown comment format)

• # WHY:

  pattern in shell scripts (

  .sh

  files)
• JSON keys prefixed with

  _

  (e.g.,

  _comment

  ,

  _why

  ,

  _events_reference

  ) from

  .json

  files. These are documentation keys used in workspace but must not pollute the user's settings.json when hooks are installed. Strip by parsing JSON, removing

  _

  -prefixed top-level keys, and re-serializing.

INJECT TWO THINGS into the

.publish/

1. Marketplace URL in frontmatter (PRD D3 — viral vector #1): Add a

marketplace_url

---
name: {slug}
description: >
  {original description — DO NOT MODIFY}
marketplace_url: "https://myclaude.sh/p/{slug}"
---

Rules:

• Add

  marketplace_url

  as a NEW field — never modify the existing

  description

• Only add to the

  .publish/

  copy — never touch the original in workspace/
• Use the slug from vault.yaml

2. Attribution comment at end of file:

<!-- Published on MyClaude (myclaude.sh) | Quality: MCS-{level} ({score}%) | Engine: Studio v3 -->

This attribution comment is:

• Invisible to Claude (HTML comment, does not affect behavior)
• Visible in source code (GitHub renders it in raw view)
• Indexable by search engines (creates discoverable MyClaude references)
• A quality signal (MCS score travels with the product)

Never modify originals — work on the copy in

.publish/

Step 2c — Inject README Badges (PRD B2 — viral vectors #2)

Append MCS and Available badges to the end of

.publish/README.md

---

[![MCS-{level}](https://myclaude.sh/badge/mcs/{level}.svg)](https://myclaude.sh/quality)
[![Available on MyClaude](https://myclaude.sh/badge/available.svg)](https://myclaude.sh/p/{slug})

<sub>Built with MyClaude Studio Engine</sub>

Precondition: Verify

.publish/README.md

README quality gate: Before badge injection, verify README follows

templates/readme/README.md.template

myclaude install {slug}

/fill

Rules:

• Inject ONLY in

  .publish/README.md

  — never modify the original
• MCS level from

  .meta.yaml

  state.dna_compliance

  or

  overall_score

  . Default to 1 if not validated
• Slug from vault.yaml

  name

  field
• Add a blank line before the

  ---

  separator to avoid markdown parsing issues

Step 2b — Verify WHY Removal

Grep all files in

.publish/

WHY:

Step 2d — Post-Strip Integrity Check

After WHY removal, verify the stripped files are still structurally valid:

• For

  .md

  files: verify YAML frontmatter still parses (regex for

  ^---\n

  ...

  \n---\n

  )
• For

  .json

  files (hooks.json, settings-fragment.json): parse with JSON validator after

  _

  -prefixed key removal. If parse fails → abort with file path and error. Never ship invalid JSON.
• For

  .sh

  files: verify shebang line survived stripping (first line must start with

  #!

  )
• If any check fails: report the specific file + line + issue. Do NOT proceed to manifest generation.

Step 3 — Generate vault.yaml

Read

.meta.yaml → intent_declaration.language

creator.yaml → creator.language

"en"

# REQUIRED (from .meta.yaml + creator.yaml)
name: "{slug}"
version: "{from .meta.yaml or config default}"
type: "{product type}"
description: "{from README.md first paragraph or .meta.yaml}"
entry: "{primary file from product-dna/{type}.yaml}"
license: "{from creator.yaml or config default}"
price: {from .meta.yaml or 0}
tags: ["{from .meta.yaml}"]

# LOCALE CONTRACT — see references/locale-adaptive-clause.md §8 for the full wiring map.
# source_language travels with the product to the marketplace so the UI can
# render the "Source: {language} · Adapts to your language at runtime" badge.
# These four fields are REQUIRED for any product that was forged with the
# locale-adaptive clause (all 6 certified types). Omit the block only for
# types that do not carry the clause (bundle, claude-md, application, hooks,
# statusline, design-system, workflow — per locale-adaptive-clause.md §4).
source_language: "{from .meta.yaml intent_declaration.language, fallback to creator.yaml language, fallback to 'en'}"
locale_adaptive: true
locale_adaptive_source: "references/locale-adaptive-clause.md"
locale_adaptive_version: "1.0"

Step 3b — Pricing Intelligence (Intelligence Layer integration)

Read

.meta.yaml → intelligence

value_score

Value Intelligence:
  Value score: {value_score}/12 ({pricing_strategy})
  Suggested range: ${suggested_price_range[0]}-${suggested_price_range[1]}
  Current price: ${price from .meta.yaml or vault_defaults}
  {If price == 0 AND value_score >= 5: "Your product scores {value_score}/12 — consider pricing at ${suggested_price_range[0]}+ based on depth and uniqueness."}
  {If price > 0 AND price > suggested_price_range[1]: "Current price exceeds value signal range. Ensure README clearly communicates the premium."}
  {If price > 0 AND price < suggested_price_range[0]: "Priced below value signal. You're leaving value on the table — or strategically building audience."}
  {If value_score not set: "Run /validate --level=2 to compute value intelligence."}

If the product has a non-zero price:

1. Stripe check: Run

   myclaude stripe status 2>/dev/null

   • If not connected: BLOCKING — "Paid products require Stripe. Run

     myclaude stripe connect

     first."
   • If connected: proceed

2. Competitive pricing scan: Run

   myclaude search --category {type} --sort price-desc --limit 5 --json 2>/dev/null

   If results found, display:

   Pricing context for {type} products:
     Highest: ${max_price} ({name})
     Average: ${avg_price}
     Your price: ${price}
     {If price > avg: "Premium positioning" | If price < avg: "Value positioning" | If price == 0 and others charge: "Consider charging — similar products average ${avg}"}
   

3. MCS-price alignment: If price > $5 AND mcs_level < 2, warn: "Price is ${price} but MCS is level {level}. Users expect MCS-2+ for paid products. Consider running

   /validate --level=2

   to increase quality."

Epistemic caveat (always shown when value intelligence is displayed):

"Value signal is estimated from structural quality + market position. Real value is confirmed by daily use."

Continue to enrichment:

# ENRICHMENT (from .meta.yaml + creator.yaml + computed)
displayName: "{humanized from name}"
mcsLevel: {from last validation score}
language: "{from creator.yaml}"
longDescription: "{from README.md}"
readme: "README.md"
installTarget: "{from product-dna/{type}.yaml}"
language: "{from creator.yaml or 'en'}"
compatibility:
  claude_code: ">=1.0.0"

# DISTRIBUTION DNA (viral growth layer — links back to MyClaude ecosystem)
engine: "myclaude-studio-engine"
marketplace: "https://myclaude.sh/p/{slug}"
badges:
  mcs: "https://myclaude.sh/badge/mcs/{mcs_level_number}.svg"
  available: "https://myclaude.sh/badge/available.svg"

Step 4 — Generate plugin.json (Anthropic Plugin Marketplace)

Settings priority: Plugin settings are LOWEST priority in CC's 6-level hierarchy (Plugin < User < Project < Local < Flag < Policy). This means user/project settings always override plugin defaults. Hooks from plugins ACCUMULATE (never replace existing hooks). MCP servers from plugins REPLACE entirely.

Schema constraints (enforce strictly — wrong structure causes silent install failures):

• author

  MUST be an object

  { "name": "...", "url": "..." }

  — never a plain string

• skills

  field uses a directory path (e.g.,

  ".claude/skills/slug/"

  ) — CC loads all .md files in it

• agents

  field uses an explicit file path array (e.g.,

  [".claude/skills/slug/AGENT.md"]

  ) — NOT a directory

• commands

  field uses a directory path (e.g.,

  ".claude/commands/"

  )

• hooks

  key does NOT belong in plugin.json — hooks are declared in a separate

  hooks.json

  file
• Only

  agent

  key is valid inside

  settings.json

  plugin settings (not

  skill

  ,

  workflow

  , etc.)

Emit only the fields relevant to the product type:

{
  "name": "{slug}",
  "description": "{description}",
  "version": "{version}",
  "author": { "name": "{from creator.yaml display_name}", "url": "https://myclaude.sh/u/{from creator.yaml username}" },
  "license": "{license}",
  "homepage": "https://myclaude.sh/p/{slug}",

  // --- Include ONE of the following blocks based on product type ---

  // type=skill or type=workflow or type=squad or type=claude-md:
  "skills": ".claude/skills/{slug}/",

  // type=agent:
  "agents": [".claude/skills/{slug}/AGENT.md"],

  // type=minds:
  "agents": [".claude/agents/{slug}.md"],

  // type=system (if it exposes commands):
  "commands": ".claude/commands/"

  // NOTE: hooks type — no content field in plugin.json. hooks.json is the artifact.
  // NOTE: statusline type — no content field in plugin.json. statusline.sh is the artifact.
  // NOTE: design-system, application, bundle — no content field; vault.yaml handles install.
}

Step 4b — Generate agentskills.yaml (Agent Skills Universal — 33+ platforms)

The Agent Skills format (YAML frontmatter + markdown instructions) is the structured skill definition format used natively by Claude Code and recognized by other AI coding tools. Generate this manifest for cross-platform compatibility.

# Agent Skills Universal Manifest
name: "{slug}"
version: "{version}"
description: "{description}"
type: "{product type}"
author: "{from creator.yaml}"
license: "{license}"
entry: "{primary file}"
platforms:
  - claude-code
  - cursor
  - codex
  - gemini-cli
  - copilot
  - "*"  # Compatible with any Agent Skills-compliant platform
install:
  target: "{from product-dna install_target}"
  files:
    - "{list all files in .publish/ relative paths}"
metadata:
  mcs_level: "{from validation}"
  mcs_score: "{from validation}"
  marketplace: "https://myclaude.sh/p/{slug}"

Only generate for types that map to Agent Skills format (skill, agent, prompt, workflow). For types that don't map cleanly (design-system, application), generate only vault.yaml + plugin.json.

Step 5 — Calculate Checksum

SHA-256 of the entire .publish/ directory contents.

Step 6 — Stage .publish/

Create

workspace/{slug}/.publish/

• Cleaned product files (WHY comments stripped)
• vault.yaml (MyClaude marketplace)
• plugin.json (Anthropic plugin marketplace)
• agentskills.yaml (Agent Skills universal — if applicable type)
• CHANGELOG.md (generate if missing)
• LICENSE.md file (generate from license field — use .md extension, CLI rejects extensionless files)

EXCLUDE from .publish/ (internal Engine files — never distribute):

• .meta.yaml

  (Engine product state tracking)

• domain-map.md

  (creator's working notes)
• Any file starting with

  .

  (hidden files, including

  .env

  )
• Files matching secret patterns:

  *.pem

  ,

  *.key

  ,

  *.p12

  ,

  credentials*.json

  ,

  *.env

• If any excluded-for-secrets file is found, WARN: "Sensitive file

  {file}

  excluded from package. If this is intentional, rename it."

Step 6c — Double-Source Secrets Scan

Run the same secrets scan patterns (from

config.yaml → secret_content_patterns

.publish/

workspace/{slug}/

.publish/

Step 6b — Verify Type-Specific Install Artifacts

The CLI

install

hooks.json

scripts/

statusline.sh

settings-fragment.json

{slug}.md

Verification (MUST pass or abort):

For hooks:

• hooks.json

  exists in

  .publish/

  → FAIL if missing

• hooks.json

  is valid JSON with top-level

  "hooks"

  key → FAIL if malformed

• scripts/

  directory exists with at least one

  .sh

  file → FAIL if missing
• JSON

  _

  -prefixed keys were stripped in Step 2 (e.g.,

  _comment

  ,

  _events_reference

  )

For statusline:

• statusline.sh

  exists in

  .publish/

  → FAIL if missing

• statusline.sh

  has shebang

  #!/usr/bin/env bash

  → WARN if missing

• settings-fragment.json

  exists with

  "statusLine"

  key → FAIL if missing

For minds:

• {slug}.md

  exists in

  .publish/

  (Step 1.5 should have renamed it) → FAIL if missing
• File has YAML frontmatter with

  denied-tools

  → WARN if missing (advisory-only guarantee)

For all other types: no additional verification (default install path handles them).

If any FAIL: abort with message listing missing artifacts and expected structure.

Step 7 — Re-validate

Run Stage 1 (structural) + Stage 6 (CLI preflight) on

.publish/

Step 8 — Update State

# .meta.yaml updates
state:
  phase: "packaged"
  packaged_at: "{ISO timestamp}"

Output Format

UX Stack (load before rendering output):

1. references/ux-experience-system.md

   §1 Context Assembly + §2.2 Archetype-Aware Insights (pricing emphasis per creator goals)

2. references/ux-vocabulary.md

   — translate all terms

3. references/quality/engine-voice.md

   — Brand DNA

Cognitive rendering: /package is a transition moment — the product is ready to meet the world. Adapt output: creators with revenue goals get pricing intelligence front-and-center. Community-focused creators get distribution channel emphasis. Expert creators get compact technical summary. Beginners get reassurance: "Your product passed quality checks. One step to publish." Always include the install command preview as identity reinforcement — seeing

myclaude install @{username}/{slug}

CRITICAL: Load

references/ux-vocabulary.md

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ✦ {product_name} is ready to share!        │
│  Quality: {ux_tier} {stars}                 │
│                                              │
│  {N} files packaged for {platform_count}    │
│  platforms. Install command:                │
│                                              │
│  myclaude install @{username}/{slug}        │
│                                              │
│  {If value_score:}                          │
│  💰 Suggested price: ${min}-${max}          │
│                                              │
│  Next: /publish to go live                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Technical: {N} files, {size}, {checksum_short}...

SAFETY INVARIANTS (D19 — critical constraints in high-attention zone)

[SOURCE: CC commit handling — never --amend, --no-verify, force push]

These are ABSOLUTE rules that cannot be overridden:

1. Never overwrite .publish/ without confirmation — if .publish/ already exists, ask before replacing
2. Never include secrets — re-run secrets scan from /validate Stage 2 on .publish/ contents AFTER stripping
3. Never strip creator content — only strip WHY comments, _prefixed JSON keys, and .meta.yaml. All content the creator wrote must survive packaging intact
4. Never modify workspace originals — all transformations happen on the .publish/ copy
5. Verify frontmatter completeness — check

   product-dna/{type}.yaml → frontmatter.required[]

   . Missing required fields in .publish/ → block with: "Required frontmatter field '{field}' missing. Add it to your product file, then re-run /package." [SOURCE: cc-platform-contract.md §2.1]
6. Compact Instructions preservation — if the workspace file has

   ## Compact Instructions

   , it MUST survive into .publish/. This section is NOT a WHY comment — it's functional product content read by Claude Code's compact system [SOURCE: compact/prompt.ts:133-143]

Anti-Patterns

1. Packaging unvalidated product — Always check .meta.yaml state first.
2. Modifying originals — Work on copies in .publish/. Never touch workspace/{slug}/ source files.
3. Missing manifests — vault.yaml + plugin.json required. agentskills.yaml for compatible types. Triple distribution.
4. Stale checksum — Recalculate if any file changes after initial staging.
5. Silent failures — If WHY stripping breaks markdown structure, detect and report.
6. Missing install artifacts — hooks without scripts/, statusline without settings-fragment.json. Step 6b catches these. If /validate passed but /package fails here, the DNA spec is missing a required file check.
7. Shipping _comment keys in hooks.json — Step 2 strips

   _

   -prefixed JSON keys. Verify after strip: no

   _comment

   ,

   _why

   ,

   _events_reference

   in .publish/ JSON files.

Compact Instructions

When context is compressed, preserve:

• Product slug, type, and packaging state
• Whether WHY stripping completed successfully
• Manifest generation status (vault.yaml, plugin.json, agentskills.yaml)
• Pricing intelligence results if computed
• Any blocking issues (secrets detected, frontmatter missing, JSON invalid)
• .publish/ directory path and file count