git:20260704.7f2f475 to git:20261018.4a5a519

---

id: tailored-install

name: Tailored Install

summary: >-

type: skill

author: kisa

recommended: true

base: true

reminder: >-

tags: [install, setup, safety, agent-discipline]

added: 2026-06-26

description: >-

triggers:

- install tailored

- set up for my environment

- install this skill safely

allowed-tools:

- Read

- Glob

- Grep

- Bash

- Edit

- Write

- AskUserQuestion

---

# Tailored Install

This skill is agent-agnostic; the appendices at the end give concrete paths for Claude

Code, Hermes and Codex.

## Always keep in mind

- **Detect before you write.** Never assume a path you have not verified.

- **Ask when uncertain.** A wrong guess pollutes the user's setup.

- **Install into the real environment**, respecting what already exists.

- **Report exactly what changed and where.**

## Step 1 — Detect the environment (read-only)

Gather facts before touching anything. Read-only only:

- **Host agent:** Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Continue, Codex, Hermes, or generic? Look for

tell-tale config dirs/files (e.g. a `.claude/` dir, a `.cursor/` dir, an `AGENTS.md`).

- **Which runtime and model you are.** This is step 0 of everything: downstream capability

choices branch on it. Hermes ships many things out of the box (memory providers, voice);

Claude Code / Codex usually vibe-code the equivalent. Pick the wrong branch and you install

a Hermes-only command into Claude Code, or hand-build what the host already has.

- **OS and home directory.**

- **Where each surface lives for this agent:** skill directory, memory/instruction

file(s), hooks/permissions/settings file(s).

- **What already exists:** installed skills, existing memory file, existing settings —

so you can merge instead of clobber.

If a fact cannot be determined read-only, do not guess it — it becomes a question in

Step 3.

## Step 2 — Resolve target paths

From the detected facts, resolve the **real** destination for each in-scope surface:

- **Skill files** — the agent's skill directory (user scope vs project scope).

- **Memory / instruction files** — the agent's persistent instructions file.

- **Hooks / permissions / safe defaults** — the agent's settings file.

Decide **user scope vs project scope** explicitly. Verify each directory actually

exists before writing to it.

## Step 3 — Ask when uncertain

Stop and ask the user (AskUserQuestion or the host's equivalent) when:

- The target path is ambiguous, or several candidates exist.

- The host agent is unknown or unsupported.

- User scope vs project scope is unclear.

- A value is user-specific (where to read an API key from, a preferred path).

Always offer a sensible default plus the alternatives. Asking is cheaper than undoing.

## Step 4 — Install safely

- **Preview first:** show what will be written and to which path.

- **Idempotent:** re-running must not duplicate entries or corrupt the file.

- **No secrets in shared/committed files.**

- **Respect existing structure and naming;** integrate, don't flatten.

## Step 5 — Verify and report

- Confirm the install took effect: the file exists at the resolved path and the agent

recognizes it.

- Report **exactly** what changed and where (paths, keys/sections touched).

- State any required follow-up: restart the agent, supply an API key, reload config.

## Important Rules

- **Detect > assume.** Never hardcode a path you did not verify.

- **Ask > guess.** Uncertainty means stop and ask, not improvise an alternative.

- **Respect the existing setup;** merge, don't replace wholesale.

- **Never expose or write secrets** into shared or committed files.

- **Scope:** this skill governs skill files, memory/instruction files, and

hooks/permissions. Wiring MCP servers into the agent's config is **out of scope**.

## Claude Code appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Claude Code:

- **Skills:** `~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (user scope) or `.claude/skills/`

inside a project (project scope).

- **Memory / instructions:** `~/.claude/CLAUDE.md` (user, global), `CLAUDE.md` at the

project root (project), or `AGENTS.md`.

- **Hooks & permissions:** `~/.claude/settings.json` (user),

`.claude/settings.json` (project, shared), `.claude/settings.local.json`

(project, local — keep out of git).

## Hermes appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Hermes Agent:

- **Skills:** `~/.hermes/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` (user scope). Project-scope skills are

loaded from the repo's `.hermes/skills/` directory.

- **Memory / instructions:** `SOUL.md` in `$HERMES_HOME` for agent identity; project rules

in `.hermes.md` or `AGENTS.md` at the project root.

- **Hooks & permissions:** `~/.hermes/config.yaml` (approvals, `command_allowlist`). No

separate `settings.json` — approvals and allowlists live in `config.yaml`.

- **Environment secrets:** `~/.hermes/.env` (API keys).

## Codex appendix

Concrete locations when the host is Codex CLI:

- **Skills:** Codex has no native skill directory. Use `~/.codex/skills/<name>/SKILL.md` as

a convention. Codex reads instructions from `AGENTS.md` or `CODEX.md` at the project root.

- **Memory / instructions:** `~/.codex/instructions.md` for global instructions;

project-level `CODEX.md` or `AGENTS.md`.

- **Hooks & permissions:** Codex uses `--yolo`, `--full-auto`, or approval prompts per

invocation — no persistent settings file.

- **MCP servers:** configured via `codex mcp add` or `~/.codex/mcp.json`.

Codex has no concept of user-scope skills natively. Prefer project-scope `AGENTS.md` or

`CODEX.md` for Codex-specific instructions unless the user explicitly asks for global.

## Tool names across agents

The `allowed-tools` in this skill's frontmatter uses **Claude Code** tool names. For other

agents, map them to the equivalents:

| Claude Code | Hermes / Codex |

|---|---|

| Read | read_file |

| Glob | search_files |

| Grep | search_files |

| Bash | terminal |

| Edit | patch |

| Write | write_file |

| AskUserQuestion | clarify |