evolving-config

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Audit Claude Code configuration against latest features and best practices. Use when user says "evolve", "self-improve", "audit config", "what's new in claude code", "upgrade configuration", "check for improvements", "are we up to date".

3installs

Sourcealexei-led/claude-code-config

Added on2026-02-08

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add alexei-led/claude-code-config evolving-config

SKILL.md Content

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Evolve Configuration

Audit Claude Code config against latest capabilities. Conservative by default — says "no changes needed" when that's true.

Use TaskCreate to track these 6 phases:

Snapshot current configuration
Fetch latest capabilities
Research best practices
Gap analysis
Present report
Apply changes

Phase 1: Snapshot Current Configuration

Read ALL config files in parallel:

bash

# Glob these patterns
CLAUDE.md                           # Root instructions
.claude/CLAUDE.md                   # Project instructions
.claude/settings.json               # Settings + hooks
.claude/settings.local.json         # Local overrides
.claude/skills/*/SKILL.md           # All skills
.claude/agents/*.md                 # All agents (if present)
.claude/commands/**/*.md            # All commands (if present)
hooks/*                             # Hook scripts

Build inventory summary:

Category	Count	Details
Skills	N	list names
Agents	N	list names
Commands	N	list names
Hooks	N	list events
MCP servers	N	list names
Model refs	list	which models referenced where

Note any staleness indicators (outdated model names, deprecated patterns).

Phase 2: Fetch Latest Capabilities

Fetch the Claude Code changelog:

WebFetch(
  url="https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
  prompt="Extract ALL features, changes, and deprecations from the last 6 months. Group by: new features, configuration changes, breaking changes, new hook events, new settings, new CLI flags, new MCP capabilities, new agent types. Be thorough."
)

If WebFetch fails or returns insufficient data, note the gap and rely on Phase 3.

Phase 3: Research Best Practices

Two targeted Perplexity queries:

Query 1 — Features and configuration:

json

mcp__perplexity-ask__perplexity_ask({
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Claude Code CLI by Anthropic: what are the latest features, configuration options, best practices, and power user tips as of 2026? Include: hooks, skills, agents, MCP servers, settings.json options, CLAUDE.md patterns, team features, model routing, context management." }]
})

Query 2 — Ecosystem and integrations:

json

mcp__perplexity-ask__perplexity_ask({
  "messages": [{ "role": "user", "content": "Claude Code CLI advanced configuration 2026: MCP server recommendations, hook patterns, permission optimization, context fork strategies, agent orchestration patterns, skill design best practices. What are experienced users doing?" }]
})

If Perplexity returns cited URLs with high-value content, WebFetch top 2 for deeper details.

Phase 4: Gap Analysis

Compare current config against latest capabilities. For EACH category below, produce findings:

Audit Categories

Category	What to Check
Model routing	Are model assignments optimal? New models available? Effort levels configured?
Hooks	New hook events available? Async hooks? Hook v2 features?
Skills	Stale patterns? New tool types to leverage? Missing `context: fork` ?
Agents	New subagent types? Agent features (memory, skills)?
MCP servers	New useful servers? Deprecated transports? OAuth improvements?
Permissions	New permission syntax? Over-permissive rules? Missing deny rules?
Settings	New settings fields? Deprecated options? Sandbox improvements?
CLAUDE.md	Outdated instructions? Stale references? Missing new patterns?
Teams	New team features? Configuration improvements?
Commands	Deprecated command patterns? New frontmatter fields?

Classification Rules

For each finding, assign ONE rating:

Rating	Criteria	Action
STILL GOOD	Current config matches or exceeds best practice	No change needed
DEPRECATED	Feature removed or replaced upstream	Must update
WORTH ADOPTING	Clear value, low disruption, proven stable	Recommend
NICE-TO-HAVE	Minor improvement, some disruption	Mention only
NOT YET	Too experimental or doesn't fit workflow	Skip or note

Critical rule: Default classification is STILL GOOD. A finding must clear the bar: "Is this worth the disruption?" Changing working config has real cost — context relearning, potential breakage, testing overhead. Only promote to WORTH ADOPTING when the benefit clearly exceeds that cost.

Cap: Maximum 10 recommendations across WORTH ADOPTING + DEPRECATED. If more exist, prioritize by impact and note the overflow.

Phase 5: Present Report

Format the report:

markdown

## Configuration Audit Report

**Date**: {date}
**Changelog checked through**: {version or date}
**Sources**: {list: changelog, perplexity, docs URLs}

### What's Working Well (STILL GOOD)

- {explicit acknowledgment of things that don't need changing}
- {this section should be the longest — most config should be fine}

### Action Required (DEPRECATED)

- {breaking changes or removed features — empty is normal}

### Recommended Updates (WORTH ADOPTING)

- {high-value, low-disruption improvements}
- {each item: what to change, why, and estimated disruption}

### On Your Radar (NICE-TO-HAVE)

- {minor improvements that can wait}

### Not Yet (TOO EARLY)

- {experimental features, not ready for production config}

### Summary

- {X} areas reviewed — no changes needed
- {Y} updates recommended
- {Z} items informational

STOP here. Use

AskUserQuestion

Header	Question	Options
Action	How should we proceed with the audit results?	Apply all recommended (Recommended) / Select items to apply / Dry run only (show diffs) / Skip (report only)

$ARGUMENTS

contains

--dry-run

: Skip the question, show diffs only, do not apply.

Phase 6: Apply Changes

Based on user selection:

Apply only approved items — never sneak in extras
Prefer Edit over Write — modify existing files, don't recreate
Show diff summary after each change
Verify the change doesn't break existing config (quick sanity read)

If user selected "Dry run only": show what each edit would look like, then stop.

Edge Cases

No changelog access: Fall back to Perplexity-only research, note reduced confidence
No new features found: Report "Configuration is up to date — no changes needed" — this is a valid, expected outcome
--dry-run
flag in arguments: Show full report, skip Phase 6
Too many suggestions: Cap at 10, note overflow count
Perplexity unavailable: Fall back to WebFetch of docs + changelog only
All findings are STILL GOOD: Celebrate it — a well-maintained config is the goal

Execute now. Snapshot config, fetch latest capabilities, analyze gaps, and present a conservative report.