Configure Workspaces

Purpose

This skill reads the project, proposes a concise workspace configuration, writes the approved files, and validates them.

The workspace config files control how worktrees are created when tasks use workspaceTiming = now in the Riptide task creation UI:

• .humanlayer/workspace.json, shared team configuration, safe to commit
• .humanlayer/workspace.local.json, machine-specific overrides, gitignored

Use plain, brief language. State each point as one human speaking to another.

Steps to follow

<step index=0>

Step 0: Select the repository

Check the current directory and home directory:

Bash(pwd)
Bash(printf '%s\n' "$HOME")
Bash(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)

If git rev-parse succeeds, use that repository root as the working directory. State the path in one short sentence.

If the current directory is the home directory and it is not inside a Git repository, ask one question:

Which repository should I configure? Send its path.

Use the same question when the current directory is not a Git repository. After the user gives a path, confirm it with git -C <path> rev-parse --show-toplevel and use the returned root.

</step> <step index=1>

Step 1: Read the project

Read any existing workspace config files:

Read(.humanlayer/workspace.json)
Read(.humanlayer/workspace.local.json)

Run all file reads and commands from the selected repository root.

Check for coordination-repo signals (Claude config, additional sibling repos):

Read(.claude/settings.json)
Bash(ls -la ../)
Read(package.json)
Read(Makefile)
Read(README.md)
Bash(git remote -v)

Use an existing workspace config as the starting point. Infer changes from the repository and the user's request.

</step> <step index=2>

Step 2: Build the proposal

Infer a complete proposal from project files and common defaults.