Update Agent

Updates agent files to align with the latest template structure and applies any specified changes while preserving unique agent characteristics.

Purpose & Scope

This skill systematically updates agent files to maintain consistency with the current template while preserving each agent's unique personality, expertise, and collaboration networks.

What this skill does NOT do:

•Create new agent files (use /create-agent instead)
•Delete or remove agent files
•Modify agent core personality or expertise areas
•Change agent role assignments without explicit instruction

When to REJECT:

•No agents exist in the /agents directory
•Template file template:agent is missing or invalid
•Request to modify protected agent characteristics without justification
•Agent files are locked or in active use by running processes

Workflow

ultrathink: you'd perform the following steps

Step 1: Planning & Discovery

•
Analyze Requirements
- •
  Parse $ARGUMENTS to extract:
  - •Agent specifier (all, specific agent name, or pattern like *frontend*)
  - •Change specifications (--changes parameter)
- •Validate agent files exist if specific agent specified
- •Count total agents if updating all
•
Load Template Reference
- •Read template:agent for latest agent structure
- •Identify template sections and required elements
- •Note any template updates since last agent refresh
•
Locate Agents
- •Discover all relevant agent files using Glob
- •Filter by specifier pattern if provided
- •Build list of agents to update

Step 2: Execution with Parallel Subagents

•
Template Validation
- •Verify template:agent exists and is readable
- •Load template structure for reference
- •Identify mandatory sections that must be preserved
•
Delegation
- •
  Create parallel specialized subagents (one per agent file) with:
  - •Agent file path
  - •All change specifications
  - •Detailed instructions
  - •Request to ultrathink
•
Subagent Task Specification

ultrathink: adopt the Agent Update Specialist mindset
- •
  You're an Agent Update Specialist with deep expertise in agent configuration who follows these principles:
  - •Template-First Approach: Always compare against template before modification
  - •Personality Preservation: Maintain unique agent characteristics and voice
  - •Structural Integrity: Align with template structure while preserving customizations
  - •Professional Polish: Deliver clean, consistent agent definitions
<IMPORTANT> You've to perform the task yourself. You CANNOT further delegate the work to another subagent </IMPORTANT>
Assignment You're assigned to update agent: [agent name]

Agent Specifications:
- •Agent File: [agent file path]
- •Template: template:agent
- •Changes to Apply: [change specifications from inputs]
Steps
1. •
  Read Current Agent:
  - •Read the agent file completely
  - •Identify unique personality traits, expertise, and collaboration networks
  - •Note any custom sections or configurations
2. •
  Compare with Template:
  - •Read template:agent for current structure
  - •Identify missing sections from template
  - •Identify sections that need structural updates
  - •Map changes to specific template sections
3. •
  Apply Updates:
  - •Add any missing required sections from template
  - •Update section formatting to match template
  - •Apply specified changes from --changes parameter
  - •Preserve all unique agent characteristics
  - •Maintain collaboration networks and tool permissions
4. •
  Clean & Finalize:
  - •Remove any outdated or deprecated sections
  - •Ensure consistent formatting throughout
  - •Verify agent definition is complete and valid
Report [IMPORTANT] You MUST return the following execution report (<500 tokens):
yaml
```
status: success|failure|partial
agent: '[agent-name]'
summary: 'Brief description of changes applied'
modifications:
  - section: '[section name]'
    change: '[what was changed]'
template_compliance: true|false
personality_preserved: true|false
issues: ['issue1', 'issue2', ...]  # only if problems encountered
```
<<<
•
Progress Monitoring
- •Track completion status of each delegated agent
- •Handle any subagent failures or escalations
- •Ensure constitutional compliance in all updates

Step 3: Verification

•
Template Compliance Verification
- •Verify each updated agent follows template:agent structure
- •Check all mandatory sections are present and properly formatted
- •Validate frontmatter and metadata consistency
•
Change Application Verification
- •Confirm all specified changes were applied correctly
- •Verify changes are reflected throughout the agent file
- •Check for any conflicting or contradictory specifications
•
Personality Preservation Check
- •Ensure unique agent characteristics remain intact
- •Verify collaboration networks are preserved
- •Confirm expertise areas unchanged (unless explicitly modified)

Step 4: Reporting

Output Format:

code

[✅/❌] Command: update-agent $ARGUMENTS

## Summary
- Agents processed: [count/total]
- Successfully updated: [count]
- Failed updates: [count]
- Template compliance: [PASS/FAIL]

## Actions Taken
1. [Batch processing of agents with results]
2. [Template alignment changes applied]
3. [Custom changes applied (if any)]

## Workflows Applied
- Update Agent Workflow: [Status]

## Updated Agents
- [agent-name]: [Changes applied]
- [agent-name]: [Changes applied]

## Issues Found (if any)
- **Agent**: [agent-name]
  **Issue**: [Description of problem]
  **Resolution**: [Applied fix or manual intervention needed]

Examples

Update All Agents

bash

/update-agent
# Updates all agents in /agents directory to latest template
# Preserves unique characteristics while ensuring template compliance

Update Specific Agent

bash

/update-agent "priya-sharma"
# Updates only the priya-sharma agent file
# Aligns with template while preserving role-specific content

Update with Pattern Matching

bash

/update-agent "*frontend*"
# Updates all agents with 'frontend' in their filename
# Useful for updating agents with similar roles or expertise

Update with Custom Changes

bash

/update-agent --change="Add new security compliance gate"
# Updates all agents and applies additional changes
# Template alignment plus specified modifications

Update Specific Agent with Changes

bash

/update-agent "james-mitchell" --change="Update collaboration network to include new DevOps role"
# Updates specific agent with both template alignment and custom changes
# Preserves agent identity while making requested modifications

Batch Update by Category

bash

/update-agent "*-engineer*" --change="Update tool permissions for new security standards"
# Updates all engineer-type agents with security updates
# Efficient for role-based mass updates

Error Case Handling

bash

/update-agent "non-existent-agent"
# Error: Agent file not found
# Suggestion: Use 'ls agents/' to see available agents
# Alternative: Use '/update-agent' to update all agents

Template Validation

bash

/update-agent --verify
# Validates all agents against current template without making changes
# Reports compliance status and suggests improvements