Handbook Sync - Update Project Handbook
Purpose
Syncs the central handbook from ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ to the current project's resources/handbook/ folder.
This ensures your project has the latest Amplify Gen 2 documentation, patterns, and best practices.
When to Use
User says:
- •"Sync the handbook"
- •"Update the handbook"
- •"Pull latest handbook"
- •"Refresh handbook docs"
- •"Get latest handbook"
Workflow
Step 1: Verify Central Handbook Exists
Check that ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ directory exists and has content:
ls ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/README.md
If it doesn't exist, tell the user:
❌ Central handbook not found at ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ Please clone the AmplifyHandbook repo: git clone https://github.com/ChinchillaEnterprises/AmplifyHandbook.git ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook
Step 2: Create Project Handbook Directory
mkdir -p resources/handbook
Step 3: Sync Everything
Copy everything from central handbook to project:
cp -r ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/* ./resources/handbook/
Important: This overwrites everything in the project's handbook with the latest from the central source.
What gets copied:
- •All markdown documentation files
- •All code examples
- •Complete folder structure (auth/, data/, functions/, webhooks/, frontend/, troubleshooting/)
- •README.md and navigation files
Note: AmplifyHandbook repo contains only documentation (no SKILL.md)
Step 4: Verify Success
ls -la resources/handbook/README.md
Step 5: Confirm to User
Tell the user:
✅ Handbook synced successfully! - Source: ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ - Destination: ./resources/handbook/ - All documentation is now up to date
What This Does
ONE-WAY sync: Central → Project
~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ (central, source of truth)
↓
↓ cp -r command
↓
./resources/handbook/ (project, local copy)
This is NOT a two-way sync. Changes in the project's resources/handbook/ are NOT pushed back to central.
Important Notes
To Get Latest Central Handbook
Before syncing to a project, ensure your central handbook is up to date:
cd ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ git pull
This gets the latest handbook updates from the AmplifyHandbook repo.
To Contribute New Patterns
If you want to add new patterns to the central handbook, use the handbook-updater skill instead. It will:
- •Update files in
~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ - •Commit and push to GitHub
- •Make updates available to the whole team
Complete Example
User: "Sync the handbook"
Claude:
# Step 1: Verify central handbook exists ls ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/README.md # Step 2: Create project directory mkdir -p resources/handbook # Step 3: Copy everything cp -r ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/* ./resources/handbook/ # Step 4: Verify ls -la resources/handbook/README.md
Output:
✅ Handbook synced successfully! - Source: ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ - Destination: ./resources/handbook/ - All documentation is now up to date
Troubleshooting
"No such file or directory" for central handbook
Problem: ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ doesn't exist
Solution:
git clone https://github.com/ChinchillaEnterprises/AmplifyHandbook.git ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook
If it exists but is out of date:
cd ~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/ git pull
"Permission denied"
Problem: Can't write to resources/handbook/
Solution: Check you're in a project directory where you have write permissions.
Remember
- •This skill does a full overwrite of
resources/handbook/ - •Always pulls from
~/.claude/AmplifyHandbook/(central) - •To update central handbook, use
handbook-updaterskill - •To read handbook, use
handbookskill