Runs Index Management

VerifiedSafe

Deterministically updates index.json with status, last flow, and modification timestamp. Used exclusively in prep and cleanup agents to maintain stable diffs.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevelopmentIntermediate
306/2/2026
Claude Code
#runs-index#demoswarm#automation#developer-tools

Recommended for

Our review

Deterministically updates status, last_flow, and updated_at fields in the .runs/index.json file via a dedicated shim.

Strengths

  • Deterministic writes with stable, sorted diffs
  • Idempotent: multiple runs produce the same result
  • Minimal surface: only updates allowed fields
  • Uses a shim that guarantees correct tool resolution

Limitations

  • Does not create the index.json file (fails if missing)
  • Restricted to specific agents (run-prep, cleanup) only
  • Cannot update other fields like canonical_key or issue_number
When to use it

When a run-prep or cleanup agent needs to update a run's status in the index after a workflow step.

When not to use it

To create the initial index, read index data, or update fields other than status, last_flow, and updated_at.

Security analysis

Safe
Quality score90/100

The skill only invokes a controlled internal script with predefined arguments to update specific fields in a known JSON file. There is no network access, arbitrary command execution, file deletion, or data exfiltration. The usage of Bash is limited to a single safe command.

No concerns found

Examples

Update run status after signal cleanup
Update the run status for 'feat-auth' to 'VERIFIED' with last_flow 'signal' and current timestamp.
Mark run as deployed
Set the run 'deploy-v3' status to 'DEPLOYED', last_flow to 'deploy', and updated_at to now in the index.

name: runs-index description: "Update index.json status. Use for: upsert index.json, update status/last_flow/updated_at. Deterministic writes - stable diffs, no creation. Use only in run-prep and *-cleanup agents. Invoke via bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh index upsert-status." allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write

Runs Index Skill

Deterministic updates to .runs/index.json. Write-bearing but with minimal surface.

Invocation

Always invoke via the shim:

bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh index upsert-status [options]

Do not set PATH or call helpers directly. The shim handles resolution.


Operating Invariants

Repo root only

  • Assume working directory is repo root.
  • All paths are repo-root-relative.

Minimal ownership

This skill only updates:

  • status
  • last_flow
  • updated_at

Other fields (canonical_key, issue_number, pr_number, etc.) are owned by run-prep, signal-run-prep, and gh-issue-manager.

Stable diffs

  • Upsert by run_id (update in place, not append)
  • Preserve existing ordering
  • Output is sorted for stable git diffs

Allowed Users

Only these agents may use this skill:

  • run-prep
  • signal-run-prep
  • signal-cleanup
  • plan-cleanup
  • build-cleanup
  • gate-cleanup
  • deploy-cleanup
  • wisdom-cleanup

Command Reference

| Command | Purpose | | --------------------- | ------------------------------- | | index upsert-status | Update run status in index.json |


Quick Example

# Update index after signal cleanup
bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh index upsert-status \
  --index ".runs/index.json" \
  --run-id "feat-auth" \
  --status "VERIFIED" \
  --last-flow "signal" \
  --updated-at "$(bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh time now)"
# stdout: ok

Contract Rules

  1. stdout: ok on success, error message on failure
  2. exit code: 0 on success, non-zero on failure
  3. Idempotent: Running twice with same args produces same result
  4. No creation: If .runs/index.json doesn't exist, fail (run-prep owns creation)

Index Schema Reference

{
  "version": 1,
  "runs": [
    {
      "run_id": "feat-auth",
      "canonical_key": "gh-456",
      "task_key": "feat-auth",
      "task_title": "Add OAuth2 login",
      "issue_number": 456,
      "pr_number": null,
      "updated_at": "2025-12-11T22:15:00Z",
      "status": "VERIFIED",
      "last_flow": "signal"
    }
  ]
}

This skill only updates: status, last_flow, updated_at.


For Agent Authors

In cleanup agents:

  1. Use runs-index for index updates (no inline jq)
  2. Handle missing index — if .runs/index.json is missing, add a blocker and do not create it
  3. Use runs-derive for reading — this skill is write-only

Example pattern in cleanup agent:

# Get current timestamp
TIMESTAMP=$(bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh time now)

# Update index
bash .claude/scripts/demoswarm.sh index upsert-status \
  --index ".runs/index.json" \
  --run-id "$RUN_ID" \
  --status "$STATUS" \
  --last-flow "signal" \
  --updated-at "$TIMESTAMP"

Installation

The Rust implementation is preferred. Install to repo-local directory:

cargo install --path tools/demoswarm-runs-tools --root .demoswarm

The shim will automatically resolve in order:

  1. .demoswarm/bin/demoswarm (repo-local install, preferred)
  2. demoswarm on PATH (global install)
  3. cargo run fallback (dev environments)
  4. Python fallback (legacy)
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