Our review
Diagnoses and manages Samara.app, the message broker connecting iMessage to Claude.
Strengths
- Quickly checks if Samara is running
- Provides commands to view recent logs
- Includes Full Disk Access (FDA) verification
- Guides proper restart and rebuild procedures
Limitations
- Requires filesystem and macOS log access
- Rebuild must use a specific script to avoid breaking FDA
- Does not cover network or iMessage configuration issues
Use this skill when Samara is unresponsive, messages aren't being detected, or you suspect permission issues or crashes.
Avoid this skill for Samara UI issues or features unrelated to app execution.
Security analysis
SafeThe skill uses standard Unix commands for process inspection, file readability checks, and app control, all scoped to a specific application (Samara). It warns against dangerous file copying and enforces safe rebuild procedure via PreToolUse hook that likely prevents destructive operations. No exfiltration, obfuscation, or attack patterns detected.
No concerns found
Examples
Is Samara running? Check its logs and show me if FDA is granted.Restart Samara.app because messages are not being detected.Samara stopped working after I rebuilt it. Check the code signature and tell me if FDA is broken.name: samara description: Debug, check, or restart Samara.app - the message broker. Use when messages aren't being detected, Samara crashed, need to view logs, check Full Disk Access, or restart the app. Trigger words: samara, messages not working, restart, logs, FDA, broker. context: fork allowed-tools:
- Bash
- Read
- Grep
- Glob
- Write
hooks:
PreToolUse:
- matcher: "Bash"
hooks:
- type: command command: "/Users/claude/Developer/samara-main/.claude/hooks/block-deriveddata-copy.sh" timeout: 5
- matcher: "Bash"
hooks:
Samara Debug and Control
Diagnose and manage Samara.app, the message broker that connects iMessage to Claude.
Quick Actions
Check if Running
pgrep -fl Samara
ps aux | grep -i [S]amara
View Recent Logs
# Samara's own logs
tail -50 ~/.claude-mind/logs/samara.log 2>/dev/null
# System logs for Samara
log show --predicate 'process == "Samara"' --last 5m 2>/dev/null | tail -30
Restart Samara
# Kill if running
pkill -f Samara
# Wait a moment
sleep 2
# Relaunch
open /Applications/Samara.app
Tip: This sequence is a good candidate for the Bash subagent (Task tool with subagent_type=Bash) to avoid polluting context with intermediate steps.
Check Full Disk Access
# This will work if FDA is granted
ls ~/Library/Messages/chat.db && echo "FDA: OK" || echo "FDA: MISSING"
# Check code signature (Team ID must be stable)
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | head -5
Common Issues
Messages Not Being Detected
- Check Samara is running
- Check FDA is intact
- Check chat.db is readable
- Look for errors in logs
Samara Crashed
- Check system logs for crash reason
- Restart with
open /Applications/Samara.app - If repeated crashes, may need rebuild
FDA Revoked After Update
This happens if Team ID changed during rebuild:
# Check current signature - MUST show G4XVD3J52J
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | grep "subject.OU"
# If shows 7V9XLQ8YNQ or any other team: WRONG CERTIFICATE USED
# Must rebuild properly and re-grant FDA
Rebuild Samara
CRITICAL: ONLY use the update-samara script. NEVER copy from DerivedData.
A Claude instance previously broke FDA by copying a Debug build from
~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/. This used automatic signing which picked the WRONG certificate and revoked all permissions.
The ONLY correct way to rebuild:
~/.claude-mind/bin/update-samara
FORBIDDEN (will break FDA):
cp -R ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/.../Samara.app /Applications/xcodebuild -configuration Debugfor deployment- Any manual copy of Samara.app to /Applications
Verify after rebuild:
codesign -d -r- /Applications/Samara.app 2>&1 | grep "subject.OU"
# Must show: G4XVD3J52J
# If shows: 7V9XLQ8YNQ - WRONG! FDA will be revoked
Diagnostic Report
When troubleshooting, gather:
- Is Samara running?
- FDA status
- Recent log errors
- Last successful message detection
- Code signature validity
Present findings clearly with recommended actions.
Related Skills
For specific issues, use these specialized skills:
/diagnose-leaks— Debug thinking traces or session IDs leaking into messages/debug-session— Debug session management, batching, and task routing/status— Quick system health check
Docker Compose Architect
DevOps
Designs optimized Docker Compose configurations.
Incident Postmortem Writer
DevOps
Writes structured and blameless incident postmortem reports.
Runbook Creator
DevOps
Creates clear operational runbooks for common DevOps procedures.