# using-projects-meta

Runtime policy for the local `projects-meta-mcp` stdio server. Two
responsibilities, one server:

1. **Cross-project task aggregation** — reads / writes `.tasks/STATUS.md` in
   any of the user's Gitea repos.
2. **Shared knowledge wiki** — query / ingest a single Gitea-backed wiki at
   `~/projects/projects-wiki/.wiki/` (clone root: `~/projects/projects-wiki/`,
   Gitea repo: `projects-wiki`).

`using-projects-meta` governs *usage* of an installed server. Initial setup
(clone, build, `auth.toml`, MCP registration) is owned by
[`setup-projects-meta`](../setup-projects-meta/).

Full server reference:
`mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_get slug=packages/projects-meta-mcp`.

## When it triggers

- User asks for cross-project state ("what's on the boards", "across all
  projects", "что у меня на досках", "по всем проектам").
- User wants to query / ingest the shared wiki ("check shared wiki", "search
  projects-wiki", "ingest into shared wiki", "общая вики", "заингесть в общую").
- User wants to create / update / close a task in *another* project from the
  current cwd ("заведи в проекте X задачу", "close task Y in project Z").
- User asks for sync diagnostics ("when did the cache last refresh", "are there
  sync errors").
- If `mcp__projects-meta__*` tools are missing, this skill delegates to
  [`setup-projects-meta`](../setup-projects-meta/) before doing anything else.

## Local-first rule (critical)

For the **current** project — read disk directly (`.tasks/STATUS.md`,
`.wiki/index.md`). The MCP cache:

- May be stale (sync runs only when triggered).
- Hides `🟢 done` by default.
- May not contain unpushed projects.

Use MCP only for **other** projects, **other** machines, or the **shared**
wiki content. See the table below.

| Question | Where to read |
|---|---|
| "What's the status of *this* project?" | local `.tasks/STATUS.md` |
| "What's on all my boards?" | `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_aggregate` |
| "Has *this* project's wiki got X?" | local `.wiki/index.md` |
| "Has the **shared** wiki got X?" | `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_search` |
| "Sync state across machines?" | `mcp__projects-meta__meta_status` |

## Step 0 — Freshness gate (v1.1.0, mandatory pre-flight)

`projects-meta` is a bus between machines — another host may have pushed
minutes ago. Without this gate, reads return stale data and writes hit
sha-based optimistic-lock 422s with no explanation.

Before **any** `tasks_*` or `knowledge_*` call:

1. `mcp__projects-meta__meta_status` — probe cache age + errors.
2. If `cache_age_minutes` > 10 OR `errors_count` > 0 →
   `node ~/projects/.common/lib/projects-meta-mcp/dist/sync.js`.
3. For shared-wiki **writes** (`knowledge_ingest`, `knowledge_promote`) →
   **also** `git -C ~/projects/projects-wiki pull --ff-only`. Unconditional.
   The MCP server uses sha-based optimistic locking on the wiki repo;
   without an up-to-date local SHA the commit is rejected with a 422.
4. For tasks-mutations (`tasks_create`/`update`/`close`) → sync via
   `dist/sync.js` is enough; there's no local clone of the target tasks repo.
5. If sync returns **401 / 403** → STOP. Token is dead. Send the user to
   `~/.config/projects-mcp/auth.toml` to rotate `gitea_token`. Don't
   pretend success, don't retry silently.

**Don't sync unconditionally** on every call — overhead + 401-risk for
casual reads. The 10-minute window is the chosen threshold.

**Don't apply Step 0 to `meta_status` itself** — it's the probe.

## Two operation classes

### Read (no confirmation)

`tasks_aggregate`, `tasks_search`, `tasks_get`, `knowledge_search`,
`knowledge_get`, `knowledge_suggest_promote`, `meta_status` — all
side-effect-free. Call directly, cite the result.

### Mutate (always two-step)

`tasks_create`, `tasks_update`, `tasks_close`, `knowledge_ingest`,
`knowledge_promote` — write to Gitea. Procedure:

1. Call **without** `confirm: true` → returns dry-run preview (proposed file
   diff + commit message).
2. Show the preview to the user. Wait for explicit "ok" / "go" / "поехали".
3. Re-call with `confirm: true` → committed.

**Never inline `confirm: true` on the first call.** A trigger phrase is
permission to plan, not to commit.

## Tool quick reference

### Read

| Tool | Required args | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_aggregate` | — | All active tasks across cached projects |
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_search` | `query` | Substring search across slug + next_action |
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_get` | `project` | Raw STATUS.md of one project (cache snapshot) |
| `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_search` | `query`; opt `domain`, `limit` | Shared-wiki search; default domain auto-detected from cwd |
| `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_get` | `slug` | Full text of one wiki page |
| `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_suggest_promote` | — | Local `.wiki/concepts/` candidates for shared promotion |
| `mcp__projects-meta__meta_status` | — | Sync diagnostics (cache age, project / page / error counts) |

### Mutate (need `write:repository` Gitea scope)

| Tool | Required args | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_create` | `target_project`, `slug`, `description`, `next_action` | Append block to target's `.tasks/STATUS.md` via Gitea commit |
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_update` | `target_project`, `slug` + ≥1 mutable field | Sha-based optimistic lock; 422 on conflict |
| `mcp__projects-meta__tasks_close` | `target_project`, `slug` (+ opt `note`) | Marks task 🟢 done with identity-footer |
| `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_ingest` | `target_project`, `type`, `slug`, `body` | Three commits: `<type>/<slug>.md` + `index.md` + `log.md` |
| `mcp__projects-meta__knowledge_promote` | `target_project`, `slug`, `body` | Move `raw/<slug>.md` → `sources/<slug>.md` |

`type` ∈ `entities` / `concepts` / `packages` / `sources` / `raw`.
`target_project` = Gitea repo name, or `_meta` (meta-tasks / meta-wiki repos
from `auth.toml`).

## Common mistakes

- **Reading current project's tasks via `tasks_get`.** Read `.tasks/STATUS.md`
  on disk; the MCP cache is for *other* projects.
- **Inlining `confirm: true` on first call.** Always preview first; show user;
  only then `confirm: true`.
- **Confusing the local `.wiki/` with the shared `projects-wiki`.** They are
  two different stores. `using-wiki` operates on the local one;
  `using-projects-meta` queries / ingests the shared one.
- **Acting on stale `tasks_aggregate`.** If `meta_status.age_seconds` > 3600,
  either run `node dist/sync.js` (in `~/projects/.common/lib/projects-meta-mcp`) or warn the
  user about staleness.
- **Vague `knowledge_search` queries.** "auth" returns noise. Multi-word,
  specific queries return targeted snippets.
- **Wrong `type` on `knowledge_ingest`.** Mis-typed pages land in the wrong
  section and break `index.md`. Pick from the five canonical types.

## When NOT to use

- The current project's own tasks — read `.tasks/STATUS.md`.
- The current project's own wiki — read `.wiki/`.
- Library / framework documentation — that's [`using-context7`](../using-context7/).
- Repo-internal code search — that's `Glob` / `Grep`.
- One-off git history questions — `git log`.

## Install

From the repo root:

```bash
bash scripts/install.sh using-projects-meta
```

Works on Windows under git-bash, Linux, macOS.

## See also

- [`setup-projects-meta`](../setup-projects-meta/) — companion, owns server
  install + MCP registration.
- [`using-context7`](../using-context7/) — sister skill for library docs (same
  using-X structure).
- [`using-tasks`](../using-tasks/), [`using-wiki`](../using-wiki/) —
  per-project policies for in-repo `.tasks/` and `.wiki/`. Orthogonal to this
  skill; together they cover both per-project and cross-project state.