---
title: Skill versioning + bootstrap manifest
type: concept
updated: 2026-04-28
---

# Skill versioning + bootstrap manifest

## Why version skills

When the canonical layout for `.wiki/` or `.tasks/` changes (as it has — see [wiki-realignment.md](wiki-realignment.md) and the upcoming task-tracking realignment), projects bootstrapped under the old version drift out of canon silently. Without a record of *which version* did the bootstrap, debugging that drift is guesswork.

The fix is two-sided: skills carry a version, and `project-bootstrap` records which versions it used in a per-project manifest.

## Frontmatter format

The 6 infra skills (`project-bootstrap`, `setup-context7`, `setup-wiki`, `setup-tasks`, `using-wiki`, `using-tasks`, `using-context7`, `using-markitdown`) carry `version: <semver>` in their frontmatter:

```yaml
---
name: project-bootstrap
version: 1.0.0
description: …
---
```

Semver:
- **MAJOR** — breaks the contract (renames, layout changes, trigger-phrase removals).
- **MINOR** — adds capability (new triggers, new optional steps).
- **PATCH** — wording / clarity tweaks; no behavioral change.

Bumped manually when `SKILL.md` is edited. No CI gate — discipline-based.

## What skills are versioned

Currently only the **infrastructure** skills (the ones bootstrap touches and that govern project layout). Communication-mode skills (`caveman`, family) and discovery skills (`find-skills`, `active-platform`) aren't versioned — their content is "good copy-paste" and a snapshot mismatch isn't a layout problem.

If we ever start packaging or marketplace-publishing the rest, we'll version them too.

## The manifest

`project-bootstrap` writes `.wiki/concepts/bootstrap-manifest.md` with a frontmatter block + a small table of skill + version + role. The file is **overwritten** on re-bootstrap (not appended) — for history, `git log` shows the changes over time.

## Why this matters

Concrete scenario: you discover that some old project's `.tasks/STATUS.md` doesn't follow the canon (no per-task files, no emoji status). Look at its `bootstrap-manifest.md` — if it shows `setup-tasks: 1.0.0` but the current canon is from `2.0.0`, you know exactly what happened and can re-run `setup-tasks` to migrate.

Without the manifest: `git log` of the project's `.tasks/` folder, guess from filenames, hope.