skills: single install path — canonical skills ship with the framework

Phase D2 of plan 2026-08-19: single package, single install, single command.

The framework installer already treats skills/** as a shipped, manifest-owned
framework subtree, so the folded skills now install into
$MOSAIC_HOME/skills with the rest of the framework — no second repository,
no separate sync step:

- mosaic-sync-skills (bash + powershell): the fetch machinery is gone (clone,
  pull, dirty-state migration, rsync from sources/agent-skills). The script
  now only links installed skills into runtime homes. --link-only is a compat
  no-op; --no-link exits having nothing to do.
- catalog.ts: the sources/agent-skills fallback is dead and removed.
- install.sh, launch.ts, defaults/README.md, README.md, skills/README.md:
  references to the second repo rewritten to describe the shipped path.

Verified: clean install into a fresh MOSAIC_HOME produces 102 skills with no
sources/ directory; the linker then links the selected skills into the four
runtime homes with no git involvement.

README.md

@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@ The framework is the bash-based standards layer installed to every developer mac
 ├── bin/mosaic             ← Unified launcher (claude, codex, opencode, pi, yolo)
 ├── guides/                ← E2E delivery, orchestrator protocol, PRD, etc.
 ├── runtime/               ← Per-runtime configs (claude/, codex/, opencode/, pi/)
-├── skills/                ← Universal skills (synced from agent-skills repo)
+├── skills/                ← Universal skills (shipped with the framework package)
 ├── tools/                 ← Tool suites (orchestrator, git, quality, prdy, etc.)
 └── memory/                ← Persistent agent memory (preserved across upgrades)
 ```

packages/mosaic/framework/defaults/README.md

@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ You can still launch runtimes directly (`claude`, `codex`, etc.) — thin runtim
 │   ├── opencode/          ← AGENTS.md, RUNTIME.md
 │   ├── pi/                ← RUNTIME.md, mosaic-extension.ts
 │   └── mcp/               ← MCP server configs
-├── skills/                ← Universal skills (synced from mosaic/agent-skills)
+├── skills/                ← Universal skills (shipped with the framework package)
 ├── skills-local/          ← Local cross-runtime skills
 ├── memory/                ← Persistent agent memory (preserved across upgrades)
 └── templates/             ← SOUL.md template, project templates
@@ -193,11 +193,11 @@ The installer rejects unrecognized flags or positional arguments before making c
 
 ## Universal Skills
 
-The installer syncs skills from `mosaic/agent-skills` into `~/.config/mosaic/skills/`. Install, wizard finalization, and `mosaic update` automatically reconcile every canonical skill into Claude Code's `~/.claude/skills/` directory.
+Canonical skills ship inside the framework package itself; the installer installs them into `~/.config/mosaic/skills/` together with the rest of the framework (there is no separate skills repository). Install, wizard finalization, and `mosaic update` automatically link every canonical skill into Claude Code's `~/.claude/skills/` directory.
 
 ```bash
-mosaic sync                                                   # Full canonical catalog sync
+mosaic sync                                                   # Relink the full canonical catalog
-~/.config/mosaic/tools/_scripts/mosaic-sync-skills --link-only # Re-link only
+~/.config/mosaic/tools/_scripts/mosaic-sync-skills --link-only # Re-link only (same as default)
 mosaic skill list                                              # Show registered, missing, dangling, and foreign entries
 mosaic skill register <name>                                   # Register or repair one canonical Claude link
 mosaic skill unregister <name>                                 # Remove one Mosaic-owned Claude link

packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ set -Eeuo pipefail
 #   MOSAIC_HOME              — target directory (default: ~/.config/mosaic)
 #   MOSAIC_INSTALL_MODE      — prompt|keep|overwrite (default: prompt)
 #   MOSAIC_ALLOW_MISSING_SEQUENTIAL_THINKING — 1 to bypass MCP check
-#   MOSAIC_SKIP_SKILLS_SYNC  — 1 to skip skill sync
+#   MOSAIC_SKIP_SKILLS_SYNC  — 1 to skip linking skills into runtime homes
 #
 # Flags (CLI args, NOT environment variables — see #869 Point-1 C2):
 #   --allow-inactive-enforcement  Explicit, per-invocation opt-out that lets the
@@ -828,7 +828,7 @@ if [[ -x "$SCRIPTS/mosaic-ensure-excalidraw" ]]; then
 fi
 
 if [[ "${MOSAIC_SKIP_SKILLS_SYNC:-0}" != "1" ]] && [[ -x "$SCRIPTS/mosaic-sync-skills" ]]; then
-  "$SCRIPTS/mosaic-sync-skills" >/dev/null 2>&1 && ok "Skills synced" || warn "Skills sync failed (non-fatal)"
+  "$SCRIPTS/mosaic-sync-skills" >/dev/null 2>&1 && ok "Skills linked into runtime homes" || warn "Skills linking failed (non-fatal)"
 fi
 
 if [[ -x "$SCRIPTS/mosaic-migrate-local-skills" ]]; then

packages/mosaic/framework/skills/README.md

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 # Agent Skills
 
-Complete agent skill fleet for Mosaic Stack. 95 skills across 12 domains — coding, business development, design, marketing, writing, orchestration, document generation, Vue/Vite ecosystem, and more. Platform-aware — works with both GitHub (`gh`) and Gitea (`tea`) via our abstraction scripts.
+Complete agent skill fleet for Mosaic Stack. 101 skills across 12 domains — coding, business development, design, marketing, writing, orchestration, document generation, Vue/Vite ecosystem, and more. Platform-aware — works with both GitHub (`gh`) and Gitea (`tea`) via our abstraction scripts.
+
+This tree lives in the monorepo (`packages/mosaic/framework/skills/`) and ships inside the framework package; it is no longer a separate repository.
 
 ## Security Audit
 
@@ -196,29 +198,21 @@ All skills were reviewed on 2026-02-16. Findings:
 
 ## Installation
 
-### Via npx (recommended)
+The skills ship with the framework package. The framework installer installs them
+into `~/.config/mosaic/skills/`, and the post-install step links them into each
+runtime's skill directory:
 
 ```bash
-# Install a single skill
+# Install or upgrade the framework (skills arrive with it — no second repo)
-npx skills add https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git --skill nestjs-best-practices --agent claude-code
+./packages/mosaic/framework/install.sh
 
-# Install all skills
+# Re-link installed skills into runtime homes (claude, codex, opencode, pi)
-npx skills add https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git --agent claude-code
+mosaic sync
-
-# Non-interactive (CI/scripting)
-npx skills add https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git --yes --agent claude-code
 ```
 
-**Note:** The `.git` suffix on the URL is required for Gitea-hosted repos.
+Operators can override any canonical skill by copying it to
-
+`~/.config/mosaic/skills-local/<name>/` — local skills take precedence during
-### Manual (symlink from local clone)
+linking.
-
-```bash
-git clone https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git ~/src/agent-skills
-for skill in ~/src/agent-skills/skills/*/; do
-  ln -sf "$skill" ~/.config/mosaic/skills/$(basename "$skill")
-done
-```
 
 ## Adapting Skills
 

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/_scripts/mosaic-sync-skills

@@ -1,9 +1,14 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 set -euo pipefail
 
+# Link the INSTALLED canonical skills into runtime skill directories.
+#
+# The canonical skills ship inside the framework package itself
+# (packages/mosaic/framework/skills in the monorepo) and are installed into
+# $MOSAIC_HOME/skills by the framework installer — there is no second
+# repository to clone. This script only maintains the runtime symlinks.
+
 MOSAIC_HOME="${MOSAIC_HOME:-$HOME/.config/mosaic}"
-SKILLS_REPO_URL="${MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_URL:-https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git}"
-SKILLS_REPO_DIR="${MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_DIR:-$MOSAIC_HOME/sources/agent-skills}"
 MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR="$MOSAIC_HOME/skills"
 MOSAIC_LOCAL_SKILLS_DIR="$MOSAIC_HOME/skills-local"
 
@@ -12,24 +17,21 @@ MOSAIC_LOCAL_SKILLS_DIR="$MOSAIC_HOME/skills-local"
 # (the legacy "mosaic sync" full-catalog behavior).
 MOSAIC_INSTALL_SKILLS="${MOSAIC_INSTALL_SKILLS:-}"
 
-fetch=1
-link_only=0
-
 usage() {
   cat <<USAGE
 Usage: $(basename "$0") [options]
 
-Sync canonical skills into ~/.config/mosaic/skills and link all Mosaic skills into runtime skill directories.
+Link installed skills from ~/.config/mosaic/{skills,skills-local} into runtime
+skill directories. Canonical skills arrive with the framework installer; this
+script never clones or pulls a second repository.
 
 Options:
-  --link-only     Skip git clone/pull and only relink from ~/.config/mosaic/{skills,skills-local}
+  --link-only     Accepted for compatibility; linking is now the whole job
-  --no-link       Sync canonical skills but do not update runtime links
+  --no-link       Do nothing (kept for compatibility)
   -h, --help      Show help
 
 Env:
   MOSAIC_HOME             Default: ~/.config/mosaic
-  MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_URL    Default: https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git
-  MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_DIR    Default: ~/.config/mosaic/sources/agent-skills
   MOSAIC_INSTALL_SKILLS   Colon-separated list of skills to link (default: all)
 USAGE
 }
@@ -37,12 +39,12 @@ USAGE
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
   case "$1" in
     --link-only)
-      fetch=0
+      # Compat no-op: fetching a skills repo no longer exists.
       shift
       ;;
     --no-link)
-      link_only=1
+      echo "[mosaic-skills] Nothing to do (--no-link; canonical skills ship with the installer)"
-      shift
+      exit 0
       ;;
     -h|--help)
       usage
@@ -58,101 +60,12 @@ done
 
 mkdir -p "$MOSAIC_HOME" "$MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR" "$MOSAIC_LOCAL_SKILLS_DIR"
 
-if [[ $fetch -eq 1 ]]; then
-  if [[ -d "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR/.git" ]]; then
-    echo "[mosaic-skills] Updating skills source: $SKILLS_REPO_DIR"
-
-    # ── Detect dirty state ──────────────────────────────────────────────
-    dirty=""
-    dirty="$(git -C "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR" status --porcelain 2>/dev/null || true)"
-
-    if [[ -n "$dirty" ]]; then
-      # ── Auto-migrate customized skills to skills-local/ ─────────────
-      # Instead of stash/pop (fragile, merge conflicts), we:
-      #   1. Identify which skill dirs contain user edits
-      #   2. Copy those full skill dirs into skills-local/ (preserving edits)
-      #   3. Reset the repo clean so pull always succeeds
-      #   4. skills-local/ takes precedence during linking, so edits win
-
-      SOURCE_SKILLS_SUBDIR="$SKILLS_REPO_DIR/skills"
-      migrated=()
-
-      while IFS= read -r line; do
-        # porcelain format: XY <path>  — extract the file path
-        file="${line:3}"
-        # Only migrate files under skills/ subdir in the repo
-        if [[ "$file" == skills/* ]]; then
-          # Extract the skill directory name (first path component after skills/)
-          skill_name="${file#skills/}"
-          skill_name="${skill_name%%/*}"
-
-          # Skip if already migrated this skill in this run
-          local_skill_dir="$MOSAIC_LOCAL_SKILLS_DIR/$skill_name"
-          if [[ -d "$local_skill_dir" ]]; then
-            continue
-          fi
-
-          # Skip if skill_name is empty or hidden
-          if [[ -z "$skill_name" || "$skill_name" == .* ]]; then
-            continue
-          fi
-
-          # Copy the skill (with user's edits) from repo working tree to skills-local/
-          if [[ -d "$SOURCE_SKILLS_SUBDIR/$skill_name" ]]; then
-            cp -R "$SOURCE_SKILLS_SUBDIR/$skill_name" "$local_skill_dir"
-            migrated+=("$skill_name")
-          fi
-        fi
-      done <<< "$dirty"
-
-      if [[ ${#migrated[@]} -gt 0 ]]; then
-        echo "[mosaic-skills] Migrated ${#migrated[@]} customized skill(s) to skills-local/:"
-        for s in "${migrated[@]}"; do
-          echo "  → $MOSAIC_LOCAL_SKILLS_DIR/$s"
-        done
-        echo "[mosaic-skills] Your edits are preserved there and take precedence over canonical."
-      fi
-
-      # Reset repo to clean state so pull always works
-      echo "[mosaic-skills] Resetting source repo to clean state..."
-      git -C "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR" checkout . 2>/dev/null || true
-      git -C "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR" clean -fd 2>/dev/null || true
-    fi
-
-    if ! git -C "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR" pull --rebase 2>/dev/null; then
-      echo "[mosaic-skills] WARN: pull failed — continuing with existing checkout" >&2
-      git -C "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR" rebase --abort 2>/dev/null || true
-    fi
-  else
-    echo "[mosaic-skills] Cloning skills source to: $SKILLS_REPO_DIR"
-    mkdir -p "$(dirname "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR")"
-    git clone "$SKILLS_REPO_URL" "$SKILLS_REPO_DIR"
-  fi
-
-  SOURCE_SKILLS_DIR="$SKILLS_REPO_DIR/skills"
-  if [[ ! -d "$SOURCE_SKILLS_DIR" ]]; then
-    echo "[mosaic-skills] Missing source skills dir: $SOURCE_SKILLS_DIR" >&2
-    exit 1
-  fi
-
-  if command -v rsync >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-    rsync -a --delete "$SOURCE_SKILLS_DIR/" "$MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR/"
-  else
-    rm -rf "$MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR"/*
-    cp -R "$SOURCE_SKILLS_DIR"/* "$MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR"/
-  fi
-fi
-
 if [[ ! -d "$MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR" ]]; then
   echo "[mosaic-skills] Canonical skills dir missing: $MOSAIC_SKILLS_DIR" >&2
+  echo "[mosaic-skills] Canonical skills ship with the framework — reinstall or update the framework package" >&2
   exit 1
 fi
 
-if [[ $link_only -eq 1 ]]; then
-  echo "[mosaic-skills] Canonical sync completed (link update skipped)"
-  exit 0
-fi
-
 # Skills are linked into the MOSAIC-OWNED harness homes, never a base install.
 # Paths mirror the config-dir env vars the launcher injects (HARNESS_HOME_ENV in
 # commands/launch.js):

packages/mosaic/framework/tools/_scripts/mosaic-sync-skills.ps1

@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 # mosaic-sync-skills.ps1
-# Syncs canonical skills and links them into agent runtime skill directories.
+# Links the INSTALLED canonical skills into agent runtime skill directories.
+# Canonical skills ship inside the framework package and are installed into
+# ~/.config/mosaic/skills by the framework installer — there is no second
+# repository to clone. This script only maintains the runtime links.
 # Uses directory junctions (no elevation required) with fallback to copies.
 # PowerShell equivalent of mosaic-sync-skills (bash).
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
@@ -11,8 +14,6 @@ param(
 )
 
 $MosaicHome = if ($env:MOSAIC_HOME) { $env:MOSAIC_HOME } else { Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ".config\mosaic" }
-$SkillsRepoUrl = if ($env:MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_URL) { $env:MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_URL } else { "https://git.mosaicstack.dev/mosaic/agent-skills.git" }
-$SkillsRepoDir = if ($env:MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_DIR) { $env:MOSAIC_SKILLS_REPO_DIR } else { Join-Path $MosaicHome "sources\agent-skills" }
 $MosaicSkillsDir = Join-Path $MosaicHome "skills"
 $MosaicLocalSkillsDir = Join-Path $MosaicHome "skills-local"
 
@@ -20,45 +21,25 @@ if ($Help) {
     Write-Host @"
 Usage: mosaic-sync-skills.ps1 [-LinkOnly] [-NoLink] [-Help]
 
-Sync canonical skills into ~/.config/mosaic/skills and link all Mosaic skills
+Link installed skills from ~/.config/mosaic/{skills,skills-local} into runtime
-into runtime skill directories using directory junctions.
+skill directories using directory junctions. Canonical skills arrive with the
+framework installer; this script never clones or pulls a second repository.
 
 Options:
-  -LinkOnly     Skip git clone/pull and only relink
+  -LinkOnly     Accepted for compatibility; linking is now the whole job
-  -NoLink       Sync canonical skills but do not update runtime links
+  -NoLink       Do nothing (kept for compatibility)
   -Help         Show help
 "@
     exit 0
 }
 
-foreach ($d in @($MosaicHome, $MosaicSkillsDir, $MosaicLocalSkillsDir)) {
+if ($NoLink) {
-    if (-not (Test-Path $d)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $d -Force | Out-Null }
+    Write-Host "[mosaic-skills] Nothing to do (-NoLink; canonical skills ship with the installer)"
+    exit 0
 }
 
-# Fetch skills from git
+foreach ($d in @($MosaicHome, $MosaicSkillsDir, $MosaicLocalSkillsDir)) {
-if (-not $LinkOnly) {
+    if (-not (Test-Path $d)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $d -Force | Out-Null }
-    if (Test-Path (Join-Path $SkillsRepoDir ".git")) {
-        Write-Host "[mosaic-skills] Updating skills source: $SkillsRepoDir"
-        git -C $SkillsRepoDir pull --rebase
-    }
-    else {
-        Write-Host "[mosaic-skills] Cloning skills source to: $SkillsRepoDir"
-        $parentDir = Split-Path $SkillsRepoDir -Parent
-        if (-not (Test-Path $parentDir)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $parentDir -Force | Out-Null }
-        git clone $SkillsRepoUrl $SkillsRepoDir
-    }
-
-    $sourceSkillsDir = Join-Path $SkillsRepoDir "skills"
-    if (-not (Test-Path $sourceSkillsDir)) {
-        Write-Host "[mosaic-skills] Missing source skills dir: $sourceSkillsDir" -ForegroundColor Red
-        exit 1
-    }
-
-    # Sync: remove old, copy new
-    if (Test-Path $MosaicSkillsDir) {
-        Get-ChildItem $MosaicSkillsDir | Remove-Item -Recurse -Force
-    }
-    Copy-Item "$sourceSkillsDir\*" $MosaicSkillsDir -Recurse -Force
 }
 
 if (-not (Test-Path $MosaicSkillsDir)) {

packages/mosaic/src/commands/launch.ts

@@ -1450,7 +1450,7 @@ export function registerLaunchCommands(program: Command): void {
   // Direct framework script delegates
   const directCommands: Record<string, { desc: string; script: string }> = {
     init: { desc: 'Generate SOUL.md (agent identity contract)', script: 'mosaic-init' },
-    sync: { desc: 'Sync skills from canonical source', script: 'mosaic-sync-skills' },
+    sync: { desc: 'Link installed skills into runtime homes', script: 'mosaic-sync-skills' },
     bootstrap: {
       desc: 'Bootstrap a repo with Mosaic standards',
       script: 'mosaic-bootstrap-repo',

packages/mosaic/src/platform/file-ops.ts

@@ -94,7 +94,8 @@ export function syncDirectory(
       const relPath = relative(relBase, src);
       const dirName = relPath.split('/').pop() ?? '';
 
-      // Skip any .git directory (top-level or nested, e.g. sources/agent-skills/.git)
+      // Skip any .git directory (top-level or nested; defensive — the
+      // framework tree itself is not a git checkout at install time)
       if (options.excludeGit && (dirName === '.git' || relPath.includes('/.git'))) return;
 
       // Skip preserved paths at top level

packages/mosaic/src/skills/catalog.ts

@@ -20,12 +20,6 @@ export function loadSkillsCatalog(mosaicHome: string): SkillEntry[] {
     skills.push(...loadSkillsFromDir(canonicalDir, 'canonical'));
   }
 
-  // Fallback to source repo
-  const sourceDir = join(mosaicHome, 'sources', 'agent-skills', 'skills');
-  if (skills.length === 0 && existsSync(sourceDir)) {
-    skills.push(...loadSkillsFromDir(sourceDir, 'canonical'));
-  }
-
   // Load local skills
   const localDir = join(mosaicHome, 'skills-local');
   if (existsSync(localDir)) {