manifest

Create a useful README or keep one accurate. Manifest checks what readers need to understand and use the project while preserving its voice and useful content.

Start the command

manifest

Use the prefix for your app or terminal from Setup.

Run log first if there is no shared instruction owner. Updates require a clean main or master branch.

Flow

flowchart TD
  Start(["Start manifest"]) --> Target["Confirm the README<br/>and its style"]
  Target --> Scope{"What review is needed?"}
  Scope -->|Already current or skip| Finish(["Report the local result"])
  Scope -->|Full scan or Gap scan| Scan["Verify README claims and<br/>missing reader information"]
  Scope -->|Structure repair| Repair["Investigate the specific<br/>content or layout gaps"]
  Scan --> Review["Review proposed section changes"]
  Repair --> Review
  Review --> Choice{"Apply the proposal?"}
  Choice -->|Revise| Review
  Choice -->|Skip| Finish
  Choice -->|Keep prose and record review, when eligible| Marker["Update only the review marker"]
  Marker --> Finish
  Choice -->|All or selected changes| Write["Update and read back<br/>the approved content"]
  Write --> Finish

Choose the README and style

Manifest normally maintains the root README. It checks GitHub’s precedence and asks if the target is ambiguous. Translations and package READMEs are not rewritten together automatically.

Style	Approach
Standard	Follow the applicable Standard Readme specification.
Custom	Preserve the existing outline. For a new README, approve an outline or adapted reference before drafting.

An approved choice can be saved as readme-style. Full scan does not authorize replacing a custom structure. Generated content follows its producer; active agent instructions embedded in a README need reconciliation before prose maintenance.

What the review covers

• Full scan: check existing claims and missing reader information across relevant project workflows, from prerequisites and installation to use and support.
• Gap scan: follow changes since the saved review point to affected sections. A rewritten marker is automatically checked for a verified equivalent before falling back to Full scan.
• Repair structure: address specific content or layout gaps without claiming a complete source review.

An explicit style-only change is also possible. Skip and already-current outcomes leave content untouched.

Marker recovery tries preserved normalize maps, the native backend map, then verified local object/history correspondence. A short recovery note precedes the normal choices, with no extra approval gate. Any marker repair is included in the existing approved output and preserves the earlier review; Skip, Cancel and read-only/no-op outcomes write nothing. Missing local proof or incomplete comparison history still prevents Gap scan.

Review the update

Manifest checks commands, examples and links against source, preserving banners, frontmatter, custom context and generated blocks. It links to detailed guides instead of copying them. Missing policy or support facts need confirmation.

For existing content, choose all proposed section changes, a subset, revision or cancellation. Only approved edits are written and read back. Example commands are not executed merely to write the README.

When a complete review finds only optional improvements, the same question also offers Keep README unchanged and record review. This preserves the prose and records the reviewed source commit without another approval gate.

Your result

You get the README, any approved style preference and unresolved facts. The last-reviewed comment records a complete Full or Gap assessment of the relevant source snapshot. Declined optional suggestions do not block it, including when only some edits are accepted. Incomplete review or unresolved inaccuracies and material gaps retain earlier provenance; declining a factual correction does not resolve it. Repairs and style-only changes do not establish a new review baseline. Cancellation writes nothing.

Changes follow your local commit policy and stay on the same branch. Use ship to publish.