Lisa Implementation Review

This skill compares the current project’s Lisa-managed files against Lisa’s source templates to identify drift and offer to upstream improvements back to Lisa.

Prerequisites

This skill requires access to the Lisa installation directory. Either:

1. Start Claude Code with --add-dir ~/lisa (or your Lisa path)
2. Pass the Lisa directory as an argument: /lisa-review-implementation ~/lisa

Instructions

Step 1: Locate Lisa Directory

First, determine the Lisa installation directory:

1. If an argument was provided, use that path
2. Otherwise, check if any --add-dir paths contain a src/core/lisa.ts file (Lisa’s signature file)
3. Common locations to check: ~/lisa, ~/workspace/lisa, ../lisa

If Lisa directory cannot be found, inform the user:

Unable to locate Lisa installation directory.

Please either:
1. Start Claude Code with: claude --add-dir /path/to/lisa
2. Run this command with the path: /lisa-review-implementation /path/to/lisa

Step 2: Read the Manifest

Read the project’s .lisa-manifest file to get the list of managed files.

Parse each line to extract:

• strategy: The copy strategy used (copy-overwrite, copy-contents, merge, create-only)
• relativePath: The file path relative to project root

Skip:

• Lines starting with # (comments)
• Empty lines
• Files with create-only strategy (these are meant to be customized)
• Files with merge strategy (these are intentionally combined)

Step 3: Find Source Templates

For each managed file, locate its source in Lisa by checking these directories in order:

1. npm-package/copy-overwrite/ and npm-package/copy-contents/
2. cdk/copy-overwrite/ and cdk/copy-contents/
3. nestjs/copy-overwrite/ and nestjs/copy-contents/
4. expo/copy-overwrite/ and expo/copy-contents/
5. typescript/copy-overwrite/ and typescript/copy-contents/
6. all/copy-overwrite/ and all/copy-contents/

The FIRST match wins (most specific type takes precedence).

Detect which project types apply by checking the project for:

• npm-package: package.json without "private": true AND has main, bin, exports, or files
• cdk: presence of cdk.json or aws-cdk in dependencies
• nestjs: presence of nest-cli.json or @nestjs in dependencies
• expo: presence of app.json, eas.json, or expo in dependencies
• typescript: presence of tsconfig.json or typescript in dependencies

Only check type directories that match the project.

Step 4: Compare Files

For each file, compare the project version against the Lisa source:

1. Read both files
2. If identical, mark as “in sync”
3. If different, generate a diff summary

Use the Bash tool with diff to generate readable diffs:

diff -u "/path/to/lisa/source" "/path/to/project/file" || true

Step 5: Generate Report

Create a markdown report with these sections:

# Lisa Implementation Review

**Project:** [project name from package.json]
**Lisa Source:** [lisa directory path]
**Generated:** [current date/time]

## Summary

- **Total managed files:** X
- **In sync:** X
- **Drifted:** X
- **Source not found:** X

## Drifted Files

### [relative/path/to/file]

**Source:** [lisa-type]/copy-overwrite/[path]
**Strategy:** copy-overwrite

<details>
<summary>View diff</summary>

```diff
[diff output]

Recommendation: [Brief analysis of whether this change should be upstreamed]

[Repeat for each drifted file]

Files Not Found in Lisa

These files are in the manifest but their source templates couldn’t be located:

• [list of files]

In Sync Files

• [list of files]

Step 6: Offer to Upstream Changes

After presenting the report, ask the user which drifted files they want to copy back to Lisa.

For each file the user wants to upstream:

1. Confirm the target path in Lisa (e.g., typescript/copy-overwrite/.github/workflows/ci.yml)
2. Use the Write tool to copy the project’s version to Lisa
3. Report success

Example prompt:

I found X files that have drifted from Lisa's templates.

Which files would you like to copy back to Lisa?
1. .github/workflows/ci.yml - [brief description of changes]
2. .claude/settings.json - [brief description of changes]
3. All of the above
4. None - just show me the report

Select an option (or list specific numbers):

Important Notes

• Never auto-upstream without confirmation – always ask the user first
• Preserve the most specific type directory – if a file exists in both typescript/ and all/, upstream to where it currently exists
• Handle binary files gracefully – skip comparison for non-text files
• Respect .gitignore patterns – some generated files shouldn’t be compared
• For copy-contents files like .gitignore, the comparison is trickier since the project may have additional lines – highlight only if Lisa’s required lines are missing

Example Usage

User: /lisa-review-implementation

Claude: I'll review your project's Lisa-managed files against the Lisa source templates.

[Locates Lisa directory]
[Reads manifest]
[Compares files]
[Generates report]

# Lisa Implementation Review

**Project:** my-awesome-app
**Lisa Source:** /Users/dev/lisa
**Generated:** 2026-01-18 10:30:00

## Summary

- **Total managed files:** 45
- **In sync:** 42
- **Drifted:** 3
- **Source not found:** 0

## Drifted Files

### .github/workflows/ci.yml

**Source:** typescript/copy-overwrite/.github/workflows/ci.yml
**Strategy:** copy-overwrite

[diff details]

**Recommendation:** This adds a new caching step that improves CI performance. Good candidate for upstreaming.

---

I found 3 files that have drifted. Would you like to upstream any of these changes back to Lisa?