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outerlayer context emit

Compile .outerlayer/ into each configured target’s native files.
Targets come from targets in .outerlayer/config.json: claude-code, cursor, codex, copilot, factory. There is no --target flag. Bare outerlayer emit with no name still runs this, with a deprecation line. A maintained skill (emitting-evidence, amend, reporting-findings, outerlayer) whose directory exists is rewritten to the installed CLI’s copy. --check reports one that differs as drift. Template skills (spec, writing-specs, build) are never rewritten or reported.
--check reports missing files and changed content for every output. It reports an orphaned output only when the file carries the generated-by header. .mcp.json and .cursor/mcp.json are JSON and carry no header, so they are never reported as orphaned. Exit codes: 0 on success. 1 on drift under --check. 1 when .outerlayer/config.json is missing or has no targets; the message shows the fix, such as {"targets": ["claude-code"]}. See also: Agent context, The .outerlayer directory.

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outerlayer context materialize

Fetch this repository’s agent instructions from its context source and write them into the working tree: AGENTS.md, .claude/ and .outerlayer/.
The session-start hook runs this in a governed repository. Run it by hand to retry, or to check before a session. It refuses, writing nothing, while the repository still commits its own AGENTS.md, .claude/ or .outerlayer/.
Exit codes: 0 when it wrote the context, it was already current, or the repository is its own source. 1 in these cases, and the message says which:
  • Outside a git repository.
  • On that refusal.
  • When the source cannot be reached or read.
  • When the repository is governed but its control plane cannot be identified, for example because the gateway refused the credential.
  • When the control plane no longer governs the repository.
See also: Share instructions across repositories.

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outerlayer import ruler

Port a .ruler/ tree into the equivalent .outerlayer/ tree.
It never overwrites an existing .outerlayer/. A conflict in any directory stops the whole import before anything is written.
Exit codes: 0, including when no .ruler/ exists. 1 when the directory does not exist or an .outerlayer/ is already there.

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outerlayer import capture

Install the maintained skills into .outerlayer/skills/: emitting-evidence, amend, reporting-findings and outerlayer.
When .outerlayer/AGENTS.md exists, a snippet about emit artifact is appended to it. It is never created. A skill that differs from the installed CLI’s copy is rewritten, and the output names the file, so local edits to maintained skills do not last.
Exit codes: 0, or 1 when --dir does not exist or is not a directory.

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outerlayer mcp install

Write or update the outerlayer MCP server entry. It writes the entry to .outerlayer/mcp.json when that file exists, else .mcp.json. It never writes an API key.
Exit codes: 0 when written or already current. 1 when --transport is not stdio or http, or --dir does not exist. 1 with --transport http and no gateway: pass --url or run outerlayer login. 1 when .mcp.json is not valid JSON, its top level is not an object, or its mcpServers is not an object: fix or remove the file, then rerun. See also: Use the MCP server.

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outerlayer mcp serve

Run a stdio MCP server that bridges to the gateway. The stdio .mcp.json entry runs this.
It reads a factory key, or your login, at start-up. See Credential resolution. It exits 1 before reading any input when it cannot connect. The MCP client shows the message as the connect error: See also: Use the MCP server.