csaw 0.2.3

Mount, not install. AI workspace configuration from git-backed registries.

csaw

Mount, not install. Your AI workspace — symlinked from registries, reversible, inspectable.

Works with: Claude Code · OpenCode · Codex · Cursor · Windsurf · Gemini CLI

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csaw manages agent instructions, skills, and configs from git-backed registries — symlinked into your projects, mounted into tool-native directories, and removed without a trace.

csaw mount                        # pick a profile interactively
csaw mount --profile team/backend # or specify directly
csaw inspect                      # see everything that's active
csaw unmount                      # clean removal, no trace

Why csaw?

Your AI coding tools (Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, Cursor) need configuration files — AGENTS.md, skills, rules. Today you copy them between projects, they drift, and switching between setups means manually swapping files.

csaw mounts these files from a central registry using symlinks. When you're done, unmount. When you switch tasks, switch profiles. Your project's git history stays clean.

	Copy & paste	csaw
Install	Copy files into repo	Symlink from registry
Update	Re-copy, hope nothing drifted	Pull registry, links update live
Undo	Delete files, hope you got them all	csaw unmount — originals restored
Switch	Manual file swapping	csaw mount --profile frontend
Git	Config files in your history	Hidden from git automatically
Tools	Manually place in each tool's dir	Auto-detected, auto-mounted

Install

# Recommended (any platform)
uv tool install csaw

# macOS / Linux
brew install --cask csaw-ai/tap/csaw

# Windows
scoop bucket add csaw-ai https://github.com/csaw-ai/scoop-bucket
scoop install csaw

macOS note (Homebrew): If you see "Apple could not verify", run:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine "$(which csaw)"

This is normal for unsigned CLI tools distributed via Homebrew casks.

Other install methods

# pipx
pipx install csaw

# Go from source (requires Go 1.22+)
go install github.com/csaw-ai/csaw/cmd/csaw@latest

Quick Start

1. Create or add a source

A source is any git repo (or local directory) containing agent files and skills.

# Add a team registry (auto-clones)
csaw source add team [e-mail]:your-org/ai-config.git

# Or create your own
csaw init ~/my-ai-config
csaw source add personal ~/my-ai-config --priority 10

2. Mount a profile

Profiles are named sets of files defined in a csaw.yml in the source:

# csaw.yml
backend:
  include:
    - agents/base.md
    - agents/go.md
    - skills/code-review/**
    - skills/testing/**

frontend:
  extends: backend
  include:
    - agents/react.md
    - skills/react-patterns/**

Mount one:

csaw mount --profile team/backend

Or just run csaw mount — you'll get an interactive picker showing all available profiles with descriptions.

3. Inspect what's active

csaw inspect

csaw inspect

  project:       /home/you/api-server
  csaw home:     /home/you/.csaw
  sources:       1
  mounted:       12

Sources
  team (remote) → /home/you/.csaw/sources/team

Mounted files

  team
    ✔ .claude/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
    ✔ .claude/skills/testing/SKILL.md
    ✔ .agents/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
    ✔ .agents/skills/testing/SKILL.md
    ✔ AGENTS.md
    ✔ agents/base.md
    ✔ agents/go.md
    ...

4. Work normally

Open your AI tool. Skills are mounted into tool-native directories (.claude/skills/, .opencode/skills/, .agents/skills/) where they're automatically discovered. AGENTS.md is at your project root.

5. Clean up

csaw unmount           # remove everything, restore originals
csaw mount --restore   # re-mount what was there before

How It Works

csaw uses symlinks, not file copies. Your registry is the source of truth:

your-project/
  .claude/skills/code-review/SKILL.md  →  ~/.csaw/sources/team/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
  .agents/skills/code-review/SKILL.md  →  ~/.csaw/sources/team/skills/code-review/SKILL.md
  AGENTS.md                            →  ~/.csaw/sources/team/AGENTS.md

• Skills mount into tool-native directories (.claude/skills/, .opencode/skills/, .agents/skills/). These are typically gitignored, so git stays clean.
• AGENTS.md and other non-skill files mount at the project root, with entries in .git/info/exclude to keep them out of git status.
• csaw checks .gitignore first — if a path is already covered, no extra exclude is needed.

Git visibility

By default, mounted files are hidden from git. To make a file visible:

csaw show AGENTS.md    # remove from git exclude → visible to git
csaw hide AGENTS.md    # add back → hidden from git

Commands

Command	What it does
csaw init [dir]	Scaffold a new registry with csaw.yml, agents/, skills/.
csaw mount [patterns]	Mount files. Replaces any previous mount. Interactive picker if no args.
csaw mount --profile name	Mount a named profile.
csaw mount --restore	Re-mount the previous selection.
csaw unmount [patterns]	Remove mounted files, restore originals.
csaw inspect	Show full state: sources, mounted files, health.
csaw inspect --source name	Browse a source's contents.
csaw check	Detect broken or drifted symlinks.
csaw update	Repair drifted links.
csaw diff path	Show diff between mounted file and its source.
csaw pull [source]	Pull latest from remote sources.
csaw push [source] -m "msg"	Commit and push source changes.
csaw pin source@ref	Pin a source to a branch or tag for this project.
csaw unpin source	Unpin, return to default branch.
csaw fork source/path	Copy a file into another source for personal editing.
csaw show path	Make a mounted file visible to git.
csaw hide path	Hide a mounted file from git.
csaw source add name url	Add a source (auto-clones remote).
csaw source remove name	Remove a source.
csaw source clone name dir	Clone a remote source locally for contributing.
csaw source list	List configured sources.
csaw status	Show mounted files, sources, stashed originals.
csaw version	Print version.

Flags

Flag	Commands	What it does
--profile name	mount	Use a named profile for file selection.
--exclude glob	mount	Exclude files matching a pattern.
--include-ignored	mount	Include files hidden by .csawignore.
--force	mount	Overwrite conflicts, stash originals.
--skip-conflicts	mount	Skip files that conflict.
--restore	mount	Re-mount the previous selection.
--keep	mount	Keep existing mounts instead of replacing them.
--tools list	mount	Target tools (e.g., --tools claude,cursor).
--source name	inspect	Show details for a specific source.
--into source	fork	Target source to fork into.
--name name	init	Registry name (defaults to directory name).
--priority n	source add	Source priority (higher wins on conflict).

Profiles

Profiles live in csaw.yml at the root of any source. They support glob patterns and inheritance:

base:
  description: Shared foundation for all profiles
  include:
    - AGENTS.md
    - skills/code-review/**

backend:
  description: Go backend development
  extends: base
  include:
    - agents/go.md
    - skills/go-patterns/**
    - skills/testing/**

security:
  extends: base
  include:
    - skills/security-review/**
  exclude:
    - skills/testing/**

Profiles from different sources can reference each other: extends: team/base.

Registry Structure

A csaw source is just a directory (usually a git repo) with agent files and an optional csaw.yml:

my-ai-config/
  csaw.yml              # profiles (optional)
  .csawignore           # files hidden from default mounts (optional)
  AGENTS.md             # root agent instructions
  agents/
    base.md
    go.md
    react.md
  skills/
    code-review/
      SKILL.md
    testing/
      SKILL.md
    go-patterns/
      SKILL.md

Every file is standard markdown — usable without csaw.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for workflow, validation, and repo standards.

License

MIT