Register External Library

Add an external knowledge base to the user-scope global registry so it can be activated in any project's .sdlc/libraries.json.

Arguments

• <name> — a short handle used in attribution output. Lowercase-kebab-case recommended (e.g., corporate-semiconductor, corp-healthcare). Must be unique within ~/.sdlc/global-libraries.json.
• <absolute-path-to-library-dir> — the absolute path to the library directory (the one containing _shelf-index.md), not the repo root. Must exist at registration time.
• [description] — optional human note for the user's own reference. Not used by any system behaviour.

Preflight

• Verify the registry file's parent directory exists. Create ~/.sdlc/ if missing.
• If ~/.sdlc/global-libraries.json exists, load and validate it.
• Validate <name> matches ^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$ (lowercase letters, digits, hyphens; must start with a letter). If not, error with: "Library handle must match ^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$ — found ''. Choose a different name."
• If the chosen <name> is already registered, error out with the existing entry's path shown; recommend a different name or manual JSON edit.

Steps

1. Validate the target library path

Run the path validator:

python3 -c "
import sys, os, importlib.util
PLUGIN_ROOT = os.environ.get('CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT', '')
SCRIPTS = os.path.join(PLUGIN_ROOT, 'scripts')
INIT = os.path.join(SCRIPTS, '__init__.py')
if os.path.isfile(INIT) and 'sdlc_knowledge_base_scripts' not in sys.modules:
    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
        'sdlc_knowledge_base_scripts',
        INIT,
        submodule_search_locations=[SCRIPTS],
    )
    if spec and spec.loader:
        module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
        sys.modules['sdlc_knowledge_base_scripts'] = module
        spec.loader.exec_module(module)
from pathlib import Path
from sdlc_knowledge_base_scripts.registry import validate_library_path
ok, reason = validate_library_path(Path('<path>'))
if not ok:
    print(f'ERROR: {reason}')
    exit(1)
print('OK')
"

If the validator returns an error, surface the exact reason string to the user and stop. Common reasons:

• "path 'X' must be absolute" — relative path; correct it
• "path 'X' does not exist" — directory doesn't exist; create it or correct path
• "path 'X' has no _shelf-index.md" — run /sdlc-knowledge-base:kb-rebuild-indexes in that library first
• "path 'X' resolves to '...' which contains denylisted fragment '...'" — refuse to register; user should pick a different path

2. Load or initialise the registry

If ~/.sdlc/global-libraries.json does not exist, initialise with:

{"version": 1, "libraries": []}

Otherwise load the existing file. If parsing fails, do not overwrite — error and recommend manual repair.

3. Add the new entry

Append to libraries:

{
  "name": "<name>",
  "type": "filesystem",
  "path": "<absolute-path>",
  "description": "<description or omitted>"
}

4. Write the registry atomically

Write to a temp file and rename to avoid partial writes.

5. Report success

Print a confirmation:

Registered '<name>' → <path>
format_version: <N>
Description: <description or "none">

To activate in a project, add to .sdlc/libraries.json:
  {"version": 1, "activated_sources": ["<name>"]}

What this skill does NOT do

• It does not install, copy, or symlink the library — it only records a pointer.
• It does not activate the library in any project — that's a separate manual step.
• It does not validate shelf-index content quality — only that the file exists.
• It does not support type: remote-agent — that's phase D (future EPIC).

Examples

Register a corporate library:

/sdlc-knowledge-base:kb-register-library corporate-semiconductor /Users/steve/corp/semi/library "Semiconductor engagement findings 2024-2026"

Register with no description:

/sdlc-knowledge-base:kb-register-library corp-health /Users/steve/corp/health/library

Errors

• Path does not exist — correct the path argument or create the directory first
• No shelf-index at path — run /sdlc-knowledge-base:kb-rebuild-indexes in that library
• Name already registered — choose a different name, or manually edit ~/.sdlc/global-libraries.json
• Registry file malformed — manual repair required; the skill will not overwrite a file it cannot parse