bmad-module-skill-forge 2.1.0 → 3.0.0

package/src/shared/scripts/skf-skill-inventory.py

@@ -1,32 +1,223 @@
 # /// script
-# requires-python = ">=3.10"
+# requires-python = ">=3.11"
 # dependencies = []
 # ///
 """SKF Skill Inventory — Scan skills directory and produce structured inventory.
 
 Scans the skills output folder, reads manifests and metadata, resolves active
-versions via symlinks, and outputs a JSON inventory. Reused by 9+ skills.
+versions via symlinks, and outputs a JSON inventory. Read by drop-skill and
+rename-skill (roster, the ownership of each skill folder and its forge
+folder, the purge and rename verdicts, and the guarded delete),
+create-skill, quick-skill and create-stack-skill (the write check before a
+version is written), analyze-source (coexistence matches and the name of
+every unit and brief), the flat-layout
+fallback of update-skill, export-skill, audit-skill and test-skill (the
+ownership gate before a flat skill is migrated), and test-skill's report
+(the discovery catalog).
 
-CLI: python3 skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder>
-     python3 skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name>
-     python3 skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --manifest-only
-     python3 skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --match-target <url-or-name>
+CLI: uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --manifest-only
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --match-target <url-or-name>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --near <name>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py derive-name --target <url-or-path> [--manifest-name <name>]
+         [--skills-folder <skills-output-folder>] [--probe-git]
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py derive-name --from <names.json|-> [--skills-folder <folder>]
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --forge-data-folder <path>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> --write-check
+         [--write-version <version>] [--forge-data-folder <path>]
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> --purge-check
+         [--purge-version <version>] --forge-data-folder <path>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> --rename-check
+         --forge-data-folder <path>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py guarded-delete --root <folder> [--root <folder>] [<path>...]
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py resolve <skills-output-folder> --skill <name>
+         --forge-data-folder <path> [--version <version>]
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version normalize <version>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version order <a> <b>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version next-patch <version>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version bump --prior <version>
+         --prior-libraries <a,b> --libraries <a,c>
+     uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version primary <candidates.json|->
+
+Exit 0 when `status` is "ok" (a write, purge or rename check exits 0
+whatever its verdict, and a guarded delete whatever its `purge_status`);
+exit 1 on an error (`DIR_NOT_FOUND`, `SKILL_NOT_FOUND` for `--skill` or
+`resolve`, `USAGE` for a flag used wrongly, two check flags in one call,
+`--forge-data-folder` without a value or missing from a purge or rename
+check, for `version`: `NOT_A_VERSION`, `NOT_INCREASING` or `BAD_INPUT`,
+and for `derive-name`: `BAD_INPUT`, or `NO_NAME` for one --target).
+
+Ownership. The skills folder can hold skills SKF did not generate (a module's
+own skills, skills installed from elsewhere). Only a `metadata.json` carrying
+an SKF marker (`generated_by` naming an SKF generator, `tool_versions.skf`, or
+`skill_type` with `forge_tier` or `confidence_tier`) proves that SKF generated
+a skill, at the group root (flat layout) or at `{v}/{name}/metadata.json`
+(versioned layout). The versioned layout, an `active` link, a manifest key or
+a result file are not proof on their own. Each `skills[]` entry adds:
+
+- `ownership`: "skf" (SKF evidence and nothing else), "mixed" (SKF evidence
+  plus entries SKF did not generate) or "foreign" (no SKF evidence). Evidence
+  is a marked version, a marked root `metadata.json`, the `_batch` folder, or
+  `.skf-` in the folder name (`_has_skf_evidence`, which the ccc helper
+  shares, so setup's ccc exclusions cover exactly these groups). A linked
+  folder is always "foreign", and a linked version folder, or a linked
+  package inside one, is never SKF output.
+- `skf_skill`: a marked version, or a flat skill with a marked root.
+- `flat_skf`: a root `SKILL.md` beside a marked root `metadata.json`; the
+  only flat layout a workflow may migrate.
+- `foreign_entries`: the entries SKF did not generate, sorted; directories
+  end in `/`, a linked entry is listed by its bare name, and an entry inside
+  a marked version folder `v` is listed as `v/<entry>` (SKF puts only the
+  `{name}/` package and `.skf-` staging names there). A folder that holds no
+  file (only neutral clutter, `.skf-` names or folders like itself) is never
+  foreign: an interrupted SKF run leaves one before it writes metadata.json.
+
+The existing `errors` list also names a linked folder (never checked for a
+marker), a folder in the skill folder that SKF cannot list or search (listed
+as foreign) and a `metadata.json` that cannot be read. The top-level `not_skf_output` lists the scanned names (never `_batch` or a `.skf-` name) whose `skf_skill` is
+false that still look like a skill (a root `SKILL.md` or a `{v}/{name}/`
+folder). `versions`, `active_version` and `active_path` keep their structural
+meaning for every entry, except that the package folders of a flat SKF skill
+(`references/{name}/`, for example) are never read as versions.
+
+Forge folders. With `--forge-data-folder`, the top-level `forge_groups[]`
+classifies `{forge_data_folder}/{name}` for every scanned name (`name`,
+`path`, `ownership`, `foreign_entries`, `errors`; see `classify_forge_group`),
+and `same_folder` says whether both settings name one folder. When they do,
+`forge_groups` is empty and each skill folder is classified once, accepting
+SKF's forge files too. The path given is echoed as `forge_data_folder`.
+
+Write check. `--skill <name> --write-check [--write-version <v>]` returns
+`write_check` (see `write_check`); the writers run it before creating any
+directory. Its `version_generated_by` and `version_confidence_tier` name the
+build already at that version, so quick-skill can ask before it replaces
+another generator's package.
+
+Purge and rename checks. `--skill <name> --purge-check [--purge-version
+<v>]` returns `purge_check` (see `purge_check`): whether drop-skill may
+purge the whole skill or one version, the rule that refused it, and the
+folders the purge deletes and leaves in place. `--skill <name>
+--rename-check` returns `rename_check` (see `rename_check`): whether
+rename-skill may move the skill, and whether its forge folder moves with
+it. Both need `--forge-data-folder` and apply the same version rule as the
+write check (`0.1.0-rc/` is never version `0.1.0`).
+
+Guarded delete. `guarded-delete --root <folder>... [<path>...]` deletes
+each path that is a plain folder inside a root, reached through no link,
+and reports each outcome and a `purge_status` (see `guarded_delete`); with
+no path it deletes nothing and reports "success". drop-skill's purge and
+rename-skill's delete of the old folders go through it, with the skills
+and forge folders as roots.
+
+Resolve. `resolve` returns `resolve` (see `resolve_skill`) for one skill:
+the manifest's `active_version`, the `active` link's target, the version a
+reading workflow uses and why (the Manifest-lag guard of
+knowledge/version-paths.md, with each version's provenance `generated_at`),
+`forge_version`, the metadata.json, provenance-map.json and
+evidence-report.md paths (versioned first, flat as the fallback), and every
+version newest first with its manifest status and the counts drop-skill and
+rename-skill read. `--version` names the version instead (an operator's
+choice). It reads, never writes, and does not decide ownership.
+
+Version. `version` turns version strings into one answer: `normalize`
+reduces a version or range to one folder name (`^18.2.0` gives `18.2.0`,
+build metadata stripped), `order` compares two (`1.10.0` above `1.9.0`),
+`next-patch` gives the next patch version, `bump` the compose-mode stack
+version after a prior one (major when a library was removed, else minor,
+refused when not above it), and `primary` the code-mode primary library of
+a stack and the version it gives, ties broken by a fixed rule.
+
+Skill names. `derive_name` is the one rule for the name analyze-source
+writes a unit or a brief under, and the name `--match-target` compares, so
+a coexistence check never looks for a name the brief does not get. With a
+manifest name (the name the unit's own manifest gives its package, as
+skf-scan-manifests.py reads it) of a package that is not private, the name
+comes from the manifest: an npm scope joins the name (`@trpc/server` gives
+`trpc-server`), a Go module path gives its last segment less a `/vN`
+major-version suffix (`github.com/spf13/cobra` gives `cobra`), a Maven
+`groupId:artifactId` its artifact, and any other name is kebab-cased
+(`PyYAML` gives `pyyaml`, `serde_json` gives `serde-json`). A private
+manifest (a monorepo's workspace root, an internal app) names nothing.
+Without a manifest name, a merged unit (a composite, a merged monorepo)
+takes the name its members' manifest names share (`@aws-sdk/client-s3`
+and `@aws-sdk/core` give `aws-sdk`; Maven members of one group the
+group's last segment). Else a documentation URL (an http(s) URL whose
+host is not github.com, gitlab.com or bitbucket.org and that is not a git
+clone URL, one whose path ends in `.git` or holds `/_git/`) gives its host
+(`https://docs.example.com/guide` gives `docs-example-com`), and any other
+target its last folder or repository name (`https://github.com/vercel/next.js`
+gives `next-js`, `C:\\code\\mono` gives `mono`, and `.` the current
+folder's name).
+
+`derive-name --target <t> [--manifest-name <n>]` returns `name` and
+`basis` ("manifest", "docs-host" or "target"), and exits 1 with `NO_NAME`
+when no name can be derived. It also returns the target's `kind` and
+`clone_url` (see `target_kind` and `clone_url`), so analyze-source routes
+and clones a target by one rule on its `[auto]` path and its step-by-step
+chain: `kind` is "local" for a path that starts with `/`, `./`, `../` or
+`~` (or a Windows drive or `.\\`) or names an existing folder, "docs" for a
+documentation URL and "remote" for anything else, and `clone_url` the URL
+git clones a remote target from (null for the other kinds): a URL with a
+scheme or an SSH address as given, `https://<path>` for a host path
+without a scheme (`github.com/acme/mono`) and `https://github.com/<path>`
+for the `owner/repo` shorthand. Both are null without a --target.
+`--probe-git` adds git's verdict on a "docs" target as `git_probe` (see
+`probe_git`): "repository" when git reads a repository at the URL (on most
+hosts a repository's main page, such as a self-hosted GitLab, Gitea or
+Codeberg page), "credentials" when the server asks git for credentials (a
+private repository, or any page behind a login), "unanswered" when git
+gives no answer in time, "no-git" when git is missing, else "docs". It also
+adds `halt_message`, the message analyze-source stops with on
+"repository", "credentials" and "unanswered" (see `git_probe_halt`), else
+null. Both are null for the other kinds, which it does not probe. The name,
+`kind` and `clone_url` never depend on them, so the name stays the one
+coexistence matching compares offline.
+`derive-name --from <file|->` takes a JSON
+array of {"target", "manifest_name", "private", "members"} (all optional)
+and returns `names[]`, each entry's `target` and `manifest_name` with its
+`name` (null when none can be derived) and `basis` ("members" too). Entries
+that derive one name are told apart by the folders above their targets
+(`src/server/api` and `src/client/api` give `server-api` and `client-api`),
+the shared name kept in `clash`; `unnamed` lists the entries with no name
+and `duplicates` the index groups still sharing one. With
+`--skills-folder` each name also carries `existing`: the skill of that
+name in the folder, in the `matches[]` entry shape below (`match_reason`
+"name"), or null.
+
+Near names. `--near <name>` adds a top-level `near[]`: every skill SKF
+generated that has a SKILL.md (`skf_skill` and `has_skill_md`), as
+{name, active_version, close}, the closest to the name first. test-skill
+shows it when the name it was given resolves to no version, instead of
+sending the user to create a skill that may already exist. A name is
+`close` when one name holds the other (case-insensitive) or difflib's
+similarity ratio of the lower-cased names reaches 0.6 (the cutoff of
+difflib.get_close_matches); the close names come first, then each group by
+ratio, highest first, then by name.
 
 The --match-target mode deterministically computes coexistence matches: it
-normalizes scheme / trailing .git / trailing slash, derives the expected kebab
-skill name, compares case-insensitively, and emits a top-level `matches[]`
-array. This replaces the equivalent normalize/derive/compare that a consuming
-prompt would otherwise perform by hand (identical (target, inventory) always
-yields the same match set).
+normalizes scheme / trailing .git / trailing slash, derives the expected
+skill name (`derive_name`), compares case-insensitively, and emits a
+top-level `matches[]` array (each match carries the skill's `skf_skill`)
+and the name it compared, `match_name`. This replaces the equivalent
+normalize/derive/compare that a consuming prompt would otherwise perform
+by hand (identical (target, inventory) always yields the same match set).
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import difflib
 import json
 import os
 import re
+import shutil
+import stat
+import subprocess
 import sys
+import tempfile
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urlsplit, urlunsplit
 
 
 def read_json_file(path):
@@ -38,6 +229,486 @@ def read_json_file(path):
         return None, f"Not found: {path}"
     except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
         return None, f"JSON parse error in {path}: {e}"
+    except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+        # A directory named like the file, a permission error, or bytes that
+        # are not UTF-8: report it instead of crashing the whole scan.
+        return None, f"Cannot read {path}: {e}"
+
+
+# Keep identical to RESULT_JSON_RE in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+RESULT_JSON_RE = re.compile(r"^([a-z0-9][a-z0-9-]*)-result(-latest|-\d[^/]*)?\.json$")
+# Keep identical to SKF_GENERATORS in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# and skf-enumerate-stack-skills.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+SKF_GENERATORS = frozenset({"quick-skill", "create-skill", "create-stack-skill"})
+# The flat package a migration moves into {v}/{name}/ (knowledge/version-paths.md).
+FLAT_PACKAGE_ENTRIES = frozenset({"SKILL.md", "metadata.json", "context-snippet.md",
+                                  "references", "scripts", "assets"})
+# OS and VCS clutter that never decides who owns a skill folder.
+NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES = frozenset({".DS_Store", ".gitkeep", ".gitignore", ".gitattributes",
+                                   "Thumbs.db", "desktop.ini"})
+
+
+# Keep identical to _has_skf_metadata in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# and skf-enumerate-stack-skills.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _has_skf_metadata(path: Path) -> bool:
+    """True when a flat skill's metadata.json carries an SKF marker."""
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return False
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        return False
+    generated_by = data.get("generated_by")
+    if isinstance(generated_by, str) and generated_by in SKF_GENERATORS:
+        return True
+    tool_versions = data.get("tool_versions")
+    if isinstance(tool_versions, dict) and "skf" in tool_versions:
+        return True
+    return (data.get("skill_type") in ("single", "individual", "stack")
+            and ("forge_tier" in data or "confidence_tier" in data))
+
+
+# Keep identical to _is_link_or_junction in skf-atomic-write.py, skf-enumerate-stack-skills.py,
+# skf-validate-rename-name.py, skf-source-tree.py and skf-tessl-review.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _is_link_or_junction(p: Path) -> bool:
+    """True for POSIX symlinks AND Windows junctions/symlinks.
+
+    `Path.is_symlink()` is False for Windows junctions; os.readlink succeeds
+    for both symlinks and junctions (since CPython 3.8 on Windows). A regular
+    directory raises OSError on readlink, which is the signal we want to
+    refuse replacement. On Windows, any other reparse point (a cloud-sync
+    placeholder, a deduplicated file, an app execution alias) raises
+    ValueError: it does not redirect to another path, so it is not a link.
+    """
+    if p.is_symlink():
+        return True
+    if not p.exists() and not p.is_symlink():
+        return False
+    try:
+        os.readlink(p)
+        return True
+    except (OSError, ValueError):
+        return False
+
+
+def _is_active_pointer(name):
+    """True for the `active` link name and the flip helper's `active.skf-*` names."""
+    return name == "active" or name.startswith("active.skf-")
+
+
+# Keep identical to _is_marked_version in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# and skf-enumerate-stack-skills.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _is_marked_version(version_dir: Path, name: str) -> bool:
+    """True when `version_dir/name/metadata.json` carries an SKF marker.
+
+    SKF never links a version folder or the package inside one: a linked
+    one is not its output, whatever the metadata behind the link says.
+    """
+    package = version_dir / name
+    return (not _is_link_or_junction(version_dir) and not _is_link_or_junction(package)
+            and _has_skf_metadata(package / "metadata.json"))
+
+
+# Keep identical to _has_skf_evidence in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _has_skf_evidence(group_dir: Path, name: str) -> bool:
+    """True when skill group `group_dir` holds evidence that SKF generated it.
+
+    Evidence is the `_batch` name, `.skf-` in the name, a marked root
+    `metadata.json`, or a marked version folder (`.skf-` staging folders
+    aside). The versioned layout, an `active` link, a manifest key or a
+    result file are not evidence on their own, and a linked group holds none.
+    """
+    if _is_link_or_junction(group_dir):
+        return False
+    if name == "_batch" or ".skf-" in name:
+        return True
+    if _has_skf_metadata(group_dir / "metadata.json"):
+        return True
+    try:
+        children = list(group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+    return any(".skf-" not in child.name and child.is_dir() and _is_marked_version(child, name)
+               for child in children)
+
+
+# Keep identical to FORGE_GROUP_DIRS in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+FORGE_GROUP_DIRS = frozenset({"_campaign", "improvement-queue"})
+# Keep identical to FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS = frozenset({"provenance-map.json", "evidence-report.md", "extraction-rules.yaml"})
+# The other names SKF writes into a forge version folder
+# (knowledge/version-paths.md, forge_data_folder tree), and
+# .manual-inventory.json, which update-skill kept there before it kept
+# that inventory beside its lock. A test-skill run writes its report as
+# .skf-test-report-{name}-{run_id}.md beside .test-skill.lock until the
+# report's checks pass: like every `.skf-` name it is SKF's, never foreign.
+# manual-backup/ holds the earlier SKILL.md that skf-promote-staged.py
+# --carry-manual keeps when a re-run's SKILL.md lacks one of its [MANUAL]
+# blocks; it is no `.skf-` name, which would read as an interrupted run's.
+FORGE_VERSION_FILES = FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS | frozenset({
+    "evidence-report-fallback.md", "extraction-snapshot.json", ".manual-inventory.json",
+    ".test-skill.lock", "manual-backup"})
+FORGE_REPORT_RE = re.compile(r"^(test-report|drift-report)(-.+)?\.md$")
+# test-skill's gap ledger, one per run (skf-test-skill scripts/gap-ledger.py).
+TEST_FINDINGS_RE = re.compile(r"^test-findings-.+\.json$")
+
+
+# Keep identical to _has_forge_evidence in skf-merge-ccc-exclusions.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _has_forge_evidence(group_dir: Path, name: str) -> bool:
+    """True when forge group `group_dir` holds evidence that SKF generated it.
+
+    Evidence is `.skf-` in the name, SKF's own `_campaign` or
+    `improvement-queue` folder, a skill brief (`skill-brief.yaml*` or
+    `.brief-draft.json`) or a `*-result*.json` file directly in the group, or
+    a provenance map, evidence report, extraction rules or `*-result*.json`
+    file directly in a folder of the group (`.skf-` staging folders aside).
+    A linked group, folder or file is never evidence.
+    """
+    if _is_link_or_junction(group_dir):
+        return False
+    if ".skf-" in name or name in FORGE_GROUP_DIRS:
+        return True
+    try:
+        children = list(group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+    for child in children:
+        entry = child.name
+        if _is_link_or_junction(child):
+            continue
+        if child.is_file():
+            if (entry.startswith("skill-brief.yaml") or entry == ".brief-draft.json"
+                    or RESULT_JSON_RE.match(entry)):
+                return True
+        elif child.is_dir() and ".skf-" not in entry:
+            try:
+                inner = list(child.iterdir())
+            except OSError:
+                continue
+            if any((f.name in FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS or RESULT_JSON_RE.match(f.name))
+                   and not _is_link_or_junction(f) and f.is_file() for f in inner):
+                return True
+    return False
+
+
+def _is_forge_version_name(entry):
+    """True for a name SKF writes into a forge version folder."""
+    return (entry in FORGE_VERSION_FILES or bool(FORGE_REPORT_RE.match(entry))
+            or bool(TEST_FINDINGS_RE.match(entry)) or bool(RESULT_JSON_RE.match(entry))
+            or entry.endswith("-tmp"))
+
+
+def _is_forge_root_name(entry, evidence):
+    """True for a file SKF writes directly into a forge group.
+
+    A brief or a result file always is. The legacy flat artifacts (a
+    provenance map, evidence report, extraction rules or test or drift
+    report, or a test-skill gap ledger, at the group root) count only beside
+    other evidence.
+    """
+    if (entry.startswith("skill-brief.yaml") or entry == ".brief-draft.json"
+            or RESULT_JSON_RE.match(entry)):
+        return True
+    return evidence and (entry in FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS or bool(FORGE_REPORT_RE.match(entry))
+                         or bool(TEST_FINDINGS_RE.match(entry)))
+
+
+def _holds_no_file(folder):
+    """True when `folder` holds no file: only neutral clutter, `.skf-` names
+    and folders that hold no file themselves (a link is content).
+
+    That is all an interrupted SKF run leaves before it writes a package's
+    metadata.json; deleting or writing into such a folder loses no file. A
+    folder SKF cannot list or search holds content too.
+    """
+    try:
+        children = list(folder.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if name in NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES or ".skf-" in name:
+            continue
+        try:
+            if _is_link_or_junction(child) or not child.is_dir() or not _holds_no_file(child):
+                return False
+        except OSError:  # a folder it cannot search: pathlib raises there before Python 3.14
+            return False
+    return True
+
+
+def _forge_folder_entries(folder, group_evidence, package=None):
+    """(verdict, entries SKF did not write as `v/<entry>`) for folder `v` of a forge group.
+
+    A folder is marked when it directly holds a provenance map, evidence
+    report, extraction rules or `*-result*.json` file. SKF's per-version
+    names count inside a marked folder or in a group with evidence, except
+    `package`: in a skills-side version folder (both settings name one
+    folder) the skill's own package is SKF output only when marked, even
+    when its name looks like a forge name such as `*-tmp`.
+    Verdicts: "skf", "mixed" (marked, plus other entries), "empty" (not
+    marked, nothing else) or "foreign".
+    """
+    v = folder.name
+    try:
+        children = sorted(folder.iterdir(), key=lambda p: p.name)
+    except OSError:
+        return "foreign", []
+    marked = any((c.name in FORGE_VERSION_ANCHORS or RESULT_JSON_RE.match(c.name))
+                 and not _is_link_or_junction(c) and c.is_file() for c in children)
+    skf_named = marked or group_evidence
+    inner = []
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if name in NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES or ".skf-" in name:
+            continue
+        if _is_link_or_junction(child):
+            inner.append(f"{v}/{name}")
+            continue
+        if skf_named and name != package and _is_forge_version_name(name):
+            continue
+        if child.is_dir() and _holds_no_file(child):
+            continue
+        inner.append(f"{v}/{name}/" if child.is_dir() else f"{v}/{name}")
+    if marked:
+        return ("mixed" if inner else "skf"), inner
+    return ("foreign" if inner else "empty"), inner
+
+
+def classify_forge_group(group_dir, skill_name):
+    """Decide whether SKF generated forge group `group_dir` ({forge_data_folder}/{name}).
+
+    Returns {name, path, ownership, foreign_entries, errors}. `ownership`:
+    "absent" (nothing at the path), "reserved" (SKF's own `_campaign` or
+    `improvement-queue` folder, never a skill's), "skf" (SKF evidence and
+    nothing else), "mixed" (evidence plus entries SKF did not write), "empty"
+    (no evidence and nothing SKF did not write) or "foreign" (no evidence
+    and entries SKF did not write; a link or a path that is not a folder,
+    even with a reserved name, with the reason in `errors`). Whether the
+    group holds SKF output at all is `_has_forge_evidence`, the rule the ccc
+    helper shares. A folder in the group is listed as `v/` when SKF wrote
+    nothing in it, and its entries as `v/<entry>` when it is marked; a
+    linked entry is listed by its bare name.
+    """
+    result = {"name": skill_name, "path": str(group_dir), "ownership": "absent",
+              "foreign_entries": [], "errors": []}
+    if not os.path.lexists(group_dir):
+        return result
+    result["ownership"] = "foreign"
+    if _is_link_or_junction(group_dir):
+        result["errors"].append(
+            f"forge folder is a link; SKF never moves or deletes through it: {group_dir}")
+        return result
+    if not group_dir.is_dir():
+        result["errors"].append(f"forge folder is not a folder: {group_dir}")
+        return result
+    if skill_name in FORGE_GROUP_DIRS:
+        result["ownership"] = "reserved"
+        return result
+    try:
+        children = sorted(group_dir.iterdir(), key=lambda p: p.name)
+    except OSError as e:
+        result["errors"].append(f"Cannot list {group_dir}: {e}")
+        return result
+    evidence = _has_forge_evidence(group_dir, skill_name)
+    foreign = []
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if name in NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES or ".skf-" in name:
+            continue
+        if _is_link_or_junction(child):
+            foreign.append(name)
+        elif child.is_dir():
+            verdict, inner = _forge_folder_entries(child, evidence)
+            if verdict == "mixed":
+                foreign.extend(inner)
+            elif verdict == "foreign":
+                foreign.append(name + "/")
+        elif not _is_forge_root_name(name, evidence):
+            foreign.append(name)
+    result["foreign_entries"] = sorted(foreign)
+    if evidence:
+        result["ownership"] = "mixed" if foreign else "skf"
+    else:
+        result["ownership"] = "foreign" if foreign else "empty"
+    return result
+
+
+def _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir):
+    """True when the skills and forge settings name one folder."""
+    if forge_dir is None:
+        return False
+    try:
+        if skills_dir.exists() and forge_dir.exists():
+            return os.path.samefile(skills_dir, forge_dir)
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+    return (os.path.normcase(os.path.abspath(skills_dir))
+            == os.path.normcase(os.path.abspath(forge_dir)))
+
+
+def _version_foreign_entries(version_dir, skill_name, errors, also_forge=False):
+    """The entries of a marked version folder SKF did not put there, as `v/<entry>`.
+
+    SKF writes only the `{name}/` package and `.skf-` staging names into a
+    version folder (and, with `also_forge`, its forge per-version files);
+    neutral clutter is ignored. Directories end in `/`, a linked entry is
+    listed by its bare name.
+    """
+    try:
+        children = sorted(version_dir.iterdir(), key=lambda p: p.name)
+    except OSError as e:
+        errors.append(f"Cannot list {version_dir}: {e}")
+        return [version_dir.name + "/"]
+    found = []
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if name == skill_name or name in NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES or ".skf-" in name:
+            continue
+        if also_forge and not _is_link_or_junction(child) and _is_forge_version_name(name):
+            continue
+        if _is_link_or_junction(child) or not child.is_dir():
+            found.append(f"{version_dir.name}/{name}")
+        else:
+            found.append(f"{version_dir.name}/{name}/")
+    return found
+
+
+def _read_error(folder, name):
+    """The OSError that keeps SKF from listing `folder` or searching it for `name`, else None.
+
+    os.listdir needs read permission on `folder` and os.lstat of `folder/name`
+    search permission. Both raise on every Python version, where pathlib's
+    is_dir and is_symlink return False inside a folder they cannot search
+    from Python 3.14 on and raise before it.
+    """
+    try:
+        os.listdir(folder)
+        os.lstat(os.path.join(folder, name))
+    except (FileNotFoundError, NotADirectoryError):
+        return None
+    except OSError as e:
+        return e
+    return None
+
+
+def classify_ownership(skill_group_dir, skill_name, also_forge=False):
+    """Decide whether SKF generated the skill group `skill_group_dir`.
+
+    Returns {ownership, skf_skill, flat_skf, foreign_entries, errors}.
+    Whether the group holds SKF output at all is `_has_skf_evidence`, the
+    rule the ccc helper shares. Only a marked metadata.json is proof there:
+    the versioned layout or an `active` link alone does not count, because a
+    module skill can sit in that layout (an earlier SKF migrated such skills
+    without asking), and a manifest key does not count because the folder on
+    disk may have changed since the export. A top-level entry of the group
+    is SKF output when it is a version folder `v` whose `v/{name}/metadata.json`
+    is marked (neither `v` nor `v/{name}` a link), an `active` or
+    `active.skf-*` link (or a real `active/` folder holding a marked
+    package), a name containing `.skf-`, a result file, or, beside a marked
+    root metadata.json, one of the flat package entries. Neutral clutter is
+    ignored; anything else is foreign. Inside a marked version folder,
+    anything but the `{name}/` package, a `.skf-` name or neutral clutter is
+    foreign too, listed as `v/<entry>`. Everything inside
+    `_batch` or a `.skf-` folder is SKF output. A folder that holds no file
+    (only neutral clutter, `.skf-` names or folders like itself) is never
+    foreign: an interrupted SKF run leaves one before it writes metadata.json.
+    With `also_forge` (both settings name one folder), SKF's forge files
+    count too, as ccc's kinds union does: a brief or result file at the
+    root, forge per-version files in a version folder, and forge evidence;
+    the skill's own `v/{name}/` package still counts only when marked.
+    A folder SKF cannot list or search is foreign, and `errors` names it.
+    """
+    result = {
+        "ownership": "foreign",
+        "skf_skill": False,
+        "flat_skf": False,
+        "foreign_entries": [],
+        "errors": [],
+    }
+    if _is_link_or_junction(skill_group_dir):
+        result["errors"].append(
+            f"skill folder is a link; SKF never moves or deletes through it: {skill_group_dir}"
+        )
+        return result
+    try:
+        children = sorted(skill_group_dir.iterdir(), key=lambda p: p.name)
+    except OSError as e:
+        result["errors"].append(f"Cannot list {skill_group_dir}: {e}")
+        return result
+    whole_group = skill_name == "_batch" or ".skf-" in skill_name
+    root_marker = _has_skf_metadata(skill_group_dir / "metadata.json")
+    try:
+        forge_evidence = also_forge and _has_forge_evidence(skill_group_dir, skill_name)
+    except OSError:  # a folder it cannot search; the loop below names it
+        forge_evidence = False
+    marked_version = False
+    foreign = []
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if name in NEUTRAL_GROUP_ENTRIES or whole_group:
+            continue
+        if _is_link_or_junction(child):
+            if not _is_active_pointer(name):
+                foreign.append(name)
+            continue
+        if child.is_dir():
+            error = _read_error(child, skill_name)
+            if error is not None:  # checked first: the checks below read inside it
+                result["errors"].append(f"Cannot read {child}: {error}")
+                foreign.append(name + "/")
+                continue
+        if ".skf-" in name or (child.is_file() and RESULT_JSON_RE.match(name)):
+            continue
+        if root_marker and name in FLAT_PACKAGE_ENTRIES:
+            continue  # checked first: references/{name}/ is not a version
+        is_dir = child.is_dir()
+        if also_forge and not is_dir and _is_forge_root_name(name, forge_evidence or root_marker):
+            continue
+        if is_dir and _is_marked_version(child, skill_name):
+            marked_version = True
+            foreign.extend(_version_foreign_entries(child, skill_name, result["errors"], also_forge))
+            continue
+        if is_dir and also_forge:
+            verdict, inner = _forge_folder_entries(child, forge_evidence, skill_name)
+            if verdict != "foreign":
+                foreign.extend(inner)
+                continue
+        if is_dir and _holds_no_file(child):
+            continue  # an interrupted run's staging or empty package folders
+        foreign.append(name + "/" if is_dir else name)
+    result["flat_skf"] = root_marker and (skill_group_dir / "SKILL.md").is_file()
+    result["skf_skill"] = marked_version or result["flat_skf"]
+    result["foreign_entries"] = sorted(foreign)
+    try:
+        evidence = _has_skf_evidence(skill_group_dir, skill_name)
+    except OSError:  # a folder it cannot search, named in `errors` above
+        evidence = marked_version or root_marker
+    if evidence or forge_evidence:
+        result["ownership"] = "mixed" if foreign else "skf"
+    return result
+
+
+# Keep identical to _looks_like_skill in skf-enumerate-stack-skills.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _looks_like_skill(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
+    """True when a group holds a root SKILL.md or a {v}/{name}/ folder."""
+    if (skill_group_dir / "SKILL.md").is_file():
+        return True
+    try:
+        return any(child.is_dir() and (child / skill_name).is_dir()
+                   for child in skill_group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return False
 
 
 def resolve_active_version(skill_group_dir):
@@ -47,13 +718,16 @@ def resolve_active_version(skill_group_dir):
     """
     active_link = skill_group_dir / "active"
     if active_link.is_symlink() or active_link.is_dir():
-        target = active_link.resolve()
+        try:
+            target = active_link.resolve()
+        except (OSError, RuntimeError):  # a link loop
+            return None, None
         if target.is_dir():
             return target.name, target
     return None, None
 
 
-def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
+def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name, also_forge=False):
     """Scan a single skill group directory and return its inventory entry."""
     entry = {
         "name": skill_name,
@@ -68,14 +742,30 @@ def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
         "errors": [],
     }
 
-    # Check for version directories (contain a skill-name subdirectory)
-    for child in sorted(skill_group_dir.iterdir()):
+    ownership = classify_ownership(skill_group_dir, skill_name, also_forge)
+    entry["errors"].extend(ownership.pop("errors"))
+    entry.update(ownership)
+
+    try:
+        children = sorted(skill_group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        children = []  # classify_ownership already reported it
+
+    # Check for version directories (contain a skill-name subdirectory). In a
+    # flat SKF skill the package's own folders are never versions, even when
+    # one holds a same-named subfolder such as references/{name}/. Inside a
+    # folder SKF cannot search, the os.path checks return False on every
+    # Python version (classify_ownership names that folder in `errors`).
+    package_dirs = FLAT_PACKAGE_ENTRIES if entry["flat_skf"] else frozenset()
+    for child in children:
+        if child.name in package_dirs:
+            continue
         if child.is_dir() and child.name != "active" and not child.name.startswith("."):
             # Check if this is a version dir (contains skill-name subdir or SKILL.md)
             skill_subdir = child / skill_name
-            if skill_subdir.is_dir():
+            if os.path.isdir(skill_subdir):
                 entry["versions"].append(child.name)
-            elif (child / "SKILL.md").exists():
+            elif os.path.exists(child / "SKILL.md"):
                 # Flat version dir without skill-name nesting
                 entry["versions"].append(child.name)
 
@@ -85,9 +775,9 @@ def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
         entry["active_version"] = active_ver
         # The active path points to the version dir; skill files are in version/skill-name/
         skill_pkg = active_path / skill_name
-        if skill_pkg.is_dir():
+        if os.path.isdir(skill_pkg):
             entry["active_path"] = str(skill_pkg)
-        elif (active_path / "SKILL.md").exists():
+        elif os.path.exists(active_path / "SKILL.md"):
             entry["active_path"] = str(active_path)
         else:
             entry["active_path"] = str(active_path)
@@ -101,14 +791,20 @@ def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
 
     # Load metadata from active path
     active_dir = Path(entry["active_path"]) if entry["active_path"] else None
-    if active_dir and active_dir.is_dir():
-        entry["has_skill_md"] = (active_dir / "SKILL.md").exists()
-        entry["has_provenance_map"] = (active_dir / "provenance-map.json").exists()
-        entry["has_context_snippet"] = (active_dir / "context-snippet.md").exists()
+    if active_dir and os.path.isdir(active_dir):
+        entry["has_skill_md"] = os.path.exists(active_dir / "SKILL.md")
+        entry["has_provenance_map"] = os.path.exists(active_dir / "provenance-map.json")
+        entry["has_context_snippet"] = os.path.exists(active_dir / "context-snippet.md")
 
         metadata_path = active_dir / "metadata.json"
         meta, meta_err = read_json_file(metadata_path)
-        if meta:
+        if meta_err:
+            if "Not found" not in meta_err:
+                entry["errors"].append(meta_err)
+        elif not isinstance(meta, dict):
+            entry["errors"].append(f"metadata.json is not a JSON object: {metadata_path}")
+        elif meta:
+            stats = meta.get("stats")
             entry["metadata"] = {
                 "version": meta.get("version"),
                 "language": meta.get("language"),
@@ -116,14 +812,990 @@ def scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
                 "source_repo": meta.get("source_repo"),
                 "generated_by": meta.get("generated_by"),
                 "confidence_tier": meta.get("confidence_tier"),
-                "exports_total": meta.get("stats", {}).get("exports_total"),
+                "exports_total": stats.get("exports_total") if isinstance(stats, dict) else None,
             }
-        elif meta_err and "Not found" not in meta_err:
-            entry["errors"].append(meta_err)
 
     return entry
 
 
+def _marked_active_version(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
+    """The version folder `active` names when SKF generated it, else None.
+
+    `active` counts only as a link to a folder directly in the group (not a
+    `.skf-` name, not a link) whose package is marked, or as a real `active/`
+    folder holding a marked package, reported as "active".
+    """
+    active = skill_group_dir / "active"
+    if _is_link_or_junction(active):
+        try:
+            target = active.resolve(strict=True)
+            group = skill_group_dir.resolve(strict=True)
+        except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+            return None
+        version = skill_group_dir / target.name
+        if (target.parent != group or ".skf-" in target.name or not target.is_dir()
+                or not _is_marked_version(version, skill_name)):
+            return None
+        return target.name
+    if active.is_dir() and _is_marked_version(active, skill_name):
+        return "active"
+    return None
+
+
+def write_check(skills_folder, skill_name, version=None, forge_folder=None):
+    """Decide whether a writer may add `{name}/{version}/{name}/` and flip `active`.
+
+    Returns {name, version, verdict, reason, folder, detail, foreign_entries,
+    marked_active_version, version_generated_by, version_confidence_tier}.
+    `verdict` is "ok", "not-skf-output" or "flat-layout" (the halt reason a
+    refusal uses); `reason` names the rule that decided (None for "ok").
+    Nothing at the skill folder is a new skill. A folder that holds only
+    what an interrupted SKF run leaves is written into; a mixed folder is
+    written into when the target version is new or SKF's own. `forge_folder`
+    only decides whether both settings name one folder, so SKF's forge files
+    there count as SKF output. On "ok", `version_generated_by` and
+    `version_confidence_tier` are the `generated_by` and `confidence_tier`
+    of the `{name}/{version}/{name}/metadata.json` the write would replace
+    (each None when that file, or the string, is absent), so a writer names
+    the build it would overwrite.
+    """
+    skills_dir = Path(skills_folder)
+    forge_dir = Path(forge_folder) if forge_folder else None
+    group = skills_dir / skill_name
+    out = {"name": skill_name, "version": version, "verdict": "ok", "reason": None,
+           "folder": str(group), "detail": None, "foreign_entries": [],
+           "marked_active_version": None, "version_generated_by": None,
+           "version_confidence_tier": None}
+
+    def refuse(verdict, reason, detail, folder=None):
+        out.update(verdict=verdict, reason=reason, detail=detail)
+        if folder is not None:
+            out["folder"] = str(folder)
+        return out
+
+    if skill_name == "_batch" or ".skf-" in skill_name or skill_name in FORGE_GROUP_DIRS:
+        reserved_at = (forge_dir / skill_name) if (forge_dir and skill_name in FORGE_GROUP_DIRS) else group
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "reserved-name",
+                      "is a name SKF keeps for its own files, never a skill's", reserved_at)
+    if not os.path.lexists(group):
+        return out
+    if _is_link_or_junction(group):
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "link", "is a link; SKF never writes through a link")
+    if not group.is_dir():
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "not-a-folder", "is not a folder")
+    own = classify_ownership(group, skill_name, _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir))
+    out["foreign_entries"] = own["foreign_entries"]
+    if own["errors"]:
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "unreadable", "; ".join(own["errors"]))
+    if own["flat_skf"] and not _marked_version_names(group, skill_name):
+        return refuse("flat-layout", "flat-layout", "still uses the flat layout")
+    if not own["skf_skill"] and own["foreign_entries"]:
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "not-skf-output",
+                      "has no SKF marker in any `metadata.json` and holds entries SKF did not "
+                      "generate: " + ", ".join(own["foreign_entries"]))
+    if version is not None:
+        listed = _version_entries(own["foreign_entries"], version)
+        if listed:
+            return refuse("not-skf-output", "version",
+                          "is not a version SKF generated, or holds entries SKF did not "
+                          "generate: " + ", ".join(listed), group / version)
+    out["marked_active_version"] = _marked_active_version(group, skill_name)
+    if version is not None:
+        metadata, _ = read_json_file(group / version / skill_name / "metadata.json")
+        if isinstance(metadata, dict):
+            for key, field in (("version_generated_by", "generated_by"),
+                               ("version_confidence_tier", "confidence_tier")):
+                value = metadata.get(field)
+                out[key] = value if isinstance(value, str) and value else None
+    return out
+
+
+def _version_entries(entries, version):
+    """The `foreign_entries` that are version folder `version` or inside it.
+
+    A linked version folder is listed by its bare name (`v`), one SKF did not
+    generate as `v/` and an entry SKF did not put in a marked one as
+    `v/<entry>`. A prefix of another version is not that version: `0.1.0-rc/`
+    is never version `0.1.0`.
+    """
+    return [e for e in entries if e == version or e == version + "/" or e.startswith(version + "/")]
+
+
+def _is_reserved_group(skill_name):
+    """True for SKF's own `_batch` folder and its `.skf-` staging names, never a skill."""
+    return skill_name == "_batch" or ".skf-" in skill_name
+
+
+def purge_check(skills_folder, skill_name, forge_folder, version=None):
+    """Decide whether drop-skill may purge `skill_name`, whole or one version.
+
+    Returns {name, version, scope, verdict, reason, folder, detail,
+    offending_entries, ownership, foreign_entries, errors, same_folder,
+    forge_ownership, forge_foreign_entries, forge_errors,
+    affected_directories, forge_left_in_place}. `verdict` is "ok" or
+    "not-skf-output". A purge deletes only what SKF generated, so `reason`
+    names the rule that refused it:
+
+    - "reserved-name": `_batch` or a `.skf-` name, SKF's own folders.
+    - "skill-foreign": the skill folder is not SKF output (no marker, a link,
+      not a folder, or a folder SKF cannot list; `detail` says which).
+    - "skill-mixed-whole": a whole-skill purge of a skill folder that also
+      holds entries SKF did not generate.
+    - "skill-version-not-skf": version folder `version` is a link or not SKF
+      output (`v` or `v/` in `foreign_entries`).
+    - "skill-version-mixed": version folder `version` holds entries SKF did
+      not put there (`v/<entry>`).
+    - "forge-mixed-whole" and "forge-version-mixed": the same two rules for
+      the skill's forge folder, when the two settings name different folders.
+
+    A forge folder SKF did not generate (`foreign`, a link or a path that is
+    not a folder), SKF's own `reserved` folder, and a forge version folder
+    listed as `v` or `v/` do not refuse the purge: the purge leaves them in
+    place and `forge_left_in_place` names the path. `affected_directories`
+    lists the folders a purge at this scope deletes, whatever the verdict
+    (a deprecate keeps them): the skill folder, or its version folder, then
+    the forge one, each only when something is there, with no trailing
+    separator, and the forge one never when both settings name one folder.
+    """
+    skills_dir, forge_dir = Path(skills_folder), Path(forge_folder)
+    group, forge_group = skills_dir / skill_name, forge_dir / skill_name
+    same = _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir)
+    scope = "skill" if version is None else "version"
+    out = {"name": skill_name, "version": version, "scope": scope, "verdict": "ok", "reason": None,
+           "folder": str(group), "detail": None, "offending_entries": [], "ownership": "absent",
+           "foreign_entries": [], "errors": [], "same_folder": same, "forge_ownership": None,
+           "forge_foreign_entries": [], "forge_errors": [], "affected_directories": [],
+           "forge_left_in_place": None}
+
+    def refuse(reason, detail, folder, entries=()):
+        if out["verdict"] == "ok":
+            out.update(verdict="not-skf-output", reason=reason, detail=detail, folder=str(folder),
+                       offending_entries=list(entries))
+
+    if _is_reserved_group(skill_name):
+        refuse("reserved-name", "is a name SKF keeps for its own files, never a skill's", group)
+        return out
+    target = group if version is None else group / version
+    if os.path.lexists(group):
+        own = classify_ownership(group, skill_name, same)
+        out.update(ownership=own["ownership"], foreign_entries=own["foreign_entries"], errors=own["errors"])
+        if own["ownership"] == "foreign":
+            refuse("skill-foreign", "; ".join(own["errors"]) or "has no SKF marker in its `metadata.json`",
+                   group)
+        elif own["ownership"] == "mixed" and version is None:
+            refuse("skill-mixed-whole", "also holds entries SKF did not generate: "
+                   + ", ".join(own["foreign_entries"]), group, own["foreign_entries"])
+        elif own["ownership"] == "mixed":
+            listed = _version_entries(own["foreign_entries"], version)
+            inside = [e for e in listed if e.startswith(version + "/") and e != version + "/"]
+            if inside:
+                refuse("skill-version-mixed", "holds entries SKF did not generate: " + ", ".join(inside),
+                       target, inside)
+            elif listed:
+                refuse("skill-version-not-skf", "is a link or has no SKF marker in its `metadata.json`",
+                       target, listed)
+    if os.path.lexists(target):
+        out["affected_directories"].append(str(target))
+    if same:
+        return out
+
+    forge = classify_forge_group(forge_group, skill_name)
+    out.update(forge_ownership=forge["ownership"], forge_foreign_entries=forge["foreign_entries"],
+               forge_errors=forge["errors"])
+    forge_target = forge_group if version is None else forge_group / version
+    leave = forge["ownership"] in ("foreign", "reserved")
+    if forge["ownership"] == "mixed" and version is None:
+        refuse("forge-mixed-whole", "also holds entries SKF did not generate: "
+               + ", ".join(forge["foreign_entries"]), forge_group, forge["foreign_entries"])
+    elif forge["ownership"] == "mixed":
+        listed = _version_entries(forge["foreign_entries"], version)
+        inside = [e for e in listed if e.startswith(version + "/") and e != version + "/"]
+        if inside:
+            refuse("forge-version-mixed", "holds entries SKF did not generate: " + ", ".join(inside),
+                   forge_target, inside)
+        leave = bool(listed) and not inside
+    if not os.path.lexists(forge_target):
+        return out
+    if leave:
+        out["forge_left_in_place"] = str(forge_target)
+    else:
+        out["affected_directories"].append(str(forge_target))
+    return out
+
+
+def rename_check(skills_folder, skill_name, forge_folder):
+    """Decide whether rename-skill may move `skill_name` to a new name.
+
+    Rename copies `{skills_output_folder}/{name}/` and its forge folder, then
+    deletes the old ones, so it moves only a skill SKF generated in the
+    versioned layout. Returns {name, verdict, reason, folder, detail,
+    offending_entries, ownership, skf_skill, flat_skf, foreign_entries,
+    errors, same_folder, forge_ownership, forge_foreign_entries,
+    forge_errors, forge_move, forge_left_in_place}. `verdict` is "ok",
+    "not-skf-output" or "flat-layout" (the halt reason a refusal uses);
+    `reason` names the first rule that refused it:
+
+    - "reserved-name": `_batch` or a `.skf-` name.
+    - "absent": nothing at the skill folder.
+    - "foreign": the skill folder is not SKF output (no marker, a link, not
+      a folder, or one SKF cannot list; `detail` says which), or holds SKF's
+      files but no skill SKF generated.
+    - "mixed": it also holds entries SKF did not generate.
+    - "flat-layout": it still uses the flat layout.
+    - "forge-link", "forge-not-a-folder", "forge-unreadable": the forge
+      folder is a link, is not a folder, or cannot be listed.
+    - "forge-mixed": the forge folder also holds entries SKF did not
+      generate.
+
+    When both settings name one folder the skill folder is the forge folder,
+    so no forge rule applies and nothing else moves. Otherwise `forge_move`
+    is true when the forge folder is SKF output or holds no file of its own
+    ("skf" or "empty"), and `forge_left_in_place` names a forge folder SKF
+    did not generate, or SKF's own reserved one, which keeps its name.
+    """
+    skills_dir, forge_dir = Path(skills_folder), Path(forge_folder)
+    group, forge_group = skills_dir / skill_name, forge_dir / skill_name
+    same = _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir)
+    out = {"name": skill_name, "verdict": "ok", "reason": None, "folder": str(group), "detail": None,
+           "offending_entries": [], "ownership": "absent", "skf_skill": False, "flat_skf": False,
+           "foreign_entries": [], "errors": [], "same_folder": same, "forge_ownership": None,
+           "forge_foreign_entries": [], "forge_errors": [], "forge_move": False,
+           "forge_left_in_place": None}
+
+    def refuse(verdict, reason, detail, folder=group, entries=()):
+        out.update(verdict=verdict, reason=reason, detail=detail, folder=str(folder),
+                   offending_entries=list(entries))
+        return out
+
+    if _is_reserved_group(skill_name):
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "reserved-name", "is a name SKF keeps for its own files, never a skill's")
+    if not os.path.lexists(group):
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "absent", "has no folder in the skills folder")
+    own = classify_ownership(group, skill_name, same)
+    out.update(ownership=own["ownership"], skf_skill=own["skf_skill"], flat_skf=own["flat_skf"],
+               foreign_entries=own["foreign_entries"], errors=own["errors"])
+    if own["ownership"] == "foreign":
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "foreign",
+                      "; ".join(own["errors"]) or "has no SKF marker in its `metadata.json`")
+    if own["ownership"] == "mixed":
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "mixed", "also holds entries SKF did not generate: "
+                      + ", ".join(own["foreign_entries"]), group, own["foreign_entries"])
+    if not own["skf_skill"]:  # SKF's files, such as a brief, but no skill it generated
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "foreign", "has no SKF marker in its `metadata.json`")
+    if own["flat_skf"]:
+        return refuse("flat-layout", "flat-layout", "still uses the flat layout")
+    if same:
+        return out
+    forge = classify_forge_group(forge_group, skill_name)
+    out.update(forge_ownership=forge["ownership"], forge_foreign_entries=forge["foreign_entries"],
+               forge_errors=forge["errors"])
+    if forge["errors"] and forge["ownership"] != "reserved":
+        if _is_link_or_junction(forge_group):
+            reason = "forge-link"
+        elif not forge_group.is_dir():
+            reason = "forge-not-a-folder"
+        else:
+            reason = "forge-unreadable"
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", reason, "; ".join(forge["errors"]), forge_group)
+    if forge["ownership"] == "mixed":
+        return refuse("not-skf-output", "forge-mixed", "also holds entries SKF did not generate: "
+                      + ", ".join(forge["foreign_entries"]), forge_group, forge["foreign_entries"])
+    out["forge_move"] = forge["ownership"] in ("skf", "empty")
+    if forge["ownership"] in ("foreign", "reserved"):
+        out["forge_left_in_place"] = str(forge_group)
+    return out
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Guarded delete: a purge deletes only plain folders inside SKF's folders
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+LINK_REFUSAL = "a link; SKF never deletes through a link"
+
+
+def _strip_trailing_separators(path):
+    """`path` without the trailing separators that make a delete follow a link."""
+    separators = "/" + os.sep + (os.altsep or "")
+    return path.rstrip(separators) or path
+
+
+def _parts_below(root, path):
+    """The folder names from `root` down to `path`, or None when `path` is not below `root`.
+
+    Both are made absolute without resolving links (a link at or above a
+    root is the user's configuration) and compared case-insensitively where
+    the platform is.
+    """
+    root_abs, path_abs = os.path.abspath(root), os.path.abspath(path)
+    try:
+        inside = os.path.commonpath([os.path.normcase(root_abs), os.path.normcase(path_abs)])
+    except ValueError:  # another drive on Windows
+        return None
+    if inside != os.path.normcase(root_abs) or os.path.normcase(path_abs) == inside:
+        return None
+    return Path(os.path.relpath(path_abs, root_abs)).parts
+
+
+def _tree_bytes(path):
+    """The bytes of the files under `path`, a link counted as itself and never followed."""
+    total = 0
+    for folder, _dirs, files in os.walk(path):
+        for name in files:
+            try:
+                total += os.lstat(os.path.join(folder, name)).st_size
+            except OSError:
+                pass
+    return total
+
+
+def _remove_tree(path):
+    """shutil.rmtree, clearing a read-only bit (Windows) and retrying once."""
+
+    def retry(func, target, _error):
+        os.chmod(target, stat.S_IREAD | stat.S_IWRITE | stat.S_IEXEC)
+        func(target)
+
+    if sys.version_info >= (3, 12):
+        shutil.rmtree(path, onexc=retry)
+    else:
+        shutil.rmtree(path, onerror=retry)
+
+
+def _delete_one(roots, path):
+    """("deleted", bytes), ("absent", None) or ("failed", reason) for one path of guarded_delete."""
+    if not Path(path).parts:  # "" or "." would name the working folder
+        return "failed", "names no folder"
+    if ".." in Path(path).parts:
+        return "failed", "has a `..` part; SKF deletes only a plain path"
+    below = [(root, parts) for root in roots if (parts := _parts_below(root, path)) is not None]
+    if not below:
+        return "failed", "is not inside " + " or ".join(roots) + "; SKF deletes only inside its folders"
+    root, parts = max(below, key=lambda b: len(os.path.abspath(b[0])))  # the closest root
+    for i in range(1, len(parts) + 1):
+        step = Path(root, *parts[:i])
+        if _is_link_or_junction(step):
+            return "failed", LINK_REFUSAL if i == len(parts) else f"{step} is {LINK_REFUSAL}"
+    if not os.path.lexists(path):
+        return "absent", None
+    if not os.path.isdir(path):
+        return "failed", "is not a folder; SKF deletes only folders here"
+    size = _tree_bytes(path)
+    try:
+        _remove_tree(path)
+    except OSError as e:
+        return "failed", f"cannot delete it: {e}"
+    if os.path.lexists(path):
+        return "failed", "is still there after the delete"
+    return "deleted", size
+
+
+def guarded_delete(roots, paths):
+    """Delete each folder of `paths` that lies inside one of `roots`, as drop-skill's purge.
+
+    rename-skill deletes its old folders the same way. Each path loses its
+    trailing separators first. It is refused, and listed in
+    `delete_failures` with the reason, when it names no folder or has a
+    `..` part, is not below a root (a root itself included), is a link or
+    junction or lies below one between the closest root and it (SKF never
+    deletes through a link: the delete would reach the files the link points
+    to), or is not a folder. A path with nothing at it goes to
+    `already_absent`. Otherwise its size is measured, the folder is deleted
+    and checked gone: then it goes to `files_deleted`, else to
+    `delete_failures`. Returns {roots, files_deleted, already_absent,
+    delete_failures, attempted, bytes_freed, purge_status}: `attempted`
+    counts the paths deleted or refused, and `purge_status` is "failed" when
+    it is above 0 and nothing was deleted, "partial" when some were, else
+    "success" (no path at all included: a purge whose folders are already
+    gone has nothing to delete).
+    """
+    deleted, absent, failures, freed = [], [], [], 0
+    for raw in paths:
+        path = _strip_trailing_separators(raw)
+        outcome, detail = _delete_one(roots, path)
+        if outcome == "deleted":
+            deleted.append(path)
+            freed += detail
+        elif outcome == "absent":
+            absent.append(path)
+        else:
+            failures.append({"path": path, "error": detail})
+    attempted = len(deleted) + len(failures)
+    if attempted and not deleted:
+        status = "failed"
+    elif failures:
+        status = "partial"
+    else:
+        status = "success"
+    return {"roots": list(roots), "files_deleted": deleted, "already_absent": absent,
+            "delete_failures": failures, "attempted": attempted, "bytes_freed": freed,
+            "purge_status": status}
+
+
+def _marked_version_names(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
+    """The names of the marked version folders of a group (`.skf-` names aside)."""
+    try:
+        children = list(skill_group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return []
+    return sorted(c.name for c in children
+                  if ".skf-" not in c.name and c.is_dir() and _is_marked_version(c, skill_name))
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Versions: normalize, order, next patch, compose-mode bump, primary library
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+# What may follow the dotted numbers of a version: a pre-release tag such as
+# `-rc.1`, `rc1` or `.dev0`, identifiers split by `.` or `-`.
+PRE_RELEASE_RE = re.compile(r"[-._]?[0-9A-Za-z]+(?:[.-][0-9A-Za-z]+)*")
+BUILD_RE = re.compile(r"[0-9A-Za-z-]+(?:\.[0-9A-Za-z-]+)*")
+# A comparator of a range: npm, Python, Ruby and Cargo operators, then a version.
+COMPARATOR_RE = re.compile(r"(===|==|>=|<=|~=|~>|!=|\^|~|>|<|=)?\s*([^\s,]+)")
+COMPARATOR_SEPARATOR_RE = re.compile(r"\s*,?\s*")
+UPPER_BOUND_OPERATORS = frozenset({"<", "<=", "!="})
+# Trailing wildcard components (`1.2.x`, `1.*`), dropped before a bound is read.
+WILDCARD_TAIL_RE = re.compile(r"(?:\.[xX*])+$")
+WILDCARDS = frozenset({"x", "X", "*"})
+
+
+def _parse_plain_version(text):
+    """(release, pre, build) for a plain version string, else None.
+
+    A leading `v` is dropped and the build metadata after `+` split off.
+    `release` holds the dotted numbers, padded to three (`2.0` is `2.0.0`);
+    `pre` is whatever follows them (`-rc.1`, `rc1`, `.dev0`) as written, or "".
+    A trailing wildcard component (`1.2.x`) is not a plain version.
+    """
+    s = str(text).strip()
+    s, plus, build = s.partition("+")
+    if plus and not BUILD_RE.fullmatch(build):
+        return None
+    m = re.match(r"[vV]?(\d+(?:\.\d+)*)", s)
+    if not m:
+        return None
+    pre = s[m.end():]
+    if pre and (not PRE_RELEASE_RE.fullmatch(pre) or re.match(r"\.[xX](?:\.|$)", pre)):
+        return None
+    release = [str(int(part)) for part in m.group(1).split(".")]
+    release += ["0"] * (3 - len(release))
+    return release, pre, (build or None)
+
+
+def _version_text(parsed):
+    release, pre, _ = parsed
+    return ".".join(release) + pre
+
+
+def _order_key(parsed):
+    """Sort key: numbers compared as numbers (1.10.0 above 1.9.0), a release
+    above its pre-releases, pre-release identifiers compared with their digit
+    runs as numbers (rc10 above rc2) and ranked below letters, as in semver."""
+    release, pre, _ = parsed
+    nums = [int(part) for part in release]
+    while nums and nums[-1] == 0:
+        nums.pop()
+    if not pre:
+        return (tuple(nums), (1,))
+    ids = tuple(
+        tuple((0, int(run)) if run.isdigit() else (1, run) for run in re.findall(r"\d+|\D+", ident))
+        for ident in pre.lstrip("-._").split("."))
+    return (tuple(nums), (0,) + ids)
+
+
+def _lower_bound(spec):
+    """The lower bound of one comparator set (`>=1.2, <2`, `^18.2.0`, `1.0 - 2.0`),
+    as a parsed version, or the reason there is none (a string)."""
+    spec = spec.strip()
+    hyphen = re.fullmatch(r"(\S+)\s+-\s+(\S+)", spec)
+    if hyphen:
+        comparators = [(">=", hyphen.group(1)), ("<=", hyphen.group(2))]
+    else:
+        comparators, pos = [], 0
+        while pos < len(spec):
+            m = COMPARATOR_RE.match(spec, pos)
+            if not m:
+                return f"not a version or range: {spec!r}"
+            comparators.append((m.group(1) or "", m.group(2)))
+            pos = COMPARATOR_SEPARATOR_RE.match(spec, m.end()).end()
+    if not comparators:
+        return "empty version"
+    lows = []
+    for op, token in comparators:
+        if token in WILDCARDS:
+            continue  # admits any version: no bound
+        parsed = _parse_plain_version(WILDCARD_TAIL_RE.sub("", token))
+        if parsed is None:
+            return f"not a version: {token!r}"
+        if op not in UPPER_BOUND_OPERATORS:
+            lows.append(parsed)
+    if not lows:
+        return f"names no lower bound: {spec!r}"
+    return max(lows, key=_order_key)
+
+
+def _reduce_version(text):
+    """((release, pre, build), rule) for a version or range, or a reason string.
+
+    `rule` is "version" for a plain version and "range" for a specifier
+    reduced to its lower bound: the version it names after `^`, `~`, `~=`,
+    `~>`, `>=`, `>`, `=` or `==` (a `>` bound kept as written), the highest
+    such bound when a set has several, the lowest over `||` alternatives, and
+    trailing `x` or `*` components read as 0. `workspace:` and `npm:<name>@`
+    prefixes are dropped. A specifier with no lower bound (`<2.0.0`, `*`,
+    `latest`, a URL or a path) has none.
+    """
+    spec = str(text).strip()
+    if spec.startswith("workspace:"):
+        spec = spec[len("workspace:"):].strip()
+    if spec.startswith("npm:") and "@" in spec[5:]:
+        spec = spec.rsplit("@", 1)[1].strip()
+    if not spec:
+        return "empty version"
+    plain = _parse_plain_version(spec)
+    if plain is not None:
+        return plain, "version"
+    bounds = []
+    for alternative in spec.split("||"):
+        bound = _lower_bound(alternative)
+        if isinstance(bound, str):
+            return bound
+        bounds.append(bound)
+    return min(bounds, key=_order_key), "range"
+
+
+def _reduce_or_raise(text):
+    """The parsed version `text` reduces to; ValueError when it names none."""
+    reduced = _reduce_version(text)
+    if isinstance(reduced, str):
+        raise ValueError(f"{text!r}: {reduced}")
+    return reduced[0]
+
+
+def normalize_version(text):
+    """Reduce a version or a range specifier to one version folder name.
+
+    Returns {input, normalized, rule, build_metadata, reason}: `normalized`
+    is null and `reason` says why when the input names no version. See
+    `_reduce_version` for the rules; build metadata is stripped as the
+    Version Sanitization rules of knowledge/version-paths.md say.
+    """
+    out = {"input": text, "normalized": None, "rule": None, "build_metadata": None, "reason": None}
+    reduced = _reduce_version(text)
+    if isinstance(reduced, str):
+        out["reason"] = reduced
+        return out
+    parsed, rule = reduced
+    out.update(normalized=_version_text(parsed), rule=rule, build_metadata=parsed[2])
+    return out
+
+
+ORDER_WORDS = {-1: "lower", 0: "equal", 1: "higher"}
+
+
+class NotIncreasingError(ValueError):
+    """A computed version that is not above the version it follows."""
+
+
+def _sign(a, b):
+    return (a > b) - (a < b)
+
+
+def order_versions(a, b):
+    """How version `a` orders against version `b`.
+
+    Returns {a, b, order, major_minor, higher}: `order` and `major_minor` (the
+    same test on the first two numbers only) are "lower", "equal" or
+    "higher", read as "a is ... than b"; `higher` is the higher normalized
+    version, null when they are equal. Raises ValueError when either names no
+    version.
+    """
+    pa, pb = _reduce_or_raise(a), _reduce_or_raise(b)
+    cmp = _sign(_order_key(pa), _order_key(pb))
+    mm = _sign(tuple(int(p) for p in pa[0][:2]), tuple(int(p) for p in pb[0][:2]))
+    return {"a": normalize_version(a), "b": normalize_version(b), "order": ORDER_WORDS[cmp],
+            "major_minor": ORDER_WORDS[mm],
+            "higher": None if cmp == 0 else _version_text(pa if cmp > 0 else pb)}
+
+
+def next_patch(text):
+    """The next patch version after `text`: the release of a pre-release
+    (`1.2.3-rc.1` gives `1.2.3`, as semver's patch increment does), else the
+    third number plus one (`1.2.3` gives `1.2.4`; a fourth number is dropped).
+    Raises ValueError when `text` names no version."""
+    parsed = _reduce_or_raise(text)
+    release, pre, _ = parsed
+    if pre:
+        nxt = ".".join(release)
+    else:
+        nxt = f"{release[0]}.{release[1]}.{int(release[2]) + 1}"
+    if _order_key(_parse_plain_version(nxt)) <= _order_key(parsed):
+        raise NotIncreasingError(f"next patch {nxt} is not above {_version_text(parsed)}")
+    return {"input": text, "normalized": _version_text(parsed), "next_patch": nxt}
+
+
+def compose_bump(prior, prior_libraries, libraries):
+    """The compose-mode stack version after `prior` (create-stack-skill
+    generate-output.md §1, Stack version).
+
+    Major when a library of `prior_libraries` is not in `libraries` (removed
+    or replaced), else minor. Returns {prior, prior_normalized, bump, version,
+    removed, added}. Raises ValueError when `prior` names no version or the
+    result is not above it (NotIncreasingError).
+    """
+    parsed = _reduce_or_raise(prior)
+    release = parsed[0]
+    before, after = set(prior_libraries), set(libraries)
+    removed, added = sorted(before - after), sorted(after - before)
+    if removed:
+        bump, version = "major", f"{int(release[0]) + 1}.0.0"
+    else:
+        bump, version = "minor", f"{release[0]}.{int(release[1]) + 1}.0"
+    if _order_key(_parse_plain_version(version)) <= _order_key(parsed):
+        raise NotIncreasingError(f"{version} is not above the prior version {_version_text(parsed)}")
+    return {"prior": prior, "prior_normalized": _version_text(parsed), "bump": bump,
+            "version": version, "removed": removed, "added": added}
+
+
+def primary_library(candidates):
+    """The code-mode primary library of a stack and the version it gives
+    (create-stack-skill generate-output.md §1, Stack version).
+
+    `candidates` is a list of {name, import_count, version}. The primary is
+    the highest `import_count`. On a tie, a candidate whose version reduces
+    to one (see `normalize_version`) goes first, then the lowest name,
+    compared case-insensitively. `version` falls back to 1.0.0 when the
+    primary has none. Returns {primary, import_count, version_input, version,
+    fallback, tied, reason}; `reason` is "highest-import-count",
+    "tie-usable-version", "tie-name-order" or "no-candidates". Raises
+    ValueError on a malformed candidate.
+    """
+    rows = []
+    for c in candidates:
+        if not isinstance(c, dict) or not isinstance(c.get("name"), str) or not c["name"]:
+            raise ValueError(f"each candidate needs a name: {c!r}")
+        count = c.get("import_count", 0)
+        if isinstance(count, bool) or not isinstance(count, int) or count < 0:
+            raise ValueError(f"import_count must be a whole number: {c!r}")
+        version = c.get("version")
+        if version is not None and not isinstance(version, str):
+            raise ValueError(f"version must be a string or null: {c!r}")
+        usable = version is not None and not isinstance(_reduce_version(version), str)
+        rows.append((c["name"], count, version, usable))
+    if not rows:
+        return {"primary": None, "import_count": None, "version_input": None,
+                "version": "1.0.0", "fallback": True, "tied": [], "reason": "no-candidates"}
+    top = max(r[1] for r in rows)
+    tied = [r for r in rows if r[1] == top]
+    pool = [r for r in tied if r[3]] or tied
+    name, count, version, usable = min(pool, key=lambda r: (r[0].casefold(), r[0]))
+    if len(tied) == 1:
+        reason = "highest-import-count"
+    elif len(pool) == 1:
+        reason = "tie-usable-version"
+    else:
+        reason = "tie-name-order"
+    return {"primary": name, "import_count": count, "version_input": version,
+            "version": normalize_version(version)["normalized"] if usable else "1.0.0",
+            "fallback": not usable, "tied": sorted((r[0] for r in tied), key=lambda n: (n.casefold(), n)),
+            "reason": reason}
+
+
+def _version_folder_key(name):
+    """Newest-first sort key for version folder names; a name that is not a
+    version sorts after every version, by name."""
+    parsed = _parse_plain_version(name)
+    if parsed is None:
+        return (0, (), name)
+    return (1, _order_key(parsed), name)
+
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Resolve: the version a reading workflow uses, and its paths
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ISO_TIME_RE = re.compile(
+    r"(\d{4})-(\d{2})-(\d{2})"
+    r"(?:[Tt ](\d{2}):(\d{2})(?::(\d{2})(?:[.,](\d+))?)?)?"
+    r"\s*([Zz]|[+-]\d{2}(?::?\d{2})?)?")
+
+
+# Keep identical to _parse_iso_utc in skf-load-provenance.py
+# (test/test-skf-skill-inventory.py pins the copies).
+def _parse_iso_utc(value):
+    """An ISO-8601 date or date-time as an aware UTC datetime, else None.
+
+    A time without a zone is read as UTC, a date alone as its midnight UTC.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(value, str):
+        return None
+    m = ISO_TIME_RE.fullmatch(value.strip())
+    if not m:
+        return None
+    year, month, day, hour, minute, second, fraction, zone = m.groups()
+    offset = timedelta(0)
+    if zone and zone not in ("Z", "z"):
+        digits = zone[1:].replace(":", "")
+        offset = timedelta(hours=int(digits[:2]), minutes=int(digits[2:] or 0))
+        if zone[0] == "-":
+            offset = -offset
+    try:
+        moment = datetime(int(year), int(month), int(day), int(hour or 0), int(minute or 0),
+                          int(second or 0), int((fraction or "0")[:6].ljust(6, "0")))
+        return (moment - offset).replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc)
+    except (ValueError, OverflowError):  # no such date, or out of datetime's range
+        return None
+
+
+def _utc_text(moment):
+    return moment.strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+
+
+def _provenance_time(path):
+    """(generated_at, source) for a provenance map: its `generated_at` field in
+    UTC ("provenance-map"), else the file's modification time ("mtime"), else
+    (None, None) when there is no map."""
+    data, err = read_json_file(path)
+    if err is None and isinstance(data, dict):
+        moment = _parse_iso_utc(data.get("generated_at"))
+        if moment is not None:
+            return _utc_text(moment), "provenance-map"
+    try:
+        if path.is_file():
+            return _utc_text(datetime.fromtimestamp(path.stat().st_mtime, timezone.utc)), "mtime"
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+    return None, None
+
+
+def _active_link_version(skill_group_dir):
+    """(version, error) for the `active` link of a skill folder.
+
+    The version is the name of the folder the link leads to when that folder
+    sits directly in the skill folder (not a `.skf-` name). A broken or
+    looping link, or one that leads anywhere else, gives (None, reason); no
+    link gives (None, None). A real `active/` folder is not a link.
+    """
+    active = skill_group_dir / "active"
+    if not _is_link_or_junction(active):
+        if active.is_dir():
+            return None, f"`active` is a folder, not a link: {active}"
+        return None, None
+    try:
+        target = active.resolve(strict=True)
+        group = skill_group_dir.resolve(strict=True)
+    except (OSError, RuntimeError):
+        return None, f"`active` link is broken: {active}"
+    if target.parent != group or ".skf-" in target.name or not target.is_dir():
+        return None, f"`active` link does not lead to a version folder of the skill: {active}"
+    return target.name, None
+
+
+def _manifest_versions(entry, updated_at):
+    """(active_version, last_exported, {version: status}) from one manifest entry.
+
+    A v2 entry maps each version to its record; a v1 entry lists versions
+    and marks the active one deprecated with `deprecated: true`, as
+    skf-manifest-ops.py migrates it.
+    """
+    if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+        return None, None, {}
+    active = entry.get("active_version")
+    active = active if isinstance(active, str) and active else None
+    versions = entry.get("versions")
+    statuses, last_exported = {}, None
+    if isinstance(versions, dict):
+        for v, record in versions.items():
+            status = record.get("status") if isinstance(record, dict) else None
+            statuses[v] = status if isinstance(status, str) else None
+        record = versions.get(active) if active else None
+        if isinstance(record, dict) and isinstance(record.get("last_exported"), str):
+            last_exported = record["last_exported"]
+    elif isinstance(versions, list):
+        deprecated = entry.get("deprecated") is True
+        for v in versions:
+            if isinstance(v, str):
+                statuses[v] = ("deprecated" if deprecated else "active") if v == active else "archived"
+        last_exported = updated_at if isinstance(updated_at, str) else None
+    return active, last_exported, statuses
+
+
+def _disk_versions(skill_group_dir, skill_name):
+    """The version folders of a skill folder: each folder directly in it that
+    holds a `{name}/` folder (not `active`, a `.skf-` or dot name, or a flat
+    package folder beside a root SKILL.md)."""
+    try:
+        children = list(skill_group_dir.iterdir())
+    except OSError:
+        return []
+    flat = (skill_group_dir / "SKILL.md").is_file()
+    found = []
+    for child in children:
+        name = child.name
+        if (name.startswith(".") or _is_active_pointer(name) or ".skf-" in name
+                or (flat and name in FLAT_PACKAGE_ENTRIES)):
+            continue
+        if child.is_dir() and (child / skill_name).is_dir():
+            found.append(name)
+    return found
+
+
+def _artifact(versioned, flat):
+    """{path, source, versioned, flat}: the first of the two paths that is a
+    file, versioned first; `path` and `source` are null when neither is."""
+    for source, path in (("versioned", versioned), ("flat", flat)):
+        if path is not None and path.is_file():
+            return {"path": str(path), "source": source,
+                    "versioned": str(versioned) if versioned else None, "flat": str(flat)}
+    return {"path": None, "source": None,
+            "versioned": str(versioned) if versioned else None, "flat": str(flat)}
+
+
+RESOLVE_DETAILS = {
+    "requested": "the caller asked for version {chosen}",
+    "manifest-and-link": "the manifest and the `active` link both name {chosen}",
+    "manifest-lags-link": ("the manifest names {manifest} but the `active` link names {chosen}, "
+                           "which a writing workflow flipped after the last export; using the "
+                           "link (run export-skill to reconcile the manifest)"),
+    "manifest": "the manifest names {chosen}",
+    "link": "the `active` link names {chosen}; the manifest does not list the skill",
+    "flat-layout": "the skill still uses the flat layout (SKILL.md at the skill folder root)",
+    "newest-on-disk": ("neither the manifest nor an `active` link names a version on disk; "
+                       "{chosen} is the newest version folder"),
+    "missing": "no version of the skill is on disk",
+}
+
+
+def resolve_skill(skills_folder, skill_name, forge_data_folder, version=None):
+    """Resolve the version a reading workflow uses for `skill_name`, and its paths.
+
+    Implements Reading Workflows in knowledge/version-paths.md. The chosen
+    version and `reason`, first that applies:
+
+    - "requested": `version` was given.
+    - "manifest-and-link": the manifest's `active_version` and the `active`
+      link name the same version, and its package is on disk.
+    - "manifest-lags-link": they differ and the link's version has its
+      package on disk (the Manifest-lag guard: the link wins).
+    - "manifest": the manifest's version has its package on disk (no link,
+      or the link names a version with no package).
+    - "link": the manifest does not list the skill; the link's version has
+      its package on disk.
+    - "flat-layout": no version resolved and SKILL.md sits at the skill
+      folder root; `chosen_version` and `forge_version` are null.
+    - "newest-on-disk": no version resolved, but a version folder holds the
+      package; the newest one.
+    - "missing": nothing on disk; the manifest's version, else the link's,
+      else null.
+
+    `candidates` describes the manifest's and the link's version (package
+    on disk, provenance map, its `generated_at` in UTC or the file's mtime).
+    `paths` gives metadata.json, provenance-map.json and evidence-report.md,
+    each the versioned path when that file exists, else the flat one
+    (`{skill_group}/metadata.json`, `{forge_group}/<file>`), else null.
+    `versions` lists the manifest's and the on-disk versions newest first,
+    with the manifest status of each; `counts` and `newest_non_deprecated`
+    (the newest manifest version whose status is not "deprecated") read
+    them. Returns None when neither the manifest nor the skills folder
+    knows the skill.
+    """
+    skills_dir, forge_dir = Path(skills_folder), Path(forge_data_folder)
+    group, forge_group = skills_dir / skill_name, forge_dir / skill_name
+    errors = []
+    manifest, manifest_error = read_json_file(skills_dir / ".export-manifest.json")
+    if manifest_error and manifest_error.startswith("Not found"):
+        manifest_error = None
+    if manifest is not None and not isinstance(manifest, dict):
+        manifest, manifest_error = None, "the export manifest is not a JSON object"
+    exports = manifest.get("exports") if isinstance(manifest, dict) else None
+    entry = exports.get(skill_name) if isinstance(exports, dict) else None
+    manifest_version, last_exported, statuses = _manifest_versions(
+        entry, manifest.get("updated_at") if isinstance(manifest, dict) else None)
+    if manifest_version is not None and not _safe_segment(manifest_version):
+        errors.append(f"the manifest's active_version is not a folder name: {manifest_version!r}")
+        manifest_version = None
+    if not isinstance(entry, dict) and not os.path.lexists(group):
+        return None
+    is_group = group.is_dir()
+    link_version, link_error = _active_link_version(group) if is_group else (None, None)
+    if link_error:
+        errors.append(link_error)
+    on_disk = _disk_versions(group, skill_name) if is_group else []
+
+    def has_package(v):
+        return v is not None and (group / v / skill_name).is_dir()
+
+    listed = sorted(set(statuses) | set(on_disk), key=_version_folder_key, reverse=True)
+    newest_on_disk = next((v for v in listed if v in on_disk), None)
+    if version is not None:
+        chosen, reason = version, "requested"
+    elif has_package(link_version) and link_version == manifest_version:
+        chosen, reason = link_version, "manifest-and-link"
+    elif has_package(link_version) and manifest_version is not None:
+        chosen, reason = link_version, "manifest-lags-link"
+    elif has_package(manifest_version):
+        chosen, reason = manifest_version, "manifest"
+    elif has_package(link_version):
+        chosen, reason = link_version, "link"
+    elif is_group and (group / "SKILL.md").is_file():
+        chosen, reason = None, "flat-layout"
+    elif newest_on_disk is not None:
+        chosen, reason = newest_on_disk, "newest-on-disk"
+    else:
+        chosen, reason = manifest_version or link_version, "missing"
+
+    def candidate(v):
+        if v is None:
+            return None
+        provenance = forge_group / v / "provenance-map.json"
+        generated_at, source = _provenance_time(provenance)
+        return {"version": v, "skill_package_exists": has_package(v),
+                "provenance_map": str(provenance) if provenance.is_file() else None,
+                "generated_at": generated_at, "generated_at_source": source}
+
+    package = group / chosen / skill_name if chosen else None
+    forge_version = forge_group / chosen if chosen else None
+    if reason == "flat-layout":
+        package = group
+    counts = {"total": len(listed), "manifest": len(statuses), "on_disk": len(on_disk),
+              "non_deprecated": sum(1 for s in statuses.values() if s != "deprecated"),
+              "by_status": {}}
+    for status in statuses.values():
+        key = status if status is not None else "unknown"
+        counts["by_status"][key] = counts["by_status"].get(key, 0) + 1
+    return {
+        "name": skill_name,
+        "layout": "flat" if reason == "flat-layout" else ("versioned" if chosen else "none"),
+        "chosen_version": chosen,
+        "reason": reason,
+        "detail": RESOLVE_DETAILS[reason].format(chosen=chosen, manifest=manifest_version),
+        "active_version": manifest_version,
+        "manifest_last_exported": last_exported,
+        "symlink_target": link_version,
+        "candidates": {"manifest": candidate(manifest_version), "symlink": candidate(link_version)},
+        "skill_group": str(group),
+        "skill_package": str(package) if package else None,
+        "skill_package_exists": package is not None and package.is_dir(),
+        "forge_group": str(forge_group),
+        "forge_version": str(forge_version) if forge_version else None,
+        "paths": {
+            "metadata": _artifact(package / "metadata.json" if chosen else None,
+                                  group / "metadata.json"),
+            "provenance_map": _artifact(forge_version / "provenance-map.json" if chosen else None,
+                                        forge_group / "provenance-map.json"),
+            "evidence_report": _artifact(forge_version / "evidence-report.md" if chosen else None,
+                                         forge_group / "evidence-report.md"),
+        },
+        "versions": [{"version": v, "status": statuses.get(v), "in_manifest": v in statuses,
+                      "on_disk": v in on_disk} for v in listed],
+        "newest_non_deprecated": next(
+            (v for v in listed if v in statuses and statuses[v] != "deprecated"), None),
+        "newest_on_disk": newest_on_disk,
+        "counts": counts,
+        "manifest_error": manifest_error,
+        "errors": errors,
+    }
+
+
 def normalize_url(value):
     """Normalize a URL / path / source_repo for case-insensitive comparison.
 
@@ -161,30 +1833,311 @@ def _kebab(segment):
     return s.strip("-")
 
 
-def derive_name(target):
-    """Derive the expected skill name from a target URL / path / bare name.
+# Hosts step-auto-scope's URL table reads as git hosting; an http(s) URL on
+# any other host is a documentation URL, named after its host, unless its
+# path marks a git clone URL (see :func:`_docs_host`). Naming stays offline:
+# :func:`probe_git` tells a repository's page address among them apart.
+GIT_HOSTS = ("github.com", "gitlab.com", "bitbucket.org")
+
+_MAJOR_VERSION_SEGMENT = re.compile(r"v\d+")
 
-    Mirrors step-auto-scope §6 (repo/package name = the last non-empty path
-    segment, kebab-lowercased) and §0a (a bare doc hostname has its dots turned
-    into hyphens). Both cases funnel through :func:`_kebab`, so
-    ``github.com/x/bar-baz`` -> ``bar-baz`` and ``docs.example.com`` ->
-    ``docs-example-com``. Returns "" when no segment can be derived.
+
+def _manifest_skill_name(manifest_name):
+    """The skill name a manifest's package name gives ("" when none).
+
+    ``@scope/pkg`` (npm) joins the scope: ``scope-pkg``. ``groupId:artifactId``
+    (Maven) gives the artifact. A path whose first segment is a domain (a Go
+    module) gives its last segment, a ``/vN`` major-version suffix skipped.
+    Anything else (``vendor/package`` from Composer included) is kebab-cased
+    whole.
     """
-    if not target:
+    if not manifest_name:
+        return ""
+    s = str(manifest_name).strip()
+    if s.startswith("@"):
+        return _kebab(s)
+    if ":" in s:
+        return _kebab(s.rsplit(":", 1)[1])
+    segments = [seg for seg in s.split("/") if seg]
+    if len(segments) > 1 and "." in segments[0]:
+        if len(segments) > 2 and _MAJOR_VERSION_SEGMENT.fullmatch(segments[-1]):
+            segments = segments[:-1]
+        return _kebab(segments[-1])
+    return _kebab(s)
+
+
+def _members_skill_name(members):
+    """The name the members of a merged unit share ("" when none).
+
+    Maven ``group:artifact`` members of one group give the group's last
+    segment (``com.acme:core`` and ``com.acme:api`` give ``acme``); Go module
+    paths their longest common path, domain and one folder at least, less a
+    ``/vN`` suffix; any other names the words their skill names start with
+    alike (``@trpc/server`` and ``@trpc/client`` give ``trpc``, ``serde`` and
+    ``serde_json`` give ``serde``). Two members at least.
+    """
+    names = [str(m).strip() for m in members or () if m and str(m).strip()]
+    if len(names) < 2:
         return ""
-    s = str(target).strip().lower()
+    if all(":" in n for n in names):
+        groups = {n.rsplit(":", 1)[0] for n in names}
+        return _kebab(groups.pop().split(".")[-1]) if len(groups) == 1 else ""
+    paths = [[seg for seg in n.split("/") if seg] for n in names]
+    if all(len(p) > 1 and "." in p[0] for p in paths):
+        common = os.path.commonprefix(paths)
+        if common and _MAJOR_VERSION_SEGMENT.fullmatch(common[-1]):
+            common = common[:-1]
+        return _kebab(common[-1]) if len(common) > 1 else ""
+    common = os.path.commonprefix([_manifest_skill_name(n).split("-") for n in names])
+    return "-".join(word for word in common if word)
+
+
+def _docs_host(target):
+    """The host of a documentation URL, or None for any other target.
+
+    A clone URL on any host (its path ends in ``.git``, as
+    ``https://git.example.com/team/repo.git`` does, or holds ``/_git/``, as
+    an Azure DevOps ``https://dev.azure.com/org/project/_git/repo`` does)
+    is a repository, not documentation.
+    """
+    s = str(target).strip()
+    if not s.lower().startswith(("https://", "http://")):
+        return None
+    parts = urlsplit(s)
+    host = (parts.hostname or "").lower()
+    if not host:
+        return None
+    path = parts.path.rstrip("/").lower()
+    if path.endswith(".git") or "/_git/" in path:
+        return None
+    bare = host[4:] if host.startswith("www.") else host
+    return None if bare in GIT_HOSTS else host
+
+
+def _target_segments(target):
+    """The path segments of a repository URL or a local path: scheme, a
+    Windows drive, ``.git`` and trailing slashes stripped, ``\\`` read as
+    ``/``.
+    """
+    s = str(target).strip()
     for scheme in ("https://", "http://"):
-        if s.startswith(scheme):
+        if s.lower().startswith(scheme):
             s = s[len(scheme):]
             break
+    s = re.sub(r"^[A-Za-z]:(?=[\\/]|$)", "", s.replace("\\", "/"))
     s = s.rstrip("/")
-    if s.endswith(".git"):
+    if s.lower().endswith(".git"):
         s = s[:-4]
-    s = s.rstrip("/")
-    segments = [seg for seg in s.split("/") if seg]
-    if not segments:
-        return ""
-    return _kebab(segments[-1])
+    return [seg for seg in s.rstrip("/").split("/") if seg]
+
+
+def _target_name(target):
+    """The last folder or repository name of a target ("" when none). A
+    relative or home path that ends in ``.``, ``..`` or ``~`` names the
+    folder it resolves to (``.`` the current one).
+    """
+    segments = _target_segments(target)
+    last = segments[-1] if segments else ""
+    if last in (".", "..", "~"):
+        local = str(target).strip().replace("\\", "/")
+        return os.path.basename(os.path.abspath(os.path.expanduser(local)))
+    return last
+
+
+# A URL git reads as given: a scheme (https://, ssh://, git://, file://) or
+# an SSH address (git@github.com:acme/mono.git).
+_URL_SCHEME_RE = re.compile(r"^[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9+.-]*://")
+_SSH_ADDRESS_RE = re.compile(r"^[\w.-]+@[\w.-]+:")
+# A Windows path: a drive (C:\code, C:/code, C:), a UNC or rooted path, or .\ and ..\.
+_WINDOWS_PATH_RE = re.compile(r"^(?:[A-Za-z]:(?:[\\/]|$)|\\|\.{1,2}\\)")
+
+
+def target_kind(target):
+    """The kind of an analysis target: "local", "docs" or "remote" (None for none).
+
+    A path that starts with `/`, `./`, `../` or `~` (`.` and `..` too, and a
+    Windows drive, UNC or `.\\` path), or that names an existing folder, is
+    local; a documentation URL (an http(s) URL not on :data:`GIT_HOSTS` and
+    not a clone URL, see :func:`_docs_host`) is docs; anything else is a repository git clones (:func:`clone_url`).
+    """
+    s = str(target or "").strip()
+    if not s:
+        return None
+    if (s.startswith(("/", "./", "../", "~")) or s in (".", "..") or _WINDOWS_PATH_RE.match(s)
+            or os.path.isdir(os.path.expanduser(s))):
+        return "local"
+    return "docs" if _docs_host(s) else "remote"
+
+
+def clone_url(target):
+    """The URL git clones a remote target from, None for a local or docs one.
+
+    A URL with a scheme or an SSH address is used as given. git reads a
+    shorthand or a host path without a scheme as a local folder, so a host
+    path (its first segment holds a `.` or a port, as `github.com/acme/mono`
+    and `gitlab.com/group/repo` do) gets `https://`, and the `owner/repo`
+    shorthand `https://github.com/`.
+    """
+    if target_kind(target) != "remote":
+        return None
+    s = str(target).strip()
+    if _URL_SCHEME_RE.match(s) or _SSH_ADDRESS_RE.match(s):
+        return s
+    path = s.strip("/")
+    first = path.split("/", 1)[0]
+    return f"https://{path}" if ("." in first or ":" in first) else f"https://github.com/{path}"
+
+
+# How long `probe_git` waits for git, in seconds.
+GIT_PROBE_TIMEOUT = 20
+# What git prints (in the C locale) when the server asks for credentials and
+# none can be given without a prompt, or refuses the stored ones: a private
+# repository, or any other page behind a login.
+_GIT_CREDENTIAL_ERRORS = ("terminal prompts disabled", "Authentication failed")
+# What a run asks for in place of an address git reads as a repository.
+_CLONE_REMEDY = "use its `.git` clone URL, its address without https:// or its SSH address"
+
+
+def probe_git(url):
+    """git's verdict on ``url``: "repository", "credentials", "unanswered", "no-git" or "docs".
+
+    Runs ``git ls-remote --exit-code --heads <url>``, the URL less its query
+    and fragment (git appends ``/info/refs`` to the address it is given),
+    with every prompt off (no terminal prompt, no askpass program, no
+    credential-manager window), so it never waits on the user; a credential
+    helper's stored credentials still apply. ``--heads`` asks for the branches
+    alone (protocol v2 sends the server the prefix ``refs/heads/``), so a
+    repository with a huge ref list (one ref per Gerrit patch set) answers at
+    once. "repository" when git exits 0, or 2 (a repository that answered
+    with no branch); "credentials" when the server asks for credentials or
+    refuses the stored ones: a private repository answers so, and so does
+    documentation behind a login, so it never says which; "docs" on any
+    other answer (``repository not found`` for a documentation site);
+    "unanswered" when git gives no answer in :data:`GIT_PROBE_TIMEOUT`
+    seconds; "no-git" when git is missing or cannot run. stderr goes to a
+    file, not a pipe, so a timeout returns at once even while git's transport
+    helper still runs.
+    """
+    address = urlunsplit(urlsplit(str(url).strip())._replace(query="", fragment=""))
+    env = {**os.environ, "GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT": "0", "GIT_ASKPASS": "",
+           "GCM_INTERACTIVE": "never", "LC_ALL": "C"}
+    with tempfile.TemporaryFile() as err:
+        try:
+            proc = subprocess.run(["git", "ls-remote", "--exit-code", "--heads", address], env=env,
+                                  stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL, stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL, stderr=err,
+                                  timeout=GIT_PROBE_TIMEOUT)
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            return "unanswered"
+        except OSError:
+            return "no-git"
+        if proc.returncode in (0, 2):
+            return "repository"
+        err.seek(0)
+        message = err.read().decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+    return "credentials" if any(text in message for text in _GIT_CREDENTIAL_ERRORS) else "docs"
+
+
+def git_probe_halt(target, verdict):
+    """The message a run stops with for ``target`` on :func:`probe_git`'s ``verdict``, or None.
+
+    A run stops when git reads the address as a repository, when the server
+    asks for credentials and when git gives no answer; it goes on as
+    documentation on "docs" and on "no-git" (nothing could ask git, and a
+    documentation URL needs no git).
+    """
+    return {
+        "repository": f"{target} is a git repository: {_CLONE_REMEDY}.",
+        "credentials": f"{target} asks for credentials: SKF reads no documentation behind a login; "
+                       f"if it is a private git repository, {_CLONE_REMEDY}.",
+        "unanswered": f"{target} gave git no answer in {GIT_PROBE_TIMEOUT} s: if it is a git repository, "
+                      f"{_CLONE_REMEDY}; if it is documentation, give a documentation URL that answers.",
+    }.get(verdict)
+
+
+def derive_name_with_basis(target, manifest_name=None, private=False, members=None):
+    """``(name, basis)`` for a unit or brief; see :func:`derive_name`.
+
+    ``basis`` is "manifest", "members", "docs-host" or "target", or None
+    when no name can be derived (``name`` is then "").
+    """
+    name = "" if private else _manifest_skill_name(manifest_name)
+    if name:
+        return name, "manifest"
+    name = _members_skill_name(members)
+    if name:
+        return name, "members"
+    if not target:
+        return "", None
+    host = _docs_host(target)
+    if host:
+        name = _kebab(host)
+        return (name, "docs-host") if name else ("", None)
+    name = _kebab(_target_name(target))
+    return (name, "target") if name else ("", None)
+
+
+def derive_name(target, manifest_name=None, private=False, members=None):
+    """The one skill-name rule: the name a unit or brief is written under,
+    and the name coexistence matching compares.
+
+    From ``manifest_name`` when it gives one (see
+    :func:`_manifest_skill_name`) and the package is not ``private`` (a
+    private root, such as a monorepo's workspace manifest, names no
+    published package); else from the ``members`` of a merged unit, the
+    name they share (:func:`_members_skill_name`); else from ``target``: a
+    documentation URL (an http(s) URL not on :data:`GIT_HOSTS` and not a
+    clone URL, see :func:`_docs_host`) gives its host, and any other target its last folder or repository name, scheme,
+    a Windows drive, ``.git`` and trailing slashes stripped (``.``, ``..``
+    and ``~`` name the folder they resolve to). Every case funnels through
+    :func:`_kebab`, so ``github.com/x/bar-baz`` -> ``bar-baz``,
+    ``https://docs.example.com/guide/intro`` -> ``docs-example-com``,
+    ``C:\\code\\mono`` -> ``mono`` and manifest name ``@trpc/server`` ->
+    ``trpc-server``. Returns "" when no name can be derived.
+    """
+    return derive_name_with_basis(target, manifest_name, private, members)[0]
+
+
+def _tell_apart(names):
+    """Rename the batch entries that derive one name: each takes, before
+    it, the fewest folders above its target's last segment that make every
+    name of the group unique (``src/server/api`` and ``src/client/api`` give
+    ``server-api`` and ``client-api``), and a renamed entry keeps the name
+    it shared in ``clash``. Returns the index groups that still share a
+    name.
+    """
+    groups = {}
+    for i, entry in enumerate(names):
+        if entry["name"]:
+            groups.setdefault(entry["name"], []).append(i)
+    for name, members in groups.items():
+        if len(members) < 2:
+            continue
+        parents = {i: _target_segments(names[i]["target"] or "")[:-1] for i in members}
+        for depth in range(1, max(len(p) for p in parents.values()) + 1):
+            renamed = {i: _kebab("-".join(parents[i][-depth:] + [name])) for i in members}
+            if len(set(renamed.values())) == len(members):
+                for i in members:
+                    if renamed[i] != name:
+                        names[i].update(name=renamed[i], clash=name)
+                break
+    final = {}
+    for i, entry in enumerate(names):
+        if entry["name"]:
+            final.setdefault(entry["name"], []).append(i)
+    return [ids for ids in final.values() if len(ids) > 1]
+
+
+def _match_entry(entry, reason):
+    """One ``matches[]`` entry for inventory ``entry``, matched by ``reason``."""
+    meta = entry.get("metadata")
+    return {
+        "name": entry.get("name"),
+        "active_version": entry.get("active_version"),
+        "source_repo": meta.get("source_repo") if meta else None,
+        "active_path": entry.get("active_path"),
+        "match_reason": reason,
+        "skf_skill": bool(entry.get("skf_skill")),
+    }
 
 
 def compute_matches(skills, target):
@@ -192,10 +2145,12 @@ def compute_matches(skills, target):
 
     For each inventory skill, a hit fires when either the normalized
     ``metadata.source_repo`` equals the normalized target (URL match) or the
-    derived expected name equals the skill's name, case-insensitively (name
-    match). Each match entry is
-    ``{name, active_version, source_repo, active_path, match_reason}`` where
-    ``match_reason`` is ``"url"``, ``"name"``, or ``"both"``.
+    derived expected name (:func:`derive_name`) equals the skill's name,
+    case-insensitively (name match). Each match entry is
+    ``{name, active_version, source_repo, active_path, match_reason, skf_skill}``
+    where ``match_reason`` is ``"url"``, ``"name"``, or ``"both"`` and
+    ``skf_skill`` says whether SKF generated the matched skill (only those can
+    be merged into through update-skill).
     """
     norm_target = normalize_url(target)
     derived = derive_name(target)
@@ -222,19 +2177,55 @@ def compute_matches(skills, target):
             reason = "url"
         else:
             reason = "name"
-        matches.append({
-            "name": entry.get("name"),
-            "active_version": entry.get("active_version"),
-            "source_repo": source_repo,
-            "active_path": entry.get("active_path"),
-            "match_reason": reason,
-        })
+        matches.append(_match_entry(entry, reason))
     return matches
 
 
-def scan_inventory(skills_folder, skill_filter=None, manifest_only=False, match_target=None):
+def existing_by_name(skills_folder):
+    """Lowercased skill name -> its ``matches[]`` entry (``match_reason``
+    "name") for every skill in ``skills_folder``; empty when the folder does
+    not exist.
+    """
+    inventory = scan_inventory(skills_folder)
+    if inventory.get("status") != "ok":
+        return {}
+    return {str(entry.get("name") or "").strip().lower(): _match_entry(entry, "name")
+            for entry in inventory["skills"]}
+
+
+# A name at least this similar to the name asked for is a near match (the
+# default cutoff of difflib.get_close_matches).
+NEAR_CUTOFF = 0.6
+
+
+def near_skills(skills, query):
+    """The skills SKF generated that have a SKILL.md, closest to `query` first.
+
+    >>> skills = [{"name": n, "skf_skill": True, "has_skill_md": True, "active_version": "1.0.0"}
+    ...           for n in ("zod", "cocoindex-code", "cocoindx")]
+    >>> [(s["name"], s["close"]) for s in near_skills(skills, "cocoindex")]
+    [('cocoindx', True), ('cocoindex-code', True), ('zod', False)]
+    """
+    wanted = (query or "").strip().lower()
+    ranked = []
+    for entry in skills:
+        if not (entry.get("skf_skill") and entry.get("has_skill_md")):
+            continue
+        name = str(entry.get("name") or "")
+        lowered = name.lower()
+        ratio = difflib.SequenceMatcher(None, wanted, lowered).ratio()
+        close = bool(wanted) and (wanted in lowered or lowered in wanted or ratio >= NEAR_CUTOFF)
+        ranked.append(((not close, -ratio, name),
+                       {"name": name, "active_version": entry.get("active_version"), "close": close}))
+    return [item for _, item in sorted(ranked, key=lambda pair: pair[0])]
+
+
+def scan_inventory(skills_folder, skill_filter=None, manifest_only=False, match_target=None,
+                   forge_data_folder=None, near=None):
     """Scan the skills output folder and produce an inventory."""
     skills_dir = Path(skills_folder)
+    forge_dir = Path(forge_data_folder) if forge_data_folder else None
+    same_folder = _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir)
 
     if not skills_dir.is_dir():
         return {
@@ -272,8 +2263,9 @@ def scan_inventory(skills_folder, skill_filter=None, manifest_only=False, match_
     skill_names = set()
 
     # From manifest exports
-    if manifest and "exports" in manifest:
-        skill_names.update(manifest["exports"].keys())
+    exports = manifest.get("exports") if isinstance(manifest, dict) else None
+    if isinstance(exports, dict):
+        skill_names.update(exports.keys())
 
     # From directory listing
     for child in skills_dir.iterdir():
@@ -293,11 +2285,22 @@ def scan_inventory(skills_folder, skill_filter=None, manifest_only=False, match_
             }
 
     # Scan each skill group
+    not_skf_output = []
     for name in sorted(skill_names):
         skill_group_dir = skills_dir / name
         if skill_group_dir.is_dir():
-            entry = scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, name)
+            entry = scan_skill_group(skill_group_dir, name, same_folder)
             result["skills"].append(entry)
+            if (not entry["skf_skill"] and name != "_batch" and ".skf-" not in name
+                    and _looks_like_skill(skill_group_dir, name)):
+                not_skf_output.append(name)
+    result["not_skf_output"] = not_skf_output
+    # Forge folders (opt-in via --forge-data-folder; additive top-level keys).
+    if forge_dir is not None:
+        result["forge_data_folder"] = str(forge_dir)
+        result["same_folder"] = same_folder
+        result["forge_groups"] = [] if same_folder else [
+            classify_forge_group(forge_dir / name, name) for name in sorted(skill_names)]
 
     # Compute summary
     result["summary"]["total_skills"] = len(result["skills"])
@@ -305,42 +2308,362 @@ def scan_inventory(skills_folder, skill_filter=None, manifest_only=False, match_
     result["summary"]["with_metadata"] = sum(1 for s in result["skills"] if s["metadata"])
     result["summary"]["with_provenance"] = sum(1 for s in result["skills"] if s["has_provenance_map"])
 
-    # Coexistence matching (opt-in via --match-target; additive top-level key).
+    # Coexistence matching (opt-in via --match-target; additive top-level keys).
     if match_target is not None:
+        result["match_name"] = derive_name(match_target)
         result["matches"] = compute_matches(result["skills"], match_target)
+    # Near names (opt-in via --near; additive top-level key).
+    if near is not None:
+        result["near"] = near_skills(result["skills"], near)
 
     return result
 
 
-if __name__ == "__main__":
-    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
-        print(
-            "Usage: python3 skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> "
-            "[--skill <name>] [--manifest-only] [--match-target <url-or-name>]",
-            file=sys.stderr,
+USAGE = ("Usage: uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> "
+         "[--skill <name>] [--manifest-only] [--match-target <url-or-name>] "
+         "[--near <name>] [--forge-data-folder <path>]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py derive-name --target <url-or-path> "
+         "[--manifest-name <name>] [--skills-folder <skills-output-folder>] [--probe-git]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py derive-name --from <names.json|-> "
+         "[--skills-folder <skills-output-folder>]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> "
+         "--write-check [--write-version <version>] [--forge-data-folder <path>]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> "
+         "--purge-check [--purge-version <version>] --forge-data-folder <path>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> "
+         "--rename-check --forge-data-folder <path>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py guarded-delete --root <folder> [--root <folder>] "
+         "[<path>...]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py resolve <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> "
+         "--forge-data-folder <path> [--version <version>]\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version normalize <version>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version order <a> <b>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version next-patch <version>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version bump --prior <version> "
+         "--prior-libraries <a,b> --libraries <a,c>\n"
+         "       uv run skf-skill-inventory.py version primary <candidates.json|->")
+
+
+def _flag_value(argv, flag, required=False):
+    """The value after `flag`, or None when the flag is absent.
+
+    A flag without a value reads as absent, as it always has, unless
+    `required`: `--forge-data-folder`, `--write-version` and, in write-check
+    mode, `--skill` raise ValueError instead (a missing value, or the next
+    flag in its place), so a caller never gets a verdict it did not ask for.
+    """
+    if flag not in argv:
+        return None
+    idx = argv.index(flag)
+    if idx + 1 < len(argv) and not (required and argv[idx + 1].startswith("--")):
+        return argv[idx + 1]
+    if required:
+        raise ValueError(f"{flag} needs a value")
+    return None
+
+
+def _safe_segment(value):
+    """True for a single path segment: not empty, `.` or `..`, and no separator."""
+    return bool(value) and value not in (".", "..") and "/" not in value and "\\" not in value
+
+
+def _usage_error(message):
+    print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": message, "code": "USAGE"}, indent=2))
+    print(USAGE, file=sys.stderr)
+    return 1
+
+
+def _check_flag_pairs(args, flags):
+    """ValueError for an argument that is not one of `flags` followed by its value."""
+    for i in range(0, len(args), 2):
+        if args[i] not in flags:
+            raise ValueError(f"unexpected argument: {args[i]!r}")
+
+
+def _main_resolve(argv):
+    """`resolve <skills-output-folder> --skill <name> --forge-data-folder <path> [--version <v>]`."""
+    try:
+        if not argv or argv[0].startswith("--"):
+            raise ValueError("resolve needs <skills-output-folder> first")
+        skill = _flag_value(argv, "--skill", required=True)
+        forge_data_folder = _flag_value(argv, "--forge-data-folder", required=True)
+        version = _flag_value(argv, "--version", required=True)
+        _check_flag_pairs(argv[1:], ("--skill", "--forge-data-folder", "--version"))
+        if not skill:
+            raise ValueError("resolve needs --skill <name>")
+        if not forge_data_folder:
+            raise ValueError("resolve needs --forge-data-folder <path>")
+        if not _safe_segment(skill):
+            raise ValueError(f"--skill must be one folder name: {skill!r}")
+        if version is not None and not _safe_segment(version):
+            raise ValueError(f"--version must be one folder name: {version!r}")
+    except ValueError as e:
+        return _usage_error(str(e))
+    skills_dir = Path(argv[0])
+    if not skills_dir.is_dir():
+        result = {"status": "error", "error": f"Skills directory not found: {skills_dir}",
+                  "code": "DIR_NOT_FOUND"}
+    else:
+        resolved = resolve_skill(skills_dir, skill, forge_data_folder, version)
+        if resolved is None:
+            result = {"status": "error", "code": "SKILL_NOT_FOUND",
+                      "error": f"Skill '{skill}' is neither in {skills_dir} nor in its export manifest"}
+        else:
+            result = {"status": "ok", "skills_folder": str(skills_dir),
+                      "forge_data_folder": forge_data_folder, "resolve": resolved}
+    print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))
+    return 0 if result["status"] == "ok" else 1
+
+
+def _library_list(value):
+    return [name.strip() for name in value.split(",") if name.strip()]
+
+
+def _read_candidates(source):
+    """The candidate list of `version primary`, from a JSON file or `-` (stdin)."""
+    try:
+        text = sys.stdin.read() if source == "-" else Path(source).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        data = json.loads(text)
+    except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+        raise ValueError(f"cannot read candidates from {source}: {e}") from e
+    if not isinstance(data, list):
+        raise ValueError("candidates must be a JSON array of {name, import_count, version}")
+    return data
+
+
+def _main_version(argv):
+    """`version normalize|order|next-patch|bump|primary ...`; exit 1 with
+    `NOT_A_VERSION`, `NOT_INCREASING`, `BAD_INPUT` or `USAGE` on an error."""
+    command, args = (argv[0], argv[1:]) if argv else (None, [])
+    code = "NOT_A_VERSION"
+    try:
+        if command == "normalize" and len(args) == 1:
+            result = normalize_version(args[0])
+            if result["normalized"] is None:
+                print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": result["reason"],
+                                  "code": "NOT_A_VERSION", "command": command, **result}, indent=2))
+                return 1
+        elif command == "order" and len(args) == 2:
+            result = order_versions(args[0], args[1])
+        elif command == "next-patch" and len(args) == 1:
+            result = next_patch(args[0])
+        elif command == "bump":
+            try:
+                prior = _flag_value(args, "--prior", required=True)
+                prior_libraries = _flag_value(args, "--prior-libraries", required=True)
+                libraries = _flag_value(args, "--libraries", required=True)
+                _check_flag_pairs(args, ("--prior", "--prior-libraries", "--libraries"))
+                if prior is None or prior_libraries is None or libraries is None:
+                    raise ValueError("bump needs --prior, --prior-libraries and --libraries")
+            except ValueError as e:
+                return _usage_error(str(e))
+            result = compose_bump(prior, _library_list(prior_libraries), _library_list(libraries))
+        elif command == "primary" and len(args) == 1:
+            code = "BAD_INPUT"
+            result = primary_library(_read_candidates(args[0]))
+        else:
+            return _usage_error(f"unknown version command or wrong arguments: {' '.join(argv)!r}")
+    except NotIncreasingError as e:
+        print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": str(e), "code": "NOT_INCREASING"}, indent=2))
+        return 1
+    except ValueError as e:
+        print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": str(e), "code": code}, indent=2))
+        return 1
+    print(json.dumps({"status": "ok", "command": command, **result}, indent=2))
+    return 0
+
+
+def _read_name_entries(source):
+    """The `derive-name --from` entries, from a JSON file or `-` (stdin)."""
+    try:
+        text = sys.stdin.read() if source == "-" else Path(source).read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        data = json.loads(text)
+    except (OSError, ValueError) as e:
+        raise ValueError(f"cannot read names from {source}: {e}") from e
+    if not isinstance(data, list):
+        raise ValueError('--from must be a JSON array of {"target", "manifest_name", '
+                         '"private", "members"}')
+    entries = []
+    for i, raw in enumerate(data):
+        if not isinstance(raw, dict):
+            raise ValueError(f"entry {i} is not an object")
+        target, manifest_name = raw.get("target"), raw.get("manifest_name")
+        for key, value in (("target", target), ("manifest_name", manifest_name)):
+            if value is not None and not isinstance(value, str):
+                raise ValueError(f"entry {i} `{key}` must be a string or null")
+        private, members = raw.get("private"), raw.get("members")
+        if private is not None and not isinstance(private, bool):
+            raise ValueError(f"entry {i} `private` must be true, false or null")
+        if members is not None and not (
+                isinstance(members, list) and all(isinstance(m, str) for m in members)):
+            raise ValueError(f"entry {i} `members` must be a list of names or null")
+        entries.append({"target": target, "manifest_name": manifest_name,
+                        "private": bool(private), "members": members or []})
+    return entries
+
+
+def _main_derive_name(argv):
+    """`derive-name --target <t> [--manifest-name <n>] [--skills-folder <f>] [--probe-git]` or
+    `derive-name --from <file|-> [--skills-folder <f>]`; exit 1 with `USAGE`,
+    `BAD_INPUT` or (for one --target) `NO_NAME` on an error."""
+    flags = ("--target", "--manifest-name", "--from", "--skills-folder")
+    probe = "--probe-git" in argv
+    argv = [arg for arg in argv if arg != "--probe-git"]
+    try:
+        target, manifest_name, source, skills_folder = (
+            _flag_value(argv, flag, required=True) for flag in flags)
+        _check_flag_pairs(argv, flags)
+        if source is not None and (target is not None or manifest_name is not None):
+            raise ValueError("--from takes no --target or --manifest-name")
+        if source is None and target is None and manifest_name is None:
+            raise ValueError("derive-name needs --target <url-or-path> or --from <names.json|->")
+        if probe and source is not None:
+            raise ValueError("--probe-git takes one --target, not --from")
+    except ValueError as e:
+        return _usage_error(str(e))
+    existing = existing_by_name(skills_folder) if skills_folder is not None else None
+
+    def named(entry):
+        name, basis = derive_name_with_basis(entry["target"], entry["manifest_name"],
+                                             entry.get("private", False), entry.get("members"))
+        return {"target": entry["target"], "manifest_name": entry["manifest_name"],
+                "name": name or None, "basis": basis}
+
+    def with_existing(out):
+        if existing is not None:
+            out["existing"] = existing.get(out["name"]) if out["name"] else None
+        return out
+
+    if source is None:
+        result = named({"target": target, "manifest_name": manifest_name})
+        result.update(kind=target_kind(target), clone_url=clone_url(target))
+        if not result["name"]:
+            print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "code": "NO_NAME", "command": "derive-name",
+                              "error": "no skill name can be derived from the target or manifest name"},
+                             indent=2))
+            return 1
+        del result["target"], result["manifest_name"]
+        if probe:
+            verdict = probe_git(target) if result["kind"] == "docs" else None
+            result.update(git_probe=verdict, halt_message=git_probe_halt(target, verdict))
+        print(json.dumps({"status": "ok", "command": "derive-name", **with_existing(result)}, indent=2))
+        return 0
+    try:
+        entries = _read_name_entries(source)
+    except ValueError as e:
+        print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "code": "BAD_INPUT", "command": "derive-name",
+                          "error": str(e)}, indent=2))
+        return 1
+    names = [named(entry) for entry in entries]
+    duplicates = _tell_apart(names)
+    names = [with_existing(entry) for entry in names]
+    print(json.dumps({"status": "ok", "command": "derive-name", "names": names,
+                      "unnamed": [i for i, entry in enumerate(names) if not entry["name"]],
+                      "duplicates": duplicates}, indent=2))
+    return 0
+
+
+def _main_guarded_delete(argv):
+    """`guarded-delete --root <folder> [--root <folder>]... [<path>...]`; exit 0 whatever
+    `purge_status` says (no path deletes nothing), exit 1 with `USAGE` on an error."""
+    roots, paths = [], []
+    try:
+        i = 0
+        while i < len(argv):
+            if argv[i] == "--root":
+                if i + 1 >= len(argv) or not argv[i + 1] or argv[i + 1].startswith("--"):
+                    raise ValueError("--root needs a folder")
+                roots.append(argv[i + 1])
+                i += 2
+                continue
+            if argv[i].startswith("--"):
+                raise ValueError(f"unexpected argument: {argv[i]!r}")
+            paths.append(argv[i])
+            i += 1
+        if not roots:
+            raise ValueError("guarded-delete needs --root <folder>")
+    except ValueError as e:
+        return _usage_error(str(e))
+    print(json.dumps({"status": "ok", "command": "guarded-delete", **guarded_delete(roots, paths)}, indent=2))
+    return 0
+
+
+# The verdict flags: at most one per call, each with --skill <name>.
+CHECK_FLAGS = ("--write-check", "--purge-check", "--rename-check")
+CHECK_KEYS = {"--write-check": "write_check", "--purge-check": "purge_check", "--rename-check": "rename_check"}
+
+
+def main(argv):
+    if len(argv) < 1:
+        print(USAGE, file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    if argv[0] == "resolve":
+        return _main_resolve(argv[1:])
+    if argv[0] == "version":
+        return _main_version(argv[1:])
+    if argv[0] == "guarded-delete":
+        return _main_guarded_delete(argv[1:])
+    if argv[0] == "derive-name":
+        return _main_derive_name(argv[1:])
+    folder = argv[0]
+    checks = [flag for flag in CHECK_FLAGS if flag in argv]
+    check = checks[0] if checks else None
+    try:
+        if len(checks) > 1:
+            raise ValueError("pass one of " + ", ".join(CHECK_FLAGS) + ", not several")
+        skill = _flag_value(argv, "--skill", required=check is not None)
+        match_target = _flag_value(argv, "--match-target")
+        near = _flag_value(argv, "--near", required=True)
+        forge_data_folder = _flag_value(argv, "--forge-data-folder", required=True)
+        versions = {flag: _flag_value(argv, flag, required=True)
+                    for flag in ("--write-version", "--purge-version")}
+        if check and folder.startswith("--"):
+            raise ValueError(f"{check} needs <skills-output-folder> first")
+        if check and not skill:
+            raise ValueError(f"{check} needs --skill <name>")
+        for flag, needs in (("--write-version", "--write-check"), ("--purge-version", "--purge-check")):
+            if versions[flag] is not None and check != needs:
+                raise ValueError(f"{flag} needs {needs}")
+        if check in ("--purge-check", "--rename-check") and not forge_data_folder:
+            raise ValueError(f"{check} needs --forge-data-folder <path>")
+        if check and not _safe_segment(skill):
+            raise ValueError(f"--skill must be one folder name: {skill!r}")
+        for flag, value in versions.items():
+            if value is not None and not _safe_segment(value):
+                raise ValueError(f"{flag} must be one folder name: {value!r}")
+    except ValueError as e:
+        print(json.dumps({"status": "error", "error": str(e), "code": "USAGE"}, indent=2))
+        print(USAGE, file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    if check:
+        skills_dir = Path(folder)
+        if os.path.lexists(skills_dir) and not skills_dir.is_dir():
+            result = {"status": "error", "error": f"Skills directory not found: {skills_dir}",
+                      "code": "DIR_NOT_FOUND"}
+        else:
+            forge_dir = Path(forge_data_folder) if forge_data_folder else None
+            if check == "--write-check":
+                verdict = write_check(skills_dir, skill, versions["--write-version"], forge_data_folder)
+            elif check == "--purge-check":
+                verdict = purge_check(skills_dir, skill, forge_data_folder, versions["--purge-version"])
+            else:
+                verdict = rename_check(skills_dir, skill, forge_data_folder)
+            result = {"status": "ok", "skills_folder": str(skills_dir),
+                      "forge_data_folder": forge_data_folder,
+                      "same_folder": _same_folder(skills_dir, forge_dir),
+                      CHECK_KEYS[check]: verdict}
+    else:
+        result = scan_inventory(
+            folder,
+            skill_filter=skill,
+            manifest_only="--manifest-only" in argv,
+            match_target=match_target,
+            forge_data_folder=forge_data_folder,
+            near=near,
         )
-        sys.exit(1)
-
-    folder = sys.argv[1]
-    skill = None
-    manifest_only = "--manifest-only" in sys.argv
-    match_target = None
-
-    if "--skill" in sys.argv:
-        idx = sys.argv.index("--skill")
-        if idx + 1 < len(sys.argv):
-            skill = sys.argv[idx + 1]
-
-    if "--match-target" in sys.argv:
-        idx = sys.argv.index("--match-target")
-        if idx + 1 < len(sys.argv):
-            match_target = sys.argv[idx + 1]
-
-    result = scan_inventory(
-        folder,
-        skill_filter=skill,
-        manifest_only=manifest_only,
-        match_target=match_target,
-    )
     print(json.dumps(result, indent=2))
-    sys.exit(0 if result["status"] == "ok" else 1)
+    return 0 if result["status"] == "ok" else 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main(sys.argv[1:]))