configure skills: utility-tools-only mode, announce registration, restart hint by xsh310 · Pull Request #248 · databricks/ucode

xsh310 · 2026-07-27T21:08:08Z

Summary

Addresses three bug-bash P0 gaps in ucode configure skills. All three are about the command surface and its output; none change the download/MCP mechanics.

P0-1 — get the bare toolset without a download

--location is now optional. A bare ucode configure skills (or --mcp with no location) registers the schema-less skills MCP connection — the cross-schema utility tools only — without forcing a download. Previously --location was required, so there was no way to get just the discovery tools.

configure skills / configure skills --mcp → register schema-less connection, no download.
configure skills --location a.b → download + register.
configure skills --location a.b --mcp → set scope to a.b.
--path without --location is rejected; --path with --mcp still rejected.

P0-2 — no more silent MCP registration

Every run now prints the registered server name, URL, configured agents, and a tool summary. Download mode also prints where the files landed. The tool line names categories (UC skill utility tools, plus + live skills tools in schema … when scoped) rather than individual tool names, so it can't go stale when the backend changes its tool offering.

P0-3 — restart requirement is now explicit

The summary always ends with a launch/restart line:

Run ucode <agent> to use the skills MCP. For existing sessions, restart the agent before skills become available.

Download mode appends that the downloaded files already work from disk. The summary prints even on a no-op re-run; only the state save stays gated on a real change.

Example output

Testing

uv run pytest — full suite green except a pre-existing test_e2e_user_agent failure (launches a real claude binary; fails identically on main, unrelated to this change).
uv run ruff check / ruff format --check — clean.
Added/updated tests: bare + --mcp-only dispatch, --path-without-location error, the tool-summary one-liner (bare/scoped/multi-schema), the summary printer's server/URL/agents/tools + restart wording, and the download "files written under" line.

This pull request and its description were written by Isaac.

…tart hint Addresses three bug-bash P0 gaps in `ucode configure skills`: - Make `--location` optional. A bare `ucode configure skills` (or `--mcp` with no location) now registers the schema-less skills MCP connection — the cross-schema utility tools only — without forcing a download. `--path` without `--location` is rejected. - Announce the registration: print the server name, URL, configured agents, and a tool-category one-liner (utility tools, plus live per-schema skill tools when scoped). Download mode also prints where files landed. The summary names categories, not individual tools, so it can't drift when the backend changes its offering. - Always end with a launch/restart line ("Run `ucode <agent>` ...; existing sessions need a restart"), and note that downloaded files already work from disk. The summary prints even on a no-op re-run; only the save is gated on a real change. Co-authored-by: Isaac

- mcp.py: drop the download-specific restart clause; rename `_join_human` to `_join_with_and`; tighten `_print_skills_summary` docstring and restore the original `_update_skills_mcp` docstring; rename the local `displays` to `clients`; remove the now-unused `download_roots` plumbing and `Path` import. - Drop "live" from the tools summary line. - skills_download.py: fold the download roots into the per-location summary ("Downloaded N/M skill(s) from `x.y` in <roots>") instead of a separate note. - README / status hint: reword the skills copy. - Tests: assert the full summary strings (not substrings); update the download summary + dispatch tests accordingly. Co-authored-by: Isaac

- Rename `_skills_tools_summary` to `_skills_tools_description` and drop its docstring (the function is self-explanatory). - Prefix the summary heading with ✔ and the restart note with ⚠. Co-authored-by: Isaac

Keep the plain `print_note` bullet for the restart line; the ✔ heading stays. Co-authored-by: Isaac

The `✔ Skills MCP registered` summary heading now serves as the confirmation, so the separate `✔ Saved` line was printing two checkmarks for one action. Co-authored-by: Isaac

- Restructure the `configure_skills` docstring around whether `--location` is given, then whether `--mcp` is present. - Reword the restart note to "restart the agent for the skills to take effect". Co-authored-by: Isaac

The download path registers the MCP connection with utility tools only. Co-authored-by: Isaac

- Color the summary heading's ✔ green so it matches the green ✔ from `print_success` on the download line (the heading's bold-wrap was rendering it white). - Print a blank line before each per-location "Downloaded ..." line. Co-authored-by: Isaac

Replace the manually-greened print_heading with print_success so the summary heading's ✔ matches the download line's checkmark (both green, no bold-wrap or inline color markup). Keep the leading blank line for spacing. Co-authored-by: Isaac