
Fleet Maintenance
FreeManage and audit Mac fleets efficiently.
Free · Opens the source repo
What Fleet Maintenance does
Fleet Maintenance is designed for managing and maintaining multiple Mac computers within a network, particularly useful for developers and IT administrators overseeing a fleet of machines. This skill allows users to collect inventory data on installed applications and packages, ensuring that the desired software state aligns with the actual state on each machine. It facilitates the auditing of local-account escrow references and provides tools to update Homebrew and global packages, ensuring that the software environment remains consistent and up-to-date.
The skill operates through a series of scripts that automate various maintenance tasks, including SSH inventory collection, Xcode synchronization, and health checks for disk space, services, backups, updates, and security. Users can define two profiles—'full' for daily-driver Macs and 'worker' for leaner remote setups—allowing tailored management based on the specific needs of each machine. This structured approach ensures that software installations are handled with precision, avoiding unnecessary changes and maintaining a clear inventory.
With built-in auditing scripts, Fleet Maintenance ensures compliance with security and operational standards. It requires the use of tools like 1Password for credential management and OpenSSH for secure connections, thereby reinforcing security best practices. The skill’s deterministic profile tool enables users to collect, plan, and validate software states, providing a comprehensive view of each machine's configuration and helping to identify discrepancies that need addressing.
This skill is ideal for teams managing a large number of Macs, as it simplifies the maintenance process and reduces the risk of configuration drift. By automating routine checks and updates, Fleet Maintenance allows IT professionals to focus on more strategic tasks while ensuring that their fleet operates smoothly and securely.
When to use it
Use this skill when you need to maintain and audit a fleet of Mac computers, ensuring software consistency and security compliance.
When not to use it
This skill may not be suitable for single-user environments or for those who do not require detailed auditing and maintenance of multiple machines.
What you can build with it
Auditing Installed Software
Use Fleet Maintenance to audit the installed software across multiple Macs, ensuring compliance with your desired software state.
Updating Homebrew Packages
Automate the process of updating Homebrew packages on all managed Macs, reducing manual effort and ensuring consistency.
Health Checks for Mac Machines
Perform regular health checks on your fleet of Macs to monitor disk space, service status, and security updates.
How to install Fleet Maintenance
View source1. Install with the skills CLI
npx skills add steipete/agent-scripts/fleet-maintenance --agent claude-code2. Or install it manually
Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.
Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs
Inside SKILL.md
Written by steipeteFleet Maintenance
Maintain Peter's Macs while protecting ambiguous local work. Package updates are explicitly allowed during active sessions and may disrupt the software being upgraded. Use $remote-mac for inventory/SSH and $xcode-sync for all Xcode work.
Desired state
- Read
~/Projects/manager/fleet/inventory.jsonfor desired software and local-account escrow references. Readreferences/fleet-schema.mdbefore changing its schema or adopting packages. - Keep exactly two profiles unless Peter explicitly changes the model:
full: daily-driver Macs with the complete development, communication, media, and agentic toolset.worker: lean remote Macs that mainly run Codex, Claude, OpenClaw nodes, and supporting agent infrastructure.
- Treat profile policy as
minimum: install required entries and report extras without removing them. Never silently turn observed software into desired state. - Keep topology, SSH routing, and handed-off status in
~/Projects/manager/computers.yaml. Do not duplicate live topology in this skill. - Keep passwords, recovery keys, and private keys in 1Password. The inventory stores opaque item IDs only. Invoke
$one-passwordbefore anyopcommand; apendingreference is not an error during package maintenance. - Require the classic OpenSSH mesh named by
ssh_meshon both profiles. The manager fleet setup document owns the canonical peer list and live proof. Use the symmetric Tailscale TCP 22 grant plus per-hostauthorized_keys; macOS GUI Tailscale clients cannot act as Tailscale SSH servers. Distribute public keys only, keep private keys host-local, verify both directions withBatchMode=yesand a finite timeout, and leave offline or provider-blocked directions pending. - Require the stable 1Password CLI integrity baseline on every fleet Mac. Require the file-backed service-account profile block unless that host has a documented
requirement_exceptionssecurity boundary in inventory. Audit eligible hosts withscripts/op-profile-audit.sh; audit token-exempt hosts withscripts/op-profile-audit.sh --cli-only. Repair only after$one-passwordis loaded and the mode-0600 token file is provisioned; never print or store the token in inventory. - Require the agent skill mirror on every fleet Mac. Audit it with
scripts/agent-skill-links-audit.sh; use--repaironly when both canonical repos exist. This owns the Codex root links, Claude flat mirror, and shared instruction pointers documented inreferences/fleet-schema.mdand~/Projects/manager/docs/fleet-setup.md. - Require the shared global Git ignore on every fleet Mac. Audit it with
scripts/global-gitignore-audit.sh;--repaircreates~/.config/git/ignore, preserves unrelated entries, adds the inventory's macOS metadata patterns, and pointscore.excludesFileat it. An already-configured alternate excludes file requires manual review so existing rules are never discarded. - Require Claude Code and Claude Desktop coding sessions to omit AI attribution. Audit
~/.claude/settings.jsonwithscripts/claude-attribution-audit.sh;--repairpreserves unrelated settings while disabling commit trailers, pull-request footers, and remote-session links. - Require the official Codex and Claude Code CLIs on both profiles. Package ownership comes from the profile's
codexandclaude-codeHomebrew casks; the separateclaudecask is Claude Desktop and does not satisfy the CLI requirement. Audit versions and non-interactive authentication withscripts/agent-cli-audit.sh; use--livefor bounded, tool-free, non-persistent model turns. Never copy normal Claude OAuth credentials between Macs: refresh each host independently through$anthropicand leave locked-Keychain, account-selection, or offline cases pending. - Require Octopool as the GitHub cache on both profiles with
requirements.github_cache: "octopool". Package presence alone is insufficient:scripts/octopool-audit.shmust prove that non-interactive and login zsh resolveghthrough the Octopool shim, the client login has complete identity metadata, and every configured pool identity is healthy. Use--repairto log in through the existing authenticated stable-path GitHub CLI, install the zsh shim, and repair macOS login PATH ordering when needed; it never installs packages or prints credentials.
Use the deterministic profile tool:
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs collect
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs \
plan --fleet ~/Projects/manager/fleet/inventory.json \
--host mac-studio-sf --snapshot /path/to/mac-studio-sf.json
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs \
diff --source /path/to/macbook-pro.json --target /path/to/mac-studio-sf.json
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs \
brewfile --fleet ~/Projects/manager/fleet/inventory.json --host mac-studio-sf
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs \
validate --fleet ~/Projects/manager/fleet/inventory.json
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/agent-skill-links-audit.sh
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/global-gitignore-audit.sh --host mac-studio-sf
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/claude-attribution-audit.sh
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/agent-cli-audit.sh
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/octopool-audit.sh
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/op-profile-audit.sh
Collector snapshots are observed evidence, not configuration. Store reviewed snapshots under ~/Projects/manager/fleet/snapshots/<host-id>.json. diff reports source-only candidates; Peter chooses which enter full.
Safety contract
- Read
~/Projects/manager/computers.yaml; use live Tailscale state and deduplicate hosts by hardware UUID. Exclude handed-off and unknown machines. - Audit hosts in parallel; mutate one host at a time. Recheck agent activity immediately before every repo or Xcode mutation.
- Skip repositories with a user process cwd inside them or a Git lock. Recent files are audit signal, not a blocker. Permit dirty worktrees only through the conflict-free fast-forward procedure below.
- Homebrew and global npm updates are allowed while agents/services are running. This can mix old in-memory code with replaced files, break later imports or child processes, and let Homebrew terminate/reopen cask GUI apps. Accept that package-update risk; never manually terminate or restart services. Verify health and report interruptions or pending restarts.
- Never reset, clean, stash, rebase, switch branches, delete local work, push, install macOS updates, or reboot during routine maintenance.
- Snapshot role-critical services before package updates. Do not restart OpenClaw gateways or other services unless explicitly authorized; verify them afterward using their owning skill.
- Keep a per-host action log. An unreachable host is pending, never current.
Run order
- Resolve the host's
fullorworkerprofile, collect observed inventory, and run package-ownership preflight. - Sync eligible repos using the existing Git/toolchain.
- Update Homebrew and global npm packages on every eligible, reachable host regardless of active agents/services.
- Verify each host's macOS stable/beta track.
- Sync Xcode through
$xcode-sync. - Empty Trash only when explicitly requested for this run; perform approved package cleanup.
- Re-audit disk, tools, package ownership, repos, memory, and role-critical services.
Preflight
Record hostname, hardware UUID, macOS, architecture, uptime, Tailscale state, selected Xcode, free bytes/percent, Trash size, Homebrew prefix/version, Node/npm versions, running Brew services, active coding-agent processes, and resident-memory outliers:
node skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs collect
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/host-health-audit.sh 30
ssh -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none HOST 'node --input-type=module - collect' \
< skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/fleet-profile.mjs
ssh -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none HOST 'bash -s -- 30' \
< skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/host-health-audit.sh
Report every process above 30 GiB resident memory. Do not alert on virtual size alone, sum related processes, or terminate a process automatically. Record PID, resident GiB, user, executable, role, and whether memory remains above the threshold on a second sample.
Classify startup-disk space using both absolute and relative capacity:
- healthy: at least 100 GiB and 15% free
- warning: 50–100 GiB or 10–15% free
- critical: below 50 GiB or 10% free
Do not start Xcode expansion on warning/critical space. Never delete outside Trash, superseded package-manager artifacts, or Xcode paths governed by $xcode-sync without explicit approval.
Repository sync
Run the read-only candidate audit on each host:
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/repo-sync-audit.sh ~/Projects 3
ssh -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none HOST 'bash -s -- "$HOME/Projects" 3' \
< skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/repo-sync-audit.sh
Apply the audited policy with the bundled updater. It rechecks safety, fetches noninteractively, fast-forwards clean or conflict-free dirty worktrees, and isolates refusals:
skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/repo-sync-update.sh ~/Projects 3
ssh -o RequestTTY=no -o RemoteCommand=none HOST \
'"$HOME/Projects/agent-scripts/skills/fleet-maintenance/scripts/repo-sync-update.sh" "$HOME/Projects" 3'
Only process rows marked candidate. Recheck branch, upstream, Git locks, and active process cwd immediately before mutation, then:
git -C "$repo" fetch --prune
git -C "$repo" rev-list --left-right --count HEAD...@{upstream}
Run fetches noninteractively and bound each one (for example five minutes). On timeout, authentication failure, or network failure, terminate that fetch, mark the repo pending, and continue. Never let one stale/private mirror stall the host, rewrite its remote, or prompt for credentials during fleet maintenance.
Interpret counts as ahead behind:
0 0: current; no action.0 N: inspectgit log --oneline HEAD..@{upstream}andgit diff --stat HEAD..@{upstream}. RecordHEADand worktree status. Rungit merge --ff-only --no-autostash --no-overwrite-ignore @{upstream}. A clean worktree should advance. A dirty worktree may advance only when Git can preserve every local change without overlap; Git refusal meansskip-local-overlap, not an error to repair. After success, require no unmerged entries, the expected upstream commit atHEAD, and all prior local modifications still present. After refusal, require unchangedHEAD, no unmerged entries, and unchanged worktree status.N 0orN M: inspect local commit subjects/authors andgit diff --stat @{upstream}...HEAD; explain likely intent and escalate. Never push or rewrite.- detached/no upstream/fetch failure: understand remotes, branches, recent commits, and worktree state; escalate with the smallest useful decision.
Do not infer that a stale local checkout should match a sibling checkout. Each visible checkout is user-managed.
Never use pull or merge as a conflict resolver. Never pass --autostash, create a stash, discard changes, or stage files. A non-fast-forward, checkout-overwrite warning, merge conflict, or changed safety snapshot stops that repository only; continue the fleet pass.
Homebrew
Skip only if Homebrew is absent. Running agents/services do not block package mutation:
First render the host's resolved profile to a temporary Brewfile and run brew bundle check --verbose --file FILE. Review missing entries. brew bundle install --file FILE may install or upgrade declared dependencies. Never run brew bundle cleanup --force; extras are allowed under the default minimum policy. Remove an entry only through an explicitly approved prune action.
Homebrew 6 can refuse third-party formulae until they are trusted. If that happens, verify each formula is already declared in the resolved fleet profile, then grant trust to those exact formula names with brew trust --formula .... Never trust an entire tap or a formula discovered only from the remote tap. Record the resulting trust list with brew trust --json v1 and resume the same generated Brewfile.
brew update
brew outdated --json=v2
brew upgrade
brew services list
brew doctor
Treat brew doctor as advisory; do not blindly apply its suggestions. Compare services before/after. Use brew cleanup --prune=30 after successful verification; use more aggressive cleanup only for disk pressure and explicit approval.
If an upgrade replaces Node, Git, Codex, or another executable used by an active agent/service, accept that later imports or child processes may observe new files and report the risk. Allow Homebrew's controlled quit/reopen for cask GUI apps, including possible session termination; do not manually restart services, change taps, or uninstall packages automatically.
Package ownership
Run scripts/host-health-audit.sh before and after package mutations. Investigate its ownership candidates plus duplicate launchd labels/listeners, executable version skew, and collisions across Homebrew formulae/casks, global npm, standalone apps, and app-bundled CLIs.
For each candidate, resolve executable realpaths, package receipts, service definitions, listeners, running processes, dependents, versions, and intended host role. Prefer one canonical owner. Disable or uninstall a redundant owner only when its replacement is healthy, no installed package depends on it, and the current request authorizes the fix. Never infer a conflict from a shared name alone; formula/app pairs can be intentional.
Global npm packages
“Update npm” means registry-backed, top-level global packages—not project dependencies. Never change a repository's package.json or lockfile here.
- Record
node --version,npm --version,npm prefix -g, andnpm ls -g --depth=0 --json. - Run
npm outdated -g --depth=0 --json; its nonzero exit can mean updates exist. - Update each registry package to
name@latest. Skip linked, file, Git, bundled, and ambiguous packages; report them. - Let the owner update npm itself: Homebrew updates a Homebrew Node/npm; only use
npm install -g npm@latestfor a self-managed npm installation. Verify the resultingnpm --version. - Re-run inventory and smoke-test the updated global CLIs. Use
$npmand$one-passwordonly if a private package actually requires registry authentication; never expose npm credentials.
Major global-package updates are intended even when the package currently backs an active coding agent or service. Accept the risk of mixed old/new files; do not restart the process. Smoke-test the newly installed CLI separately and report failures or pending restarts.
macOS track
Record sw_vers product/build and current beta-seed enrollment. Resolve the latest stable and current beta build from authoritative current Apple sources; do not hardcode versions or infer track from version number alone. Use softwareupdate --list to confirm what the host is actually offered on its configured track.
Classify each Mac as current, update available, track ambiguous, unsupported, or unreachable. Preserve its configured stable/beta track. Routine maintenance does not switch tracks, install macOS updates, or reboot: prepare the exact update and request a maintenance window after confirming no active agents/services and adequate backup/disk state.
Xcode
Invoke $xcode-sync; do not duplicate its install logic. Resolve current stable/beta/RC versions from an authoritative current source, not hardcoded versions. Preserve each host's selected stable or prerelease track while maintaining the canonical stable/prerelease slots and previous-major retention policy defined there.
Verify product build, signature, first-launch state, selection, host compatibility, and free space. Report unsupported and unreachable Macs separately.
Simulator hygiene is a required fleet invariant, not optional disk cleanup. Run the $xcode-sync simulator-hygiene audit on every reachable Mac. A host without Xcode/simctl is not-applicable; a host with Xcode is current only when Apple reports no outdated or unusable runtime images and no devices tied to unavailable runtimes. Repair only after checking for active Xcode work; the canonical action refuses while simulator devices are booted.
Trash and disk
Measure Trash on every run. Keep it read-only unless the current request explicitly says to clear/empty Trash. With that consent, empty only the current user's home-volume Trash after resolving and verifying the path:
trash="$HOME/.Trash"
home_real=$(cd "$HOME" && pwd -P)
trash_real=$(cd "$trash" && pwd -P)
if [[ "$trash_real" != "$home_real/.Trash" ]]; then
printf 'refusing unexpected Trash path: %s\n' "$trash_real" >&2
exit 2
fi
find "$trash_real" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -exec rm -rf {} +
Never empty another user's Trash or Trash on external volumes. Recheck disk capacity afterward; escalate unexplained growth instead of broad cache deletion.
Baseline health checks
Include these read-only checks in the report; mutations need separate authority:
- available macOS/security updates and whether a reboot is recommended
- Mac App Store application drift via
mas outdated, whenmasis installed - last successful Time Machine backup, when configured
- SMART/storage warnings and APFS volume health signals available from
diskutil - uptime, clock synchronization, and laptop battery health/cycle count
- Tailscale reachability/version drift
- failed Brew services and role-specific LaunchAgents/daemons
- FileVault, firewall, Gatekeeper, and SIP status drift
- Developer ID certificate and important SSH credential expiry dates, never secret values
Useful optional maintenance: stale package caches/logs, abandoned containers/VMs, old device-support files not managed by CoreSimulator, orphaned launch agents, and large Downloads. Audit first; delete only with explicit scope.
Finish
Return a host matrix with: reachability, agent CLI install/auth/live-test state, Octopool shim/login/pool-health state, agent skill-link state, global Git-ignore state, active/deferred reason, disk before/after, Trash reclaimed, Brew/npm changes, repos pulled/current/skipped/escalated, Xcode stable/prerelease build and selected track, backup/update/service warnings, and remaining user decisions.
Frequently asked questions about Fleet Maintenance
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