📦 Tapestry Init Deps Install

Automatic Dependency Installation with Environment Detection

This skill is automatically triggered when Tapestry is first launched on a new environment or when dependencies are missing. It detects the user's Python environment (venv, conda, system Python, etc.) and provides a comprehensive installation plan for all project dependencies, including both Python packages and system-level tools.

When This Skill is Triggered

This skill is automatically invoked when:

• Tapestry is first launched on a new environment (one-time auto-trigger)
• Required dependencies are missing or cannot be imported
• The user explicitly asks to "install dependencies" or "set up the project"
• After creating a new project that requires dependencies

Important: The automatic trigger only occurs the first time Tapestry runs in a new environment. After successful initialization, the skill will not auto-trigger on subsequent runs to avoid wasting tokens. Manual invocation is always available if needed.

How This Skill Works

1. Configuration Setup: Checks for user configuration and creates it if missing:

• Detects if tapestry.config.json exists
• If not, copies from tapestry.config.example.json
• Determines the real project root path
• Updates paths.project_root in the config with the actual path

1. Environment Detection: Analyzes the current environment to determine:

• Python version and location
• Virtual environment status (venv, virtualenv, conda)
• Package manager availability (pip, conda, poetry, uv)
• Existing installed packages

1. Dependency Analysis: Scans for dependency files:

• pyproject.toml (preferred)
• requirements.txt
• setup.py
• environment.yml (conda)

1. Plan Generation: Creates a comprehensive installation plan including:

• Configuration file setup (if needed)
• Python package installation commands
• System-level dependencies (e.g., playwright install chromium)
• Optional dependencies and recommendations
• Environment-specific considerations

1. User Confirmation: Presents the plan and asks for approval before executing

1. Installation: Executes the approved plan and reports results

Usage

This skill is automatically triggered when dependencies are missing. It can also be manually invoked:

# Manually trigger from the project root
/init-deps-install

# Or specify a project path
/init-deps-install /path/to/project

Implementation

When this skill is invoked:

1. Check and setup configuration if needed
2. Detect the environment by running the detection script
3. Analyze dependencies from project files
4. Generate an installation plan with clear steps
5. Present the plan to the user with AskUserQuestion
6. Execute approved steps and report results

Step 0: Configuration Setup

Before installing dependencies, check if this is the first run:

# Check if already initialized
python init-deps-install/_scripts/check_initialized.py
# Exit code 0 = already initialized, 1 = needs initialization

# If not initialized, setup configuration
python init-deps-install/_scripts/setup_config.py [project-root]

The setup script will:

1. Check if tapestry.config.json exists
2. If not, copy from tapestry.config.example.json
3. Determine the project root path (argument or CWD)
4. Update paths.project_root in the config

Project Root Detection:

• If invoked with an argument, use that path as project root
• Otherwise, use the current working directory
• Convert to absolute path
• Update the paths.project_root field in tapestry.config.json

Example Output:

{
  "config_existed": false,
  "config_path": "/path/to/skills/tapestry/config/tapestry.config.json",
  "project_root": "/home/user/my-tapestry-project",
  "created": true,
  "updated": true
}

Initialization Marker: After successful setup and installation, create a marker file:

# Create .tapestry_initialized marker
python init-deps-install/_scripts/mark_initialized.py

This marker file indicates that Tapestry has been successfully initialized and prevents the skill from auto-triggering on future runs, saving tokens.

Step 1: Environment Detection

Run the environment detection script:

python init-deps-install/_scripts/detect_env.py

This outputs JSON with:

• python_version: Python version string
• python_path: Path to Python executable
• env_type: "venv", "conda", "system", or "unknown"
• env_name: Name of the environment (if applicable)
• env_path: Path to the environment (if applicable)
• package_manager: "pip", "conda", "poetry", "uv", or "pip" (default)
• installed_packages: List of currently installed packages

Step 2: Dependency Analysis

Read and parse dependency files in order of preference:

1. pyproject.toml - Parse [project.dependencies] and [project.optional-dependencies]
2. requirements.txt - Parse line by line
3. setup.py - Look for install_requires

Identify:

• Core dependencies (required)
• Optional dependencies (browser support, dev tools, etc.)
• Post-install commands (e.g., playwright install chromium)

Step 3: Generate Installation Plan

Create a structured plan with:

Environment Summary:

• Current Python version and path
• Environment type and name
• Package manager to use

Installation Steps:

1. Core dependencies installation command
2. Optional dependencies (with recommendations)
3. Post-install commands (system-level tools)
4. Verification steps

Example Plan:

Configuration:
✓ Created tapestry.config.json from example
✓ Set project_root to: /home/user/my-project

Environment: Python 3.11.5 in conda environment 'myenv'
Package Manager: conda (with pip fallback)

Installation Steps:
1. Install core dependencies:
   conda install httpx pydantic selectolax readability-lxml chardet

2. Install browser support (recommended for JavaScript-heavy sites):
   pip install playwright>=1.40.0
   playwright install chromium

3. [Optional] Install development tools:
   pip install pytest pytest-asyncio pytest-cov black ruff mypy

Step 4: User Confirmation

Use AskUserQuestion to present the plan:

{
  "questions": [{
    "question": "I've detected your environment and prepared an installation plan. Would you like to proceed?",
    "header": "Install",
    "multiSelect": false,
    "options": [
      {
        "label": "Install all (recommended)",
        "description": "Install core dependencies, browser support, and post-install tools"
      },
      {
        "label": "Core only",
        "description": "Install only required dependencies, skip optional packages"
      },
      {
        "label": "Custom selection",
        "description": "Let me choose which components to install"
      }
    ]
  }]
}

If user selects "Custom selection", present a second multi-select question with individual components.

Step 5: Execute Installation

Based on user selection, execute the appropriate commands:

# Example for pip in venv
pip install -e .  # If pyproject.toml exists
# OR
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Post-install commands
playwright install chromium

Monitor output and report:

• ✅ Successfully installed packages
• ⚠️ Warnings or issues
• ❌ Failed installations with error messages

Step 6: Verification

After installation, verify:

python init-deps-install/_scripts/verify_install.py

This checks:

• All required packages are importable
• Versions meet requirements
• System tools are available (e.g., chromium for playwright)

Report verification results to the user.

Error Handling

Common issues and solutions:

Issue: No package manager detected Solution: Recommend installing pip or conda

Issue: Permission denied Solution: Suggest using virtual environment or --user flag

Issue: Conflicting dependencies Solution: Show conflict details and suggest resolution strategies

Issue: Network errors Solution: Suggest checking internet connection or using mirrors

Important Notes

• Never install without confirmation: Always present the plan first
• Respect user environment: Don't modify system Python without explicit permission
• Handle failures gracefully: If one package fails, continue with others and report at the end
• Provide context: Explain why certain dependencies are needed
• Support multiple package managers: Detect and use the appropriate tool for the environment

Directory Structure

skills/tapestry/init-deps-install/
├── SKILL.md                    # This file
├── README.md                   # Developer documentation
├── _scripts/
│   ├── check_initialized.py   # Check if Tapestry is initialized
│   ├── setup_config.py        # Configuration setup from example
│   ├── mark_initialized.py    # Create initialization marker
│   ├── detect_env.py          # Environment detection
│   ├── parse_deps.py          # Dependency parsing utilities
│   ├── verify_install.py      # Post-install verification
│   └── install_deps.py        # Installation orchestrator
└── _specs/
    └── env_detection.md       # Environment detection specification

Example Workflows

Workflow 1: Fresh Project Setup

User: "Set up this project"

Actions:
1. Check for tapestry.config.json, create from example if missing
2. Detect project root and update config
3. Detect environment (conda with Python 3.11)
4. Find pyproject.toml with dependencies
5. Generate plan:
   - Configuration setup
   - pip install -e .
   - playwright install chromium
6. Ask user for confirmation
7. Execute approved steps
8. Verify installation
9. Create .tapestry_initialized marker
10. Report: "✅ Installed 8 packages successfully. Project ready!"

Workflow 2: Missing Dependencies

User: "Install the missing dependencies"

Actions:
1. Detect environment (venv with Python 3.10)
2. Compare installed vs required packages
3. Generate plan for missing packages only
4. Ask user for confirmation
5. Execute: pip install <missing-packages>
6. Verify installation
7. Report: "✅ Installed 3 missing packages"

Workflow 3: System Python (Risky)

User: "Install dependencies"

Actions:
1. Detect environment (system Python, no venv)
2. Generate plan with WARNING
3. Ask user: "⚠️ You're using system Python. Recommend creating a virtual environment first. Proceed anyway?"
4. If user confirms, install with --user flag
5. Report results with reminder to use venv

Key Principle: Be transparent about what will be installed and why. Never surprise the user with unexpected system modifications.