watcher-creator
The watcher-creator skill guides users through conversationally setting up a new agent-deck watcher that listens for incoming events from webhooks, ntfy notifications, GitHub, Slack, or Gmail and routes them to a conductor session. Use this skill when users need help creating a watcher, such as connecting GitHub webhooks, routing Slack messages, or listening for Gmail notifications. The skill collects the adapter type, required settings, watcher name, target conductor, and group, then generates the exact watcher.toml configuration and agent-deck CLI command needed to deploy the watcher.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/asheshgoplani/agent-deck /tmp/watcher-creator && cp -r /tmp/watcher-creator/cmd/agent-deck/assets/skills/watcher-creator ~/.claude/skills/watcher-creatorSKILL.md
# Watcher Creator
## Overview
This skill guides users through setting up a new agent-deck watcher from scratch. A watcher listens for incoming events (webhooks, ntfy notifications, GitHub events, Slack messages, or Gmail messages) and routes them to the appropriate conductor session. The skill asks clarifying questions, collects required settings, and emits the exact CLI command and configuration files to create a working watcher.
## When to use
Invoke this skill when a user says things like:
- "I want to set up a new watcher"
- "How do I connect GitHub webhooks to agent-deck?"
- "Help me route Slack messages to a conductor"
- "Create a watcher for my Gmail inbox"
- "I need agent-deck to listen for ntfy notifications"
## Step-by-step conversational flow
### Step 1: Choose adapter type
Ask the user which source they want to receive events from. Present the five options:
1. **webhook** - Generic HTTP POST webhook (any service that can send HTTP)
2. **ntfy** - ntfy.sh push notification topic
3. **github** - GitHub repository webhooks (issues, PRs, pushes)
4. **slack** - Slack messages via a Cloudflare Worker bridge to ntfy
5. **gmail** - Gmail inbox via Google Cloud Pub/Sub watch
### Step 2: Gather required settings for the chosen type
Once the user picks a type, ask for the settings specific to that adapter (see the per-type sections below). Ask for each required setting one at a time to avoid overwhelming the user.
Also ask:
- **Watcher name**: A short lowercase identifier (e.g., `my-webhook`, `github-alerts`). This becomes the directory name under the effective watcher data dir (`${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/agent-deck/watcher` for new users; legacy `~/.agent-deck/watcher` remains in use when existing watcher state is present).
- **Conductor**: Which conductor session this watcher should route events to by default (the `conductor` field in `clients.json`).
- **Group**: Which group the conductor session lives in (the `group` field in `clients.json`).
### Step 3: Generate a watcher.toml block
Produce a TOML configuration block for the user to save as `${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/agent-deck/watcher/<name>/watcher.toml`, or the legacy `~/.agent-deck/watcher/<name>/watcher.toml` if agent-deck is already using legacy watcher state.
Example for webhook:
```toml
[watcher]
name = "my-webhook"
type = "webhook"
[adapter]
port = "18460"
bind = "127.0.0.1"
[routing]
conductor = "main-conductor"
group = "inbox"
```
### Step 4: Generate a clients.json entry
Produce the JSON entry keyed by the expected sender. The key format depends on adapter type:
- webhook: the `X-Webhook-Sender` header value the sender will use (e.g., an IP or a service name)
- ntfy: `ntfy:<topic>@<server-host>` (e.g., `ntfy:my-topic@ntfy.sh`)
- github: `<github-username>@github.com`
- slack: `slack:<CHANNEL_ID>` (e.g., `slack:C0AABSF5GKD`)
- gmail: the sender's email address (e.g., `user@example.com`)
Entry format:
```json
{
"sender-key": {
"conductor": "main-conductor",
"group": "inbox",
"name": "Human-readable label"
}
}
```
### Step 5: Emit the exact agent-deck watcher create command
Show the user the full CLI command to run. Only emit commands — do not execute them.
## Supported watcher types and required fields
### webhook
The webhook adapter runs a local HTTP server. Any service that can POST to an HTTP endpoint can deliver events.
**Required settings:**
- `port` (string): TCP port to listen on. Default is `"18460"`. Must be available on the local machine.
**Optional settings:**
- `bind` (string): Bind address. Default is `"127.0.0.1"` (loopback only, per security policy T-14-04). Use `"0.0.0.0"` only if the sender is remote and you understand the exposure.
**Sender key in clients.json:** Set the `X-Webhook-Sender` header from the sending service, or use the remote IP if the header is absent.
**Create command:**
```
agent-deck watcher create webhook --name <name> --port <port>
```
### ntfy
The ntfy adapter subscribes to an ntfy.sh topic via NDJSON streaming. It auto-reconnects with exponential backoff.
**Required settings:**
- `topic` (string): The ntfy topic name (e.g., `"my-alerts"`).
**Optional settings:**
- `server` (string): ntfy server URL. Default is `"https://ntfy.sh"`.
**Sender key in clients.json:** `ntfy:<topic>@<server-host>` (e.g., `ntfy:my-alerts@ntfy.sh`).
**Create command:**
```
agent-deck watcher create ntfy --name <name> --topic <topic>
```
### github
The GitHub adapter runs a local HTTP server that receives GitHub webhook POST requests and verifies HMAC-SHA256 signatures.
**Required settings:**
- `secret` (string): The webhook secret configured in GitHub (Settings > Webhooks > Secret). Used for HMAC-SHA256 signature verification.
**Optional settings:**
- `port` (string): TCP port to listen on. Default is `"18461"`.
- `bind` (string): Bind address. Default is `"127.0.0.1"`. Use a public address or set up a tunnel (e.g., ngrok) if GitHub must reach this machine.
**Supported event types:** issues, pull_request, push. Unknown event types produce a generic event.
**Sender key in clients.json:** `<github-username>@github.com` (e.g., `octocat@github.com`).
**Create command:**
```
agent-deck watcher create github --name <name> --secret <secret>
```
### slack
The Slack adapter subscribes to an ntfy topic that receives bridged Slack events from a Cloudflare Worker. It supports both v1 (plain text) and v2 (structured JSON) payloads.
**Required settings:**
- `topic` (string): The ntfy topic that the Cloudflare Worker posts Slack events to.
**Optional settings:**
- `server` (string): ntfy server URL. Default is `"https://ntfy.sh"`.
**Sender key in clients.json:** `slack:<CHANNEL_ID>` (e.g., `slack:C0AABSF5GKD`). The channel ID comes from the Slack API or the channel URL in the Slack app.
**Create command:**
```
agent-deck watcher create slack --name <name> --topic <topic>
```
### gmail
The Gmail adapter delivers normalized events from aTerminal session manager for AI coding agents. Use when user mentions "agent-deck", "session", "sub-agent", "MCP attach", "git worktree", or needs to (1) create/start/stop/restart/fork sessions, (2) attach/detach MCPs, (3) manage groups/profiles, (4) get session output, (5) configure agent-deck, (6) troubleshoot issues, (7) launch sub-agents, or (8) create/manage worktree sessions. Covers CLI commands, TUI shortcuts, config.toml options, and automation.
Share Claude Code sessions between developers. Use when user mentions "share session", "export session", "import session", "send session to", "continue from colleague", or needs to (1) export current session to file, (2) import session from another developer, (3) hand off work context. Enables private, secure session transfer via direct file sharing.