Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getgaal.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
sync is the workhorse. It runs the audit, computes the plan, and applies it: clones or updates repositories, installs or refreshes skills, copies configured content, runs hooks, and upserts MCP entries.
Flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
-s, --service | off | Run as a continuous service (daemon mode). |
-i, --interval <duration> | 5m | Polling interval in service mode (e.g. 30s, 10m, 2h). |
--dry-run | off | Preview the plan without writing anything. See Dry-run. |
--prune | off | Remove skills and MCP entries no longer in the config. See Pruning. |
--force | off | Install skills into all registered agents even when not detected. Applies only to agents: ["*"]. |
Incompatible combinations
| Combo | Result |
|---|
--dry-run --service | Rejected, a dry-run service loop is meaningless. |
--prune --service | Rejected, destructive operations don’t belong in a loop. |
Exit codes
| Code | Mode | Meaning |
|---|
0 | one-shot | Success, nothing to change or all changes applied. |
0 | --dry-run | No changes pending. |
1 | --dry-run | Changes are pending, run gaal sync to apply. |
2 | any | Error during planning or apply. |
Examples
# One-shot sync
gaal sync
# Preview, no writes
gaal sync --dry-run
# Continuous loop, every 10 minutes
gaal sync --service --interval 10m
# Clean up orphans
gaal sync --prune
# Pre-stage a fresh machine, install for every registered agent
gaal sync --force
# Sandboxed sync (no risk to real files)
gaal --sandbox /tmp/sb sync
# Sync with structured logs
gaal --log-file /var/log/gaal.json sync --service --interval 5m
Sample output
$ gaal sync
✓ src/example cloned
✓ code-review installed in claude-code, cursor
✓ filesystem upserted in ~/.claude.json
sync complete in 1.2s
tools: is missing from PATH, sync prints a single compact banner to stderr before it starts work, then proceeds:
⚠ Required tools missing from PATH:
rtk — cargo install rtk
tree-sitter — (required by skill obra/superpowers)
Run `gaal doctor` for details.
hint when one is set; otherwise it shows the source that declared the tool. Missing tools never change sync’s exit code — run gaal doctor for the full attribution and a non-zero exit code.
