gsd-reapply-patches

To reapply local modifications after a GSD update overwrites your files, this Skill merges your user-modified backups with the newly installed version. It reads backup-meta.json and uses three-way merges to reliably distinguish your customizations from version drift.

Three-way merge for preserving dotfiles works by comparing a pristine baseline, your user-modified backup, and the newly installed version. This comparison reliably distinguishes your local patches from version drift to ensure custom content is preserved accurately.

When no pristine baseline exists for a three-way merge, the process falls back to enhanced two-way heuristics. It strengthens the comparison logic to protect user changes and classifies uncertain modifications as conflicts requiring user review rather than skipping them.

You can use Git history to determine the baseline for merging local patches. The Skill determines the baseline using Git history if available, or falls back to gsd-pristine snapshots, to compute accurate merges and enforce safety checks.

The patch reapplication process reports conflicts instead of skipping files to prevent a false conclusion that no custom content exists. When in doubt, it enforces verification and classifies uncertain modifications as conflicts requiring user review to protect user changes.

You need gsd-local-patches backups containing your saved local modifications and backup-meta.json before running the workflow. The Skill detects these backed-up patches to identify which files to reapply after a GSD update wipes and reinstalls your environment.