mantis-summarize
Pre-processes the repository by generating security-focused summaries (mantis-summary.md) for each directory to make planning and research more efficient. Use when starting a review campaign to map the codebase before threat modeling and planning. Don't use for executing code reviews, writing test scripts, or patching code.
How do I install this agent skill?
npx skills add https://github.com/google/mantis --skill mantis-summarizeIs this agent skill safe to install?
- Gen Agent Trust Hubpass
This skill includes security considerations such as dynamic script generation and file system interaction. While these behaviors are typical for repository analysis tools, they warrant review to ensure they align with your security environment. See the detailed analysis for technical context.
- Socketpass
No alerts
- Snykpass
Risk: LOW · No issues
What does this agent skill do?
Summarizer (/mantis-summarize)
System Goal
Repository Mapper. Automates the generation of security-focused, deterministic summaries of directory contents to reduce token overhead for downstream planning and research stages.
Command Definition
- Command:
/mantis-summarize - Description: Pre-processes the repository by generating security-focused
summaries (
mantis-summary.md) for each directory to make planning and research more efficient. - Arguments (optional; supplied by the orchestrator, consumed by Block A):
--snapshot_root/--snapshot_id/--state_root. In PINNED mode, source is read under CODE_ROOT but summaries are skipped (see Output location). All absent → MODE-OFF (in-tree summaries, as today).
Input/Output Contract
- Reads:
workspace/.mantis_state.json(to track current loop pass).- Codebase directories and source files (excluding
node_modules,vendor,.git, build outputs, andtests/). - Child directory summaries (
mantis-summary.mdfiles from subdirectories). workspace/historical_learnings.jsonl(optional, to enrich summaries).
- Writes:
- Traversal script to workspace.
- MODE-OFF:
mantis-summary.mdin each source directory (as today). PINNED: skipped (see Output location).
- Preconditions:
- Source files and directory structure must be present.
- Idempotency Guarantee:
- Deterministically overwrites existing
mantis-summary.mdfiles in-place with updated rollups.
- Deterministically overwrites existing
Instructions
Step 0: Locator Resolution + output location (run first)
LOCATOR RESOLUTION (before reading ANY target code or artifact):
0. ROLE: If this skill NEVER reads target source (report, calibrate, reflect),
you are a FINDINGS-ONLY stage: skip steps 2-6; still read active_snapshot from
state for provenance/annotation; NEVER stop merely because a code root is unset.
1. Determine CODE_ROOT, in this priority order:
a. If --target_root is passed on THIS invocation, CODE_ROOT = --target_root.
It is AUTHORITATIVE and OVERRIDES SNAPSHOT_ROOT and the state fallback
(used when a caller hands you a prepared tree, e.g. a patched shadow).
b. Else if --snapshot_root (or SNAPSHOT_ROOT) is passed, use it.
c. Else read state_root/workspace/.mantis_state.json (state_root from
--state_root if passed, else ./workspace/... relative to the current dir)
-> active_snapshot.root / .snapshot_id / .snapshot_pinned.
d. Else (no arg AND no readable active_snapshot): CODE_ROOT = current directory,
treat snapshot_pinned = false (MODE-OFF). Do NOT stop.
2. SENTINEL CHECK (only if snapshot_pinned is true AND you did NOT take path 1a):
verify CODE_ROOT/.mantis_snapshot_id exists and equals SNAPSHOT_ID. If missing
or different -> STOP "snapshot sentinel mismatch". (A --target_root tree (1a) is
deliberately mutated and is sentinel-EXEMPT.)
3. PATH FIELDS:
- SNAPSHOT-RELATIVE (read under CODE_ROOT): code_paths entries; plan target_files
that are file paths. Strip ONLY a trailing ":<digits>". A code_paths entry
containing "://" is a URL/endpoint, NOT a file read. A code_paths entry that is
NOT of the form <existing-path>:<integer> is a non-source LOCATOR
(symbol/offset/endpoint): only check that the artifact/symbol exists; skip ALL
line-range and line-existence logic.
- STATE-RELATIVE (read/write under state_root/workspace, NEVER prefix CODE_ROOT):
kb_references, repro_file_path, reattack_file_path, helper scripts, report
files, and all state/findings JSON.
4. Never WRITE under CODE_ROOT when snapshot_pinned is true. Any command that
compiles, generates, or writes artifacts MUST run in a PRIVATE SHADOW copy
(mktemp -d from CODE_ROOT), never with cwd=CODE_ROOT. Read-only inspection may
cd into CODE_ROOT.
5. VCS-METADATA CARVE-OUT: history-log extraction and any VCS diff/blame command
run in the LIVE repository root (which still has .git/.hg/.repo), NOT CODE_ROOT
(the snapshot copy strips VCS metadata). Do NOT stop merely because CODE_ROOT
lacks .git/.hg/.repo.
6. Every shell command uses ABSOLUTE paths and sets its own working directory on
that call. Do NOT assume the working directory persists between calls.
Output location (MANDATORY):
- PINNED mode (snapshot_pinned true): summaries are skipped this pass. In
PINNED mode, CODE_ROOT is read-only (Block A step 4), and consumers (plan,
history, researcher) read
mantis-summary.mdfrom the source directory in the code tree — not from a state-relative mirror. Writing to a mirror that no consumer reads would silently waste the work. Do NOT write anymantis-summary.mdfiles in PINNED mode. (If a future change wires consumers to the mirror + re-maps via a provenance marker, this can be revisited; for now, PINNED-mode summaries are inert.) - HALT mode (active_snapshot present + snapshot_pinned=false): behave as
MODE-OFF (write
mantis-summary.mdinto each source directory). The snapshot is not read-only (no immutable copy was pinned), so writing into the tree is safe. - MODE-OFF (no
active_snapshot— today's default): behave exactly as today — writemantis-summary.mdinto each source directory. - In all modes except PINNED,
mantis-summary.mdfiles must remain invisible to every VCS dirty check and be deleted from the target tree before any sync (the meta-agent enforces this in Block C STEP 0). Never let a summary make the tree look dirty.
Your task is to write and execute a script that will traverse the repository
directory tree and create a mantis-summary.md file in each directory
containing source code.
This is an optional pre-processing phase designed to drastically reduce the
context window size required for the strategist (/mantis-plan), and provide a
quick reference map for researchers (/mantis-researcher).
Execute the summarize stage as follows:
-
Write the Traversal Script (Bottom-Up Hierarchical): Write a script (e.g., Python or bash) in your workspace that walks the repository directory tree using a bottom-up (post-order) traversal.
- The script must ignore non-source-code directories such as
node_modules,vendor,.git, build outputs, andtests/. - By traversing bottom-up, the script ensures that subdirectories are summarized before their parent directories.
- When analyzing a directory, the script should pass the LLM the local source
files in that directory PLUS the
mantis-summary.mdfiles of its immediate subdirectories. Do not pass the raw source files of subdirectories to the parent. - When analyzing very large directories, context window size might become a problem. Instead of passing files and directory summaries in bulk, generate per-file summaries or operate in more efficient chunks to avoid passing too many tokens for the LLM to handle.
- The script must ignore non-source-code directories such as
-
Generate the Security Summary (Map-Reduce): The script should read
workspace/historical_learnings.jsonl(if it exists) to check for past vulnerabilities and security fixes associated with files in the current directory, and pass them in context. The script should instruct the LLM or agent tool to generate a concise, security-focused summary of the directory. To keep token lengths reasonable at higher levels of the directory tree, the LLM should abstract away lower-level details, focusing on the rolled-up architecture. The prompt used by your script should ask for:- Core Components: What are the primary files and subdirectories, and what do they do?
- API Endpoints & Exports: What functions or classes are exposed to other modules?
- Trust Boundaries & External Inputs: Does this directory handle untrusted data, network requests, or user input?
- Sensitive Operations: Are there parsers, cryptographic functions, or memory management operations?
- Historical Vulnerabilities & Fixes: What files or components in this
directory have historical vulnerabilities or security-related fixes
recorded in
workspace/historical_learnings.jsonl? Summarize the past fixes, components affected, and vulnerability classes to highlight past regressions or recurring weaknesses.
The summary must be a reasonable size to incorporate into work on larger problems, so aim for several thousand words or fewer.
-
Output to
mantis-summary.md: In MODE-OFF (or HALT), writemantis-summary.mdinto the corresponding source directory (overwrite if present). In PINNED mode, do NOT write — summaries are skipped this pass (see Output location above). Never write into the read-only snapshot. -
Execute the Script: Run the script you just wrote to generate all the summaries across the repository. Wait for it to finish successfully.
-
Complete: Summaries are now generated. Notify the user.
When complete, notify the user.
How can the creator link this skill?
Add the canonical catalog link to the repository README so users can inspect current installs and available audits. The publishing guide covers the complete discovery path.
<a href="https://skillzs.dev/skills/google/mantis/mantis-summarize">View mantis-summarize on skillZs</a>