Keep your agent current

Extrovert’s hosted MCP runs the deployed tools. Installed skills and local CLI or stdio processes can be older. Each current Extrovert skill instructs the agent to check guidance when first used in a session, after an hour of continued use, and after an unknown-tool or schema error. Following those instructions depends on the host’s available tools and loaded skill version; an already loaded older skill may need a refresh or a new session.

Update a Claude Code plugin

For an existing, unpinned Extrovert marketplace plugin, run these commands inside Claude Code. Update only the plugin you installed:

/plugin marketplace update extrovert
/plugin update extrovert-assistant@extrovert

For Full, replace the second command with /plugin update extrovert-full@extrovert. The first command refreshes the marketplace catalog; the second updates the installed plugin. Restart Claude Code afterward to load the updated skills and MCP configuration.

From a terminal, the equivalent Assistant commands are:

claude plugin marketplace update extrovert
claude plugin update extrovert-assistant@extrovert
claude plugin list

The terminal updater defaults to user scope. For an existing project or local installation, append --scope project or --scope local to the plugin update command. Preserve deliberate Git/version pins, customizations, and the original installation scope; do not install a second copy as an update.

Check the installed version with claude plugin list. In the restarted session, verify access with the Extrovert whoami tool; use /mcp to authenticate only if that connection requires it. An update does not require a new Extrovert account or broader permissions.

These plugins fetch skills/configuration from our GitHub marketplace and connect to hosted MCP. They do not select npm @next or @latest. Updating the plugin does not deploy or pin the hosted backend. See first installation and Claude’s plugin command reference.

Update now

Paste this into your agent, including an older installation that has never checked for updates:

Read https://docs.extrovert.dev/llms.txt and follow its update checklist in order; report pending reloads.

Use it once for an older installation, or any time you want a fresh check, including just after a release. An explicit update request skips the current session’s freshness interval: fetch the live guide and contract again, then refresh the Extrovert components installed in that environment. It does not reset your account or remove intentional version pins or customizations.

Check pins before executing downloaded tooling. In a pinned environment, use the public HTTPS contract or the exact saved CLI version with its supported options. Do not run an unpinned default, @latest, or @next status, verification, or refresh helper unless the user separately authorizes that execution. A read-only command still executes the downloaded package; preserving the saved pin alone does not make it allowed. If the pinned version cannot perform a check, report that check as pending.

The agent should complete these steps in order, using only the current host’s commands:

The examples below target stable. Preserve an explicitly selected @next or @beta channel unless the user requests a switch; use that selector for both one-off CLI commands and saved launch entries. See preview access.

1. Fetch the guide and public contract again. Inspect the existing host, manager, scope, package, installed Extrovert skills, pins and local edits. For an unpinned Claude Code installation whose policy permits the helper, run the refresh helper in step 2 before deciding whether an MCP update is needed. For pinned or unknown policy, inspect through the host’s supported private inspection commands instead. The helper inspects saved scopes privately; an empty or absent project .mcp.json does not rule out a local or user entry. Do not dump configuration. For any native inspection or change beyond that helper, first run the current host’s mcp --help, then the chosen subcommand’s --help. This includes read-only list and get: read mcp list --help before listing entries and mcp get --help before inspecting one. Use only arguments and options shown by that host’s help. Never dump environment variables or raw configuration, even through filters or post-hoc redaction. Inspect only the explicitly needed non-secret fields through supported private helpers. Host and session tokens are credentials too; do not print them or include them in tool output. Retain the account and profile.
2. Refresh the unpinned local package through the existing manager. For an npx-launched MCP, update its existing host launch entry to npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp, keeping its other arguments and environment. Preserve the existing launch command except the necessary version or freshness change: a direct-node entry stays direct-node. The launch runs the MCP server; setup is a one-time configuration command, not a server launch argument. A hosted MCP has no local server package to reinstall. After inspecting the saved npx entry, edit that entry in place and read it back before proceeding to connection verification. If the host cannot apply the edit, explicitly hand off the exact saved-entry change as pending. A one-off agent status or whoami invocation of @extrovert.dev/mcp does not update the saved MCP launch. For an authorized unpinned Claude Code installation, run: npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp setup --refresh --host claude --json. --refresh supports Claude Code only; do not substitute another host name. Use its result to determine the saved entry and update status; do not skip it because a project file looks empty. This privately refreshes one supported existing local- or user-scope npx entry, preserving its other arguments, environment, profile and scope. It does not remove and reconstruct the entry or expose inline credentials. restart_required means the saved configuration is ready; the running MCP is still unverified. Continue with skills and connection verification below. manual_required means no configuration changed: report the returned reason and the MCP update as pending, preserving the existing entry for private review. Project-scope MCP entries, pins, wrappers and ambiguous configurations require that handoff. cleanup_required is an additional flag, not a status or a rollback: the saved entry may already be updated. Use configuration_changed to report whether the entry changed, and report private cleanup as pending before attempting another refresh. Neither flag verifies the running MCP. Project-scoped skills do not imply project-scoped MCP configuration. Do not replace the helper’s refusal with remove/re-add commands. For Codex, privately edit the existing launch entry through its settings or configuration. For an unpinned npx entry, change the package to @extrovert.dev/mcp and include --prefer-online in its saved launch arguments. Preserve its scope, all other arguments and environment. If that edit cannot be made safely, report it as pending. Ordinary setup --host codex preserves an existing entry; it does not refresh its package launch.
3. Update only installed, unmodified Extrovert skills in their original scope. Use the targeted command below for skills.sh; use the host’s updater for a plugin. Preserve pins and local edits for a decision rather than overwriting them.
4. Reload the changed skills and read each complete updated SKILL.md body. Read one file per tool call. A truncated or persisted-output preview is not the complete file: read consecutive, bounded line ranges from the original installed file until every line has been observed. Reading its beginning and end or checking a digest does not fill in an unread middle. Copying files or checking only their metadata does not load the instructions. Check the installed version or digest against live context. If the files are still old, report the file update as pending; a reload cannot update old files. If the host requires a new session, report that step as pending.
5. For local stdio, verify local access with the Extrovert CLI: npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp whoami --json for an unpinned npx installation. For a pinned npx installation, invoke npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp@<saved-version> --help, substituting the exact inspected version and preserving its other launch arguments. Use that same prefix for whoami --json only if supported. @extrovert.dev/mcp is a package name, not an executable. Use an installed extrovert binary only if it is present. For other managers, check their installed CLI’s --help before using whoami --json. If that version lacks it, report identity verification pending and preserve the pin. Only a successful identity response verifies access. Do not open, read or print credential files or any key/token fragment. The CLI reads its saved profile privately. Separately restart its MCP through the host, or refresh hosted discovery, then call whoami through that resumed connection. Local CLI verification does not verify hosted MCP or replace a pending host restart. An MCP restart does not reload skills.
6. Report observed versions and completed steps. Name any pending session or human action instead of declaring the update complete. If a release is not yet visible in the registry, report that observation and check later. Do not clear shared npm caches to force a refresh.

Other existing package managers have their own refresh command:

Existing installation	Unpinned package refresh
npm project dependency	npm install @extrovert.dev/mcp in that project
npm global installation	npm install -g @extrovert.dev/mcp
Another package manager	Use that manager’s equivalent with the selected channel; default is stable

Choose the row only when it matches the existing installation. Keep intentional version pins until a change is approved. Unqualified package names resolve npm latest; @next is opt-in preview. Package resolution and restarting the running process are separate steps.

The targeted skills command and read-only version check below are also useful when updating manually.

Preview access

Use a preview when you deliberately want an early feature or fix, for example at Extrovert support’s request. Keep the existing account, credentials and profile.

# Run the preview CLI once; this does not change a saved MCP launch.
npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp@next --help

# Use the preview SDK in the existing npm project.
npm install @extrovert.dev/sdk@next

# Create a NEW local stdio entry on the preview channel.
npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp@next setup --host codex --transport stdio --channel next

For new Claude Code or Hermes stdio entries, replace codex with claude or hermes. Existing entries are preserved by ordinary setup. To change an existing unpinned local/user Claude Code stdio entry, run this from its project root:

npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp@next setup --refresh --host claude --channel next --json

For other existing stdio entries, privately change only the package selector in the saved launch arguments to @extrovert.dev/mcp@next, using the existing host’s supported settings. Preserve other arguments, scope and credentials. Restart that MCP connection, inspect its version, and call whoami through the host. Exact version pins and unsupported launchers require an explicit, manual update.

To return to stable, use npm install @extrovert.dev/sdk@latest for that SDK project, or select @extrovert.dev/mcp@latest in the existing stdio launch. For supported Claude refresh, use the default CLI and --channel latest instead. Check compatibility first: returning from a preview can be a downgrade. Restart the MCP afterward; never recreate an account or erase credentials to switch versions.

@next is a moving preview tag; use an exact published version supplied by support when reproducing a particular fix. Ordinary refreshes preserve a selected preview. Changing an npm tag does not change hosted MCP, Claude’s hosted plugins, or skills installed from GitHub. Those need their own released, explicitly selected artifact; do not install duplicate plugins or assume a hosted preview endpoint exists.

Read live context

Call agent_context only when it appears in the current tool catalog. With no Extrovert MCP, fetch the public agent contract, or use your installed or pinned CLI’s agent status --json when supported. If your normal installation policy permits an unpinned CLI, you can use:

npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp agent status --json

The agent guide is the documentation fallback. None of these public reads needs an account credential. Reading the fixed HTTPS endpoints does not require an installation or changing a pin.

The context includes the deployed release, its channel, skill versions and SHA-256 digests, guide URLs, and current signup availability. It checks the corresponding npm tag live and returns published_cli_version with the lookup time in publication_observed_at. Both are null when the lookup is unavailable; that does not mean the package is unpublished. Signup can be enabled, disabled, or unavailable; the last means its status check did not succeed. Published skill digests describe the release; this check does not inspect your local skill files. Each skill’s sha256 hashes its entire directory, not just SKILL.md, an archive, Git tree, or the skills CLI lock hash. Recursively sort the relative file paths, using / as the separator. For each file, hash its UTF-8 relative path, one NUL byte, the exact file bytes, then one NUL byte. Do not normalize line endings or whitespace. This is Extrovert release metadata, separate from installer-managed lockfiles; it does not replace skills.sh update tracking. The contract’s skill_digest_format names this format. Its separate skill_md_sha256 can be compared directly with sha256sum path/to/SKILL.md; that verifies only that file, not accompanying references. Older contracts omit these explanatory fields.

For full-bundle verification, use the scoped agent status command below. A matching version string establishes the declared version; it is not cryptographic verification. Compare the metadata.version in each installed SKILL.md with that skill’s live version. Older skills without version metadata can still use the live guide; inspect their original installation manager to refresh them when permitted.

Use the returned freshness interval, up to an hour. Read the current guide for the task and use the host’s current tool schemas. A different version or digest signals a change; it does not by itself mean the installed version is incompatible, grant wider permissions, or authorize a downgrade. If live context is unavailable, report that condition and use available compatible guidance.

Refresh skills in their existing scope

For a skills.sh installation, update only the installed Extrovert skills. This example updates the two initial skills in the current project:

npx --yes --prefer-online skills@latest update extrovert-connect extrovert-send-email --project --yes

For an existing user-level installation, replace --project with --global. Add other installed Extrovert skill names when those workflows need refreshing. Preserve the original installation manager and scope, explicit pins, and local edits. A host or project that permits managed updates can apply this targeted refresh; otherwise continue from live guidance and report the required update. Do not overwrite customized skills or change unrelated installations.

skills check is not a safe read-only alternative: in Skills CLI 1.5.23 it invokes the update flow. Use Extrovert’s public context for a read-only release check, and inspect the installed manager’s current help before choosing an update command. Plugin installations use their host’s plugin updater.

Refresh local tooling and loaded instructions

For an unpinned installation, you can also check the requested skill files against the live release. This example checks the two project skills for Claude Code:

npx --yes --prefer-online @extrovert.dev/mcp agent status --host claude --scope project --skills extrovert-connect,extrovert-send-email --json

Use --host codex for Codex and --scope user for a user installation. Preserve the actual installation scope and any pins; check a pinned CLI’s help before using new options. The check does not change files. files_ready means the requested files match the live release; missing, unreadable, different or ambiguous files remain pending. If live hashes or a supported host inventory cannot be established, the result is unavailable. Hermes requires its native inventory and currently returns unavailable from this check. File verification does not establish that the current session loaded the skills or restarted MCP.

The npm packages default to stable. An unpinned CLI invocation can request fresh registry metadata with --prefer-online as above. npm uses a cache; npx alone is not a guarantee that every command starts the latest release. Keep deliberate package pins until an update is authorized, and inspect the installed CLI’s --help for its supported flags.

Updating files does not replace instructions already loaded into an agent’s conversation. Read the live guide for the current task, reload the changed skill through the host, and read its complete updated SKILL.md body. If a new session is required, report that step as pending. Separately restart a local stdio server to load a changed package. Hosted clients may need refreshed tool discovery or reconnection; call whoami in the actual resumed connection before continuing account work.

On a schema error, refresh the catalog before guessing a replacement command. Before retrying a send or another mutation with an uncertain result, recover its existing state and retain its idempotency key. Updating tooling does not require a new account, a new consent grant, or broader credentials. Preserve locally stored OAuth refresh credentials as well as agent keys. Run whoami on the resumed connection first; if it needs sign-in, use that connection’s authentication path. A CLI auth login is separate from the MCP host’s hosted OAuth login.

Start from one prompt

Read https://docs.extrovert.dev/llms.txt and follow its setup checklist in order to send my first email. Stop and report install errors. Do not request credentials in chat.

The agent uses existing access first. Interactive setup uses hosted OAuth and explicit consent; unattended workers use their own authorized credentials. New-account signup requires live availability and the human’s email verification. See first email and host setup for the supported paths.

Observe the active connection

The executing runtime returned by MCP agent_context and whoami identifies the package/profile version, build, transport, catalog digest and runtime instance answering that call. Hosted release metadata describes a separate release. A fresh CLI cannot observe the active conversation’s MCP runtime and reports it as unknown. Local facts remain available if public release metadata is unavailable.

For Hermes local MCP, use /reload-mcp after an authorized package update, then call an Extrovert MCP tool in this same conversation to verify the version. A separate probe, tool count or hosted instance change does not prove refresh. Keep selected channels, explicit pins, credentials, profiles and edited skills.