Bridge your Claude Code skills to Roo Code with intelligent orchestration

Roo Commander is a three-component system that brings Claude Code's 60+ production-tested skills to Roo Code VS Code extension through a CLI tool, custom instructions, and an orchestrator mode.

Roo Commander makes your Roo Code AI agent skill-aware:

1. Automatic Skill Discovery - Before implementing features, checks if relevant skills exist
2. CLI Integration - List, search, and load skills directly from Roo Code
3. Orchestrator Mode - Lightweight mode that delegates to Code/Architect/Debug with skill context
4. Session Management - Track progress through phases with /wrap-session and /continue-session
5. Project Planning - Generate IMPLEMENTATION_PHASES.md with /plan-project

Why? Skills contain production-tested patterns, known issue prevention, and token-efficient documentation. Using skills saves 60-87% tokens vs web search + trial-and-error.

npm install -g roocommander

Global Installation (Recommended)

roocommander init

This installs Roo Commander globally - available in ALL your projects:

• Writes to ~/.config/Code/.../custom_modes.yaml
• Copies rules to ~/.roo/rules-roo-commander/
• 👑 Crown emoji indicates the mode

Project-Scoped Installation (Optional)

cd your-project
roocommander init --project

This installs only in the current project:

• .roo/rules/ - Custom instructions (skills index, CLI usage, patterns)
• .roo/rules-roo-commander/ - Mode-specific rules
• .roo/commands/ - 9 slash commands
• .roomodes - Roo Commander mode entry

⚠️ Important: After running roocommander init, reload VS Code (Command Palette → "Developer: Reload Window") to see 👑 Roo Commander in the mode selector.

In Roo Code:

/mode roo-commander

"I want to build a chat interface with OpenAI and save conversations to D1"

// Roo Commander will:
// 1. Check skills index for "chat", "openai", "d1"
// 2. Find: ai-sdk-ui, openai-api, cloudflare-d1
// 3. Delegate to Code mode with skill loading instructions

roocommander list              # Show all 60+ skills
roocommander search ai         # Search by keyword
roocommander read "skill-name" # Load skill content
roocommander generate-index    # Create skills index
roocommander init              # Set up Roo Commander

Session Management:

• /wrap-session - Save progress, create git checkpoint
• /continue-session - Resume from SESSION.md
• /list-skills - Browse available skills
• /load-skill <name> - Load specific skill

Planning:

• /explore-idea - Research and validate project idea
• /plan-project - Create IMPLEMENTATION_PHASES.md
• /plan-feature - Add feature to existing project

Release:

• /github-release <version> - Create GitHub release
• /release <version> - Complete release checklist

Lightweight orchestrator that:

• Analyzes user requests
• Checks .roo/rules/01-skills-index.md for relevant skills
• Delegates to Code/Architect/Debug modes with skill instructions
• Tracks completion

When to use:

• Starting new features (auto skill discovery)
• Complex multi-step workflows
• Unsure which skill to use

When to bypass:

• Simple edits (use Code mode directly)
• Already know which skill (load it manually)

/mode roo-commander

"Set up a new Cloudflare Workers project with D1 database and Tailwind v4"

// Roo Commander response:
Found 3 relevant skills:
• cloudflare-worker-base: Project scaffolding
• cloudflare-d1: Database setup
• Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui Stack: Frontend styling

Delegating to Code mode with instructions to load these skills...

[Code mode receives message]:
Task: Scaffold Cloudflare Workers project with D1 and Tailwind v4

Skills to use:
- Run: `roocommander read "cloudflare-worker-base"`
- Run: `roocommander read "Cloudflare D1 Database"`
- Run: `roocommander read "Tailwind v4 + shadcn/ui Stack"`

[Implementation follows skill patterns]

/mode code  // Already in Code mode

// Load skill before implementing
/load-skill clerk-auth

"Add Clerk authentication with session storage in D1"

[Code mode uses skill patterns to implement correctly]

/plan-project

// Guided workflow:
Project name: Task Manager
Tech stack: React, Cloudflare Workers, D1
Features: User auth, task CRUD, filtering

// Creates:
• docs/IMPLEMENTATION_PHASES.md (8 phases, 20-24 hours)
• SESSION.md (session tracking)

// Start Phase 1
[Load relevant skills and begin implementation]

Three-Component System:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 1. CLI Tool (roocommander)                         │
│    - List/search/read skills                        │
│    - Generate skills index                          │
│    - Initialize project                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                        ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 2. Custom Instructions (.roo/rules/)               │
│    - 01-skills-index.md (categorized skills)        │
│    - 02-cli-usage.md (CLI command reference)        │
│    - 03-skill-patterns.md (when to check skills)    │
│    - 9 slash commands (.roo/commands/)              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                        ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ 3. Roo Commander Mode (.roomodes entry)            │
│    - Orchestrates skill discovery                   │
│    - Delegates to Code/Architect/Debug              │
│    - Workflow tools only (no file access)           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for complete system design and data flow diagrams.

• CLI Reference - Complete command documentation
• Architecture - System design and data flow
• Marketplace Guide - Packaging and submission
• Changelog - Version history

60+ Production-Tested Skills organized by category:

OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Vercel AI SDK, ElevenLabs agents, chatbots

Workers, D1, R2, KV, Durable Objects, Workflows, AI, Vectorize, Queues

React, Next.js, Tailwind v4, shadcn/ui, TanStack Query/Router/Table, Zustand

Clerk, Better Auth, Auth.js

React Hook Form + Zod patterns

Drizzle ORM, Firecrawl, WordPress plugins

TinaCMS, Sveltia CMS, Content Collections

IMPLEMENTATION_PHASES.md generation

See .roo/rules/01-skills-index.md for complete list with descriptions and keywords.

Show all available skills.

roocommander list              # Compact list
roocommander list --verbose    # With descriptions
roocommander list --source ~/custom/skills  # Custom directory

Output: Table of skill names, descriptions, keywords

Find skills by keyword.

roocommander search database
roocommander search cloudflare
roocommander search auth --verbose

Scoring: Name match > keyword match > description match

Output skill content.

roocommander read "Cloudflare D1 Database"
roocommander read clerk-auth --raw  # Plain markdown

Fuzzy matching: "cloudflare d1" matches "Cloudflare D1 Database"

Create categorized skills index.

roocommander generate-index
roocommander generate-index --output custom/path.md

Output: .roo/rules/01-skills-index.md with 7 categories

Initialize Roo Commander in project.

roocommander init              # Interactive setup
roocommander init --force      # Reinstall
roocommander init --source ~/custom/skills  # Custom directory

Creates: Complete .roo/ structure, skills index, .roomodes entry

See docs/CLI_REFERENCE.md for complete documentation.

CLI Commands:

• roocommander list shows skills
• roocommander search cloudflare finds 15 skills
• roocommander read "Cloudflare D1 Database" outputs content
• roocommander generate-index creates index file
• roocommander init sets up project

Slash Commands (in Roo Code):

• /list-skills runs CLI and formats output
• /load-skill "clerk-auth" loads skill content
• /wrap-session creates git checkpoint
• /continue-session resumes from SESSION.md
• /plan-project generates IMPLEMENTATION_PHASES.md

Roo Commander Mode:

• Mode appears in /mode list
• Skill routing works (user mentions "database" → suggests D1/KV/R2)
• Delegation includes skill loading commands
• Completion tracking works

git clone https://github.com/jezweb/roo-commander.git
cd roo-commander
npm install
npm run build
npm link  # Test globally

roo-commander/
├── src/
│   ├── commands/         # CLI command handlers
│   │   ├── list.ts
│   │   ├── read.ts
│   │   ├── search.ts
│   │   ├── generate-index.ts
│   │   ├── sync-index.ts
│   │   └── init.ts
│   ├── parser/           # Skill YAML parsing
│   │   └── skill-parser.ts
│   ├── generator/        # Index generation
│   │   └── index-generator.ts
│   ├── installer/        # Template installation
│   │   ├── github-cloner.ts
│   │   └── template-installer.ts
│   ├── templates/        # Template files
│   │   ├── .roomodes-entry.yaml
│   │   ├── rules/        # 02-cli-usage.md, 03-skill-patterns.md
│   │   ├── rules-roo-commander/  # Mode rules (3 files)
│   │   └── commands/     # Slash commands (9 files)
│   ├── types.ts          # TypeScript types
│   ├── cli.ts            # CLI entry point
│   └── index.ts          # Package entry
├── docs/                 # Documentation
├── package.json
└── tsconfig.json

MIT © 2025 Jeremy Dawes / Jezweb

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit PR with description

• GitHub: https://github.com/jezweb/roo-commander
• npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/roocommander
• Skills Repository: https://github.com/jezweb/claude-skills
• Roo Code: [VS Code Extension]
• Claude Code: https://docs.claude.com/claude-code

• Issues: https://github.com/jezweb/roo-commander/issues
• Discussions: https://github.com/jezweb/roo-commander/discussions
• Email: [email protected]

• Anthropic - Claude Code and skills ecosystem
• Roo Code Team - VS Code extension
• Jezweb Skills - 60+ production-tested skills

Version: 9.2.0 (Workflow orchestration awareness - proactive lifecycle guidance) Last Updated: 2025-11-13