Cross-Platform System Administration Skill

Use this skill when performing system administration tasks on any operating system.

Guidelines for System Administration

1. OS Detection First:

   • Always verify the operating system environment before executing commands (e.g., using python -c "import platform; print(platform.system())" or checking available CLI tools).
   • Tailor your commands strictly to the detected OS (Windows, Darwin for macOS, Linux) and the {{os}} injected tokens.

2. Shell Execution & Abstraction:

   • Windows: Use PowerShell (Get-Process, Get-Service, etc.). Use -WhatIf for dry runs where applicable.
   • macOS / Linux: Use standard POSIX commands (ps, top, systemctl, launchctl, grep). Ensure safe flags are used to avoid unintended consequences (e.g., rm -i).
   • Use the provided shell tool appropriate for the environment (e.g., typically injected as {{shell}}).

3. Python as a Universal Bridge:

   • Whenever possible, leverage Python (PythonReplMCP) with built-in modules (os, sys, platform, shutil, socket) or virtual environments to install cross-platform utilities (psutil via uv pip install psutil).
   • Python handles system queries and file movements cleanly, preventing many shell syntax mismatches.

4. Package Management Ecosystems:

   • Windows: Check for winget (preferred), choco, or scoop.
   • macOS: Use brew (Homebrew).
   • Linux: Use apt (Debian/Ubuntu), dnf/yum (RHEL/CentOS), or pacman (Arch).

5. Network Operations:

   • Windows: Test-NetConnection, Get-NetIPConfiguration.
   • macOS / Linux: ping, nc, ifconfig, ip addr, lsof -i, netstat.

6. Safety & Verification:

   • Do not execute destructive actions or kill critical processes without explicit confirmation.
   • Always query the state, perform the change, and re-query to validate the change was successful.