---

name: repo-development description: "Use this sub-skill for maintainer-facing Ultralytics repository edits, editable installs, focused tests, docs/style checks, optional extras, CI-aware validation, and safe native verification planning." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: AGPL 3.0

Repo Development

Use this sub-skill when working inside the Ultralytics repository itself: editable setup, source edits, tests, docs/config updates, style tooling, optional development extras, CI-local parity, or safe native test selection.

Route Elsewhere

• Dataset YAML authoring, config semantics, data paths, and augmentation configuration: ../data-and-configuration/SKILL.md
• Training/validation commands, metrics, resume, devices, and dataset runtime behavior: ../training-and-validation/SKILL.md
• Prediction, Results object usage, plotting, postprocessing, and CLI/Python inference: ../inference-and-results/SKILL.md
• Export formats, deployment runtimes, benchmark mode, and backend installation: ../export-and-deployment/SKILL.md
• Tracking mode and solution app operation: ../tracking-and-solutions/SKILL.md
• Model family/task selection and architecture-level user guidance: ../model-families-and-tasks/SKILL.md

Stay here when the user is editing repo code, tests, docs, packaging, CI, or maintainer tooling even if the touched subsystem is owned by another user-facing sub-skill.

Fast Path

1. Confirm the checkout can import the editable package: python -m pip install -e ".[dev]" in a prepared development environment, then python -c "import ultralytics; print(ultralytics.__version__)".
2. Classify changed paths before testing: python sub-skills/repo-development/scripts/select_tests.py <changed-path> ....
3. Start with no-download checks (yolo --help, yolo version, yolo cfg, exact pytest nodes) before broad tests.
4. Add or update tests in the closest existing tests/test_*.py file unless the change introduces a new broad test category.
5. Use project-configured tools from pyproject.toml; do not invent a new formatter, linter, docs builder, or dependency policy.
6. Escalate from focused tests to full CI-like runs only when assets, optional extras, hardware, and network/cache policy are explicit.

Common Commands

Editable maintainer setup:

python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -c "import ultralytics; print(ultralytics.__version__)"
yolo --help
yolo cfg

Focused planner examples:

python sub-skills/repo-development/scripts/select_tests.py ultralytics/engine/results.py
python sub-skills/repo-development/scripts/select_tests.py --json docs/en/help/contributing.md mkdocs.yml

Cheap focused checks after parser/config changes:

pytest tests/test_cli.py::test_special_modes
pytest tests/test_python.py::test_cfg_init
yolo --help
yolo version
yolo cfg

Docs-only change planning should prefer markdown/style/reference checks and skip ML tests unless docs examples changed runtime code:

ruff check docs/en/help/contributing.md
python docs/build_reference.py
python docs/build_docs.py

Treat docs build scripts as environment-gated because they require docs/dev dependencies and may update generated files.

Safe Native Test Selection

• ultralytics/engine/results.py changes should start with exact or file-level engine/API tests plus a direct Results smoke if needed; do not run export matrices unless exporter/backend code changed.
• docs/, README.md, and mkdocs.yml changes should route to markdown, Ruff, docs reference, and MkDocs checks; skip ML tests by default.
• tests/ changes should run the changed test node/file first, then the adjacent subsystem only if the test exercises changed behavior.
• ultralytics/cfg/default.yaml and CLI parser changes should combine tests/test_cli.py::test_special_modes, tests/test_python.py::test_cfg_init, and yolo cfg.
• Export, CUDA, solutions, and integration tests are not default smoke checks; they require matching extras, hardware, cached assets, or explicit download permission.

References

• Maintainer setup, style/config, optional extras, docs, CI, and PR guidance: references/workflows.md
• Changed-path test planner behavior and examples: references/api-reference.md
• Failure diagnosis for installs, CLI syntax, configs, downloads, devices, docs, and optional extras: references/troubleshooting.md
• Deterministic focused-test planner: scripts/select_tests.py
• Optional environment inspection helper: scripts/check_ultralytics_env.py