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/synclair/environment is the “where does this clone stand” section — the stack it runs on, and whether its foundation is current with the upstream Synclair it was cloned from. It’s the section you check before a sync, and the one that tells you a foundation update is available.

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What it is

Two things in one place:

The running stack

What this hub is actually running on — Next.js, Tailwind, shadcn/ui, and the rest of the environment.

Foundation freshness

Whether this clone is behind the upstream Synclair repository — the opt-in “call home” check.

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What’s in it

  • The stack view — the framework, styling, and tooling the clone runs.
  • The Synclair view — the foundation freshness state: your clone’s baseline (the upstream commit it last synced to) and, when call-home is on, how many foundation updates are available with their commit titles.

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How it works

Freshness uses an opt-in “call home” seam (data/mother.json). When enabled, the hub compares your recorded baseline against the upstream repository via GitHub’s public compare API and shows “up to date” or “N updates available” — checking is never pulling.
It’s deliberately minimal: nothing is sent but the baseline sha, there’s no telemetry, and it’s off by default. Knowing you’re behind and choosing to pull are two separate, deliberate acts — which is the whole doctrine of “clone, sync deliberately.”

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How to act on it

The baseline is stamped automatically on sync (embedded subtree clones stamp it by hand with --anchor <sha>).
When you’re behind and want the updates, use the synclair-sync skill — it pulls them as an ordinary git merge, resolving seed vs. brain by the merge contract. Your project’s own brand and knowledge never sync.
If something you built here is foundation (not seed), the same skill cherry-picks it into the upstream repository — the flywheel that improves Synclair for every clone.

Related: Setup modes

Whether updates come in as a subtree pull or a sibling merge depends on your topology.