feat(templates): install-time {{PROJECT_DIR}} substitution in cron prompts

Hermes doesn't set a working directory when firing cron jobs, so any
relative path in a template's cron prompt (`.scarf/config.json`,
`status-log.md`, etc.) resolves against whatever dir Hermes happens
to be in — NOT the installed project. Practical effect: site-status-
checker's cron job fires, agent runs with relative paths, finds
nothing to read, silently bails. User sees "Run now" complete with
zero output and nothing updated on disk.

Fix: the installer now substitutes template-author placeholders in
cron prompts at install time, before calling `hermes cron create`.
The registered cron job carries a fully-qualified, CWD-independent
prompt.

Supported tokens (deliberately few — each is part of the template
format contract from now on):

- `{{PROJECT_DIR}}` — absolute path of the installed project dir.
  The one that was motivating this fix; required for any cron prompt
  that reads or writes project files.
- `{{TEMPLATE_ID}}` — the `owner/name` from the manifest, for
  templates that want to tag delivery payloads or log lines.
- `{{TEMPLATE_SLUG}}` — the sanitised slug used by the installer for
  dir name + skills namespace, for templates that want to reference
  their skills install path.

Implemented as a static `ProjectTemplateInstaller.substituteCronTokens`
so it's testable as a pure function. Unsupported placeholders pass
through verbatim — template authors notice in testing that their
token didn't get replaced and either use a supported one or file
a request.

Site Status Checker v1.1.0 updated to use the tokens:
- cron/jobs.json prompt now opens with "Run the site status check
  for the Scarf project at {{PROJECT_DIR}}" and references
  {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/config.json, {{PROJECT_DIR}}/status-log.md,
  and {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/dashboard.json explicitly.
- AGENTS.md gains a note explaining that the cron-registered prompt
  carries absolute paths (installer substitutes at install time),
  while interactive-chat agents can keep using relative paths.
- bundle rebuilt, catalog regenerated.

templates/CONTRIBUTING.md documents the three supported tokens under
the cron/jobs.json bullet so future authors don't have to discover
this by hitting the same CWD bug.

Tests:
- ProjectTemplateExampleTemplateTests.siteStatusCheckerParsesAndPlans
  extended to assert the bundled prompt contains {{PROJECT_DIR}}
  UNRESOLVED. If someone accidentally bakes an absolute path into
  the template (their install dir), every user of that template
  would get the wrong path — this test catches that.
- Four new substitution tests in ProjectTemplateInstallerTests:
  resolves PROJECT_DIR / resolves ID + SLUG / leaves unknown tokens
  untouched / substitutes repeated occurrences. All go through the
  static helper directly; no install round-trip needed.

57/57 Swift tests + 24/24 Python tests pass. Catalog check clean.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

scarf/scarf/Core/Services/ProjectTemplateInstaller.swift

@@ -179,7 +179,17 @@ struct ProjectTemplateInstaller: Sendable {
             }
             args.append(job.schedule)
             if let prompt = job.prompt, !prompt.isEmpty {
-                args.append(prompt)
+                // Substitute template-author tokens with install-time
+                // values. Hermes doesn't set a CWD for cron runs — when
+                // the agent fires the prompt, any relative path
+                // (`.scarf/config.json`, `status-log.md`, etc.) resolves
+                // against the agent's own dir, not the project. Templates
+                // use `{{PROJECT_DIR}}` as a placeholder for the absolute
+                // path; we swap in the real project dir here so the
+                // registered cron job carries a fully-qualified prompt
+                // that works regardless of CWD.
+                let resolvedPrompt = Self.substituteCronTokens(prompt, plan: plan)
+                args.append(resolvedPrompt)
             }
 
             let (output, exit) = context.runHermes(args)
@@ -221,6 +231,35 @@ struct ProjectTemplateInstaller: Sendable {
         return entry
     }
 
+    // MARK: - Token substitution (install-time placeholder resolution)
+
+    /// Supported placeholders for template-author prompts. Keep the set
+    /// intentionally small — every token here becomes a load-bearing
+    /// part of the template format that we can't rename without
+    /// breaking existing bundles.
+    ///
+    /// - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}`: absolute path of the newly-created project
+    ///   directory. Required for cron prompts because Hermes doesn't
+    ///   establish a CWD when firing cron jobs; relative paths would
+    ///   resolve against whatever dir Hermes happens to be in.
+    ///
+    /// - `{{TEMPLATE_ID}}`: the `owner/name` id from the manifest.
+    ///   Less load-bearing; occasionally useful for tagging or
+    ///   delivery targets that reference the template.
+    ///
+    /// - `{{TEMPLATE_SLUG}}`: the sanitised slug the installer used
+    ///   for the skills namespace and project dir name.
+    nonisolated static func substituteCronTokens(
+        _ prompt: String,
+        plan: TemplateInstallPlan
+    ) -> String {
+        var out = prompt
+        out = out.replacingOccurrences(of: "{{PROJECT_DIR}}", with: plan.projectDir)
+        out = out.replacingOccurrences(of: "{{TEMPLATE_ID}}", with: plan.manifest.id)
+        out = out.replacingOccurrences(of: "{{TEMPLATE_SLUG}}", with: plan.manifest.slug)
+        return out
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Lock file
 
     nonisolated private func writeLockFile(

scarf/scarfTests/ProjectTemplateTests.swift

@@ -382,6 +382,52 @@ final class TestRegistryLock: @unchecked Sendable {
         }
     }
 
+    // MARK: - Cron prompt token substitution
+
+    @Test func substituteCronTokensResolvesProjectDir() throws {
+        let plan = try TemplateInstallerViewModelTests.makePlanWithConfigSchema()
+        let raw = "Read {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/config.json"
+        let resolved = ProjectTemplateInstaller.substituteCronTokens(raw, plan: plan)
+        #expect(resolved == "Read \(plan.projectDir)/.scarf/config.json")
+        // Original placeholder must be fully replaced — a lingering
+        // {{PROJECT_DIR}} would leave the cron job trying to read a
+        // literal file named `{{PROJECT_DIR}}` which doesn't exist.
+        #expect(resolved.contains("{{PROJECT_DIR}}") == false)
+    }
+
+    @Test func substituteCronTokensResolvesIdAndSlug() throws {
+        let plan = try TemplateInstallerViewModelTests.makePlanWithConfigSchema()
+        let raw = "Log as {{TEMPLATE_ID}} (slug {{TEMPLATE_SLUG}})"
+        let resolved = ProjectTemplateInstaller.substituteCronTokens(raw, plan: plan)
+        #expect(resolved.contains(plan.manifest.id))
+        #expect(resolved.contains(plan.manifest.slug))
+        #expect(resolved.contains("{{TEMPLATE_ID}}") == false)
+        #expect(resolved.contains("{{TEMPLATE_SLUG}}") == false)
+    }
+
+    @Test func substituteCronTokensLeavesUnknownTokensUntouched() throws {
+        let plan = try TemplateInstallerViewModelTests.makePlanWithConfigSchema()
+        let raw = "{{PROJECT_DIR}} but keep {{UNSUPPORTED}} literal"
+        let resolved = ProjectTemplateInstaller.substituteCronTokens(raw, plan: plan)
+        #expect(resolved.contains(plan.projectDir))
+        // Unsupported placeholders pass through verbatim — template
+        // authors will notice in testing that their token didn't get
+        // replaced and either use a supported one or request a new one.
+        #expect(resolved.contains("{{UNSUPPORTED}}"))
+    }
+
+    @Test func substituteCronTokensRepeatsWithinString() throws {
+        let plan = try TemplateInstallerViewModelTests.makePlanWithConfigSchema()
+        let raw = "Read {{PROJECT_DIR}}/a and write {{PROJECT_DIR}}/b"
+        let resolved = ProjectTemplateInstaller.substituteCronTokens(raw, plan: plan)
+        // Both occurrences should be replaced — not just the first.
+        // A single-replace bug here would leave the second relative,
+        // causing the same CWD issue this whole feature was meant to
+        // fix.
+        let count = resolved.components(separatedBy: plan.projectDir).count - 1
+        #expect(count == 2)
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Registry snapshot helpers
 
     /// Read the raw bytes of the current projects.json so we can restore
@@ -986,14 +1032,20 @@ final class TestRegistryLock: @unchecked Sendable {
         #expect(statTitles.contains("Last Checked"))
 
         // Cron prompt references .scarf/config.json (where values.sites
-        // + values.timeout_seconds live) and the dashboard/log it writes.
+        // + values.timeout_seconds live), the dashboard/log it writes,
-        // If either stops being referenced, the cron wouldn't know which
+        // and the {{PROJECT_DIR}} placeholder the installer resolves
-        // data to read or where to write results.
+        // at install time. If either stops being referenced, the cron
+        // wouldn't know which data to read or where to write results.
         let cronPrompt = inspection.cronJobs.first?.prompt ?? ""
         #expect(cronPrompt.contains("config.json"))
         #expect(cronPrompt.contains("values.sites"))
         #expect(cronPrompt.contains("dashboard.json"))
         #expect(cronPrompt.contains("status-log.md"))
+        // {{PROJECT_DIR}} must remain UNRESOLVED in the bundle — the
+        // installer substitutes it at install time. If someone
+        // accidentally baked an absolute path into the template, that
+        // path would follow every install to every user's machine.
+        #expect(cronPrompt.contains("{{PROJECT_DIR}}"))
     }
 
     /// Resolve the example bundle path robustly. Unit-test working dirs

templates/CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@ Optional:
 
 - `instructions/CLAUDE.md`, `instructions/GEMINI.md`, `instructions/.cursorrules`, `instructions/.github/copilot-instructions.md` — agent-specific shims beyond `AGENTS.md`.
 - `skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md` — shipped skills, installed into `~/.hermes/skills/templates/<slug>/` on the user's side.
-- `cron/jobs.json` — an array of cron job specs. Each has `name`, `schedule` (e.g. `0 9 * * *` or `every 2h`), `prompt`, optional `deliver`, `skills[]`, `repeat`.
+- `cron/jobs.json` — an array of cron job specs. Each has `name`, `schedule` (e.g. `0 9 * * *` or `every 2h`), `prompt`, optional `deliver`, `skills[]`, `repeat`. The prompt may use these install-time placeholders — the installer substitutes them before registering the cron job with Hermes:
+  - `{{PROJECT_DIR}}` — absolute path of the newly-installed project dir. **Required for any cron prompt that reads or writes project files** — Hermes doesn't set a CWD when firing cron jobs, so relative paths (`.scarf/config.json`) won't resolve. Write `{{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/config.json` instead.
+  - `{{TEMPLATE_ID}}` — the `owner/name` id from your manifest.
+  - `{{TEMPLATE_SLUG}}` — the sanitised slug used for the project dir name + skills namespace.
 - `memory/append.md` — markdown appended to the user's `MEMORY.md` between template-specific markers. Use sparingly — most templates don't need this.
 
 ### 4. Build the bundle

templates/awizemann/site-status-checker/staging/AGENTS.md

@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ No `sites.txt` anymore — sites come from `.scarf/config.json`.
 
 ## What to do when the cron job fires
 
-The cron job runs this project's "Check site status" prompt. When invoked:
+The cron prompt Scarf registers for this project carries **absolute paths** (the installer substitutes `{{PROJECT_DIR}}` at install time) — you don't need to figure out the project's location yourself. Use whatever absolute paths appear in the prompt you received; if you're working in the project's interactive chat instead, the paths below are relative to the project root.
 
 1. Read `.scarf/config.json`. Extract `values.sites` (array of URLs) and `values.timeout_seconds` (number). If `sites` is empty or missing, write a `status-log.md` entry noting "no sites configured — open Configuration to add some" and leave the dashboard untouched.
 2. For each URL in `sites`, make an HTTP GET request with the configured timeout. Follow up to 3 redirects. Treat any 2xx or 3xx response as **up**, anything else (including timeouts and DNS failures) as **down**.

templates/awizemann/site-status-checker/staging/cron/jobs.json

@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
   {
     "name": "Check site status",
     "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
-    "prompt": "Run the site status check for this project. Follow the instructions in AGENTS.md: read .scarf/config.json to get values.sites (the URL list) and values.timeout_seconds, HTTP GET each URL with the configured timeout, prepend a results section to status-log.md (creating it with the stub header if it doesn't exist yet), and update the three stat widgets plus the Watched Sites list items in .scarf/dashboard.json. When done, reply with a one-line summary like '3 up, 1 down — example.com timed out'."
+    "prompt": "Run the site status check for the Scarf project at {{PROJECT_DIR}}. Read {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/config.json to get `values.sites` (the URL list) and `values.timeout_seconds` (the per-URL HTTP timeout). HTTP GET each URL with that timeout, following up to 3 redirects; treat 2xx/3xx as up and anything else (including timeouts and DNS failures) as down. Prepend a new timestamped results section to {{PROJECT_DIR}}/status-log.md — create the file with a one-line header if it doesn't exist yet. Update {{PROJECT_DIR}}/.scarf/dashboard.json: set the Sites Up / Sites Down / Last Checked stat widgets' `value` fields, and replace the 'Watched Sites' list widget's `items` array with one entry per URL (text = URL, status = \"up\" or \"down\"). Preserve every other field in dashboard.json as-is. Reply with a one-line summary like '3 up, 1 down — example.com timed out'."
   }
 ]

templates/catalog.json

@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@
         "name": "Alan Wizemann",
         "url": "https://github.com/awizemann/scarf"
       },
-      "bundleSha256": "3274964418b7cb1e4df2980936e16f9afdf3d4e90c91ae76dead6e5065306818",
+      "bundleSha256": "a3c3a3b1cd1799443fa32ac5f1f643bf28b2e1b30c1b7786a1fa93ef227b0c7e",
-      "bundleSize": 6880,
+      "bundleSize": 7197,
       "category": "monitoring",
       "config": {
         "modelRecommendation": {