fix: deploy root project .apm/ primitives without a sub-package stub

[edenfunf]

What

apm install now deploys primitives from the project root's own .apm/ directory, alongside any declared external dependencies.

Before: running apm install on a project with root .apm/instructions/ rules either exited silently ("All dependencies are up to date") or deployed only the external packages' rules -- the root-level .apm/ was never touched.

After:

apm install
  [+] some-org/some-package
  |-- 1 rule(s) integrated -> .claude/rules/

  [+] <project root> (local)
  |-- 1 rule(s) integrated -> .claude/rules/

Why

Users with both external dependencies and local rules in root .apm/ were forced to create a dummy ./agent/apm.yml stub and add it as a local-path dependency just to get their own rules deployed. This is the issue raised in Discussion #595 and tracked in #714.

The root cause is two early-return guards inside _install_apm_dependencies() that check whether the resolved dependency list is empty and return before target detection and integrator setup ever run. The integration pipeline only operates on paths inside apm_modules/, so the project root itself was never a candidate.

How

Three changes to src/apm_cli/commands/install.py:

1. install() entry point -- detect root .apm/ subdirectories and enter the APM install path even when has_any_apm_deps is False.
2. First early return -- move project_root computation before the guard and skip the return when root primitives exist.
3. Second early return -- same treatment for the deps_to_install == [] guard.
4. Root integration step -- after the dependency loop, create a PackageInfo(install_path=project_root) and run it through the existing _integrate_package_primitives pipeline. No new integration logic; uses the same path all other packages take.

The existing ./agent/apm.yml workaround continues to work without changes (verified by regression test).

Test

Added TestRootProjectPrimitives in tests/integration/test_local_install.py:

• no deps case -- root .apm/ + no external deps: rules deployed
• mixed case -- external dep + root .apm/: both rule sets deployed
• regression -- old ./agent/apm.yml workaround still works
• idempotency -- running apm install twice produces the same result

All four new tests pass. Full test suite: 4309 passed, 0 new failures.

Fixes #714
Refs Discussion #595

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Note

Copilot was unable to run its full agentic suite in this review.

Enables apm install to deploy primitives from the project root’s own .apm/ directory (and SKILL.md) even when there are no declared external APM dependencies, addressing #714.

Changes:

• Enter APM install flow when root-local primitives exist, skipping previous early returns that prevented integration.
• Integrate root project primitives via the existing _integrate_package_primitives pipeline after dependency processing.
• Add integration tests covering root .apm/ deployment, mixed root+external case, regression for the stub workaround, and idempotency.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
tests/integration/test_local_install.py	Adds integration tests asserting root-level .apm/ primitives are deployed (with/without deps) and behavior is idempotent.
src/apm_cli/commands/install.py	Updates install flow to detect root primitives, avoid early exits, and integrate root primitives as an implicit local package.

Copilot's findings

• Files reviewed: 2/2 changed files
• Comments generated: 3

[edenfunf]

@danielmeppiel Thank you for taking the time to review this — your feedback was really helpful.

I've pushed a follow-up commit that addresses all three points raised in the review:

1. Root primitive detection simplified — removed the _LOCAL_PRIM_SUBDIRS allowlist from both install() and _install_apm_dependencies() as you suggested. The check now just verifies that .apm/ exists and treats the project root as a package, letting each integrator decide whether it has content to deploy. This also eliminates the duplication Copilot flagged and avoids future drift if new primitive types are added.

2. Error handling hardened — the except block now passes the full traceback via diagnostics.error(detail=...), and emits an explicit logger.error() when root integration is the only action (no external deps), so failures are visible rather than silently swallowed.

3. Tests expanded — added test_root_apm_hooks_deployed and test_root_skill_md_detected to cover the hooks and SKILL.md detection paths. All 6 tests in TestRootProjectPrimitives pass.

Let me know if there's anything else you'd like me to adjust. Thanks again!

[danielmeppiel]

Why would we be processing it in case the project contains a Skill.md in root? I think that would be confusing UX

[danielmeppiel]

Second time the check appears in the file, seems error prone. Could extract to function.