The import skill tells Claude Code how to build an import for VSTA. With it, Claude reads the project, writes one import document, previews it, and applies it only when you say yes. The skill is two files, and VSTA serves them for you to download.

  1. Open a terminal.

  2. Run these three lines:

    mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/vsta-import
curl -fsSL https://vsta.work/help/files/vsta-import/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/vsta-import/SKILL.md
curl -fsSL https://vsta.work/help/files/vsta-import/import-format.md -o ~/.claude/skills/vsta-import/import-format.md

    The first line makes the folder where Claude Code looks for the skill. The two curl lines download the skill's files into it.

  3. Start Claude Code, or restart it if it was running.

A newer version of VSTA may update these files, such as when the import format gains a field. Run the two curl lines again to get the current ones. They replace the two files and leave your source notes alone.

You also need a connection to the client you are importing into. Connect Claude Code to a client explains how to make one.

Source notes

The first time you import a project, Claude reads it and writes a short source note before it builds anything. The note goes in ~/.claude/skills/vsta-import/sources/<project>.md on your computer. It records:

  • where the project's files are, and which of them are current;
  • the source name the import uses every time;
  • what in the project becomes a value stream, a stage, a practice or an item in VSTA;
  • what is left out;
  • the questions you answered, with your answers.

Claude shows you the note before it goes further. On every later import of the same project, it follows the note, so the result is the same each time.