fresh-deploy-friction

Install instructions rot against the author's machine: their PATH already has the binary, their deps are cached, they run as a user who cloned the repo months ago. A genuinely fresh user hits friction the author can't see. This skill reproduces that user in a disposable container, drives a real task end-to-end, and converts each snag into a fix + PR in the source repo.

Core discipline: you are role-playing a new user. Take the minimal actions a newcomer would — follow the README literally, don't reach for tribal knowledge. A step you "just know" to do is itself a friction finding to document.

Procedure

1. Spin the fresh-user box

Build the throwaway image (non-root dev user, per-user npm prefix, no sudo — the install shape that exposes PATH bugs):

bash scripts/run.sh build      # builds image from scripts/Dockerfile
bash scripts/run.sh up         # starts container `freshdeploy`

Source repos mount read-only at /src/<repo> so the user-side install can't mutate your working copy: