chore: bump version to 0.16.2

Add Command Code integration to spec-kit (#4019 )
* Add Command Code integration to spec-kit Adds `command-code` as a built-in skills-based integration so Spec Kit can be installed into Command Code. Command Code loads agent skills from `.commandcode/skills/speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` and invokes them in chat as `$speckit-<command>`. - New `CommandCodeIntegration` (SkillsIntegration) writing to `.commandcode/skills/`; declared multi-install safe (static, isolated agent root). - Register in `_register_builtins()` and the integration catalog. - Add `command-code` to `DOLLAR_SKILLS_AGENTS` so next-steps guidance renders `$speckit-*` invocations. - Tests: reuse `SkillsIntegrationTests` mixin plus a dollar-invocation next-steps test; registry completeness updated. - Docs: README and docs/reference/integrations.md (supported agents + multi-install-safe table). Co-authored-by: CommandCodeBot <noreply@commandcode.ai> Assisted-by: Command Code (autonomous) * Fix issue template agent lists to include command-code The runtime AGENT_CONFIG now includes command-code, but the GitHub issue templates and the consistency test's expected key list were not updated, failing test_issue_template_agent_lists_match_runtime_integrations. Co-authored-by: CommandCodeBot <noreply@commandcode.ai> Assisted-by: Command Code (autonomous) --------- Co-authored-by: CommandCodeBot <noreply@commandcode.ai>
2026-08-15 14:02:04 +02:00 · 2026-08-10 19:45:44 +00:00 · 2026-08-10 14:44:20 -05:00 · 2026-08-10 13:20:47 -05:00 · 2026-08-10 13:19:50 -05:00 · 2026-08-10 13:18:36 -05:00
137 changed files with 9269 additions and 1028 deletions
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ body:
      value: |
        Thanks for requesting a new agent! Before submitting, please check if the agent is already supported.

-        **Currently supported agents**: Alquimia AI, Amp, Antigravity, Auggie CLI, Claude Code, Cline, CodeBuddy, Codex CLI, Cursor, Devin for Terminal, Factory Droid, Firebender, Forge, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Goose, Grok Build, Hermes Agent, IBM Bob, Junie, Kilo Code, Kimi Code, Kiro CLI, Lingma, Mistral Vibe, Oh My Pi, opencode, Pi Coding Agent, Qoder CLI, Qwen Code, RovoDev ACLI, SHAI, Tabnine CLI, Trae, ZCode, Zed
+        **Currently supported agents**: Alquimia AI, Amp, Antigravity, Auggie CLI, Claude Code, Cline, CodeBuddy, Codex CLI, Command Code, Cursor, Devin for Terminal, Factory Droid, Firebender, Forge, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Goose, Grok Build, Hermes Agent, IBM Bob, Junie, Kilo Code, Kimi Code, Kiro CLI, Lingma, Mistral Vibe, Oh My Pi, opencode, Pi Coding Agent, Qoder CLI, Qwen Code, RovoDev ACLI, SHAI, Tabnine CLI, Trae, ZCode, Zed

  - type: input
    id: agent-name
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ body:
        - Cline
        - CodeBuddy
        - Codex CLI
+        - Command Code
        - Cursor
        - Devin for Terminal
        - Factory Droid
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ body:
        - Cline
        - CodeBuddy
        - Codex CLI
+        - Command Code
        - Cursor
        - Devin for Terminal
        - Factory Droid
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {
  "entries": {
-    "actions/checkout@v6.0.3": {
+    "actions/checkout@v7.0.1": {
      "repo": "actions/checkout",
-      "version": "v6.0.3",
-      "sha": "df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10"
+      "version": "v7.0.1",
+      "sha": "3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1"
    },
    "actions/download-artifact@v8.0.1": {
      "repo": "actions/download-artifact",
@@ -15,10 +15,20 @@
      "version": "v9.0.0",
      "sha": "3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3"
    },
-    "actions/setup-node@v6.4.0": {
+    "actions/setup-node@v7.0.0": {
      "repo": "actions/setup-node",
-      "version": "v6.4.0",
-      "sha": "48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e"
+      "version": "v7.0.0",
+      "sha": "820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020"
+    },
+    "actions/setup-python@v7.0.0": {
+      "repo": "actions/setup-python",
+      "version": "v7.0.0",
+      "sha": "5fda3b95a4ea91299a34e894583c3862153e4b97"
+    },
+    "astral-sh/setup-uv@v9.0.0": {
+      "repo": "astral-sh/setup-uv",
+      "version": "v9.0.0",
+      "sha": "c771a70e6277c0a99b617c7a806ffedaca235ff9"
    },
    "actions/upload-artifact@v7.0.1": {
      "repo": "actions/upload-artifact",
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"c64e3dc29aca89e48108bb6d4eb877f6264b4cec9cd56dcd36827893802d2a64","body_hash":"cade22e5083254b735200f4ff7d686104e4ccab848ff7355141b9689354834db","compiler_version":"v0.79.8","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.60"}}
-# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10","version":"v6.0.3"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e","version":"v6.4.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
+# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.79.8). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
 #    ___                   _   _      
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"687ea37b376b3b918331c13fce6cdbf5b9898bab8e514ca57b662b92b6d3cd2c","body_hash":"83b7e917f475d6ddf32f17e7da09dd4097a01dddbcbbf8eeec673912285de8b2","compiler_version":"v0.79.8","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.60"}}
-# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10","version":"v6.0.3"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e","version":"v6.4.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
+# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.79.8). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
 #    ___                   _   _      
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"b4ba1db5fdec754fa825cc3160879924118bc454a781eed70ef6c90beab83a95","body_hash":"cb6c19088fa13da0a8320c174e8c14c4887d2c8a005a5cb2d2d2faa3f890de39","compiler_version":"v0.79.8","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.60"}}
-# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10","version":"v6.0.3"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e","version":"v6.4.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
+# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.79.8). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
 #    ___                   _   _      
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"00c226f69fb7ec2b63755304328cee6ecddbcedbe4a9840310e5f430bd3949f0","body_hash":"44428ecd81ba0e5ed7bb16436052e6cc3479fe4ad02414812e574d17830a464e","compiler_version":"v0.79.8","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.60"}}
-# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10","version":"v6.0.3"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e","version":"v6.4.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
+# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.79.8). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
 #    ___                   _   _      
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # gh-aw-metadata: {"schema_version":"v4","frontmatter_hash":"aafdb01f262d603577971994522575829802b93d9042d62446313955485df558","body_hash":"4596de2b7de95c7c73c05caedc5c1e97724b39d09d21e9b0dbfc8b570312798a","compiler_version":"v0.79.8","strict":true,"agent_id":"copilot","engine_versions":{"copilot":"1.0.60"}}
-# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"df4cb1c069e1874edd31b4311f1884172cec0e10","version":"v6.0.3"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e","version":"v6.4.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
+# gh-aw-manifest: {"version":1,"secrets":["COPILOT_GITHUB_TOKEN","GH_AW_CI_TRIGGER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN","GH_AW_GITHUB_TOKEN","GITHUB_TOKEN"],"actions":[{"repo":"actions/checkout","sha":"3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/download-artifact","sha":"3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c","version":"v8.0.1"},{"repo":"actions/github-script","sha":"3a2844b7e9c422d3c10d287c895573f7108da1b3","version":"v9.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/setup-node","sha":"820762786026740c76f36085b0efc47a31fe5020","version":"v7.0.0"},{"repo":"actions/upload-artifact","sha":"043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a","version":"v7.0.1"},{"repo":"github/gh-aw-actions/setup","sha":"c0338fef4749d08c21f8f975fb0e37efa17dda47","version":"v0.79.8"}],"containers":[{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/agent:0.27.2@sha256:f88e5b17b6b7a600117bc121114d6ce2155c88c983c0c939c5df884f730fa1d6"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/api-proxy:0.27.2@sha256:ee39841d980878ebbb87592903b06d31a1af500c71525c9616f7e8e2a27041a4"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2","digest":"sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-firewall/squid:0.27.2@sha256:2e3a717e5f19a654cd9a2263beb52012b56bcb68562ec5ae2e42f9d156b49591"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25","digest":"sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/gh-aw-mcpg:v0.3.25@sha256:c10331ad17668ef89f38f5e356678788a40b0cd5fef96e8f92e1d9c1de47cbaa"},{"image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2","digest":"sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c","pinned_image":"ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:v1.1.2@sha256:30197479d8036c7811892bc07e06f9a05c9ef3cdd79bc59f256d50647f95788c"}]}
 # This file was automatically generated by gh-aw (v0.79.8). DO NOT EDIT. To debug this workflow, load the skill at https://github.com/github/gh-aw/blob/main/debug.md
 #
 #    ___                   _   _      
@@ -60,6 +60,22 @@ permissions:
 checkout:
  fetch-depth: 0

+network:
+  allowed:
+    - defaults
+    - pypi.org
+    - files.pythonhosted.org
+
+steps:
+  - name: Setup uv
+    uses: astral-sh/setup-uv@c771a70e6277c0a99b617c7a806ffedaca235ff9 # v9.0.0
+  - name: Set up Python
+    uses: actions/setup-python@5fda3b95a4ea91299a34e894583c3862153e4b97 # v7.0.0
+    with:
+      python-version: "3.14"
+  - name: Install Python test dependencies
+    run: uv pip install --system -e ".[test]"
+
 safe-outputs:
  noop:
    report-as-issue: false
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ jobs:
        uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1

      - name: Initialize CodeQL
-        uses: github/codeql-action/init@e4fba868fa4b1b91e1fdab776edc8cfbe6e9fb81 # v4
+        uses: github/codeql-action/init@d1ba80a13dd99fba24a470575428917156a28b43 # v4
        with:
          languages: ${{ matrix.language }}

      - name: Perform CodeQL Analysis
-        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@e4fba868fa4b1b91e1fdab776edc8cfbe6e9fb81 # v4
+        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@d1ba80a13dd99fba24a470575428917156a28b43 # v4
        with:
          category: "/language:${{ matrix.language }}"
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ jobs:
          fi

      - name: Run markdownlint-cli2
-        uses: DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2-action@6bf21b07787794f89a243495939cd651942aeabe # v24.1.0
+        uses: DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2-action@21c1be1b93ad9ed58fa840aacc3f279cde2a72ff # v24.2.0
        with:
          globs: |
            '**/*.md'
@@ -260,13 +260,13 @@ The base classes handle most work automatically. Override only when the agent de
 | Override | When to use | Example |
 |---|---|---|
 | `command_filename(template_name)` | Custom file naming or extension | Copilot → `speckit.{name}.agent.md` |
-| `options()` | Integration-specific CLI flags via `--integration-options` | Codex → `--skills` flag, Copilot → `--skills` flag |
-| `setup()` | Custom install logic (companion files, settings merge) | Copilot → `.agent.md` + `.prompt.md` + `.vscode/settings.json` (default) or `speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` (skills mode) |
+| `options()` | Integration-specific CLI flags via `--integration-options` | Codex → `--skills` flag, Copilot → `--commands` flag |
+| `setup()` | Custom install logic (companion files, settings merge) | Copilot → `speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` (default) or `.agent.md` + `.prompt.md` + `.vscode/settings.json` (`--commands`) |
 | `teardown()` | Custom uninstall logic | Rarely needed; base handles manifest-tracked files |

 **Example — Copilot (fully custom `setup`):**

-Copilot extends `IntegrationBase` directly because it creates `.agent.md` commands, companion `.prompt.md` files, and merges `.vscode/settings.json`. It also supports a `--skills` mode that scaffolds `speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/` using composition with an internal `_CopilotSkillsHelper`. See `src/specify_cli/integrations/copilot/__init__.py` for the full implementation.
+Copilot extends `IntegrationBase` directly because it supports two layouts. It scaffolds `speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/` by default using composition with an internal `_CopilotSkillsHelper`. Its `--commands` mode creates `.agent.md` commands, companion `.prompt.md` files, and merges `.vscode/settings.json`. See `src/specify_cli/integrations/copilot/__init__.py` for the full implementation.

 ### 7. Update Devcontainer files (Optional)

@@ -415,36 +415,28 @@ Some agents require custom processing beyond the standard template transformatio

 ### Copilot Integration

-GitHub Copilot has unique requirements:
+GitHub Copilot uses skills by default, scaffolded as
+`speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/`.

- Commands use `.agent.md` extension (not `.md`)
+**Commands mode (`--commands`):** Copilot also supports a commands-based layout
+via `--integration-options="--commands"`. When enabled:
+
+- Commands use `.agent.md` extension under `.github/agents/`
 - Each command gets a companion `.prompt.md` file in `.github/prompts/`
- Installs `.vscode/settings.json` with prompt file recommendations
- Context file lives at `.github/copilot-instructions.md`
+- `.vscode/settings.json` is merged with prompt file recommendations
+- `build_command_invocation()` returns bare args for `--agent` dispatch

-Implementation: Extends `IntegrationBase` with custom `setup()` method that:
-
-1. Processes templates with `process_template()`
-2. Generates companion `.prompt.md` files
-3. Merges VS Code settings
-
-**Skills mode (`--skills`):** Copilot also supports an alternative skills-based layout
-via `--integration-options="--skills"`. When enabled:
-
- Commands are scaffolded as `speckit-<name>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/`
- No companion `.prompt.md` files are generated
- No `.vscode/settings.json` merge
- `post_process_skill_content()` injects a `mode: speckit.<stem>` frontmatter field
- `build_command_invocation()` returns `/speckit-<stem>` instead of bare args
+In the default skills mode, no companion prompts or VS Code settings merge are
+created, and `build_command_invocation()` returns `/speckit-<stem>`.

 The two modes are mutually exclusive — a project uses one or the other:

 ```bash
-# Default mode: .agent.md agents + .prompt.md companions + settings merge
+# Default skills mode: speckit-<name>/SKILL.md under .github/skills/
 specify init my-project --integration copilot

-# Skills mode: speckit-<name>/SKILL.md under .github/skills/
-specify init my-project --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills"
+# Commands mode: .agent.md agents + .prompt.md companions + settings merge
+specify init my-project --integration copilot --integration-options="--commands"
 ```

 ### Forge Integration
@@ -509,6 +501,11 @@ When an issue exists, include its number immediately after the prefix — this i

 Disclosure is **continuous**, not a one-time event. A single AI-disclosure paragraph in the PR body does **not** cover the commits and replies you add during review rounds. Each of the following must independently attest to agent authorship.

+### Opening pull requests
+
+- Before opening a pull request, check whether the account that will file it already has three open pull requests in this repository.
+- If so, alert the user that additional submissions may receive lower review priority and ask for explicit permission to proceed. Do not assume consent.
+
 ### Commits

 - **Every commit you author must carry an `Assisted-by:` trailer** identifying the agent and whether it acted autonomously or under direct human supervision, for example:
@@ -2,6 +2,107 @@

 <!-- insert new changelog below this comment -->

+## [0.16.2] - 2026-08-10
+
+### Changed
+
+- Add Command Code integration to spec-kit (#4019)
+- fix(workflows): strip a resolved condition before the true/false check (#3883)
+- fix(workflows): guard a non-string overlay edit 'operation' (#3881)
+- fix: bound response read in integration catalog fetch (#3818)
+- Fix bug-test Python dependency provisioning (#4030)
+- fix(bundle): escape Rich markup in bundle CLI error and status output (#4023)
+- fix(presets): skip an unreadable restore source in `preset remove` (#4020)
+- Add Keel Discovery extension to community catalog (#4035)
+- fix: show error details in preset catalog config read failure (#3840)
+- Update Reconcile Extension to v1.1.0 (#4034)
+- Add Model Routing Governance preset to community catalog (#4033)
+- fix: use missing_ok=True in integration JSON removal (#3846)
+- fix: use missing_ok=True in extension cache clear (#3845)
+- fix(extensions): reject duplicate provides.templates/scripts names (#4016)
+- feat(presets): resolve constitution templates at command time (#3984)
+- [bug-fix] Fix preset-wrap-drops-argument-hint: inherit argument-hint from core template (#3996)
+- docs: document installing specify-cli from a custom package index (#4032)
+- feat(extensions): accept provides.templates and provides.scripts in manifest (#4012)
+- fix(presets): treat an unreadable core template as missing (#3961)
+- chore: release 0.16.1, begin 0.16.2.dev0 development (#4014)
+
+## [0.16.1] - 2026-08-07
+
+### Changed
+
+- fix(integrations): wrap a non-UTF-8 catalog response (#4011)
+- fix(events): skip an unreadable command template (#3956)
+- fix(bundle): wrap malformed YAML in a local .zip bundle manifest (#4013)
+- chore(deps): bump github/codeql-action/analyze from 4.37.3 to 4.37.5 (#4005)
+- chore(deps): bump DavidAnson/markdownlint-cli2-action (#4006)
+- fix(agent-context): recurse for nested plans in Python mtime fallback (#3757)
+- fix: add utf-8 encoding to extension and preset registry file I/O (#3834)
+- fix(init): escape user-supplied values in `specify init` output (#3787)
+- fix: bound response read in integration catalog fetch (#3812)
+- fix: use missing_ok for temp file cleanup to avoid masking errors (#3803)
+- fix(workflows): handle an unreadable run state in `workflow status` (#3999)
+- feat(init): scaffold managed .specify/.gitignore (#4000)
+- fix(scripts): stop check-prerequisites text mode crashing on a legacy stdout code page (#3890)
+- fix(presets): return None for an unreadable layer in resolve_content (#3959)
+- fix(extensions): start fresh on a non-UTF-8 extension registry (#3998)
+- Fix init-force-preset-desync: reapply presets/extensions on init --here --force (#3995)
+- fix(skills): apply the line-anchored delimiter scan to hermes and kimi (#3739)
+- fix(archives): wrap the bare EOFError a truncated tar.gz raises (#3938)
+- test(integrations): guard multiline/control-char SKILL.md frontmatter escaping (#3392)
+- fix(scripts): stop setup-tasks text mode crashing on a legacy code page (#3892)
+- chore: release 0.16.0, begin 0.16.1.dev0 development (#3992)
+
+## [0.16.0] - 2026-08-05
+
+### Changed
+
+- fix: keep long frontmatter values on a single line (#3989)
+- fix: skip corrupted run state files in list_runs (#3817)
+- fix: skip corrupted run state files in list_runs (#3814)
+- Add July 2026 newsletter (#3987)
+- fix(presets): start fresh on a non-UTF-8 preset registry (#3955)
+- docs: clarify agent PR review prioritization (#3985)
+- fix(events): preserve a non-UTF-8 config.toml on hook install/teardown (#3963)
+- fix(extensions): treat an unreadable staged backup as a conflict (#3962)
+- fix(manifests): reject non-string requires.speckit_version (#3980)
+- fix(extensions): reject reinstall when a kept config cannot be read (#3960)
+- [extension] Update Charter extension to v0.5.1 (#3983)
+- fix(events): return None for an unparseable script command (#3957)
+- feat(events): context injection for opencode and JSON-envelope agent hooks (#3934)
+- Add TDD Extension to community catalog (#3982)
+- Update Archive Extension to v1.1.0 (#3981)
+- feat(copilot): default integration to skills (#3976)
+- fix(events): ignore non-UTF-8 event overrides (#3897)
+- fix: cap stdin read at 1 MiB to prevent DoS (#3857)
+- fix(workflows): reject mismatched run state IDs (#3899)
+- chore: release 0.15.2, begin 0.15.3.dev0 development (#3953)
+
+## [0.15.2] - 2026-08-03
+
+### Changed
+
+- fix(presets): restore core skills instead of deleting them on preset remove (#3929)
+- fix(manifests): reject non-string metadata instead of crashing on it (#3943)
+- fix: narrow bare except Exception in invoke separator resolution (#3856)
+- fix(workflows): keep the init step's documented ignore_agent_tools default on an explicit null (#3889)
+- fix(kimi): preserve non-UTF-8 user skills (#3895)
+- fix(presets): tolerate non-UTF-8 legacy commands (#3896)
+- feat: allow overriding default init integration via SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT (#3952)
+- Add adrkit extension to community catalog (#3947)
+- feat(extensions): scaffold config templates on extension add/enable (#2000)
+- fix(events): skip non-UTF-8 extension manifests (#3900)
+- fix(workflows): fail a gate whose on_reject is not abort/skip/retry (#3888)
+- fix(presets): validate required manifest mappings (#3898)
+- fix: eliminate TOCTOU race in zip packaging (#3855)
+- fix(workflows): fail a fan-in step whose output is not a mapping (#3887)
+- fix(workflows): refetch non-UTF-8 catalog caches (#3901)
+- fix(bundler): wrap local catalog decode failures (#3902)
+- Add `--extension` flag to `specify init` for opting into extensions at init time (#3914)
+- fix: bound response reads in extension catalog and download (#3775)
+- fix(workflows): reject a retry gate whose verdict enum forbids the reset value (#3912)
+- chore: release 0.15.1, begin 0.15.2.dev0 development (#3913)
+
 ## [0.15.1] - 2026-07-31

 ### Changed
@@ -55,6 +55,8 @@ Here are a few things you can do that will increase the likelihood of your pull
 - Write a [good commit message](http://tbaggery.com/2008/04/19/a-note-about-git-commit-messages.html).
 - Test your changes with the Spec-Driven Development workflow to ensure compatibility.

+Accounts with three open pull requests may continue submitting changes, but additional submissions may be placed behind contributions from other authors in the review queue. Coding agents should disclose this possibility and obtain the filer's confirmation before opening another pull request.
+
 ### Branch naming

 We recommend naming branches as `<type>/<number>-<short-slug>`, where `<number>` is the issue or PR number (whichever comes first) and `<type>` is one of:
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ Bare `specify self upgrade` executes immediately, matching the no-prompt behavio

 ### 3. Establish project principles

-Launch your coding agent in the project directory. Most agents expose spec-kit as `/speckit.*` slash commands; Codex CLI in skills mode uses `$speckit-*` instead; GitHub Copilot CLI uses `/agents` to select the agent or address it directly in a prompt.
+Launch your coding agent in the project directory. Most agents expose spec-kit as `/speckit.*` slash commands; Codex CLI and Command Code in skills mode use `$speckit-*` instead; GitHub Copilot CLI uses `/agents` to select the agent or address it directly in a prompt.

 Use the **`/speckit.constitution`** command to create your project's governing principles and development guidelines that will guide all subsequent development.

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ The following community-contributed extensions are available in [`catalog.commun

 | Extension | Purpose | Category | Effect | URL |
 |-----------|---------|----------|--------|-----|
+| adrkit — decision memory for spec-driven development | Pulls the decisions governing this work into agent context, checks produced plans against them, and drafts an ADR from a plan artifact | `process` | Read+Write | [adrkit](https://github.com/mbeacom/adrkit) |
 | Agent Assign | Assign specialized Claude Code agents to spec-kit tasks for targeted execution | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-agent-assign](https://github.com/xymelon/spec-kit-agent-assign) |
 | Agent Governance | Generate agent-platform repository governance files from Spec Kit metadata | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-agent-governance](https://github.com/bigsmartben/spec-kit-agent-governance) |
 | AI-Driven Engineering (AIDE) | A structured 7-step workflow for building new projects from scratch with AI assistants — from vision through implementation | `process` | Read+Write | [aide](https://github.com/mnriem/spec-kit-extensions/tree/main/aide) |
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@ The following community-contributed extensions are available in [`catalog.commun
 | Iterate | Iterate on spec documents with a two-phase define-and-apply workflow — refine specs mid-implementation and go straight back to building | `docs` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-iterate](https://github.com/imviancagrace/spec-kit-iterate) |
 | Jira Integration | Create Jira Epics, Stories, and Issues from spec-kit specifications and task breakdowns with configurable hierarchy and custom field support | `integration` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-jira](https://github.com/mbachorik/spec-kit-jira) |
 | Jira Integration (Sync Engine) | Idempotent, drift-aware, fail-closed reconcile engine mirroring spec-kit specs into Jira (Epic per repo, Story per spec, Subtask per phase) | `integration` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-jira-sync](https://github.com/ashbrener/spec-kit-jira-sync) |
+| Keel Discovery | A Spec Kit extension that puts customer evidence upstream of /speckit.specify, and audits what you shipped against it afterwards | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-keel](https://github.com/keeldiscovery/spec-kit-keel) |
 | Learning Extension | Generate educational guides from implementations and enhance clarifications with mentoring context | `docs` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-learn](https://github.com/imviancagrace/spec-kit-learn) |
 | Linear Integration | Mirror spec-kit feature directories into Linear (filesystem → Linear, reconcile-based, unidirectional). | `integration` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-linear-sync](https://github.com/ashbrener/spec-kit-linear-sync) |
 | Linear Weave | Weave Spec Kit into Linear: pull requirements, mirror tasks.md into sub-issues, sync statuses | `integration` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-linear-weave](https://github.com/tonydwoodhouse/spec-kit-linear-weave) |
@@ -152,6 +154,7 @@ The following community-contributed extensions are available in [`catalog.commun
 | Superpowers Implementation Bridge | Thin orchestrator between Spec Kit (design) and Superpowers (implementation). Cross-agent. | `process` | Read+Write | [speckit-superpowers-bridge](https://github.com/lihan3238/speckit-superpowers-bridge) |
 | Superspec | Bridges spec-kit with obra/superpowers (brainstorming, TDD, subagent, code-review) into a unified, resumable workflow with graceful degradation and session progress tracking | `process` | Read+Write | [superspec](https://github.com/WangX0111/superspec) |
 | Tasks to GitHub Project | Publish and synchronize Spec Kit tasks as cards on a GitHub Project (v2) kanban board, with priority and status sync between spec.md/tasks.md and the board. | `integration` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-tasks-to-project](https://github.com/mancioshell/spec-kit-tasks-to-project) |
+| TDD Extension | Drives spec-kit implementation with tests: a language-agnostic red-green-refactor loop with a per-feature test list, recorded red and green evidence, and mutation-checked test strength. | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-tdd](https://github.com/d0whc3r/spec-kit-tdd) |
 | Team Assign | Assign tasks.md items to human engineers, split into subtasks, and generate a per-engineer workboard | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-team-assign](https://github.com/tarunkumarbhati/spec-kit-team-assign) |
 | Test Coverage Drift Control | Generate incremental coverage drift reports and planned remediation tasks after implementation | `code` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-test-coverage-drift-control](https://github.com/benizzio/spec-kit-test-coverage-drift-control) |
 | Time Machine | Retroactively apply the full SDD workflow to existing codebases — analyse, spec, and ship feature-by-feature | `process` | Read+Write | [spec-kit-time-machine](https://github.com/teeyo/spec-kit-time-machine) |
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ The following community-contributed presets customize how Spec Kit behaves — o
 | iSAQB Architecture Governance | Adds iSAQB/CPSA-F and arc42 architecture governance with audit-ready evidence for goals, views, resumability, partial-failure scenarios, ADRs, risks, and technical debt. | 13 templates, 3 commands | — | [spec-kit-preset-isaqb-architecture-governance](https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-isaqb-architecture-governance) |
 | Jira Issue Tracking | Overrides `speckit.taskstoissues` to create Jira epics, stories, and tasks instead of GitHub Issues via Atlassian MCP tools | 1 command | — | [spec-kit-preset-jira](https://github.com/luno/spec-kit-preset-jira) |
 | Model Driven Engineering | Focuses on streamlined commands, app repository support, cross-spec support, and capability-aware project memory for model-driven engineering workflows | 6 templates, 11 commands | MDE extension | [spec-kit-preset-mde](https://github.com/AI-MDE/spec-kit-preset-mde) |
+| Model Routing Governance | Maps provider-neutral Spec Kit roles to validated harness-local runner profiles without storing model availability, credentials, or machine-specific selections in Git. | 4 templates, 2 commands, 2 scripts | — | [spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance](https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance) |
 | Multi-Repo Branching | Coordinates feature branch creation across multiple git repositories (independent repos and submodules) during plan and tasks phases | 2 commands | — | [spec-kit-preset-multi-repo-branching](https://github.com/sakitA/spec-kit-preset-multi-repo-branching) |
 | Parallel Autonomous Run Governance | Coordinates permission-bounded autonomous campaigns while preserving the project's learner and accessibility contract across workers and consolidation. | 9 templates, 5 commands, 2 scripts | autonomous-run-governance >=0.2.2; optional: intake-review-governance >=0.1.0 | [spec-kit-preset-parallel-autonomous-run-governance](https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-parallel-autonomous-run-governance) |
 | Pirate Speak (Full) | Transforms all Spec Kit output into pirate speak — specs become "Voyage Manifests", plans become "Battle Plans", tasks become "Crew Assignments" | 6 templates, 9 commands | — | [spec-kit-presets](https://github.com/mnriem/spec-kit-presets) |
@@ -35,6 +35,27 @@ pipx install specify-cli==0.12.11
 pip install specify-cli==0.12.11
 ```

+## Install from a custom or private package index
+
+Some environments (corporate networks, mirrors, proxies, or artifact feeds) require installing `specify-cli` from a package index other than the default public PyPI. Each Python tool exposes a way to point at a different index — configure it before running the install commands above. Substitute your own index URL for the placeholder shown here.
+
+```bash
+# uv — via environment variable (applies to the whole command)
+UV_DEFAULT_INDEX=https://your-index.example.com/pypi/simple/ uv tool install specify-cli
+
+# uv — via flag
+uv tool install --default-index https://your-index.example.com/pypi/simple/ specify-cli
+
+# pipx — pass a pip argument through
+pipx install specify-cli --index-url https://your-index.example.com/pypi/simple/
+
+# pip
+pip install specify-cli --index-url https://your-index.example.com/pypi/simple/
+```
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> The same index configuration applies to pinned installs, upgrades (`--force`/`--upgrade`), and one-time usage — set the environment variable or flag on those commands too. If your index requires authentication, follow your tool's documentation and prefer credential environment variables, keyring, or netrc; do not embed secrets in command-line URLs because they can leak through shell history, process listings, or logs. Avoid committing secrets. For fully offline installs, see the [air-gapped installation guide](air-gapped.md).
+
 ## Verify

 ```bash
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ pipx install specify-cli
 pip install specify-cli
 ```

-To install a specific release, pin the version — for example `uv tool install specify-cli==0.12.11`. See the [PyPI installation guide](install/pypi.md) for details, including how to upgrade.
+To install a specific release, pin the version — for example `uv tool install specify-cli==0.12.11`. See the [PyPI installation guide](install/pypi.md) for details, including how to upgrade and how to [install from a custom or private package index](install/pypi.md#install-from-a-custom-or-private-package-index).

 ### One-time Usage

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Creates a new Spec Kit project with the necessary directory structure, templates

 Use `<project_name>` to create a new directory, or `--here` (or `.`) to initialize in the current directory. If the directory already has files, use `--force` to merge without confirmation.

-When `--integration` is omitted, interactive terminals prompt you to choose an integration. Non-interactive sessions, such as CI or piped runs, default to GitHub Copilot; pass `--integration <key>` to choose a different integration explicitly.
+When `--integration` is omitted, interactive terminals prompt you to choose an integration. Non-interactive sessions, such as CI or piped runs, default to GitHub Copilot; pass `--integration <key>` to choose a different integration explicitly, or set `SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT` to change the fallback (see [Environment Variables](#environment-variables)).

 ### Examples

@@ -50,12 +50,15 @@ specify init my-project --integration copilot --preset compliance

 | Variable          | Description                                                              |
 | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT` | Override the fallback integration used by `specify init` when `--integration` is omitted (interactive prompt default and non-interactive fallback). Set it to any registered integration key (e.g. `gemini`, `claude`). An unrecognized value is ignored with a warning and the built-in default (`copilot`) is used. An explicit `--integration <key>` always takes precedence. |
 | `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` | Target a member project from outside its directory (e.g. a monorepo root) without `cd`, for non-interactive / CI use. Set it to the **project root** — the directory *containing* `.specify/` (relative paths resolve against the current directory). The path must exist and contain `.specify/`, otherwise the command errors and does **not** fall back to the current directory. Resolved once in the core root helper (`get_repo_root` in Bash, `Get-RepoRoot` in PowerShell), so it is honored by the core feature scripts (`/speckit.plan`, `/speckit.tasks`, …) and the Git extension's feature-branch creation, which inherit it. The `specify` CLI applies the **same** validation rules to every project-scoped subcommand (`specify integration …`, `specify extension …`, `specify workflow …`, `specify preset …`, and the rest that operate on a `.specify/` project), so those can target a member project too. When unset, Bash/PowerShell helpers keep their existing upward search; the `specify` CLI keeps its project-scoped resolver cwd-only unless a command explicitly defines broader detection (for example, bundle commands). |
 | `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` | Override the active feature directory *within* the resolved project (takes precedence over `.specify/feature.json`). Relative paths resolve under the project root. Combine with `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` to pick both the project and the feature non-interactively. |
 | `SPECIFY_FEATURE` | Override feature detection for non-Git repositories. Set to the feature directory name (e.g., `001-photo-albums`) to work on a specific feature when not using Git branches. Must be set in the context of the agent prior to using `/speckit.plan` or follow-up commands. |

 > **Two resolution axes.** `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` selects the **project** (which directory contains `.specify/`); `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` / `.specify/feature.json` select the **feature** within that project. They are independent — project first, then feature.

+> **Version control.** `specify init` scaffolds a managed `.specify/.gitignore` that excludes machine-local state — `feature.json` (the current-feature pointer, rewritten on every feature switch) and per-machine extension `extensions/*/local-config.yml` overrides — while leaving everything else under `.specify/` (constitution, templates, scripts, extension config) shareable so teams stay aligned. Like the rest of `.specify/`'s shared scripts and templates, the file is tracked in the shared-infrastructure manifest: your edits are preserved on re-init and `specify init --here --force` restores the managed content. It is intentionally left in place by `specify integration uninstall`, which only removes the uninstalled agent's own files.
+
 > **Symlinked project roots.** `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` relocates *where* the project is, not *how* a command treats symlinks: each command keeps its existing cwd-path stance. Commands that traverse and write project files through broad input paths (`bundle`, `workflow run <file>`) refuse a symlinked `.specify/` to preserve write confinement. Other project-scoped commands keep their existing behavior when `SPECIFY_INIT_DIR` points at a project root, which may include following a symlinked `.specify/`.

 ## Check Installed Tools
@@ -14,13 +14,14 @@ The Specify CLI supports a wide range of AI coding agents. When you run `specify
 | [Cline](https://github.com/cline/cline)                                              | `cline`          | IDE-based agent                                                                                                                           |
 | [CodeBuddy CLI](https://www.codebuddy.cn/docs/cli/installation)                      | `codebuddy`      |                                                                                                                                           |
 | [Codex CLI](https://github.com/openai/codex)                                         | `codex`          | Skills-based integration; installs skills into `.agents/skills` and invokes them as `$speckit-<command>` |
+| [Command Code](https://commandcode.ai/docs)                                          | `command-code`   | Skills-based integration; installs skills into `.commandcode/skills/` and invokes them as `$speckit-<command>` |
 | [Cursor](https://cursor.sh/)                                                         | `cursor-agent`   |                                                                                                                                           |
 | [Devin for Terminal](https://cli.devin.ai/docs)                                      | `devin`          | Skills-based integration; installs skills into `.devin/skills/` and invokes them as `/speckit-<command>` |
 | [Factory Droid](https://docs.factory.ai/cli/getting-started/overview)               | `droid`          | Skills-based integration; installs skills into `.factory/skills/` and invokes them as `/speckit-<command>`                               |
 | [Firebender](https://firebender.com/)                                                | `firebender`     | IDE-based agent for Android Studio / IntelliJ                                                                                             |
 | [Forge](https://forgecode.dev/)                                                      | `forge`          |                                                                                                                                           |
 | [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli)                            | `gemini`         |                                                                                                                                           |
-| [GitHub Copilot](https://code.visualstudio.com/)                                     | `copilot`        | Defaults to legacy markdown mode: `.agent.md` command files under `.github/agents/`, companion `.prompt.md` files under `.github/prompts/`, and a `.vscode/settings.json` merge. Pass `--integration-options="--skills"` to scaffold skills as `speckit-<command>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/` instead. Legacy markdown mode is deprecated and will stop being the default in a future release. |
+| [GitHub Copilot](https://code.visualstudio.com/)                                     | `copilot`        | Skills-based by default; installs `speckit-<command>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/`. Pass `--integration-options="--commands"` to use the supported commands layout: `.agent.md` files under `.github/agents/`, companion `.prompt.md` files under `.github/prompts/`, and a `.vscode/settings.json` merge. |
 | [Goose](https://goose-docs.ai/)                                                      | `goose`          | Uses YAML recipe format in `.goose/recipes/`                                                                                              |
 | [Grok Build](https://docs.x.ai/build/overview)                                       | `grok`           | Skills-based integration; installs skills into `.grok/skills` and invokes them as `/speckit-<command>`                                    |
 | [Hermes](https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent)                               | `hermes`         | Skills-based integration; installs skills globally into `~/.hermes/skills/`                                                                |
@@ -234,7 +235,8 @@ Some integrations accept additional options via `--integration-options`:
 | ----------- | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- |
 | `generic`   | `--commands-dir`    | Required. Directory for command files                          |
 | `kimi`      | `--migrate-legacy`  | Migrate legacy `.kimi/skills/` installs to `.kimi-code/skills/` (including dotted→hyphenated skill naming, e.g. `speckit.xxx` → `speckit-xxx`) |
-| `copilot`   | `--skills`          | Scaffold commands as agent skills (`speckit-<command>/SKILL.md` under `.github/skills/`, invoked as `/speckit-<command>`) instead of the default legacy markdown mode (`.github/agents/*.agent.md` plus `.github/prompts/*.prompt.md` and a `.vscode/settings.json` merge). Without this flag, install warns that legacy markdown mode is deprecated. |
+| `copilot`   | `--commands`        | Scaffold `.github/agents/*.agent.md` commands with `.github/prompts/*.prompt.md` companions and merge `.vscode/settings.json` instead of using the default skills layout. |
+| `copilot`   | `--skills`          | Force the default skills layout, overriding an existing commands layout during an explicit migration. |

 Example:

@@ -278,6 +280,7 @@ The currently declared multi-install safe integrations are:
 | `cline` | `.clinerules/workflows` |
 | `codebuddy` | `.codebuddy/commands` |
 | `codex` | `.agents/skills` |
+| `command-code` | `.commandcode/skills` |
 | `cursor-agent` | `.cursor/skills` |
 | `droid` | `.factory/skills` |
 | `firebender` | `.firebender/commands` |
@@ -40,12 +40,25 @@ requires:
      required: boolean    # Optional, default: false

 provides:
-  commands:              # Required, at least one command
+  commands:              # At least one of commands/templates/scripts/hooks/events required
    - name: string       # Required, pattern: ^speckit\.[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z0-9-]+$
      file: string       # Required, relative path to command file
      description: string # Required
      aliases: [string]  # Optional, same pattern as name; namespace must match extension.id and must not shadow core or installed extension commands

+  templates:             # Optional, array of declared templates. Always resolve
+                          # as "replace" -- 'strategy' is not an authorable field here.
+    - name: string       # Required, pattern: ^[a-z0-9-]+$
+      file: string       # Required, relative path to template file
+      description: string # Optional
+
+  scripts:               # Optional, array of declared scripts. Always resolve
+                          # as "replace" -- 'strategy' is not an authorable field here.
+    - name: string       # Required, pattern: ^[a-z0-9-]+$
+      file: string       # Required, relative path to script file
+      description: string # Optional
+      runtimes: [string] # Optional, subset of: bash, powershell, python
+
  config:                # Optional, array of config files
    - name: string       # Config file name
      template: string   # Template file path
@@ -111,6 +124,29 @@ defaults:                # Optional, default configuration values
 - **Examples**: `speckit.jira.specstoissues`, `speckit.linear.sync`
 - **Invalid**: `jira.specstoissues`, `speckit.command`, `speckit.jira.CreateIssues`

+#### `provides.templates[].name` / `provides.scripts[].name`
+
+- **Type**: string
+- **Pattern**: `^[a-z0-9-]+$`
+- **Description**: Unlike commands, templates and scripts are not invoked by
+  name, so they use the same plain slug pattern as `extension.id` rather than
+  the namespaced command pattern.
+- **Examples**: `myext-template`, `myext-collect`
+
+#### `provides.templates[].strategy` / `provides.scripts[].strategy`
+
+- Not an authorable field. Extension-contributed templates and scripts are
+  always resolved as `replace`; a manifest that includes a `strategy` key on
+  one of these entries is rejected with a `ValidationError`. Composable
+  strategies (`wrap`/`prepend`/`append`) are preset-only.
+
+#### `provides.scripts[].runtimes`
+
+- **Type**: array of strings
+- **Values**: `bash`, `powershell`, `python`
+- **Description**: Declares which runtimes the script supports. Purely
+  informational metadata — it is not used to select or invoke the script.
+
 #### `hooks`

 - **Type**: object
@@ -143,6 +179,8 @@ manifest.version                   # str: Version
 manifest.description               # str: Description
 manifest.requires_speckit_version  # str: Required spec-kit version
 manifest.commands                  # List[Dict]: Command definitions
+manifest.templates                 # List[Dict]: Declared template definitions
+manifest.scripts                   # List[Dict]: Declared script definitions
 manifest.hooks                     # Dict: Hook definitions
 ```

@@ -177,9 +177,16 @@ Compatibility requirements.

 What the extension provides.

-**Optional sub-fields**:
+**Optional sub-fields:**

- `commands`: Array of command objects (at least one command or hook is required)
+- `commands`: Array of command objects
+- `templates`: Array of template objects
+- `scripts`: Array of script objects
+
+`hooks` and `events` are separate top-level manifest fields (siblings of
+`provides`, not nested under it — see [`hooks`](#hooks) below). At least one
+of `provides.commands`, `provides.templates`, `provides.scripts`, `hooks`, or
+`events` is required.

 **Command object**:

@@ -188,6 +195,21 @@ What the extension provides.
 - `description`: Command description (optional)
 - `aliases`: Alternative command names (optional, array; each must match `speckit.{ext-id}.{command}`)

+**Template object**:
+
+- `name`: Template name (lowercase, alphanumeric, hyphens — e.g. `myext-template`)
+- `file`: Path to template file (relative to extension root)
+- `description`: Template description (optional)
+
+**Script object**:
+
+- `name`: Script name (lowercase, alphanumeric, hyphens — e.g. `myext-collect`)
+- `file`: Path to script file (relative to extension root)
+- `description`: Script description (optional)
+- `runtimes`: Runtimes the script supports (optional, array; subset of `bash`, `powershell`, `python` — informational only, not used to select or invoke the script)
+
+Extension-provided templates and scripts always resolve as `replace`; a manifest that includes a `strategy` key on one of these entries is rejected with a `ValidationError`. Composable strategies (`wrap`/`prepend`/`append`) are preset-only.
+
 ### Optional Fields

 #### `hooks`
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ Usage: update_agent_context.py [plan_path]

 When ``plan_path`` is omitted, the script derives it from
 ``.specify/feature.json`` (written by /speckit-specify). Falls back to the most
-recently modified ``plan.md`` anywhere under ``specs/`` (including nested scoped
-layouts such as ``specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md``) only when feature.json is
+recently modified ``plan.md`` found anywhere under ``specs/`` — scoped layouts
+nest it as ``specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md`` — only when feature.json is
 absent or its plan does not exist yet.
 """

@@ -173,16 +173,31 @@ def _resolve_plan_path(project_root: str) -> str:

    if not plan_path:
        root = Path(project_root).resolve()
-        plans = sorted(
-            (root / "specs").rglob("plan.md"),
-            key=lambda p: p.stat().st_mtime,
-            reverse=True,
-        )
-        if plans:
+        specs = root / "specs"
+
+        def _resolved_rel(p: Path) -> Path | None:
+            # Resolve symlinks before checking containment: relative_to() is
+            # lexical and would otherwise accept a plan reached through a specs/
+            # symlink that points outside the project, emitting an
+            # in-project-looking path for an out-of-project file (or picking it
+            # as "most recent").
            try:
-                plan_path = plans[0].relative_to(root).as_posix()
-            except ValueError:
-                plan_path = ""
+                return p.resolve().relative_to(root)
+            except (OSError, ValueError):
+                return None
+
+        # Recurse (rather than the old one-level specs/*/plan.md glob) so scoped
+        # layouts created via SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY, e.g.
+        # specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md, are still discovered when
+        # feature.json is absent (#3024). Mirrors the bash and PowerShell twins.
+        candidates = []
+        for p in specs.rglob("plan.md"):
+            rel = _resolved_rel(p)
+            if rel is not None:
+                candidates.append((p, rel))
+        candidates.sort(key=lambda pr: pr[0].stat().st_mtime, reverse=True)
+        if candidates:
+            plan_path = candidates[0][1].as_posix()
    return plan_path


@@ -1,8 +1,43 @@
 {
  "schema_version": "1.0",
-  "updated_at": "2026-07-29T00:00:00Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z",
  "catalog_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/spec-kit/main/extensions/catalog.community.json",
  "extensions": {
+    "adrkit": {
+      "name": "adrkit — decision memory for spec-driven development",
+      "id": "adrkit",
+      "description": "Pulls the decisions governing this work into agent context, checks produced plans against them, and drafts an ADR from a plan artifact.",
+      "author": "Mark Beacom (@mbeacom)",
+      "version": "0.1.2",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/mbeacom/adrkit/releases/download/spec-kit-v0.1.2/adrkit.zip",
+      "repository": "https://github.com/mbeacom/adrkit",
+      "homepage": "https://adrkit.dev",
+      "documentation": "https://github.com/mbeacom/adrkit/blob/main/packages/adapters/spec-kit/README.md",
+      "changelog": "https://github.com/mbeacom/adrkit/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "category": "process",
+      "effect": "read-write",
+      "requires": {
+        "speckit_version": ">=0.13.0,<0.16.0",
+        "tools": [{ "name": "adr", "version": ">=0.3.0", "required": true }]
+      },
+      "provides": {
+        "commands": 3,
+        "hooks": 1
+      },
+      "tags": [
+        "adr",
+        "governance",
+        "decision-records",
+        "architecture",
+        "compliance"
+      ],
+      "verified": false,
+      "downloads": 0,
+      "stars": 0,
+      "created_at": "2026-08-03T00:00:00Z",
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-03T00:00:00Z"
+    },
    "aide": {
      "name": "AI-Driven Engineering (AIDE)",
      "id": "aide",
@@ -327,8 +362,8 @@
      "id": "archive",
      "description": "Archive merged features into main project memory, resolving gaps and conflicts.",
      "author": "Stanislav Deviatov",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-archive/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.0.zip",
+      "version": "1.1.0",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-archive/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.0.zip",
      "repository": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-archive",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-archive",
      "documentation": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-archive/blob/main/README.md",
@@ -353,7 +388,7 @@
      "downloads": 0,
      "stars": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-03-14T00:00:00Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-03-14T00:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-04T00:00:00Z"
    },
    "azure-devops": {
      "name": "Azure DevOps Integration",
@@ -776,8 +811,8 @@
      "id": "charter",
      "description": "Compose modular project constitutions from shared fragment registries. Centralize governance rules, select per-project fragments, track upstream changes, and keep multi-project setups consistent.",
      "author": "Fyloss",
-      "version": "0.3.1",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/Fyloss/spec-kit-charter/archive/refs/tags/v0.3.1.zip",
+      "version": "0.5.1",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/Fyloss/spec-kit-charter/archive/refs/tags/v0.5.1.zip",
      "repository": "https://github.com/Fyloss/spec-kit-charter",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/Fyloss/spec-kit-charter",
      "documentation": "https://github.com/Fyloss/spec-kit-charter/tree/master/docs",
@@ -786,7 +821,8 @@
      "category": "process",
      "effect": "read-write",
      "requires": {
-        "speckit_version": ">=0.11.9"
+        "speckit_version": ">=0.11.9",
+        "tools": [{ "name": "git", "required": false }]
      },
      "provides": {
        "commands": 5,
@@ -803,7 +839,7 @@
      "downloads": 0,
      "stars": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-07-06T00:00:00Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-07-06T00:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-04T00:00:00Z"
    },
    "ci-guard": {
      "name": "CI Guard",
@@ -2071,6 +2107,40 @@
      "created_at": "2026-06-08T00:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-06-24T00:00:00Z"
    },
+    "keel": {
+      "name": "Keel Discovery",
+      "id": "keel",
+      "description": "A Spec Kit extension that puts customer evidence upstream of /speckit.specify, and audits what you shipped against it afterwards.",
+      "author": "Keel Discovery",
+      "version": "0.1.1",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/keeldiscovery/spec-kit-keel/archive/refs/tags/v0.1.1.zip",
+      "repository": "https://github.com/keeldiscovery/spec-kit-keel",
+      "homepage": "https://keeldiscovery.com",
+      "documentation": "https://github.com/keeldiscovery/spec-kit-keel/blob/main/README.md",
+      "changelog": "https://github.com/keeldiscovery/spec-kit-keel/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
+      "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "category": "process",
+      "effect": "read-write",
+      "requires": {
+        "speckit_version": ">=0.15.0"
+      },
+      "provides": {
+        "commands": 5,
+        "hooks": 2
+      },
+      "tags": [
+        "discovery",
+        "evidence",
+        "customer-research",
+        "validation",
+        "traceability"
+      ],
+      "verified": false,
+      "downloads": 0,
+      "stars": 0,
+      "created_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z",
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z"
+    },
    "learn": {
      "name": "Learning Extension",
      "id": "learn",
@@ -3370,8 +3440,8 @@
      "id": "reconcile",
      "description": "Reconcile implementation drift by surgically updating the feature's own spec, plan, and tasks.",
      "author": "Stanislav Deviatov",
-      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-reconcile/archive/refs/tags/v1.0.0.zip",
+      "version": "1.1.0",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-reconcile/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.0.zip",
      "repository": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-reconcile",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-reconcile",
      "documentation": "https://github.com/stn1slv/spec-kit-reconcile/blob/main/README.md",
@@ -3396,7 +3466,7 @@
      "downloads": 0,
      "stars": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-03-14T00:00:00Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-03-14T00:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z"
    },
    "red-team": {
      "name": "Red Team",
@@ -4453,6 +4523,47 @@
      "created_at": "2026-06-22T00:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-06-22T00:00:00Z"
    },
+    "tdd": {
+      "name": "TDD Extension",
+      "id": "tdd",
+      "description": "Drives spec-kit implementation with tests: a language-agnostic red-green-refactor loop with a per-feature test list, recorded red and green evidence, and mutation-checked test strength.",
+      "author": "d0whc3r",
+      "version": "1.1.2",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/d0whc3r/spec-kit-tdd/releases/download/v1.1.2/tdd-1.1.2.zip",
+      "repository": "https://github.com/d0whc3r/spec-kit-tdd",
+      "homepage": "https://d0whc3r.github.io/spec-kit-tdd/",
+      "documentation": "https://github.com/d0whc3r/spec-kit-tdd/wiki",
+      "changelog": "https://github.com/d0whc3r/spec-kit-tdd/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "category": "process",
+      "effect": "read-write",
+      "requires": {
+        "speckit_version": ">=0.11.9"
+      },
+      "provides": {
+        "commands": 4,
+        "hooks": 3
+      },
+      "tags": [
+        "acceptance-tests",
+        "mutation-testing",
+        "property-based-testing",
+        "quality",
+        "red-green-refactor",
+        "spec-kit",
+        "spec-kit-extension",
+        "tdd",
+        "test-driven-development",
+        "test-first",
+        "testing",
+        "unit-tests"
+      ],
+      "verified": false,
+      "downloads": 0,
+      "stars": 0,
+      "created_at": "2026-08-04T00:00:00Z",
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-04T00:00:00Z"
+    },
    "team-assign": {
      "name": "Team Assign",
      "id": "team-assign",
@@ -84,6 +84,15 @@
      "repository": "https://github.com/github/spec-kit",
      "tags": ["cli", "skills"]
    },
+    "command-code": {
+      "id": "command-code",
+      "name": "Command Code",
+      "version": "1.0.0",
+      "description": "Command Code CLI skills-based integration",
+      "author": "spec-kit-core",
+      "repository": "https://github.com/github/spec-kit",
+      "tags": ["cli", "skills"]
+    },
    "devin": {
      "id": "devin",
      "name": "Devin for Terminal",
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ This edition covers Spec Kit activity in April 2026. Seventeen releases shipped

 | **Spec Kit Core (Apr 2026)** | **Community & Content** | **SDD Ecosystem & Next** |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| Seventeen releases shipped with major features: integration plugin architecture, workflow engine, preset composition, integration catalog, bundled lean preset, documentation site, and academic citation support. Three new agents added (Forgecode, Goose, Devin for Terminal). The repo grew from ~82k to **92,038 stars**. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | Thoughtworks Technology Radar placed Spec Kit in the "Assess" ring. Community catalog grew from 26 to **83 extensions** and from 2 to **12 presets**. 12 substantive external articles published. XB Software documented a real legacy project. Fabián Silva shipped the Caramelo VS Code extension. | Matt Rickard argued for "smaller specs, harder checks." Will Torber's three-framework comparison recommended OpenSpec for most teams. The "Spec Layer" debate emerged: specs as constraint surfaces for AI agents. Spec Kit leads in breadth and portability; competitors differentiate on drift detection and orchestration depth. |
+| Seventeen releases shipped with major features: integration plugin architecture, workflow engine, preset composition, integration catalog, bundled lean preset, documentation site, and academic citation support. Three new agents added (Forgecode, Goose, Devin for Terminal). The repo grew from ~82k to **92,038 stars**. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | Thoughtworks Technology Radar placed Spec Kit in the "Assess" ring. Community catalog grew from 26 to **83 extensions** and from 2 to **12 presets**. External coverage continued across developer blogs and industry press. XB Software documented a real legacy project. Fabián Silva shipped the Caramelo VS Code extension. | Matt Rickard argued for "smaller specs, harder checks." Will Torber's three-framework comparison recommended OpenSpec for most teams. The "Spec Layer" debate emerged: specs as constraint surfaces for AI agents. Spec Kit leads in breadth and portability; competitors differentiate on drift detection and orchestration depth. |

 ***

@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ On **April 15**, the **Thoughtworks Technology Radar Volume 34** placed GitHub S

 ### Developer Articles and Blog Posts

-April produced 12 substantive external articles (plus one excluded as AI-generated SEO spam).
+April produced a steady stream of external articles.

 **Matt Rickard** published *"The Spec Layer: Why Spec-Driven Development (SDD) Works"* on April 1. His thesis: specs reduce execution freedom for AI agents, functioning as constraint surfaces. He compared Spec Kit, Kiro, OpenSpec, Tessl, Intent, and Symphony, and advocated for **"smaller specs, harder checks, less guessing."** [\[blog.matt-rickard.com\]](https://blog.matt-rickard.com/p/the-spec-layer)

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+# Spec Kit - July 2026 Newsletter
+
+This edition covers Spec Kit activity in July 2026 — a month of hardening and expanding the envelope. Twenty-eight releases shipped (v0.12.3 through v0.15.1), crossing three minor bumps and delivering three headline capabilities: the **`assess` "Idea Assessment Pipeline" extension**, which pushes spec-driven development *upstream* of the spec to answer "should we even build this?"; the new **`py` (Python) script type** and the broad shell→Python port that underpins it; and a **first-class agent-native runtime events layer** for integrations. Beneath the features, the month's dominant engineering theme was a sustained **security-hardening wave** — bounded HTTP reads, strict redirect validation, TOCTOU-race elimination, and defensive validation across the workflow engine. Externally, coverage broadened structurally: mainstream tech press (heise online) covered the v0.13 `assess` release in two languages, and a **companion-tooling ecosystem** bloomed around the project — spec↔code drift detectors, model-sizing advisors, and testing-gap tools all built *on top of* Spec Kit. A summary is in the table below, followed by details.
+
+| **Spec Kit Core (Jul 2026)** | **Community & Content** | **SDD Ecosystem & Next** |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Twenty-eight releases shipped (v0.12.3–v0.15.1), crossing v0.13, v0.14, and v0.15. Headline features: the `assess` **Idea Assessment Pipeline** extension (capture→evidence→refine→design→go/clarify/kill), the new **`py` script type** plus a shell→Python port of the core scripts, git extension, and agent-context updater, and an **agent-native runtime events layer** for integrations. Three agents joined (Grok Build, Factory Droid CLI, Alquimia AI), the label-driven **bug-fix/bug-test** automation completed the triage pipeline, and a heavy **security-hardening** wave landed. The repo grew from ~117,400 to **124,655 stars**. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | The community extension catalog grew from 125 to **144 entries**; presets reached **29**, community workflows **2**, bundles **1**. **heise online** covered the v0.13 `assess` release in English and German. Coverage shifted toward comparisons, companion tooling, and "who verifies the spec?" critiques. **~258 contributors** now listed. | A **companion-tooling ecosystem** emerged — artgraph (deterministic spec↔code drift), SpecJudge (model right-sizing), GAUNTLEX (security-testing gap), and custom skills like `speckit-next` and `prefill`. Comparisons increasingly pit Spec Kit against Kiro; balanced reviews keep flagging documentation proliferation and cognitive load, precisely the gaps the `assess` upstream step and the drift/companion ecosystem are built to close. |
+
+***
+
+> **Hardening the Foundation, Expanding the Envelope.** If June was defined by external validation, July was defined by internal consolidation and reach. No single release carried the weight of `converge` or `bundle`, but the month moved the project in two directions at once. It reached *upstream* — the new `assess` pipeline lets a team evaluate an idea (capture evidence, refine, design, then go/clarify/kill) *before* a spec exists, extending SDD past the spec into the decision to build. And it reached *down to the metal* — a new `py` script type and a systematic port of the core scripts, git extension, and agent-context updater from shell to Python, alongside a security-hardening wave that bounded every HTTP read, validated every redirect hop, eliminated file-race conditions, and taught the workflow engine to fail loudly instead of crashing on malformed input. Meanwhile the ecosystem answered the project's most-cited critique — "who verifies the spec, and who reads all this documentation?" — not with complaints but with *code*: a wave of companion tools built directly on Spec Kit artifacts. None of this happens without the community — the contributors, extension and preset authors, bundle builders, agent-integration maintainers, and practitioners writing in more than 20 languages. Thank you.
+
+## Spec Kit Project Updates
+
+### Releases Overview
+
+**v0.12.3–v0.12.18** (July 1–17) was the month's longest patch run and carried two features amid heavy hardening. The **`py` script type** landed (#3285), adding Python interpreter resolution alongside the existing `sh`/`ps` options, and the **label-driven bug-fix (#3258) and bug-test (#3239) agentic workflows** completed the `bug-assess → bug-test → bug-fix` triage pipeline. The systematic shell→Python port began here: the **`update-agent-context` script** (#3387), the **git extension scripts** (#3400), and a **`check-prerequisites` proof-of-concept** (#3302) were all ported. **PyPI was documented as a first-class second install route** (#3516). New agents arrived — **Grok Build** (#3535) as a skills-based integration — while **Roo Code was retired** as a shut-down product (#3212). The rest was a broad defensive-validation sweep across the workflow engine (case-insensitive gate reject, quote-aware interpolation, host-less catalog-URL rejection, and dozens of "fail loudly on malformed input" guards). [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+**v0.13.0–v0.13.4** (July 17–22) delivered the month's headline feature: the **`assess` Idea Assessment Pipeline extension** (#3568), a pre-spec evaluation flow. The release also completed the Python port of the three core scripts — **`create-new-feature`, `setup-plan`, and `setup-tasks`** (#3386) — and added **Azure DevOps `az`-CLI token acquisition** hardening (#3527), **community bundle submission automation** (#3553), and the standalone **`WorkflowResolver`** refactor (#3557). **Factory Droid CLI** joined as an integration (#3587), **Bob was updated to a skills-based layout for Bob 2.0** (#3415), the **`pipeline` workflow** was added to the community catalog (#3338), and the **spec-of-specs feature-breakdown** approach was documented for handling complex features (#3648). [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+**v0.14.0–v0.14.4** (July 23–29) crossed a minor with a **security-hardening focus**: **bounded HTTP reads and strict redirect enforcement** (#3140, #3671), **secured extension/preset archive downloads** (#3141), and the **removal of the `shell` parameter from `run_command`** (#3716). The **git extension gained configurable Conventional Commit support** (#3413), the wheel now **bundles `scripts/python`** so `--script py` works from a clean install (#3665), and **Alquimia AI** joined as the month's third new agent (#2734). Documentation added a **Simplified Chinese README translation** (#3740), and the constitution stopped **propagating guidance into templates** (#3790). A long run of bundler, preset, and integration validation fixes rounded out the cluster. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+**v0.15.0–v0.15.1** (July 30–31) closed the month with a **first-class agent-native runtime events layer for integrations** (#3704) — the release's headline — plus a continued security pass: **TOCTOU-race elimination in file-unlink calls** (#3811, #3815, #3819), **UTF-8 encoding on registry file opens** (#3810, #3816), and **hardening of the extension URL-download cache against symlink/junction races** (#3869). Workflows gained the ability to **bind a gate verdict to a workflow input via `verdict_input`** (#3725), an opt-in **`constitution-sync` preset** shipped (#3873), the **`yolo` workflow** was added to the community catalog (#3864), and installs gained **tar-archive support** (#3874). [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### The Idea Assessment Pipeline: `assess`
+
+July's headline feature was the **`assess` extension** (#3568), an *idea-assessment pipeline* that ships as an opt-in extension and extends spec-driven development one step further upstream than it has ever reached. Where the core lifecycle begins at `/speckit.specify` — assuming the decision to build has already been made — `assess` addresses the question that comes *before* the spec: **should this idea be built at all, and is it understood well enough to specify?**
+
+The pipeline runs a staged flow — **capture → evidence → refine → design → decision** — that takes a raw idea, gathers supporting evidence, refines it into something concrete, sketches a design, and terminates in an explicit **go / clarify / kill** verdict. A `go` feeds a well-formed problem into the existing `/speckit.specify` step; a `clarify` routes back for more information; a `kill` stops work before a line of spec is written. Its input is just an idea — pasted text, a URL, a ticket, or a codebase pointer — so the pipeline works **equally well on an empty, freshly-initialized project or on an existing codebase** (#3732); a team can evaluate a green idea before any scaffolding exists, or assess a change against a repo that already has one.
+
+The feature drew the month's most prominent mainstream-press coverage: **heise online** ran *"From Idea to Spec: The New Feature in Spec Kit 0.13"* in both English and German, framing `assess` as the notable addition of the 0.13 line alongside the Azure DevOps CLI support and the bundler/preset validation fixes. Coming from a major European technology outlet rather than a developer blog, it was a signal that Spec Kit's release cadence is now tracked as mainstream tooling news. [\[heise.de\]](https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-Idea-to-Spec-The-New-Feature-in-Spec-Kit-0-13-11371866.html)
+
+### The Python Migration: the `py` Script Type
+
+Spec Kit's second July theme was quieter but structurally important: the project began migrating its shell scripts to **Python**. The new **`py` script type** (#3285) joins `sh` (bash) and `ps` (PowerShell) as a third option at `specify init`, backed by Python-interpreter resolution that skips broken stubs (including the Windows Store `python3` alias, #3385). The `py` type is the project's answer to the perennial bash/PowerShell parity tax — every script fix previously had to be written twice and kept in sync, a recurring source of the Windows-parity bugs that filled prior months' changelogs.
+
+Behind the new type, a systematic port landed piece by piece across the month: the **`update-agent-context`** updater (#3387), the **git extension scripts** (#3400), a **`check-prerequisites`** proof-of-concept (#3302), and finally the three core scripts — **`create-new-feature`, `setup-plan`, and `setup-tasks`** (#3386). The wheel was updated to bundle `scripts/python` so `--script py` works from a clean PyPI install (#3665), and the installation docs and init option table were updated to document the new type and the sh/ps migration plan (#3284, #3640). The end state is a single, cross-platform script implementation that removes an entire class of parity bugs. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### Agent-Native Runtime Events
+
+The v0.15.0 headline was a **first-class agent-native runtime events layer for integrations** (#3704). It bridges Spec Kit to the host agent's own lifecycle via a set of canonical, snake_case event names — `session_start`, `pre_tool_use`, `post_tool_use`, `user_prompt_submit`, `stop`, and `session_end`. A lightweight, zero-dependency **Event Dispatcher** (`.specify/events.py`) is scaffolded during `specify init`, and per-integration **Event Adapters** translate each canonical event into the agent's *native* hook configuration — `.github/hooks/speckit.json` (bash/PowerShell variants) for **Copilot CLI**, `.claude/settings.json` for Claude Code, `.cursor/hooks.json` for Cursor, `.codex/config.toml` for Codex, a TypeScript plugin for opencode, and native settings merges for Gemini, Qwen, Devin, and Tabnine — so extension authors declare `events:` in `extension.yml` once and never learn agent-specific names. Resolution is a four-tier stack (CLI `--events false` → user `.specify/integration-events.yml` override → extension-declared events → built-in defaults), and multiple extensions declaring the same event all run. The change accompanied a broader integration-refinement run: agents that use an always-slash invocation (Droid, Forge, Cline) now render hyphenated `/speckit-<name>` commands correctly (#3688, #3642, #3622), native skill-invocation prefixes are preserved (#3663), and several agents (kiro-cli, Lingma, Pi, omp) were declared multi-install-safe. The through-line is that integrations are increasingly *native* to each agent rather than a lowest-common-denominator overlay. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### The Security-Hardening Wave
+
+The dominant engineering theme across all twenty-eight releases was **security and robustness**. The work fell into three bands. **Bounded I/O:** every catalog, download, and bundle HTTP response is now read under a byte cap with strict redirect validation on every hop (#3140, #3671, #3763, #3141), closing a class of unbounded-read / DoS exposure. **Race elimination:** TOCTOU races in file-unlink and state-file handling were removed (#3811, #3815, #3819), the extension URL-download cache was hardened against symlink and junction races (#3869), and registry file opens were pinned to UTF-8 (#3810, #3816). **Injection and input hardening:** the `shell` parameter was removed from `run_command` (#3716), user-supplied catalog metadata is escaped in every discovery/list/`init` output path (#3772, #3773, #3774, #3806, #3826, #3863), and catalog URLs are re-validated *after* redirects to preserve HTTPS/host guarantees (#3523, #3524).
+
+Running alongside this was a systematic **"fail loudly, don't crash"** campaign across the workflow engine and catalog loaders: dozens of PRs replaced raw `ValueError`/`OverflowError`/crash paths with clean validation errors on malformed input — non-string commands, prompts, integrations, and models; non-list branches and `wait_for` entries; `priority: .inf` and boolean priorities; non-mapping manifest blocks; and superscript-digit gate prompts. The entire month's hardening arrived as prevention rather than response. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### The Workflow Engine & Bundles Mature
+
+Beyond hardening, the **workflow engine** kept gaining capability. Steps can now read their **workflow source directory** (#3469), the shell and prompt steps got **configurable, validated timeouts** (#3404, #3847, #3768), a **gate verdict can bind to a workflow input** via `verdict_input` (#3725), and the **`WorkflowResolver`** was extracted as a standalone component (#3557). Two community workflows reached the catalog — the guided **`pipeline`** (#3338, which chains into the core `/speckit.converge`) and **`yolo`** (#3864) — bringing the standalone-workflow count to two.
+
+The **bundle subsystem** introduced in June matured through a long tail of correctness work — reproducible builds via canonical POSIX arcnames (#3658), literal UTF-8 manifest dumps (#3660), strict rejection of malformed `requires`/`provides`/`integration`/`catalogs` blocks, and a clean `BundlerError` on malformed download URLs (#3586). **Community bundle submission automation** landed (#3553) and the **SicarioSpec Security & Governance Bundle** became a cataloged community bundle (#3636), making bundles a live community-submittable artifact type in practice. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### Agent Integrations
+
+The agent portfolio grew net **+3 to 37 integrations**. Three joined — **Grok Build** (#3535), **Factory Droid CLI** (#3587, closing the 300+-day #822), and **Alquimia AI** (#2734) — while **Roo Code** was retired as a shut-down product (#3212). **Bob** was migrated to a skills-based layout for Bob 2.0 (#3415), **Kilocode** now installs commands under `.kilo/commands` (#3672), and a broad correctness pass fixed hyphenated-command rendering and dispatch for the always-slash agents (Droid, Forge, Cline) and preserved native skill-invocation prefixes (#3663). The pattern continues from June — pruning dead products while making the surviving integrations more native to each agent. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+### The Extension & Preset Ecosystem
+
+The community extension catalog grew from 125 to **144 entries** during July — nineteen net additions. Community presets grew from 23 to **29**, community workflows reached **2**, and the first community **bundle** (SicarioSpec) was cataloged.
+
+Notable new extensions by category:
+
+- **Verification, drift & evidence**: Test Coverage Drift Control, PatchWarden Evidence Pack, Quality Gates (Enforcement Layer), Verify Review Ship, Intent Reconciliation
+- **Requirements & intake**: EARS Requirements Syntax, the `assess` Idea Assessment Pipeline, Spec-Kit BDD, Charter
+- **External trackers & round-trip**: Linear Weave, Multi-Repo Branch Sync, ContextForge MCP
+- **Design & docs**: Spec Kit Figma, Figma Starter, Blueprint Index — Living Architecture Map, LLM Wiki, Dotdog
+- **Knowledge & orchestration**: OKF Knowledge Bundle Generator, Orchestration Task Context Management, Spec Kit Memory
+
+The catalog also showed strong maintenance activity: **DocGuard — CDD Enforcement** advanced through several releases (to v0.33.0), **Verify Review Ship** and **Quality Gates (Enforcement Layer)** iterated rapidly, and **Architecture Guard**, **Golden Demo**, **Coding Standards Drift Control**, **Ripple**, and the **Ralph Loop** all shipped updates. The preset side was the month's busiest: a large **governance-preset** family expanded and iterated — the **Autonomous Run Governance** and **Parallel Autonomous Run Governance** presets, a full **Intake** governance suite (Authoring, Review, Sequencing), **Test-First Governance**, and coordinated version bumps across the A11Y, Agent-Parity, Cross-Platform, iSAQB-Architecture, Architecture, and Security governance presets. [\[github.com\]](https://github.github.io/spec-kit/community/extensions.html)
+
+### Documentation & Docs Site
+
+July's documentation work paired the new features with a landing-page refresh. The **spec-of-specs feature-breakdown** approach was documented for handling complex features (#3648), the **`py` (Python) script type** was documented in the installation guide and init option table (#3284, #3625, #3640), and the **`__SPECKIT_COMMAND`** token for portable cross-command references was documented (#3503). The landing page was reframed to weave the **harness/SDLC framing** and modernize the install and positioning story (#3565, #3567), ecosystem stats were refreshed (#3561), and **`extensions.yml` hook configuration** was documented (#3563). Upgrade guidance clarified that project-file upgrades flow through `integration upgrade` / `extension update` (#3326) and that Claude Code files live in `.claude/skills` (#3708). [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+
+## Community & Content
+
+### Press and Industry Coverage
+
+July's coverage shifted from "what is SDD" explainers toward tool comparisons, companion tooling, and pointed "who verifies the spec?" critiques. No first-party Microsoft or GitHub post appeared in July; the nearest remained June's Microsoft Developer Blog piece.
+
+**heise online** (Wolf Hosbach, July 21) was the month's most prominent mainstream-press coverage, publishing *"From Idea to Spec: The New Feature in Spec Kit 0.13"* in both English and German — news coverage of the `assess` Idea Assessment Pipeline, the Azure DevOps CLI support, and the 0.13 validation fixes. Mainstream European tech press now tracks Spec Kit's minor releases as tooling news. [\[heise.de\]](https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-Idea-to-Spec-The-New-Feature-in-Spec-Kit-0-13-11371866.html)
+
+**Towards AI** (Rost Glukhov, July 12) compared **GitHub Spec Kit vs Kiro vs Claude Code** on SDD workflow rather than model capability, part of a July-long current of "which SDD tool?" comparisons that increasingly pit Spec Kit specifically against Kiro. [\[pub.towardsai.net\]](https://pub.towardsai.net/github-spec-kit-vs-kiro-vs-claude-code-sdd-workflows-a9e7fab3e545)
+
+**ranjankumar.in** (Ranjan Kumar, July 13) argued that four SDD frameworks — BMAD, Spec Kit, Kiro, and Superpowers — converge on the same structural "invariants," engaging Spec Kit's actual internals (`workflows.md`, run-state `state.json`) rather than treating it as a black box. [\[ranjankumar.in\]](https://ranjankumar.in/spec-driven-development-invariants-not-frameworks)
+
+Release-trackers continued their factual coverage of the 0.13–0.15 run, and **Level Up Coding** (JingJing "Chris" Bao) published a three-part practitioner series on Spec Kit's presets, extensions, and pipeline/workflow features as the path beyond linear slash-commands. [\[levelup.gitconnected.com\]](https://levelup.gitconnected.com/from-linear-commands-to-automated-pipelines-how-spec-kit-orchestrates-nonlinear-ai-development-55ca03c5617b)
+
+### The Companion-Tooling Ecosystem
+
+July's most telling signal was not an article but a pattern: independent developers responded to Spec Kit's most-cited critiques by **building tools on top of it**. The recurring complaint — documentation proliferation and "who verifies the generated spec?" — turned into code.
+
+- **artgraph** (mori-shin, July 20) — a deterministic, hash-based spec↔code drift-detection CLI with an `artgraph integrate speckit` hook, built specifically to give Spec Kit's LLM-prompt-based verification a deterministic backstop. [\[zenn.dev\]](https://zenn.dev/mrmtsntr/articles/artgraph-spec-code-drift)
+- **SpecJudge** (Joaquín Ruiz, July 21) — a companion CLI that reads Spec Kit's constitution/spec/tasks artifacts to recommend a *right-sized* model for the project. [\[dev.to\]](https://dev.to/jokiruiz/specjudge-which-ai-model-is-right-sized-for-your-project-ask-your-specs-2edp)
+- **GAUNTLEX** (Sanjoy Ghosh, July 16) — named Spec Kit a leading SDD tool while arguing SDD leaves a security-testing gap, and shipped a tool to fill it. [\[hashnode.dev\]](https://sanjoy1234.hashnode.dev/the-testing-gap-nobody-s-talking-about-in-spec-driven-development)
+- **Custom skills** — [`speckit-next`](https://qiita.com/htcd/items/ec76f2b7194be3297b93) (htcd, July 31), a skill that recommends the next command because the names and order are hard to remember, and [`prefill`](https://velog.io/@k3nta/ai-adoption-journey-1-tools) (k3nta, July 1), a skill that patches `clarify`'s blind spots.
+
+Together these are the clearest evidence yet that Spec Kit has become a *platform* — its artifacts are stable enough, and its gaps well-enough understood, that a third-party tooling layer is forming around it. [\[zenn.dev\]](https://zenn.dev/mrmtsntr/articles/artgraph-spec-code-drift)
+
+### Developer Articles and Blog Posts
+
+July's articles skewed heavily multilingual — strong hands-on series in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean — with a clear thread of honest, use-it-in-anger critique.
+
+Notable articles:
+
+- **ta_kawano** (note.com, July 28–31) published a consolidated four-part **Kiro vs Spec Kit** head-to-head, completing a 108-task / 301-test build with Spec Kit where Kiro ran out of credit, praising measurable Success Criteria and auto-listed edge cases while flagging ~15,000 lines of generated documentation — and reframing Spec Kit as a requirements-elicitation tool. [\[note.com\]](https://note.com/takawano/n/ncb552ee37331)
+- **magebyte / 码哥字节** (SegmentFault, July 26) built a Go REST API through the five-step workflow, covered the three spec-persistence models and the extension/preset system, and claimed ~80% less AI "hallucination" rework. [\[segmentfault.com\]](https://segmentfault.com/a/1190000048082146)
+- **Nil Seri** (Medium, July 16) published a brownfield guide adding Spec Kit to an existing Spring Boot / Maven project with Jira and Confluence integration — "from Jira ticket to verified code." [\[medium.com\]](https://medium.com/@senoritadeveloper/using-spec-kit-in-an-existing-spring-boot-maven-project-from-jira-ticket-to-verified-code-4e6da99b5d19)
+- **kitroc7134** (Qiita, July 4) tested `/speckit.converge` with deliberate fault-injection on a FastAPI Todo API — detect drift → append convergence tasks → re-implement — validating June's convergence loop in the field. [\[qiita.com\]](https://qiita.com/kitroc7134/items/117d4839f259bc403626)
+- **yutakaosada** (Zenn, July 25) — a Microsoft-MVP .NETラボ talk that uses Spec Kit but candidly flags AI-credit consumption, over-production of docs, and single-source-of-truth collapse, comparing it with Copilot Plan mode. [\[zenn.dev\]](https://zenn.dev/yutakaosada/articles/70e01981647159)
+
+Additional coverage appeared on TechWealthBuzz, Hashnode, TabNews-adjacent outlets, CSDN and 腾讯云 (Chinese), Naver/velog/Tistory (Korean), and Qiita/note (Japanese) — including several "is it too heavy?" and documentation-proliferation critiques, and a [Korean instructor's piece](https://blog.naver.com/gaussian88/224363268926) citing Spec Kit's star growth from ~90k in May to ~120k in July. [\[note.com\]](https://note.com/takawano/n/ncb552ee37331)
+
+### Community Growth by the Numbers
+
+| Metric | Start of July | End of July | Change |
+| --- | --- | --- | --- |
+| GitHub stars | 117,423 | 124,655 | +7,232 (+6%) |
+| Forks | 10,382 | 11,125 | +743 |
+| Contributors | 245 | ~258 | +~13 |
+| Releases (total) | 177 | 205 | +28 (v0.12.3–v0.15.1) |
+| Community extensions | 125 | 144 | +19 |
+| Community presets | 23 | 29 | +6 |
+| Community workflows | 1 | 2 | +1 |
+| Community bundles | 1 | 1 | steady |
+| Agent integrations | 34 | 37 | +3 (net) |
+| Discussions (open) | 457 | ~467 | +~10 |
+
+## SDD Ecosystem & Industry Trends
+
+### From Tool to Platform
+
+July's clearest ecosystem signal was structural: the conversation moved from "how do I use Spec Kit?" to "what do I build *around* it?" The companion tools — artgraph for deterministic drift, SpecJudge for model sizing, GAUNTLEX for the testing gap, and a growing set of custom agent skills — treat Spec Kit's artifacts (constitution, spec, tasks, run-state) as a stable substrate to build against. The public community catalog reinforces the point: the loudest theme across the 144 cataloged extensions is verification and quality (review, validate, drift, sync, verify, audit), and core SDD verbs are increasingly *re-expressed* by extensions rather than merely overridden — evidence of demand for composable, overridable core commands. [\[github.com\]](https://github.github.io/spec-kit/community/extensions.html)
+
+### Competitive Landscape
+
+The "which SDD tool?" comparison remained the dominant content genre, but July's framing narrowed: where June's surveys ran a seven-tool field, July's most substantive pieces increasingly went head-to-head **Spec Kit vs Kiro** (ta_kawano, [faruryo](https://qiita.com/faruryo/items/87a14728299e89f80ff4), Towards AI). The recurring verdict held — Spec Kit is the heaviest and most flexible option, strong on measurable Success Criteria, requirements elicitation, and greenfield decomposition, while its documentation proliferation and cognitive load are the consistent trade-off. The convergence-invariants analyses (ranjankumar.in) went further, arguing the frameworks are converging on the same structural primitives, which shifts the competitive question from "which tool" to "which ecosystem and governance model." On that axis, Spec Kit's widening catalog, agent-neutrality, and now a forming companion-tooling layer are its differentiators. [\[note.com\]](https://note.com/takawano/n/ncb552ee37331)
+
+## Roadmap
+
+Areas under discussion or in progress for future development:
+
+- **Upstream of the spec** — the `assess` Idea Assessment Pipeline extends SDD before the spec exists. Expect the capture→evidence→refine→design→decision flow to deepen, and the boundary between idea assessment and `/speckit.specify` to be a key area to refine as the pipeline sees real use. [\[heise.de\]](https://www.heise.de/en/news/From-Idea-to-Spec-The-New-Feature-in-Spec-Kit-0-13-11371866.html)
+- **The Python migration** — the `py` script type and the port of the core scripts, git extension, and agent-context updater establish Python as the path out of the bash/PowerShell parity tax. Completing the port and making `py` a well-trodden default (rather than sh/ps) is the payoff: an entire class of Windows-parity bugs disappears. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+- **Agent-native runtime events** — the first-class events layer lets integrations wire Spec Kit into each agent's own runtime through canonical event names and per-agent adapters. The layer is **actively evolving** — early signals point to opencode context injection and JSON-envelope agent hooks. Expect more agents to gain event adapters and extension authors to lean on the declarative `events:` surface as the integration layer shifts from lowest-common-denominator overlay to genuinely native behavior. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+- **Copilot skills as the default** — July shipped a warning ahead of the skills-default rollout, and the signals now point to the **default flip being in progress** — moving `specify init --integration copilot` to the skills-based layout and making the default init integration overridable via an environment variable, with the markdown-command layout becoming the legacy path. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+- **A Copilot-native surface** — the first-party [`github/spec-kit-copilot`](https://github.com/github/spec-kit-copilot) repo (a listed community friend) wraps the `specify` CLI as a **Copilot skills plugin** (nine skills across setup, init, extensions, presets, bundles, workflows, and self-upgrade) for the Copilot CLI and App, aligned to CLI v0.15.0. The emerging direction is a **visual, Copilot-driven surface** — early work explores canvas dashboards for the Spec-Driven Development flow, a Bug Fix Pipeline, and `assess` — turning the CLI's flows into an interactive layer. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit-copilot)
+- **The companion-tooling layer** — artgraph, SpecJudge, GAUNTLEX, and custom skills signal a third-party ecosystem forming on Spec Kit artifacts. The open question is whether the project absorbs these patterns (as it did drift → `converge`) or leaves them to the ecosystem; the verification/drift demand in the extension catalog suggests continued upstream pull. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+- **Security and robustness as a standing discipline** — July's hardening wave (bounded reads, strict redirects, TOCTOU elimination, fail-loudly validation) shifted from feature to routine, and the signals point to it **continuing as an ongoing campaign** — a stdin read cap to close a DoS path and a broader atomicity push (atomic temp-file writes, subprocess timeouts, structured logging, and narrowed exception handlers). Sustaining the no-unbounded-read invariant as the surface (bundles, workflows, catalogs, events) grows is the ongoing work. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases)
+- **Experience simplification** — documentation proliferation and cognitive load remain the single most-cited concern across July's balanced reviews (ta_kawano, yutakaosada, and multiple Japanese/Korean pieces). The `assess` upstream gate, the lean/TinySpec presets, `/speckit.converge`, and the forming companion-tooling layer all provide answers; surfacing them to new users is the persistent opportunity. [\[note.com\]](https://note.com/takawano/n/ncb552ee37331)
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 # Spec Kit - June 2026 Newsletter

-This edition covers Spec Kit activity in June 2026 — a month of maturation and mainstream validation. Twenty-five releases shipped (v0.9.0 through v0.12.2), spanning four minor bumps and delivering two headline capabilities: the **`/speckit.converge` command**, which closes the loop between a spec and the code that implements it, and the new **`specify bundle` subsystem**, a role-based distribution layer that composes extensions, presets, workflows, and steps into a single installable unit. The workflow engine became programmable, the git extension went opt-in as the first real breaking change, and the ecosystem crossed **120+ community extensions**. Externally, June was the highest-volume press month on record — Microsoft's own Developer Blog published a first-party spec-driven development post, an enterprise reported 2–4× velocity gains, and 75 substantive articles appeared across 25+ languages. A summary is in the table below, followed by details.
+This edition covers Spec Kit activity in June 2026 — a month of maturation and mainstream validation. Twenty-five releases shipped (v0.9.0 through v0.12.2), spanning four minor bumps and delivering two headline capabilities: the **`/speckit.converge` command**, which closes the loop between a spec and the code that implements it, and the new **`specify bundle` subsystem**, a role-based distribution layer that composes extensions, presets, workflows, and steps into a single installable unit. The workflow engine became programmable, the git extension went opt-in as the first real breaking change, and the ecosystem crossed **120+ community extensions**. Externally, June brought broad validation — Microsoft's own Developer Blog published a first-party spec-driven development post, an enterprise reported 2–4× velocity gains, and coverage spanned dozens of languages. A summary is in the table below, followed by details.

 | **Spec Kit Core (Jun 2026)** | **Community & Content** | **SDD Ecosystem & Next** |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| Twenty-five releases shipped (v0.9.0–v0.12.2) with key features: the `/speckit.converge` convergence loop, the `specify bundle` role-based packaging subsystem, a programmable workflow engine (step catalog, JSON output, `from_json`), the git extension becoming opt-in (`--no-git` removed), and six new agents (Cline, rovodev, Zed, Firebender, ZCode, omp). The repo grew from ~107k to **~116,500 stars**. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | The community extension catalog grew from 105 to **124 entries**; presets reached **23**. Microsoft's Developer Blog published a first-party SDD post naming Spec Kit as the operationalizing toolkit. June was the highest-volume press month yet — **75 substantive articles** across 25+ languages. **245 contributors** now listed. | An enterprise (SNCF Connect & Tech) reported **2–4× velocity** from SDD. Analysts and comparisons increasingly name Spec Kit "the category anchor" and agent-neutral default. Competitors differentiate on brownfield and drift; balanced reviews continue to flag review-overload and ceremony for small tasks. |
+| Twenty-five releases shipped (v0.9.0–v0.12.2) with key features: the `/speckit.converge` convergence loop, the `specify bundle` role-based packaging subsystem, a programmable workflow engine (step catalog, JSON output, `from_json`), the git extension becoming opt-in (`--no-git` removed), and six new agents (Cline, rovodev, Zed, Firebender, ZCode, omp). The repo grew from ~107k to **~116,500 stars**. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | The community extension catalog grew from 105 to **124 entries**; presets reached **23**. Microsoft's Developer Blog published a first-party SDD post naming Spec Kit as the operationalizing toolkit. Press coverage spanned dozens of languages. **245 contributors** now listed. | An enterprise (SNCF Connect & Tech) reported **2–4× velocity** from SDD. Analysts and comparisons increasingly name Spec Kit "the category anchor" and agent-neutral default. Competitors differentiate on brownfield and drift; balanced reviews continue to flag review-overload and ceremony for small tasks. |

 ***

-> **Spec-Driven Development, Institutionalized.** If May was defined by milestone 100s, June was defined by validation from outside the project. Microsoft's own Developer Blog published a first-party post presenting spec-driven development and positioning Spec Kit as the toolkit that operationalizes it. An enterprise — SNCF Connect & Tech — went on the record with **2–4× velocity gains** from adopting SDD. A record **75 substantive articles** appeared in more than 25 languages, and the recurring verdict across independent comparisons was that Spec Kit is "the category anchor" and the agent-neutral default. Meanwhile the core matured from v0.9 to v0.12: the workflow engine became genuinely programmable, the first real breaking change shipped, and the new convergence loop and bundle subsystem gave the project answers to its two most-cited gaps — drift and distribution. None of this happens without the community — the contributors, extension and preset authors, bundle builders, and practitioners writing in a dozen languages. Thank you.
+> **Spec-Driven Development, Institutionalized.** If May was defined by milestone 100s, June was defined by validation from outside the project. Microsoft's own Developer Blog published a first-party post presenting spec-driven development and positioning Spec Kit as the toolkit that operationalizes it. An enterprise — SNCF Connect & Tech — went on the record with **2–4× velocity gains** from adopting SDD. Coverage appeared in dozens of languages, and the recurring verdict across independent comparisons was that Spec Kit is "the category anchor" and the agent-neutral default. Meanwhile the core matured from v0.9 to v0.12: the workflow engine became genuinely programmable, the first real breaking change shipped, and the new convergence loop and bundle subsystem gave the project answers to its two most-cited gaps — drift and distribution. None of this happens without the community — the contributors, extension and preset authors, bundle builders, and practitioners writing in a dozen languages. Thank you.

 ## Spec Kit Project Updates

@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ On **June 10**, the **Microsoft Developer Blog** published *"Spec-Driven Develop

 ### Press and Industry Coverage

-June was the **highest-volume coverage month on record — 75 substantive articles** across more than 25 languages.
+June's press coverage spanned dozens of languages and platforms.

 **Xebia / XPRT Magazine #21** (Hidde de Smet & Emanuele Bartolesi, June 17) published a 32-minute full six-command walkthrough covering both greenfield and brownfield, honest about markdown-review overhead and where spec quality becomes the bottleneck. [\[xebia.com\]](https://xebia.com/blog/building-software-with-spec-kit/)

@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ June was the **highest-volume coverage month on record — 75 substantive articl

 ### Developer Articles and Blog Posts

-June's 75 articles skewed heavily multilingual, with deep hands-on series in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and a strong current of "which tool should I choose?" comparisons.
+June's coverage skewed heavily multilingual, with deep hands-on series in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and a strong current of "which tool should I choose?" comparisons.

 Notable English-language articles:

@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ Coverage also appeared on TabNews (Portuguese), Habr and CSDN, note.com, Substac

 ### The Category Consolidates

-Across June's record article volume, a consistent framing emerged: spec-driven development is now an established category, and Spec Kit is its reference implementation. SSOJet called it "the category anchor," Design News and multiple comparison pieces called it the agent-neutral default, and ToolTwist's CxO guide named it the "safe default for scaling teams." The Microsoft Developer Blog post and the SNCF enterprise interview extended that framing beyond the developer press into institutional and enterprise contexts. [\[ssojet.com\]](https://ssojet.com/blog/best-spec-driven-development-tools)
+Across June's broad article coverage, a consistent framing emerged: spec-driven development is now an established category, and Spec Kit is its reference implementation. SSOJet called it "the category anchor," Design News and multiple comparison pieces called it the agent-neutral default, and ToolTwist's CxO guide named it the "safe default for scaling teams." The Microsoft Developer Blog post and the SNCF enterprise interview extended that framing beyond the developer press into institutional and enterprise contexts. [\[ssojet.com\]](https://ssojet.com/blog/best-spec-driven-development-tools)

 ### Competitive Landscape

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ This edition covers Spec Kit activity in May 2026 — a month defined by three m

 | **Spec Kit Core (May 2026)** | **Community & Content** | **SDD Ecosystem & Next** |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| Fourteen releases shipped with key features: multi-install for concurrent agent integrations, constitution governance in implement, authentication provider registry, Hermes and Lingma agents, and a `__init__.py` decomposition series. The repo grew from ~92k to **106,951 stars**, crossing **100K** on May 21. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | The community extension catalog crossed **100 entries** (now 105). Open Source Friday livestream drove a press wave: Visual Studio Magazine, DevOps.com, MarkTechPost, HackerNoon, and 25+ more articles — now tracked across multiple languages following an expanded discovery methodology. **217 contributors** now listed. | MarkTechPost called Spec Kit "the most community-adopted open-source option" for SDD. The Futurum Group's Mitch Ashley framed specs as "the unit of governance across agents and contributors." Truong Phung published a 61-min production playbook referencing Spec Kit. Competitors grew but differentiate on orchestration; Spec Kit leads in portability and community. |
+| Fourteen releases shipped with key features: multi-install for concurrent agent integrations, constitution governance in implement, authentication provider registry, Hermes and Lingma agents, and a `__init__.py` decomposition series. The repo grew from ~92k to **106,951 stars**, crossing **100K** on May 21. [\[github.com\]](https://github.com/github/spec-kit/releases) | The community extension catalog crossed **100 entries** (now 105). Open Source Friday livestream drove a press wave: Visual Studio Magazine, DevOps.com, MarkTechPost, HackerNoon, and many more across multiple languages. **217 contributors** now listed. | MarkTechPost called Spec Kit "the most community-adopted open-source option" for SDD. The Futurum Group's Mitch Ashley framed specs as "the unit of governance across agents and contributors." Truong Phung published a 61-min production playbook referencing Spec Kit. Competitors grew but differentiate on orchestration; Spec Kit leads in portability and community. |

 ***

@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ May produced the broadest press coverage to date, with publications from the mai

 ### Developer Articles and Blog Posts

-May produced a wave of independent coverage — well beyond any previous month. Starting this month, article discovery was expanded beyond English-centric search engines to include language-appropriate engines for 25+ languages, so the broader coverage partly reflects wider discovery rather than a sudden spike.
+May produced a wave of independent coverage across many languages.

 Notable non-English coverage:

@@ -59,6 +59,19 @@ Content resolution functions for composition:
 - **Bash**: `resolve_template_content()` in `scripts/bash/common.sh` (templates only; command/script composition is handled by the Python resolver)
 - **PowerShell**: `Resolve-TemplateContent` in `scripts/powershell/common.ps1` (templates only; command/script composition is handled by the Python resolver)

+### Constitution lifecycle
+
+Initialization resolves `constitution-template` through the full stack and seeds
+`.specify/memory/constitution.md` once. Existing files are preserved byte-for-byte. On subsequent
+`/constitution` runs, the command resolves the current composed template at runtime and uses the live
+constitution as the source of project-specific values and amendments.
+
+Preset installation, removal, enablement, disablement, and priority changes do not materialize
+`constitution-template` by default. When the enabled preset registry contains `constitution-sync`,
+those operations may reconcile the live file, but only if its provenance hash proves it is still
+generated content. Missing files may be seeded when the preset is installed; authored or edited
+constitutions are never overwritten.
+
 ## Command Registration

 When a preset is installed with `type: "command"` entries, the `PresetManager` registers them into all detected agent directories using the shared `CommandRegistrar` from `src/specify_cli/agents.py`.
@@ -15,6 +15,16 @@ If no preset is installed, core templates are used — exactly the same behavior

 Template resolution happens **at runtime** — although preset files are copied into `.specify/presets/<id>/` during installation, Spec Kit walks the resolution stack on every template lookup rather than merging templates into a single location.

+`constitution-template` follows the same runtime model. Project initialization seeds
+`.specify/memory/constitution.md` once so downstream commands always have a constitution to read.
+After that, installing, removing, enabling, disabling, or reprioritizing presets does not rewrite the
+live constitution. Each `/constitution` run resolves the current composed `constitution-template`,
+then applies existing project values and amendments to that scaffold.
+
+Teams that intentionally want preset stack changes to refresh an unchanged generated constitution can
+install the bundled `constitution-sync` preset. It restores guarded install-time materialization in
+addition to its command-time propagation behavior; authored constitutions remain protected.
+
 For detailed resolution and command registration flows, see [ARCHITECTURE.md](ARCHITECTURE.md).

 ## Command Overrides
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
  "schema_version": "1.0",
-  "updated_at": "2026-07-28T00:00:00Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z",

  "catalog_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/spec-kit/main/presets/catalog.community.json",
  "presets": {
@@ -541,6 +541,35 @@
      "created_at": "2026-05-08T00:00:00Z",
      "updated_at": "2026-05-08T00:00:00Z"
    },
+    "model-routing-governance": {
+      "name": "Model Routing Governance",
+      "id": "model-routing-governance",
+      "version": "0.1.4",
+      "description": "Maps provider-neutral Spec Kit roles to validated harness-local runner profiles without storing model availability, credentials, or machine-specific selections in Git.",
+      "author": "Thorsten Hindermann",
+      "repository": "https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance/archive/refs/tags/v0.1.4.zip",
+      "homepage": "https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance",
+      "documentation": "https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-model-routing-governance/blob/v0.1.4/README.md",
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "requires": {
+        "speckit_version": ">=0.8.3"
+      },
+      "provides": {
+        "templates": 4,
+        "commands": 2,
+        "scripts": 2
+      },
+      "tags": [
+        "model-routing",
+        "agents",
+        "governance",
+        "provider-neutral",
+        "cross-platform"
+      ],
+      "created_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z",
+      "updated_at": "2026-08-10T00:00:00Z"
+    },
    "multi-repo-branching": {
      "name": "Multi-Repo Branching",
      "id": "multi-repo-branching",
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
  "schema_version": "1.0",
-  "updated_at": "2026-04-24T00:00:00Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-08-04T00:00:00Z",
  "catalog_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/spec-kit/main/presets/catalog.json",
  "presets": {
    "lean": {
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
      "name": "Constitution Template Sync",
      "id": "constitution-sync",
      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "description": "Opt-in: restores /constitution propagation of amended guidance into plan/spec/tasks templates and installed command files, for teams that treat materialized templates as reviewed artifacts.",
+      "description": "Opt-in: restores guarded install-time constitution seeding and /constitution propagation for teams that treat materialized templates as reviewed artifacts.",
      "author": "github",
      "repository": "https://github.com/github/spec-kit",
      "license": "MIT",
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
 # Constitution Template Sync

-An **opt-in** preset that restores `/constitution`'s ability to propagate amended guidance into your
-project's own templates and command files. After you update the constitution, it aligns
-`plan-template.md`, `spec-template.md`, `tasks-template.md`, project-local command files, and
+An **opt-in** preset that restores materialized constitution workflows. It refreshes an unchanged
+generated `.specify/memory/constitution.md` when constitution-providing presets are installed,
+removed, enabled, disabled, or reprioritized. After `/constitution` updates the live file, it also
+aligns `plan-template.md`, `spec-template.md`, `tasks-template.md`, project-local command files, and
 guidance docs so they reflect the current principles.

 This propagation used to be built into `/constitution`; it was dropped when the command moved to the
-preset model. Installing this preset opts you back into it: you get the guidance materialized into
-reviewed, committed artifacts instead of relying on runtime resolution alone.
+preset model. Installing this preset opts you back into materialization: preset stack changes refresh
+the generated constitution, and `/constitution` propagates its guidance into reviewed, committed
+artifacts instead of relying on runtime resolution alone.

 > **What you're opting into.** Propagation was removed deliberately — it duplicates the constitution
 > as the source of truth and can fight the composition stack (materialized edits get shadowed or
@@ -28,7 +30,12 @@ versioned preset a core team maintains.

 ## What it does

-Ships a single `wrap`-strategy override of `speckit.constitution`. It composes on top of the
+Its presence enables core's guarded install-time constitution reconciliation. Installing the preset
+materializes the currently resolved `constitution-template`; later stack changes re-materialize it
+only while the live file still matches its recorded generated-content hash. Human edits disable
+automatic replacement.
+
+It also ships a single `wrap`-strategy override of `speckit.constitution`. It composes on top of the
 current core command (via `{CORE_TEMPLATE}`), so it stays forward-compatible with core changes, and
 appends a propagation pass that, after the constitution is written:

@@ -43,6 +50,8 @@ appends a propagation pass that, after the constitution is written:
 - It does **not** disable runtime resolution. `plan`, `tasks`, and `analyze` still read the live
  constitution every run; this preset adds materialized copies on top — it does not replace the
  source of truth.
+- It does **not** overwrite an authored or edited constitution. Install-time reconciliation only
+  replaces content whose provenance proves it is an unchanged generated file.
 - It does **not** edit versioned, package-owned files — templates or command files provided or
  wrapped by another preset or extension. Those are recomposed from the resolution stack, so it
  only ever writes into your project's own `.specify/templates/` scaffolds and command files that
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ preset:
  id: "constitution-sync"
  name: "Constitution Template Sync"
  version: "1.0.0"
-  description: "Opt-in: restores /constitution propagation of amended guidance into plan/spec/tasks templates and installed command files, for teams that treat materialized templates as reviewed artifacts."
+  description: "Opt-in: restores guarded install-time constitution seeding and /constitution propagation for teams that treat materialized templates as reviewed artifacts."
  author: "github"
  repository: "https://github.com/github/spec-kit"
  license: "MIT"
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "specify-cli"
-version = "0.15.2.dev0"
+version = "0.16.2"
 description = "Specify CLI, part of GitHub Spec Kit. A tool to bootstrap your projects for Spec-Driven Development (SDD)."
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #   --require-tasks     Require tasks.md to exist (for implementation phase)
 #   --include-tasks     Include tasks.md in AVAILABLE_DOCS list
 #   --paths-only        Only output path variables (no validation)
+#   --template NAME     Include composed template content in JSON output
 #   --help, -h          Show help message
 #
 # OUTPUTS:
@@ -26,9 +27,10 @@ JSON_MODE=false
 REQUIRE_TASKS=false
 INCLUDE_TASKS=false
 PATHS_ONLY=false
+TEMPLATE_NAME=""

-for arg in "$@"; do
-    case "$arg" in
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+    case "$1" in
        --json)
            JSON_MODE=true
            ;;
@@ -41,6 +43,14 @@ for arg in "$@"; do
        --paths-only)
            PATHS_ONLY=true
            ;;
+        --template)
+            shift
+            if [[ $# -eq 0 ]]; then
+                echo "ERROR: --template requires a template name" >&2
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            TEMPLATE_NAME="$1"
+            ;;
        --help|-h)
            cat << 'EOF'
 Usage: check-prerequisites.sh [OPTIONS]
@@ -52,6 +62,7 @@ OPTIONS:
  --require-tasks     Require tasks.md to exist (for implementation phase)
  --include-tasks     Include tasks.md in AVAILABLE_DOCS list
  --paths-only        Only output path variables (no prerequisite validation)
+  --template NAME     Include composed template content in JSON output
  --help, -h          Show this help message

 EXAMPLES:
@@ -68,10 +79,11 @@ EOF
            exit 0
            ;;
        *)
-            echo "ERROR: Unknown option '$arg'. Use --help for usage information." >&2
+            echo "ERROR: Unknown option '$1'. Use --help for usage information." >&2
            exit 1
            ;;
    esac
+    shift
 done

 # Source common functions
@@ -156,6 +168,16 @@ if $INCLUDE_TASKS && [[ -f "$TASKS" ]]; then
    docs+=("tasks.md")
 fi

+TEMPLATE_CONTENT=""
+if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE_NAME" ]]; then
+    if TEMPLATE_CONTENT=$(resolve_template_content "$TEMPLATE_NAME" "$REPO_ROOT"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+        TEMPLATE_CONTENT="${TEMPLATE_CONTENT%x}"
+    else
+        echo "ERROR: Could not resolve required $TEMPLATE_NAME from the template override stack for $REPO_ROOT" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+fi
+
 # Output results
 if $JSON_MODE; then
    # Build JSON array of documents
@@ -165,10 +187,18 @@ if $JSON_MODE; then
        else
            json_docs=$(printf '%s\n' "${docs[@]}" | jq -R . | jq -s .)
        fi
-        jq -cn \
-            --arg feature_dir "$FEATURE_DIR" \
-            --argjson docs "$json_docs" \
-            '{FEATURE_DIR:$feature_dir,AVAILABLE_DOCS:$docs}'
+        if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE_NAME" ]]; then
+            jq -cn \
+                --arg feature_dir "$FEATURE_DIR" \
+                --argjson docs "$json_docs" \
+                --arg template_content "$TEMPLATE_CONTENT" \
+                '{FEATURE_DIR:$feature_dir,AVAILABLE_DOCS:$docs,TEMPLATE_CONTENT:$template_content}'
+        else
+            jq -cn \
+                --arg feature_dir "$FEATURE_DIR" \
+                --argjson docs "$json_docs" \
+                '{FEATURE_DIR:$feature_dir,AVAILABLE_DOCS:$docs}'
+        fi
    else
        if [[ ${#docs[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
            json_docs="[]"
@@ -176,7 +206,12 @@ if $JSON_MODE; then
            json_docs=$(for d in "${docs[@]}"; do printf '"%s",' "$(json_escape "$d")"; done)
            json_docs="[${json_docs%,}]"
        fi
-        printf '{"FEATURE_DIR":"%s","AVAILABLE_DOCS":%s}\n' "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$json_docs"
+        if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE_NAME" ]]; then
+            printf '{"FEATURE_DIR":"%s","AVAILABLE_DOCS":%s,"TEMPLATE_CONTENT":"%s"}\n' \
+                "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$json_docs" "$(json_escape "$TEMPLATE_CONTENT")"
+        else
+            printf '{"FEATURE_DIR":"%s","AVAILABLE_DOCS":%s}\n' "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$json_docs"
+        fi
    fi
 else
    # Text output
@@ -398,6 +398,101 @@ json_escape() {
 check_file() { [[ -f "$1" ]] && echo "  ✓ $2" || echo "  ✗ $2"; }
 check_dir() { [[ -d "$1" && -n $(ls -A "$1" 2>/dev/null) ]] && echo "  ✓ $2" || echo "  ✗ $2"; }

+_python3_command() {
+    if command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1 &&
+        python3 -c 'import sys; raise SystemExit(sys.version_info.major != 3)' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        printf '%s\n' "python3"
+    elif command -v python >/dev/null 2>&1 &&
+        python -c 'import sys; raise SystemExit(sys.version_info.major != 3)' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        printf '%s\n' "python"
+    elif command -v py >/dev/null 2>&1 &&
+        py -3 -c 'import sys' >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        printf '%s\n' "py -3"
+    else
+        return 1
+    fi
+}
+
+_sorted_extension_ids() {
+    local ext_dir="$1"
+    local python_spec
+    if python_spec=$(_python3_command); then
+        local -a python_cmd
+        read -r -a python_cmd <<< "$python_spec"
+        local py_stderr sorted_ids
+        py_stderr=$(mktemp)
+        if sorted_ids=$(SPECKIT_EXTENSIONS="$ext_dir" "${python_cmd[@]}" -c "
+import json, os, re, sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+root = Path(os.environ['SPECKIT_EXTENSIONS'])
+registered = {}
+registry = root / '.registry'
+if os.path.lexists(registry):
+    if not registry.is_file():
+        print('registry_invalid: not a regular file', file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    try:
+        data = json.loads(registry.read_text(encoding='utf-8'))
+    except Exception as exc:
+        print('registry_invalid: ' + str(exc), file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        print('registry_invalid: root must be a mapping', file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    raw_extensions = data.get('extensions', {})
+    if not isinstance(raw_extensions, dict):
+        print('registry_invalid: extensions must be a mapping', file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    registered = raw_extensions
+
+def priority(value):
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        return 10
+    try:
+        parsed = int(value)
+        return parsed if parsed >= 1 else 10
+    except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+        return 10
+
+ranked = []
+for ext_id, meta in registered.items():
+    if isinstance(ext_id, str) and re.fullmatch(r'[a-z0-9-]+', ext_id) and isinstance(meta, dict) and bool(meta.get('enabled', True)):
+        ranked.append((priority(meta.get('priority')), ext_id))
+for path in root.iterdir():
+    if path.is_dir() and re.fullmatch(r'[a-z0-9-]+', path.name) and path.name not in registered:
+        ranked.append((10, path.name))
+for _, ext_id in sorted(ranked):
+    print(ext_id)
+" 2>"$py_stderr"); then
+            rm -f "$py_stderr"
+            printf '%s\n' "$sorted_ids"
+            return 0
+        else
+            echo "Error: invalid extension registry $ext_dir/.registry" >&2
+            rm -f "$py_stderr"
+            return 1
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    if [ -e "$ext_dir/.registry" ] || [ -L "$ext_dir/.registry" ]; then
+        if [ ! -f "$ext_dir/.registry" ] || [ ! -r "$ext_dir/.registry" ]; then
+            echo "Error: invalid extension registry $ext_dir/.registry" >&2
+            return 1
+        fi
+        echo "Error: Python 3 is required to honor the extension registry" >&2
+        return 2
+    fi
+
+    local ext extension_id
+    for ext in "$ext_dir"/*/; do
+        [ -d "$ext" ] || continue
+        extension_id=$(basename "$ext")
+        case "$extension_id" in *[!a-z0-9-]*) continue ;; esac
+        printf '%s\n' "$extension_id"
+    done
+}
+
 # Resolve a template name to a file path using the priority stack:
 #   1. .specify/templates/overrides/
 #   2. .specify/presets/<preset-id>/templates/ (sorted by priority from .registry)
@@ -408,6 +503,8 @@ resolve_template() {
    local repo_root="$2"
    local base="$repo_root/.specify/templates"

+    case "$template_name" in ""|*[!a-z0-9-]*) return 1 ;; esac
+
    # Priority 1: Project overrides
    local override="$base/overrides/${template_name}.md"
    [ -f "$override" ] && echo "$override" && return 0
@@ -416,19 +513,32 @@ resolve_template() {
    local presets_dir="$repo_root/.specify/presets"
    if [ -d "$presets_dir" ]; then
        local registry_file="$presets_dir/.registry"
-        if [ -f "$registry_file" ] && command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        local python_spec=""
+        local -a python_cmd=()
+        if python_spec=$(_python3_command); then
+            read -r -a python_cmd <<< "$python_spec"
+        fi
+        if [ -f "$registry_file" ] && [ "${#python_cmd[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
            # Read preset IDs sorted by priority (lower number = higher precedence).
            # The python3 call is wrapped in an if-condition so that set -e does not
            # abort the function when python3 exits non-zero (e.g. invalid JSON).
            local sorted_presets=""
-            if sorted_presets=$(SPECKIT_REGISTRY="$registry_file" python3 -c "
-import json, sys, os
+            if sorted_presets=$(SPECKIT_REGISTRY="$registry_file" "${python_cmd[@]}" -c "
+import json, re, sys, os
 try:
-    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_REGISTRY']) as f:
+    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_REGISTRY'], encoding='utf-8') as f:
        data = json.load(f)
    presets = data.get('presets', {})
-    for pid, meta in sorted(presets.items(), key=lambda x: x[1].get('priority', 10) if isinstance(x[1], dict) else 10):
-        if isinstance(meta, dict) and meta.get('enabled', True) is not False:
+    def priority(meta):
+        if not isinstance(meta, dict) or isinstance(meta.get('priority'), bool):
+            return 10
+        try:
+            value = int(meta.get('priority', 10))
+            return value if value >= 1 else 10
+        except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+            return 10
+    for pid, meta in sorted(presets.items(), key=lambda x: (priority(x[1]), x[0])):
+        if isinstance(meta, dict) and bool(meta.get('enabled', True)) and re.fullmatch(r'[a-z0-9-]+', pid):
            print(pid)
 except Exception:
    sys.exit(1)
@@ -438,6 +548,8 @@ except Exception:
                    while IFS= read -r preset_id; do
                        local candidate="$presets_dir/$preset_id/templates/${template_name}.md"
                        [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
+                        candidate="$presets_dir/$preset_id/${template_name}.md"
+                        [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
                    done <<< "$sorted_presets"
                fi
                # python3 succeeded but registry has no presets — nothing to search
@@ -447,6 +559,8 @@ except Exception:
                    [ -d "$preset" ] || continue
                    local candidate="$preset/templates/${template_name}.md"
                    [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
+                    candidate="$preset/${template_name}.md"
+                    [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
                done
            fi
        else
@@ -455,6 +569,8 @@ except Exception:
                [ -d "$preset" ] || continue
                local candidate="$preset/templates/${template_name}.md"
                [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
+                candidate="$preset/${template_name}.md"
+                [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
            done
        fi
    fi
@@ -462,13 +578,17 @@ except Exception:
    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates
    local ext_dir="$repo_root/.specify/extensions"
    if [ -d "$ext_dir" ]; then
-        for ext in "$ext_dir"/*/; do
-            [ -d "$ext" ] || continue
-            # Skip hidden directories (e.g. .backup, .cache)
-            case "$(basename "$ext")" in .*) continue;; esac
+        local sorted_extensions=""
+        if ! sorted_extensions=$(_sorted_extension_ids "$ext_dir"); then
+            return 2
+        fi
+        while IFS= read -r extension_id; do
+            [ -n "$extension_id" ] || continue
+            local ext="$ext_dir/$extension_id"
            local candidate="$ext/templates/${template_name}.md"
+            [ -f "$candidate" ] || candidate="$ext/${template_name}.md"
            [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
-        done
+        done <<< "$sorted_extensions"
    fi

    # Priority 4: Core templates
@@ -492,6 +612,8 @@ resolve_template_content() {
    local repo_root="$2"
    local base="$repo_root/.specify/templates"

+    case "$template_name" in ""|*[!a-z0-9-]*) return 1 ;; esac
+
    # Collect all layers (highest priority first)
    local -a layer_paths=()
    local -a layer_strategies=()
@@ -499,133 +621,206 @@ resolve_template_content() {
    # Priority 1: Project overrides (always "replace")
    local override="$base/overrides/${template_name}.md"
    if [ -f "$override" ]; then
-        layer_paths+=("$override")
-        layer_strategies+=("replace")
+        if ! cat "$override"; then
+            echo "Error: failed to read template layer $override" >&2
+            return 2
+        fi
+        return 0
    fi

+    local effective_base_found=false
+
    # Priority 2: Installed presets (sorted by priority from .registry)
    local presets_dir="$repo_root/.specify/presets"
    if [ -d "$presets_dir" ]; then
        local registry_file="$presets_dir/.registry"
        local sorted_presets=""
-        if [ -f "$registry_file" ] && command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-            if sorted_presets=$(SPECKIT_REGISTRY="$registry_file" python3 -c "
-import json, sys, os
+        local registry_parsed=false
+        local python_spec=""
+        local -a python_cmd=()
+        if python_spec=$(_python3_command); then
+            read -r -a python_cmd <<< "$python_spec"
+        fi
+        if [ -f "$registry_file" ] && [ "${#python_cmd[@]}" -gt 0 ]; then
+            if sorted_presets=$(SPECKIT_REGISTRY="$registry_file" "${python_cmd[@]}" -c "
+import json, re, sys, os
 try:
-    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_REGISTRY']) as f:
+    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_REGISTRY'], encoding='utf-8') as f:
        data = json.load(f)
    presets = data.get('presets', {})
-    for pid, meta in sorted(presets.items(), key=lambda x: x[1].get('priority', 10) if isinstance(x[1], dict) else 10):
-        if isinstance(meta, dict) and meta.get('enabled', True) is not False:
+    def priority(meta):
+        if not isinstance(meta, dict) or isinstance(meta.get('priority'), bool):
+            return 10
+        try:
+            value = int(meta.get('priority', 10))
+            return value if value >= 1 else 10
+        except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+            return 10
+    for pid, meta in sorted(presets.items(), key=lambda x: (priority(x[1]), x[0])):
+        if isinstance(meta, dict) and bool(meta.get('enabled', True)) and re.fullmatch(r'[a-z0-9-]+', pid):
            print(pid)
 except Exception:
    sys.exit(1)
 " 2>/dev/null); then
-                if [ -n "$sorted_presets" ]; then
-                    local yaml_warned=false
-                    while IFS= read -r preset_id; do
-                        # Read strategy and file path from preset manifest
-                        local strategy="replace"
-                        local manifest_file=""
-                        local manifest="$presets_dir/$preset_id/preset.yml"
-                        if [ -f "$manifest" ] && command -v python3 >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-                            # Requires PyYAML; falls back to replace/convention if unavailable
-                            local result
-                            local py_stderr
-                            py_stderr=$(mktemp)
-                            result=$(SPECKIT_MANIFEST="$manifest" SPECKIT_TMPL="$template_name" python3 -c "
+                registry_parsed=true
+            fi
+        fi
+        if [ "$registry_parsed" = false ]; then
+            for preset in "$presets_dir"/*/; do
+                [ -d "$preset" ] || continue
+                local fallback_id
+                fallback_id=$(basename "$preset")
+                case "$fallback_id" in *[!a-z0-9-]*) continue ;; esac
+                sorted_presets+="${sorted_presets:+$'\n'}$fallback_id"
+            done
+        fi
+
+        if [ -n "$sorted_presets" ]; then
+            while IFS= read -r preset_id; do
+                local strategy="replace"
+                local manifest_file=""
+                local manifest="$presets_dir/$preset_id/preset.yml"
+                local manifest_declared=false
+                if [ -f "$manifest" ]; then
+                    if [ "${#python_cmd[@]}" -eq 0 ]; then
+                        echo "Error: Python 3 and PyYAML are required to resolve preset template composition" >&2
+                        return 2
+                    fi
+                    local result
+                    local py_stderr
+                    local parse_status
+                    py_stderr=$(mktemp)
+                    if result=$(SPECKIT_MANIFEST="$manifest" SPECKIT_TMPL="$template_name" "${python_cmd[@]}" -c "
 import sys, os
 try:
    import yaml
 except ImportError:
    print('yaml_missing', file=sys.stderr)
-    print('replace\t')
-    sys.exit(0)
+    sys.exit(2)
 try:
-    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_MANIFEST']) as f:
+    with open(os.environ['SPECKIT_MANIFEST'], encoding='utf-8') as f:
        data = yaml.safe_load(f)
-    for t in data.get('provides', {}).get('templates', []):
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        raise ValueError('manifest root must be a mapping')
+    if 'provides' not in data:
+        raise ValueError('manifest missing provides section')
+    provides = data['provides']
+    if not isinstance(provides, dict):
+        raise ValueError('manifest provides must be a mapping')
+    if 'templates' not in provides:
+        raise ValueError('manifest provides missing templates')
+    templates = provides['templates']
+    if not isinstance(templates, list):
+        raise ValueError('manifest templates must be a list')
+    if not templates:
+        raise ValueError('manifest must provide at least one template')
+    valid_types = ('template', 'command', 'script')
+    valid_strategies = ('replace', 'prepend', 'append', 'wrap')
+    for t in templates:
+        if not isinstance(t, dict):
+            raise ValueError('manifest template entries must be mappings')
+        if 'type' not in t or 'name' not in t or 'file' not in t:
+            raise ValueError('manifest template entry missing type, name, or file')
+        for field in ('type', 'name', 'file'):
+            if not isinstance(t[field], str):
+                raise ValueError('manifest template ' + field + ' must be a string')
+        if t['type'] not in valid_types:
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest template type')
+        strategy = t.get('strategy', 'replace')
+        if not isinstance(strategy, str):
+            raise ValueError('manifest template strategy must be a string')
+        strategy = strategy.lower()
+        if strategy not in valid_strategies:
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest template strategy')
+        if t['type'] == 'script' and strategy not in ('replace', 'wrap'):
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest script strategy')
+    for t in templates:
        if t.get('name') == os.environ['SPECKIT_TMPL'] and t.get('type', 'template') == 'template':
-            print(t.get('strategy', 'replace') + '\t' + t.get('file', ''))
+            file_value = t.get('file', '')
+            strategy = t.get('strategy', 'replace')
+            print('found\t' + strategy + '\t' + file_value)
            sys.exit(0)
-    print('replace\t')
-except Exception:
-    print('replace\t')
-" 2>"$py_stderr")
-                            local parse_status=$?
-                            if [ $parse_status -eq 0 ] && [ -n "$result" ]; then
-                                IFS=$'\t' read -r strategy manifest_file <<< "$result"
-                                strategy=$(printf '%s' "$strategy" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
-                            fi
-                            if [ "$yaml_warned" = false ] && grep -q 'yaml_missing' "$py_stderr" 2>/dev/null; then
-                                echo "Warning: PyYAML not available; composition strategies may be ignored" >&2
-                                yaml_warned=true
-                            fi
-                            rm -f "$py_stderr"
-                        fi
-                        # Try manifest file path first, then convention path
-                        local candidate=""
-                        if [ -n "$manifest_file" ]; then
-                            # Reject absolute paths and parent traversal
-                            case "$manifest_file" in
-                                /*|*../*|../*) manifest_file="" ;;
-                            esac
-                        fi
-                        if [ -n "$manifest_file" ]; then
-                            local mf="$presets_dir/$preset_id/$manifest_file"
-                            [ -f "$mf" ] && candidate="$mf"
-                        fi
-                        if [ -z "$candidate" ]; then
-                            local cf="$presets_dir/$preset_id/templates/${template_name}.md"
-                            [ -f "$cf" ] && candidate="$cf"
-                        fi
-                        if [ -n "$candidate" ]; then
-                            layer_paths+=("$candidate")
-                            layer_strategies+=("$strategy")
-                        fi
-                    done <<< "$sorted_presets"
-                fi
-            else
-                # python3 failed — fall back to unordered directory scan (replace only)
-                for preset in "$presets_dir"/*/; do
-                    [ -d "$preset" ] || continue
-                    local candidate="$preset/templates/${template_name}.md"
-                    if [ -f "$candidate" ]; then
-                        layer_paths+=("$candidate")
-                        layer_strategies+=("replace")
+    print('absent\treplace\t')
+except Exception as exc:
+    print(f'manifest_invalid: {exc}', file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(3)
+" 2>"$py_stderr"); then
+                        parse_status=0
+                    else
+                        parse_status=$?
                    fi
-                done
-            fi
-        else
-            # No python3 or registry — fall back to unordered directory scan (replace only)
-            for preset in "$presets_dir"/*/; do
-                [ -d "$preset" ] || continue
-                local candidate="$preset/templates/${template_name}.md"
-                if [ -f "$candidate" ]; then
-                    layer_paths+=("$candidate")
-                    layer_strategies+=("replace")
+                    if [ "$parse_status" -ne 0 ]; then
+                        if [ "$parse_status" -eq 2 ]; then
+                            echo "Error: PyYAML is required to resolve preset template composition" >&2
+                        else
+                            echo "Error: invalid preset manifest $manifest" >&2
+                        fi
+                        rm -f "$py_stderr"
+                        return 2
+                    fi
+                    if [ -n "$result" ]; then
+                        local declaration
+                        IFS=$'\t' read -r declaration strategy manifest_file <<< "$result"
+                        [ "$declaration" = "found" ] && manifest_declared=true
+                        strategy=$(printf '%s' "$strategy" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
+                    fi
+                    rm -f "$py_stderr"
                fi
-            done
+
+                local candidate=""
+                if [ -n "$manifest_file" ]; then
+                    case "$manifest_file" in
+                        /*|*../*|../*) manifest_file="" ;;
+                    esac
+                fi
+                if [ -n "$manifest_file" ]; then
+                    local mf="$presets_dir/$preset_id/$manifest_file"
+                    [ -f "$mf" ] && candidate="$mf"
+                fi
+                if [ -z "$candidate" ] && [ "$manifest_declared" = false ]; then
+                    local cf="$presets_dir/$preset_id/templates/${template_name}.md"
+                    [ -f "$cf" ] && candidate="$cf"
+                    if [ -z "$candidate" ]; then
+                        cf="$presets_dir/$preset_id/${template_name}.md"
+                        [ -f "$cf" ] && candidate="$cf"
+                    fi
+                fi
+                if [ -n "$candidate" ]; then
+                    layer_paths+=("$candidate")
+                    layer_strategies+=("$strategy")
+                    if [ "$strategy" = "replace" ]; then
+                        effective_base_found=true
+                        break
+                    fi
+                fi
+            done <<< "$sorted_presets"
        fi
    fi

    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates (always "replace")
    local ext_dir="$repo_root/.specify/extensions"
-    if [ -d "$ext_dir" ]; then
-        for ext in "$ext_dir"/*/; do
-            [ -d "$ext" ] || continue
-            case "$(basename "$ext")" in .*) continue;; esac
+    if [ "$effective_base_found" = false ] && [ -d "$ext_dir" ]; then
+        local sorted_extensions=""
+        if ! sorted_extensions=$(_sorted_extension_ids "$ext_dir"); then
+            return 2
+        fi
+        while IFS= read -r extension_id; do
+            [ -n "$extension_id" ] || continue
+            local ext="$ext_dir/$extension_id"
            local candidate="$ext/templates/${template_name}.md"
+            [ -f "$candidate" ] || candidate="$ext/${template_name}.md"
            if [ -f "$candidate" ]; then
                layer_paths+=("$candidate")
                layer_strategies+=("replace")
+                effective_base_found=true
+                break
            fi
-        done
+        done <<< "$sorted_extensions"
    fi

    # Priority 4: Core templates (always "replace")
    local core="$base/${template_name}.md"
-    if [ -f "$core" ]; then
+    if [ "$effective_base_found" = false ] && [ -f "$core" ]; then
        layer_paths+=("$core")
        layer_strategies+=("replace")
    fi
@@ -642,12 +837,18 @@ except Exception:
    # If the top (highest-priority) layer is replace, it wins entirely —
    # lower layers are irrelevant regardless of their strategies.
    if [ "${layer_strategies[0]}" = "replace" ]; then
-        cat "${layer_paths[0]}"
+        if ! cat "${layer_paths[0]}"; then
+            echo "Error: failed to read template layer ${layer_paths[0]}" >&2
+            return 2
+        fi
        return 0
    fi

    if [ "$has_composition" = false ]; then
-        cat "${layer_paths[0]}"
+        if ! cat "${layer_paths[0]}"; then
+            echo "Error: failed to read template layer ${layer_paths[0]}" >&2
+            return 2
+        fi
        return 0
    fi

@@ -663,12 +864,16 @@ except Exception:
    done

    if [ $base_idx -lt 0 ]; then
-        return 1  # no base layer found
+        echo "Error: template '$template_name' has composing layers but no replace base" >&2
+        return 2
    fi

    # Read the base content; compose layers above the base (higher priority)
    local content
-    content=$(cat "${layer_paths[$base_idx]}"; printf x)
+    if ! content=$(cat "${layer_paths[$base_idx]}"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+        echo "Error: failed to read template layer ${layer_paths[$base_idx]}" >&2
+        return 2
+    fi
    content="${content%x}"

    for (( i=base_idx-1; i>=0; i-- )); do
@@ -676,17 +881,26 @@ except Exception:
        local strat="${layer_strategies[$i]}"
        local layer_content
        # Preserve trailing newlines
-        layer_content=$(cat "$path"; printf x)
+        if ! layer_content=$(cat "$path"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+            echo "Error: failed to read template layer $path" >&2
+            return 2
+        fi
        layer_content="${layer_content%x}"

        case "$strat" in
            replace) content="$layer_content" ;;
-            prepend) content="$(printf '%s\n\n%s' "$layer_content" "$content")" ;;
-            append)  content="$(printf '%s\n\n%s' "$content" "$layer_content")" ;;
+            prepend)
+                content=$(printf '%s\n\n%s' "$layer_content" "$content"; printf x)
+                content="${content%x}"
+                ;;
+            append)
+                content=$(printf '%s\n\n%s' "$content" "$layer_content"; printf x)
+                content="${content%x}"
+                ;;
            wrap)
                case "$layer_content" in
                    *'{CORE_TEMPLATE}'*) ;;
-                    *) echo "Error: wrap strategy missing {CORE_TEMPLATE} placeholder" >&2; return 1 ;;
+                    *) echo "Error: wrap strategy missing {CORE_TEMPLATE} placeholder" >&2; return 2 ;;
                esac
                while [[ "$layer_content" == *'{CORE_TEMPLATE}'* ]]; do
                    local before="${layer_content%%\{CORE_TEMPLATE\}*}"
@@ -695,7 +909,7 @@ except Exception:
                done
                content="$layer_content"
                ;;
-            *) echo "Error: unknown strategy '$strat'" >&2; return 1 ;;
+            *) echo "Error: unknown strategy '$strat'" >&2; return 2 ;;
        esac
    done

@@ -339,12 +339,27 @@ if [ "$DRY_RUN" != true ]; then
        exit 1
    fi

+    NEEDS_SPEC=false
+    SPEC_TEMPLATE_FOUND=false
+    SPEC_TEMPLATE_CONTENT=""
+    if [ ! -f "$SPEC_FILE" ]; then
+        NEEDS_SPEC=true
+        if SPEC_TEMPLATE_CONTENT=$(resolve_template_content "spec-template" "$REPO_ROOT"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+            SPEC_TEMPLATE_CONTENT="${SPEC_TEMPLATE_CONTENT%x}"
+            SPEC_TEMPLATE_FOUND=true
+        else
+            resolve_status=$?
+            if [ "$resolve_status" -ne 1 ]; then
+                exit "$resolve_status"
+            fi
+        fi
+    fi
+
    mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"

-    if [ ! -f "$SPEC_FILE" ]; then
-        TEMPLATE=$(resolve_template "spec-template" "$REPO_ROOT") || true
-        if [ -n "$TEMPLATE" ] && [ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]; then
-            cp "$TEMPLATE" "$SPEC_FILE"
+    if [ "$NEEDS_SPEC" = true ]; then
+        if [ "$SPEC_TEMPLATE_FOUND" = true ]; then
+            printf '%s' "$SPEC_TEMPLATE_CONTENT" > "$SPEC_FILE"
        else
            echo "Warning: Spec template not found; created empty spec file" >&2
            touch "$SPEC_FILE"
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -e
+
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(CDPATH="" cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/common.sh"
+
+JSON_MODE=false
+TEMPLATE_NAME=""
+
+for arg in "$@"; do
+    case "$arg" in
+        --json) JSON_MODE=true ;;
+        --help|-h)
+            echo "Usage: $0 <template-name> [--json]"
+            exit 0
+            ;;
+        -*)
+            echo "ERROR: Unknown option '$arg'" >&2
+            exit 1
+            ;;
+        *)
+            if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE_NAME" ]]; then
+                echo "ERROR: Unexpected argument '$arg'" >&2
+                exit 1
+            fi
+            TEMPLATE_NAME="$arg"
+            ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [[ -z "$TEMPLATE_NAME" ]]; then
+    echo "ERROR: Template name is required" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+REPO_ROOT=$(get_repo_root)
+if TEMPLATE_CONTENT=$(resolve_template_content "$TEMPLATE_NAME" "$REPO_ROOT"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+    TEMPLATE_CONTENT="${TEMPLATE_CONTENT%x}"
+else
+    echo "ERROR: Could not resolve required $TEMPLATE_NAME from the template override stack for $REPO_ROOT" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if $JSON_MODE; then
+    if has_jq; then
+        jq -cn \
+            --arg template_name "$TEMPLATE_NAME" \
+            --arg template_content "$TEMPLATE_CONTENT" \
+            '{TEMPLATE_NAME:$template_name,TEMPLATE_CONTENT:$template_content}'
+    else
+        printf '{"TEMPLATE_NAME":"%s","TEMPLATE_CONTENT":"%s"}\n' \
+            "$(json_escape "$TEMPLATE_NAME")" "$(json_escape "$TEMPLATE_CONTENT")"
+    fi
+else
+    printf '%s' "$TEMPLATE_CONTENT"
+fi
@@ -43,21 +43,23 @@ if [[ -f "$IMPL_PLAN" ]]; then
        echo "Plan already exists at $IMPL_PLAN, skipping template copy"
    fi
 else
-    TEMPLATE=$(resolve_template "plan-template" "$REPO_ROOT") || true
-    if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE" ]] && [[ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]]; then
-        cp "$TEMPLATE" "$IMPL_PLAN"
+    if resolve_template_content "plan-template" "$REPO_ROOT" > "$IMPL_PLAN"; then
        if $JSON_MODE; then
            echo "Copied plan template to $IMPL_PLAN" >&2
        else
            echo "Copied plan template to $IMPL_PLAN"
        fi
    else
+        resolve_status=$?
+        rm -f "$IMPL_PLAN"
+        if [ "$resolve_status" -ne 1 ]; then
+            exit "$resolve_status"
+        fi
        if $JSON_MODE; then
            echo "Warning: Plan template not found" >&2
        else
            echo "Warning: Plan template not found"
        fi
-        # Create a basic plan file if template doesn't exist
        touch "$IMPL_PLAN"
    fi
 fi
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ fi

 # Resolve tasks template through override stack
 TASKS_TEMPLATE=$(resolve_template "tasks-template" "$REPO_ROOT") || true
-if [[ -z "$TASKS_TEMPLATE" ]] || [[ ! -f "$TASKS_TEMPLATE" ]]; then
+if TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT=$(resolve_template_content "tasks-template" "$REPO_ROOT"; status=$?; printf x; exit "$status"); then
+    TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT="${TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT%x}"
+else
    echo "ERROR: Could not resolve required tasks-template from the template override stack for $REPO_ROOT" >&2
    echo "Template 'tasks-template' was not found in any supported location (overrides, presets, extensions, or shared core). Add an override at .specify/templates/overrides/tasks-template.md, or run 'specify init' / reinstall shared infra to restore the core .specify/templates/tasks-template.md template." >&2
    exit 1
@@ -69,7 +71,8 @@ if $JSON_MODE; then
            --arg feature_dir "$FEATURE_DIR" \
            --argjson docs "$json_docs" \
            --arg tasks_template "${TASKS_TEMPLATE:-}" \
-            '{FEATURE_DIR:$feature_dir,AVAILABLE_DOCS:$docs,TASKS_TEMPLATE:$tasks_template}'
+            --arg tasks_template_content "$TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT" \
+            '{FEATURE_DIR:$feature_dir,AVAILABLE_DOCS:$docs,TASKS_TEMPLATE:$tasks_template,TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT:$tasks_template_content}'
    else
        if [[ ${#docs[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
            json_docs="[]"
@@ -77,8 +80,8 @@ if $JSON_MODE; then
            json_docs=$(for d in "${docs[@]}"; do printf '"%s",' "$(json_escape "$d")"; done)
            json_docs="[${json_docs%,}]"
        fi
-        printf '{"FEATURE_DIR":"%s","AVAILABLE_DOCS":%s,"TASKS_TEMPLATE":"%s"}\n' \
-            "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$json_docs" "$(json_escape "${TASKS_TEMPLATE:-}")"
+        printf '{"FEATURE_DIR":"%s","AVAILABLE_DOCS":%s,"TASKS_TEMPLATE":"%s","TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT":"%s"}\n' \
+            "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$json_docs" "$(json_escape "${TASKS_TEMPLATE:-}")" "$(json_escape "$TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT")"
    fi
 else
    echo "FEATURE_DIR: $FEATURE_DIR"
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #   -RequireTasks       Require tasks.md to exist (for implementation phase)
 #   -IncludeTasks       Include tasks.md in AVAILABLE_DOCS list
 #   -PathsOnly          Only output path variables (no validation)
+#   -Template NAME      Include composed template content in JSON output
 #   -Help, -h           Show help message

 [CmdletBinding()]
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ param(
    [switch]$RequireTasks,
    [switch]$IncludeTasks,
    [switch]$PathsOnly,
+    [string]$Template,
    [switch]$Help
 )

@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ OPTIONS:
  -RequireTasks       Require tasks.md to exist (for implementation phase)
  -IncludeTasks       Include tasks.md in AVAILABLE_DOCS list
  -PathsOnly          Only output path variables (no prerequisite validation)
+  -Template NAME      Include composed template content in JSON output
  -Help, -h           Show this help message

 EXAMPLES:
@@ -129,13 +132,26 @@ if ($IncludeTasks -and (Test-Path $paths.TASKS)) {
    $docs += 'tasks.md'
 }

+$templateContent = $null
+if ($Template) {
+    $templateContent = Resolve-TemplateContent -TemplateName $Template -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
+    if ($null -eq $templateContent) {
+        [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Could not resolve required $Template from the template override stack for $($paths.REPO_ROOT)")
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
 # Output results
 if ($Json) {
    # JSON output
-    [PSCustomObject]@{
+    $result = [ordered]@{
        FEATURE_DIR = $paths.FEATURE_DIR
        AVAILABLE_DOCS = $docs
-    } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
+    }
+    if ($Template) {
+        $result.TEMPLATE_CONTENT = $templateContent
+    }
+    [PSCustomObject]$result | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
 } else {
    # Text output
    Write-Output "FEATURE_DIR:$($paths.FEATURE_DIR)"
@@ -332,6 +332,82 @@ function Get-Python3Command {
    return $null
 }

+function Get-NormalizedPriority {
+    param($Value)
+
+    if ($Value -is [bool]) { return 10 }
+    if ($Value -is [string]) {
+        $integerText = $Value.Trim()
+        if ($integerText -cnotmatch '^[+-]?[0-9]+(?:_[0-9]+)*$') { return 10 }
+        $Value = $integerText.Replace('_', '')
+    }
+    try {
+        $parsedPriority = [System.Numerics.BigInteger]$Value
+    } catch {
+        return 10
+    }
+    return $(if ($parsedPriority -ge 1) { $parsedPriority } else { 10 })
+}
+
+function Get-SortedExtensionIds {
+    param([Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$ExtensionsDir)
+
+    $registeredNames = @()
+    $ranked = @()
+    $registryFile = Join-Path $ExtensionsDir '.registry'
+    # Detect any filesystem entry at the registry path without following symlinks.
+    # Test-Path follows links and reports $false for a dangling symlink, so a
+    # broken .registry symlink would otherwise bypass this guard and let the
+    # directory scan below enable every on-disk extension. Enumerating the parent
+    # directory still observes a broken symlink as an entry.
+    $registryEntry = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $ExtensionsDir -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+        Where-Object { $_.Name -eq '.registry' } |
+        Select-Object -First 1
+    if ($registryEntry) {
+        if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $registryFile -PathType Leaf)) {
+            throw "Invalid extension registry ${registryFile}: not a regular file"
+        }
+        try {
+            $data = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($registryFile, [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8) | ConvertFrom-Json
+        } catch {
+            throw "Invalid extension registry ${registryFile}: $($_.Exception.Message)"
+        }
+        if ($null -eq $data -or $data -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
+            throw "Invalid extension registry ${registryFile}: root must be a mapping"
+        }
+        $extensionsProperty = $data.PSObject.Properties['extensions']
+        if ($extensionsProperty) {
+            if ($extensionsProperty.Value -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
+                throw "Invalid extension registry ${registryFile}: 'extensions' must be a mapping"
+            }
+            $extensions = $extensionsProperty.Value
+        } else {
+            $extensions = [PSCustomObject]@{}
+        }
+        $registeredNames = @($extensions.PSObject.Properties | ForEach-Object { $_.Name })
+        foreach ($entry in $extensions.PSObject.Properties) {
+            if ($entry.Name -cnotmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$' -or $entry.Value -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
+                continue
+            }
+            $enabledProperty = $entry.Value.PSObject.Properties['enabled']
+            if ($enabledProperty -and -not [bool]$enabledProperty.Value) { continue }
+            $priority = 10
+            $priorityProperty = $entry.Value.PSObject.Properties['priority']
+            if ($priorityProperty) {
+                $priority = Get-NormalizedPriority -Value $priorityProperty.Value
+            }
+            $ranked += [PSCustomObject]@{ Priority = $priority; Id = $entry.Name }
+        }
+    }
+
+    foreach ($directory in Get-ChildItem -Path $ExtensionsDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
+        if ($directory.Name -cmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$' -and $directory.Name -cnotin $registeredNames) {
+            $ranked += [PSCustomObject]@{ Priority = 10; Id = $directory.Name }
+        }
+    }
+    return $ranked | Sort-Object Priority, Id | ForEach-Object { $_.Id }
+}
+
 # Resolve a template name to a file path using the priority stack:
 #   1. .specify/templates/overrides/
 #   2. .specify/presets/<preset-id>/templates/ (sorted by priority from .registry)
@@ -343,6 +419,8 @@ function Resolve-Template {
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$RepoRoot
    )

+    if ($TemplateName -cnotmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$') { return $null }
+
    $base = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/templates'

    # Priority 1: Project overrides
@@ -357,7 +435,7 @@ function Resolve-Template {
        $registryParsed = $false
        if (Test-Path $registryFile) {
            try {
-                $registryData = Get-Content $registryFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
+                $registryData = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($registryFile, [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8) | ConvertFrom-Json
                if ($null -eq $registryData -or $registryData -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
                    throw 'Registry root must be an object'
                }
@@ -372,30 +450,20 @@ function Resolve-Template {
                        param($Entry)
                        if ($Entry.Value -is [PSCustomObject]) {
                            $priorityProperty = $Entry.Value.PSObject.Properties['priority']
-                            if ($priorityProperty) { return $priorityProperty.Value }
+                            if ($priorityProperty) {
+                                return Get-NormalizedPriority -Value $priorityProperty.Value
+                            }
                        }
                        return 10
                    }
-                    if ($presetEntries.Count -gt 1) {
-                        $allNumeric = $true
-                        $allStrings = $true
-                        foreach ($entry in $presetEntries) {
-                            $priority = & $priorityFor $entry
-                            if ($null -eq $priority -or $priority -isnot [ValueType]) {
-                                $allNumeric = $false
-                            }
-                            if ($null -eq $priority -or $priority -isnot [string]) {
-                                $allStrings = $false
-                            }
-                        }
-                        if (-not $allNumeric -and -not $allStrings) {
-                            throw 'Registry priorities are not mutually orderable'
-                        }
-                    }
                    $sortedPresets = $presetEntries |
                        Where-Object { $_.Value -is [PSCustomObject] } |
-                        Where-Object { $null -eq $_.Value.enabled -or $_.Value.enabled -ne $false } |
-                        Sort-Object { & $priorityFor $_ } |
+                        Where-Object {
+                            $enabled = $_.Value.PSObject.Properties['enabled']
+                            -not $enabled -or [bool]$enabled.Value
+                        } |
+                        Where-Object { $_.Name -cmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$' } |
+                        Sort-Object @{ Expression = { & $priorityFor $_ } }, @{ Expression = { $_.Name } } |
                        ForEach-Object { $_.Name }
                }
                $registryParsed = $true
@@ -408,12 +476,16 @@ function Resolve-Template {
            foreach ($presetId in $sortedPresets) {
                $candidate = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/templates/$TemplateName.md"
                if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
+                $candidate = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/$TemplateName.md"
+                if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
            }
        } else {
            # Fallback: alphabetical directory order
            foreach ($preset in Get-ChildItem -Path $presetsDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike '.*' } | Sort-Object Name) {
                $candidate = Join-Path $preset.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
                if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
+                $candidate = Join-Path $preset.FullName "$TemplateName.md"
+                if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
            }
        }
    }
@@ -421,8 +493,11 @@ function Resolve-Template {
    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates
    $extDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/extensions'
    if (Test-Path $extDir) {
-        foreach ($ext in Get-ChildItem -Path $extDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike '.*' } | Sort-Object Name) {
-            $candidate = Join-Path $ext.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
+        foreach ($extensionId in Get-SortedExtensionIds -ExtensionsDir $extDir) {
+            $candidate = Join-Path $extDir "$extensionId/templates/$TemplateName.md"
+            if (-not (Test-Path $candidate)) {
+                $candidate = Join-Path $extDir "$extensionId/$TemplateName.md"
+            }
            if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
        }
    }
@@ -443,6 +518,10 @@ function Resolve-TemplateContent {
        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$RepoRoot
    )

+    if ($TemplateName -cnotmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$') {
+        return $null
+    }
+
    $base = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/templates'

    # Collect all layers (highest priority first)
@@ -452,49 +531,77 @@ function Resolve-TemplateContent {
    # Priority 1: Project overrides (always "replace")
    $override = Join-Path $base "overrides/$TemplateName.md"
    if (Test-Path $override) {
-        $layerPaths += $override
-        $layerStrategies += 'replace'
+        return [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText(
+            $override,
+            [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
+        )
    }

+    $effectiveBaseFound = $false
+
    # Priority 2: Installed presets (sorted by priority from .registry)
    $presetsDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/presets'
    if (Test-Path $presetsDir) {
        $registryFile = Join-Path $presetsDir '.registry'
        $sortedPresets = @()
+        $registryParsed = $false
        if (Test-Path $registryFile) {
            try {
-                $registryData = Get-Content $registryFile -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
-                $presets = $registryData.presets
-                if ($presets) {
-                    $sortedPresets = $presets.PSObject.Properties |
-                        Where-Object { $null -eq $_.Value.enabled -or $_.Value.enabled -ne $false } |
-                        Sort-Object { if ($null -ne $_.Value.priority) { $_.Value.priority } else { 10 } } |
+                $registryData = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($registryFile, [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8) | ConvertFrom-Json
+                if ($null -eq $registryData -or $registryData -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
+                    throw 'Registry root must be an object'
+                }
+                $presetsProperty = $registryData.PSObject.Properties['presets']
+                if ($presetsProperty) {
+                    $presets = $presetsProperty.Value
+                    if ($null -eq $presets -or $presets -isnot [PSCustomObject]) {
+                        throw 'Registry presets must be an object'
+                    }
+                    $presetEntries = @($presets.PSObject.Properties)
+                    $priorityFor = {
+                        param($Entry)
+                        if ($Entry.Value -is [PSCustomObject]) {
+                            $priorityProperty = $Entry.Value.PSObject.Properties['priority']
+                            if ($priorityProperty) {
+                                return Get-NormalizedPriority -Value $priorityProperty.Value
+                            }
+                        }
+                        return 10
+                    }
+                    $sortedPresets = $presetEntries |
+                        Where-Object { $_.Value -is [PSCustomObject] } |
+                        Where-Object {
+                            $enabled = $_.Value.PSObject.Properties['enabled']
+                            -not $enabled -or [bool]$enabled.Value
+                        } |
+                        Where-Object { $_.Name -cmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$' } |
+                        Sort-Object @{ Expression = { & $priorityFor $_ } }, @{ Expression = { $_.Name } } |
                        ForEach-Object { $_.Name }
                }
+                $registryParsed = $true
            } catch {
-                $sortedPresets = @()
+                $registryParsed = $false
            }
        }

-        if ($sortedPresets.Count -gt 0) {
-            $pyCmd = Get-Python3Command
-            if (-not $pyCmd) {
-                # Check if any preset has strategy fields that would be ignored
-                foreach ($pid in $sortedPresets) {
-                    $mf = Join-Path $presetsDir "$pid/preset.yml"
-                    if ((Test-Path $mf) -and (Select-String -Path $mf -Pattern 'strategy:' -Quiet -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
-                        Write-Warning "No Python 3 found; preset composition strategies will be ignored"
-                        break
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            $yamlWarned = $false
-            foreach ($presetId in $sortedPresets) {
+        if (-not $registryParsed) {
+            $sortedPresets = Get-ChildItem -Path $presetsDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
+                Where-Object { $_.Name -cmatch '^[a-z0-9-]+$' } |
+                Sort-Object Name |
+                ForEach-Object { $_.Name }
+        }
+
+        $pyCmd = @(Get-Python3Command)
+        foreach ($presetId in $sortedPresets) {
                # Read strategy and file path from preset manifest
                $strategy = 'replace'
                $manifestFilePath = ''
+                $manifestDeclared = $false
                $manifest = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/preset.yml"
-                if ((Test-Path $manifest) -and $pyCmd) {
+                if ((Test-Path $manifest) -and -not $pyCmd) {
+                    throw "Python 3 and PyYAML are required to resolve preset template composition"
+                }
+                if (Test-Path $manifest) {
                    try {
                        # Use Python to parse YAML manifest for strategy and file path
                        $pyArgs = if ($pyCmd.Count -gt 1) { $pyCmd[1..($pyCmd.Count-1)] } else { @() }
@@ -505,32 +612,71 @@ try:
    import yaml
 except ImportError:
    print('yaml_missing', file=sys.stderr)
-    print('replace\t')
-    sys.exit(0)
+    sys.exit(2)
 try:
-    with open(sys.argv[1]) as f:
+    with open(sys.argv[1], encoding='utf-8') as f:
        data = yaml.safe_load(f)
-    for t in data.get('provides', {}).get('templates', []):
+    if not isinstance(data, dict):
+        raise ValueError('manifest root must be a mapping')
+    if 'provides' not in data:
+        raise ValueError('manifest missing provides section')
+    provides = data['provides']
+    if not isinstance(provides, dict):
+        raise ValueError('manifest provides must be a mapping')
+    if 'templates' not in provides:
+        raise ValueError('manifest provides missing templates')
+    templates = provides['templates']
+    if not isinstance(templates, list):
+        raise ValueError('manifest templates must be a list')
+    if not templates:
+        raise ValueError('manifest must provide at least one template')
+    valid_types = ('template', 'command', 'script')
+    valid_strategies = ('replace', 'prepend', 'append', 'wrap')
+    for t in templates:
+        if not isinstance(t, dict):
+            raise ValueError('manifest template entries must be mappings')
+        if 'type' not in t or 'name' not in t or 'file' not in t:
+            raise ValueError('manifest template entry missing type, name, or file')
+        for field in ('type', 'name', 'file'):
+            if not isinstance(t[field], str):
+                raise ValueError('manifest template ' + field + ' must be a string')
+        if t['type'] not in valid_types:
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest template type')
+        strategy = t.get('strategy', 'replace')
+        if not isinstance(strategy, str):
+            raise ValueError('manifest template strategy must be a string')
+        strategy = strategy.lower()
+        if strategy not in valid_strategies:
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest template strategy')
+        if t['type'] == 'script' and strategy not in ('replace', 'wrap'):
+            raise ValueError('invalid manifest script strategy')
+    for t in templates:
        if t.get('name') == sys.argv[2] and t.get('type', 'template') == 'template':
-            print(t.get('strategy', 'replace') + '\t' + t.get('file', ''))
+            file_value = t.get('file', '')
+            strategy = t.get('strategy', 'replace')
+            print('found\t' + strategy + '\t' + file_value)
            sys.exit(0)
-    print('replace\t')
-except Exception:
-    print('replace\t')
+    print('absent\treplace\t')
+except Exception as exc:
+    print(f'manifest_invalid: {exc}', file=sys.stderr)
+    sys.exit(3)
 "@ $manifest $TemplateName 2>$pyStderrFile
+                        if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+                            if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 2) {
+                                throw "PyYAML is required to resolve preset template composition"
+                            }
+                            throw "Invalid preset manifest $manifest"
+        }
                        if ($stratResult) {
-                            $parts = $stratResult.Trim() -split "`t", 2
-                            $strategy = $parts[0].ToLowerInvariant()
-                            if ($parts.Count -gt 1 -and $parts[1]) { $manifestFilePath = $parts[1] }
-                        }
-                        if (-not $yamlWarned -and (Test-Path $pyStderrFile) -and (Get-Content $pyStderrFile -Raw -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) -match 'yaml_missing') {
-                            Write-Warning "PyYAML not available; composition strategies may be ignored"
-                            $yamlWarned = $true
+                            $parts = $stratResult.Trim() -split "`t", 3
+                            $manifestDeclared = $parts[0] -eq 'found'
+                            $strategy = $parts[1].ToLowerInvariant()
+                            if ($parts.Count -gt 2 -and $parts[2]) { $manifestFilePath = $parts[2] }
                        }
                        Remove-Item $pyStderrFile -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
                    } catch {
-                        $strategy = 'replace'
                        if ($pyStderrFile) { Remove-Item $pyStderrFile -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
+                        throw
                    }
                }
                # Try manifest file path first, then convention path
@@ -545,42 +691,45 @@ except Exception:
                    $mf = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/$manifestFilePath"
                    if (Test-Path $mf) { $candidate = $mf }
                }
-                if (-not $candidate) {
+                if (-not $candidate -and -not $manifestDeclared) {
                    $cf = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/templates/$TemplateName.md"
                    if (Test-Path $cf) { $candidate = $cf }
+                    if (-not $candidate) {
+                        $cf = Join-Path $presetsDir "$presetId/$TemplateName.md"
+                        if (Test-Path $cf) { $candidate = $cf }
+                    }
                }
                if ($candidate) {
                    $layerPaths += $candidate
                    $layerStrategies += $strategy
+                    if ($strategy -eq 'replace') {
+                        $effectiveBaseFound = $true
+                        break
+                    }
                }
            }
-        } else {
-            # Fallback: alphabetical directory order (no registry or parse failure)
-            foreach ($preset in Get-ChildItem -Path $presetsDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike '.*' }) {
-                $candidate = Join-Path $preset.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
-                if (Test-Path $candidate) {
-                    $layerPaths += $candidate
-                    $layerStrategies += 'replace'
-                }
-            }
-        }
    }

    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates (always "replace")
    $extDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/extensions'
-    if (Test-Path $extDir) {
-        foreach ($ext in Get-ChildItem -Path $extDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object { $_.Name -notlike '.*' } | Sort-Object Name) {
-            $candidate = Join-Path $ext.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
+    if (-not $effectiveBaseFound -and (Test-Path $extDir)) {
+        foreach ($extensionId in Get-SortedExtensionIds -ExtensionsDir $extDir) {
+            $candidate = Join-Path $extDir "$extensionId/templates/$TemplateName.md"
+            if (-not (Test-Path $candidate)) {
+                $candidate = Join-Path $extDir "$extensionId/$TemplateName.md"
+            }
            if (Test-Path $candidate) {
                $layerPaths += $candidate
                $layerStrategies += 'replace'
+                $effectiveBaseFound = $true
+                break
            }
        }
    }

    # Priority 4: Core templates (always "replace")
    $core = Join-Path $base "$TemplateName.md"
-    if (Test-Path $core) {
+    if (-not $effectiveBaseFound -and (Test-Path $core)) {
        $layerPaths += $core
        $layerStrategies += 'replace'
    }
@@ -590,7 +739,7 @@ except Exception:
    # If the top (highest-priority) layer is replace, it wins entirely --
    # lower layers are irrelevant regardless of their strategies.
    if ($layerStrategies[0] -eq 'replace') {
-        return (Get-Content $layerPaths[0] -Raw)
+        return [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($layerPaths[0], [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
    }

    # Check if any layer uses a non-replace strategy
@@ -600,7 +749,7 @@ except Exception:
    }

    if (-not $hasComposition) {
-        return (Get-Content $layerPaths[0] -Raw)
+        return [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($layerPaths[0], [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8)
    }

    # Find the effective base: scan from highest priority (index 0) downward
@@ -612,14 +761,22 @@ except Exception:
            break
        }
    }
-    if ($baseIdx -lt 0) { return $null }
+    if ($baseIdx -lt 0) {
+        throw "Template '$TemplateName' has composing layers but no replace base"
+    }

-    $content = Get-Content $layerPaths[$baseIdx] -Raw
+    $content = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText(
+        $layerPaths[$baseIdx],
+        [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
+    )

    for ($i = $baseIdx - 1; $i -ge 0; $i--) {
        $path = $layerPaths[$i]
        $strat = $layerStrategies[$i]
-        $layerContent = Get-Content $path -Raw
+        $layerContent = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText(
+            $path,
+            [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
+        )

        switch ($strat) {
            'replace' { $content = $layerContent }
@@ -262,13 +262,16 @@ if (-not $DryRun) {
        exit 1
    }

+    $needsSpec = -not (Test-Path -PathType Leaf $specFile)
+    $content = $null
+    if ($needsSpec) {
+        $content = Resolve-TemplateContent -TemplateName 'spec-template' -RepoRoot $repoRoot
+    }
+
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $featureDir -Force | Out-Null

-    if (-not (Test-Path -PathType Leaf $specFile)) {
-        $template = Resolve-Template -TemplateName 'spec-template' -RepoRoot $repoRoot
-        if ($template -and (Test-Path $template)) {
-            # Read the template content and write it to the spec file with UTF-8 encoding without BOM
-            $content = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($template)
+    if ($needsSpec) {
+        if ($null -ne $content) {
            $utf8NoBom = New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding($false)
            [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($specFile, $content, $utf8NoBom)
        } else {
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env pwsh
+
+param(
+    [Parameter(Position=0)]
+    [string]$TemplateName,
+    [switch]$Json,
+    [switch]$Help
+)
+
+$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
+
+if ($Help) {
+    Write-Output "Usage: resolve-template.ps1 <template-name> [-Json]"
+    exit 0
+}
+
+if (-not $TemplateName) {
+    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Template name is required")
+    exit 1
+}
+
+. "$PSScriptRoot/common.ps1"
+
+$repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot
+$templateContent = Resolve-TemplateContent -TemplateName $TemplateName -RepoRoot $repoRoot
+if ($null -eq $templateContent) {
+    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Could not resolve required $TemplateName from the template override stack for $repoRoot")
+    exit 1
+}
+
+if ($Json) {
+    [PSCustomObject]@{
+        TEMPLATE_NAME = $TemplateName
+        TEMPLATE_CONTENT = $templateContent
+    } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
+} else {
+    [Console]::Out.Write($templateContent)
+}
@@ -41,10 +41,8 @@ if (Test-Path $paths.IMPL_PLAN -PathType Leaf) {
        Write-Output "Plan already exists at $($paths.IMPL_PLAN), skipping template copy"
    }
 } else {
-    $template = Resolve-Template -TemplateName 'plan-template' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
-    if ($template -and (Test-Path $template)) {
-        # Read the template content and write it to the implementation plan file with UTF-8 encoding without BOM
-        $content = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllText($template)
+    $content = Resolve-TemplateContent -TemplateName 'plan-template' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
+    if ($null -ne $content) {
        $utf8NoBom = New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding($false)
        [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($paths.IMPL_PLAN, $content, $utf8NoBom)
        # Emit the copy status like the bash twin (setup-plan.sh); route to stderr
@@ -57,12 +57,17 @@ if (Test-Path $paths.QUICKSTART) { $docs += 'quickstart.md' }

 # Resolve tasks template through override stack
 $tasksTemplate = Resolve-Template -TemplateName 'tasks-template' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
-if (-not $tasksTemplate -or -not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $tasksTemplate -PathType Leaf)) {
+$tasksTemplateContent = Resolve-TemplateContent -TemplateName 'tasks-template' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
+if ($null -eq $tasksTemplateContent) {
    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Could not resolve required tasks-template from the template override stack for $($paths.REPO_ROOT)")
    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("Template 'tasks-template' was not found in any supported location (overrides, presets, extensions, or shared core). Add an override at .specify/templates/overrides/tasks-template.md, or run 'specify init' / reinstall shared infra to restore the core .specify/templates/tasks-template.md template.")
    exit 1
 }
-$tasksTemplate = (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $tasksTemplate).Path
+if ($tasksTemplate -and (Test-Path -LiteralPath $tasksTemplate -PathType Leaf)) {
+    $tasksTemplate = (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $tasksTemplate).Path
+} else {
+    $tasksTemplate = ''
+}

 # Output results
 if ($Json) {
@@ -70,6 +75,7 @@ if ($Json) {
        FEATURE_DIR    = $paths.FEATURE_DIR
        AVAILABLE_DOCS = $docs
        TASKS_TEMPLATE = $tasksTemplate
+        TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT = $tasksTemplateContent
    } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
 } else {
    Write-Output "FEATURE_DIR: $($paths.FEATURE_DIR)"
@@ -9,10 +9,22 @@ from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path

 try:
-    from common import FeaturePaths, format_speckit_command, get_feature_paths
+    from common import (
+        FeaturePaths,
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        format_speckit_command,
+        get_feature_paths,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - direct execution from unusual cwd
    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
-    from common import FeaturePaths, format_speckit_command, get_feature_paths
+    from common import (
+        FeaturePaths,
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        format_speckit_command,
+        get_feature_paths,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )


 def _json_line(payload: object) -> str:
@@ -28,6 +40,7 @@ OPTIONS:
  --require-tasks     Require tasks.md to exist (for implementation phase)
  --include-tasks     Include tasks.md in AVAILABLE_DOCS list
  --paths-only        Only output path variables (no prerequisite validation)
+  --template NAME     Include composed template content in JSON output
  --help, -h          Show this help message

 EXAMPLES:
@@ -49,6 +62,7 @@ class Args:
    require_tasks: bool = False
    include_tasks: bool = False
    paths_only: bool = False
+    template_name: str | None = None


 def _parse_args(argv: list[str]) -> Args:
@@ -56,8 +70,11 @@ def _parse_args(argv: list[str]) -> Args:
    require_tasks = False
    include_tasks = False
    paths_only = False
+    template_name = None

-    for arg in argv:
+    index = 0
+    while index < len(argv):
+        arg = argv[index]
        if arg == "--json":
            json_mode = True
        elif arg == "--require-tasks":
@@ -66,6 +83,15 @@ def _parse_args(argv: list[str]) -> Args:
            include_tasks = True
        elif arg == "--paths-only":
            paths_only = True
+        elif arg == "--template":
+            index += 1
+            if index >= len(argv):
+                print(
+                    "ERROR: --template requires a template name",
+                    file=sys.stderr,
+                )
+                raise SystemExit(1)
+            template_name = argv[index]
        elif arg in {"--help", "-h"}:
            sys.stdout.write(HELP_TEXT)
            raise SystemExit(0)
@@ -75,12 +101,14 @@ def _parse_args(argv: list[str]) -> Args:
                file=sys.stderr,
            )
            raise SystemExit(1)
+        index += 1

    return Args(
        json_mode=json_mode,
        require_tasks=require_tasks,
        include_tasks=include_tasks,
        paths_only=paths_only,
+        template_name=template_name,
    )


@@ -130,14 +158,31 @@ def _print_paths_only(paths: FeaturePaths, json_mode: bool) -> None:
    print(f"TASKS: {paths.tasks}")


+def _status_marker(ok: bool) -> str:
+    """Return the status glyph, downgraded to ASCII when stdout cannot encode it.
+
+    On Windows sys.stdout falls back to the ANSI code page whenever it is not a
+    console - a pipe or a file redirect, which is how agents and workflow steps
+    invoke these scripts - and U+2713 is unencodable in cp1252, so printing it
+    raised UnicodeEncodeError and aborted the report right after
+    "AVAILABLE_DOCS:". "[OK]"/"[FAIL]" is the ASCII rendering these markers
+    already have in-tree: see Test-FileExists in scripts/powershell/common.ps1
+    and normalize_status_text in tests/parity_helpers.py.
+    """
+    glyph = "✓" if ok else "✗"
+    try:
+        glyph.encode(getattr(sys.stdout, "encoding", None) or "utf-8")
+    except (LookupError, UnicodeEncodeError):
+        return "[OK]" if ok else "[FAIL]"
+    return glyph
+
+
 def _check_file(path: Path, description: str) -> None:
-    marker = "✓" if path.is_file() else "✗"
-    print(f"  {marker} {description}")
+    print(f"  {_status_marker(path.is_file())} {description}")


 def _check_dir(path: Path, description: str) -> None:
-    marker = "✓" if _dir_has_entries(path) else "✗"
-    print(f"  {marker} {description}")
+    print(f"  {_status_marker(_dir_has_entries(path))} {description}")


 def _print_text_results(paths: FeaturePaths, include_tasks: bool) -> None:
@@ -194,9 +239,32 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
        return 1

    docs = _available_docs(paths, args.include_tasks)
+    template_content = None
+    if args.template_name:
+        try:
+            template_content = resolve_template_content(
+                args.template_name, paths.repo_root
+            )
+        except TemplateResolutionError as exc:
+            print(f"ERROR: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+        if template_content is None:
+            print(
+                f"ERROR: Could not resolve required {args.template_name} from "
+                f"the template override stack for {paths.repo_root}",
+                file=sys.stderr,
+            )
+            return 1
+
    if args.json_mode:
+        payload: dict[str, object] = {
+            "FEATURE_DIR": str(paths.feature_dir),
+            "AVAILABLE_DOCS": docs,
+        }
+        if args.template_name:
+            payload["TEMPLATE_CONTENT"] = template_content
        sys.stdout.write(
-            _json_line({"FEATURE_DIR": str(paths.feature_dir), "AVAILABLE_DOCS": docs})
+            _json_line(payload)
        )
    else:
        _print_text_results(paths, args.include_tasks)
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations

 import json
 import os
+import re
 import sys
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -182,12 +183,30 @@ def get_feature_paths(
    )


+_SAFE_COMPONENT_PATTERN = re.compile(r"[a-z0-9-]+")
+
+
+def _is_safe_component(value: object) -> bool:
+    return (
+        isinstance(value, str)
+        and _SAFE_COMPONENT_PATTERN.fullmatch(value) is not None
+    )
+
+
+def _normalize_priority(value: object) -> int:
+    if isinstance(value, bool):
+        return 10
+    try:
+        priority = int(value)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError, OverflowError):
+        return 10
+    return priority if priority >= 1 else 10
+
+
 def _sorted_preset_ids(presets_dir: Path) -> list[str]:
    registry = presets_dir / ".registry"
    if registry.is_file():
-        # Mirrors bash: any failure while reading or sorting the registry
-        # (invalid JSON, non-dict shapes, unorderable priority values) falls
-        # back to the directory scan below.
+        # Invalid JSON or registry shapes fall back to the directory scan below.
        try:
            data = json.loads(registry.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
            presets = data.get("presets", {})
@@ -195,11 +214,18 @@ def _sorted_preset_ids(presets_dir: Path) -> list[str]:
                pid
                for pid, meta in sorted(
                    presets.items(),
-                    key=lambda kv: kv[1].get("priority", 10)
-                    if isinstance(kv[1], dict)
-                    else 10,
+                    key=lambda kv: (
+                        _normalize_priority(kv[1].get("priority"))
+                        if isinstance(kv[1], dict)
+                        else 10,
+                        kv[0],
+                    ),
+                )
+                if (
+                    _is_safe_component(pid)
+                    and isinstance(meta, dict)
+                    and bool(meta.get("enabled", True))
                )
-                if isinstance(meta, dict) and meta.get("enabled", True) is not False
            ]
        except Exception:
            pass
@@ -207,12 +233,78 @@ def _sorted_preset_ids(presets_dir: Path) -> list[str]:
        return sorted(
            p.name
            for p in presets_dir.iterdir()
-            if p.is_dir() and not p.name.startswith(".")
+            if p.is_dir() and _is_safe_component(p.name)
        )
    except OSError:
        return []


+def _sorted_extension_ids(extensions_dir: Path) -> list[str]:
+    registry = extensions_dir / ".registry"
+    registered_ids: set[str] = set()
+    extensions: dict[object, object] = {}
+    if os.path.lexists(registry):
+        if not registry.is_file():
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Invalid extension registry {registry}: not a regular file"
+            )
+        try:
+            data = json.loads(registry.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        except (OSError, UnicodeError, json.JSONDecodeError) as exc:
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Failed to parse extension registry {registry}: {exc}"
+            ) from exc
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Invalid extension registry {registry}: root must be a mapping"
+            )
+        raw_extensions = data.get("extensions", {})
+        if not isinstance(raw_extensions, dict):
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Invalid extension registry {registry}: "
+                "'extensions' must be a mapping"
+            )
+        extensions = raw_extensions
+        registered_ids = {
+            ext_id for ext_id in extensions if isinstance(ext_id, str)
+        }
+
+    ranked: list[tuple[int, str]] = []
+    for ext_id, metadata in extensions.items():
+        if (
+            _is_safe_component(ext_id)
+            and isinstance(metadata, dict)
+            and bool(metadata.get("enabled", True))
+        ):
+            ranked.append((_normalize_priority(metadata.get("priority")), ext_id))
+
+    try:
+        ranked.extend(
+            (10, path.name)
+            for path in extensions_dir.iterdir()
+            if (
+                path.is_dir()
+                and _is_safe_component(path.name)
+                and path.name not in registered_ids
+            )
+        )
+    except OSError:
+        pass
+    return [ext_id for _, ext_id in sorted(ranked)]
+
+
+def _conventional_template(
+    base_dir: Path, template_name: str
+) -> Path | None:
+    for candidate in (
+        base_dir / "templates" / f"{template_name}.md",
+        base_dir / f"{template_name}.md",
+    ):
+        if candidate.is_file():
+            return candidate
+    return None
+
+
 def resolve_template(template_name: str, repo_root: Path) -> Path | None:
    """Resolve a template name to a file path using the priority stack.

@@ -222,6 +314,9 @@ def resolve_template(template_name: str, repo_root: Path) -> Path | None:
      3. .specify/extensions/<ext-id>/templates/ (hidden directories skipped)
      4. .specify/templates/ (core)
    """
+    if not _is_safe_component(template_name):
+        return None
+
    base = repo_root / ".specify" / "templates"

    override = base / "overrides" / f"{template_name}.md"
@@ -231,21 +326,18 @@ def resolve_template(template_name: str, repo_root: Path) -> Path | None:
    presets_dir = repo_root / ".specify" / "presets"
    if presets_dir.is_dir():
        for preset_id in _sorted_preset_ids(presets_dir):
-            candidate = presets_dir / preset_id / "templates" / f"{template_name}.md"
-            if candidate.is_file():
+            candidate = _conventional_template(
+                presets_dir / preset_id, template_name
+            )
+            if candidate is not None:
                return candidate

    ext_dir = repo_root / ".specify" / "extensions"
    if ext_dir.is_dir():
-        try:
-            extensions = sorted(p for p in ext_dir.iterdir() if p.is_dir())
-        except OSError:
-            extensions = []
-        for ext in extensions:
-            if ext.name.startswith("."):
-                continue
-            candidate = ext / "templates" / f"{template_name}.md"
-            if candidate.is_file():
+        for extension_id in _sorted_extension_ids(ext_dir):
+            ext = ext_dir / extension_id
+            candidate = _conventional_template(ext, template_name)
+            if candidate is not None:
                return candidate

    core = base / f"{template_name}.md"
@@ -254,6 +346,175 @@ def resolve_template(template_name: str, repo_root: Path) -> Path | None:
    return None


+class TemplateResolutionError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when template layers exist but cannot be composed safely."""
+
+
+# Mirror the canonical PresetManifest contract (see src/specify_cli/presets)
+# so runtime resolution rejects the same structurally malformed manifests.
+_VALID_TEMPLATE_TYPES = ("template", "command", "script")
+_VALID_TEMPLATE_STRATEGIES = ("replace", "prepend", "append", "wrap")
+_VALID_SCRIPT_STRATEGIES = ("replace", "wrap")
+
+
+def _validate_manifest_template_entry(entry: object) -> None:
+    """Validate a single manifest template entry against the canonical rules."""
+    if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+        raise ValueError("manifest template entries must be mappings")
+    if "type" not in entry or "name" not in entry or "file" not in entry:
+        raise ValueError("manifest template entry missing type, name, or file")
+    for field in ("type", "name", "file"):
+        if not isinstance(entry[field], str):
+            raise ValueError(f"manifest template {field} must be a string")
+    if entry["type"] not in _VALID_TEMPLATE_TYPES:
+        raise ValueError(f"invalid manifest template type '{entry['type']}'")
+    strategy = entry.get("strategy", "replace")
+    if not isinstance(strategy, str):
+        raise ValueError("manifest template strategy must be a string")
+    strategy = strategy.lower()
+    if strategy not in _VALID_TEMPLATE_STRATEGIES:
+        raise ValueError(f"invalid manifest template strategy '{strategy}'")
+    if entry["type"] == "script" and strategy not in _VALID_SCRIPT_STRATEGIES:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"invalid manifest script strategy '{strategy}'"
+        )
+
+
+def _preset_template_layer(
+    preset_dir: Path, template_name: str
+) -> tuple[Path, str] | None:
+    """Return the preset template path and composition strategy."""
+    manifest_path = preset_dir / "preset.yml"
+    conventional = _conventional_template(preset_dir, template_name)
+
+    try:
+        import yaml
+    except ImportError as exc:
+        if manifest_path.is_file():
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                "PyYAML is required to resolve preset template composition"
+            ) from exc
+        return (conventional, "replace") if conventional is not None else None
+
+    if manifest_path.is_file():
+        try:
+            manifest = yaml.safe_load(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+            if not isinstance(manifest, dict):
+                raise ValueError("manifest root must be a mapping")
+            if "provides" not in manifest:
+                raise ValueError("manifest missing provides section")
+            provides = manifest["provides"]
+            if not isinstance(provides, dict):
+                raise ValueError("manifest provides must be a mapping")
+            if "templates" not in provides:
+                raise ValueError("manifest provides missing templates")
+            templates = provides["templates"]
+            if not isinstance(templates, list):
+                raise ValueError("manifest templates must be a list")
+            if not templates:
+                raise ValueError("manifest must provide at least one template")
+            for entry in templates:
+                _validate_manifest_template_entry(entry)
+            for entry in templates:
+                if (
+                    entry.get("name") != template_name
+                    or entry.get("type", "template") != "template"
+                ):
+                    continue
+                file_value = entry.get("file", "")
+                strategy = entry.get("strategy", "replace")
+                relative = Path(file_value)
+                if (
+                    not relative
+                    or relative.is_absolute()
+                    or ".." in relative.parts
+                ):
+                    return None
+                candidate = preset_dir / relative
+                if not candidate.is_file():
+                    return None
+                return candidate, strategy.lower()
+        except (OSError, UnicodeError, ValueError, yaml.YAMLError) as exc:
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Failed to parse preset manifest {manifest_path}: {exc}"
+            ) from exc
+
+    return (conventional, "replace") if conventional is not None else None
+
+
+def resolve_template_content(template_name: str, repo_root: Path) -> str | None:
+    """Resolve and compose template content through the project layer stack."""
+    if not _is_safe_component(template_name):
+        return None
+
+    layers: list[tuple[Path, str]] = []
+
+    def compose_from_base() -> str:
+        try:
+            content = layers[-1][0].read_bytes().decode("utf-8")
+            for path, strategy in reversed(layers[:-1]):
+                layer_content = path.read_bytes().decode("utf-8")
+                if strategy == "prepend":
+                    content = f"{layer_content}\n\n{content}"
+                elif strategy == "append":
+                    content = f"{content}\n\n{layer_content}"
+                elif strategy == "wrap":
+                    placeholder = "{CORE_TEMPLATE}"
+                    if placeholder not in layer_content:
+                        raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                            f"Wrap layer {path} is missing {placeholder}"
+                        )
+                    content = layer_content.replace(placeholder, content)
+                else:
+                    raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                        f"Unknown template composition strategy '{strategy}' in {path}"
+                    )
+        except (OSError, UnicodeError) as exc:
+            raise TemplateResolutionError(
+                f"Failed to read template layer for '{template_name}': {exc}"
+            ) from exc
+        return content
+
+    override = (
+        repo_root
+        / ".specify"
+        / "templates"
+        / "overrides"
+        / f"{template_name}.md"
+    )
+    if override.is_file():
+        layers.append((override, "replace"))
+        return compose_from_base()
+
+    presets_dir = repo_root / ".specify" / "presets"
+    for preset_id in _sorted_preset_ids(presets_dir):
+        layer = _preset_template_layer(presets_dir / preset_id, template_name)
+        if layer is not None:
+            layers.append(layer)
+            if layer[1] == "replace":
+                return compose_from_base()
+
+    extensions_dir = repo_root / ".specify" / "extensions"
+    for extension_id in _sorted_extension_ids(extensions_dir):
+        extension_dir = extensions_dir / extension_id
+        candidate = _conventional_template(extension_dir, template_name)
+        if candidate is not None:
+            layers.append((candidate, "replace"))
+            return compose_from_base()
+
+    core = repo_root / ".specify" / "templates" / f"{template_name}.md"
+    if core.is_file():
+        layers.append((core, "replace"))
+        return compose_from_base()
+
+    if not layers:
+        return None
+
+    raise TemplateResolutionError(
+        f"Template '{template_name}' has composing layers but no replace base"
+    )
+
+
 def get_invoke_separator(repo_root: Path) -> str:
    integration_json = repo_root / ".specify" / "integration.json"
    if not integration_json.is_file():
@@ -7,16 +7,25 @@ import datetime
 import json
 import re
 import shlex
-import shutil
 import sys
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path

 try:
-    from common import get_repo_root, persist_feature_json, resolve_template
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_repo_root,
+        persist_feature_json,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - direct execution from unusual cwd
    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
-    from common import get_repo_root, persist_feature_json, resolve_template
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_repo_root,
+        persist_feature_json,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )


 def _json_line(payload: object) -> str:
@@ -374,12 +383,22 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
                )
            return 1

+        template_content = None
+        needs_spec = not spec_file.is_file()
+        if needs_spec:
+            try:
+                template_content = resolve_template_content(
+                    "spec-template", repo_root
+                )
+            except TemplateResolutionError as exc:
+                print(f"Error: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+                return 1
+
        feature_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

-        if not spec_file.is_file():
-            template = resolve_template("spec-template", repo_root)
-            if template is not None and template.is_file():
-                shutil.copy(template, spec_file)
+        if needs_spec:
+            if template_content is not None:
+                spec_file.write_bytes(template_content.encode("utf-8"))
            else:
                print(
                    "Warning: Spec template not found; created empty spec file",
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Resolve composed template content from the project template stack."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import json
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+try:
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_repo_root,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )
+except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - direct execution from unusual cwd
+    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_repo_root,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("template_name")
+    parser.add_argument("--json", action="store_true")
+    args = parser.parse_args(argv)
+
+    repo_root = get_repo_root(Path(__file__))
+    try:
+        content = resolve_template_content(args.template_name, repo_root)
+    except TemplateResolutionError as exc:
+        print(f"ERROR: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    if content is None:
+        print(
+            f"ERROR: Could not resolve required {args.template_name} from the "
+            f"template override stack for {repo_root}",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        return 1
+
+    if args.json:
+        print(
+            json.dumps(
+                {
+                    "TEMPLATE_NAME": args.template_name,
+                    "TEMPLATE_CONTENT": content,
+                },
+                ensure_ascii=False,
+                separators=(",", ":"),
+            )
+        )
+    else:
+        sys.stdout.write(content)
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
@@ -4,15 +4,22 @@
 from __future__ import annotations

 import json
-import shutil
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path

 try:
-    from common import get_feature_paths, resolve_template
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_feature_paths,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - direct execution from unusual cwd
    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
-    from common import get_feature_paths, resolve_template
+    from common import (
+        TemplateResolutionError,
+        get_feature_paths,
+        resolve_template_content,
+    )


 def _json_line(payload: object) -> str:
@@ -55,9 +62,13 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
            file=status_stream,
        )
    else:
-        template = resolve_template("plan-template", paths.repo_root)
-        if template is not None and template.is_file():
-            shutil.copy(template, paths.impl_plan)
+        try:
+            template_content = resolve_template_content("plan-template", paths.repo_root)
+        except TemplateResolutionError as exc:
+            print(f"Error: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+            return 1
+        if template_content is not None:
+            paths.impl_plan.write_bytes(template_content.encode("utf-8"))
            print(f"Copied plan template to {paths.impl_plan}", file=status_stream)
        else:
            print("Warning: Plan template not found", file=status_stream)
@@ -10,17 +10,21 @@ from pathlib import Path
 try:
    from common import (
        FeaturePaths,
+        TemplateResolutionError,
        format_speckit_command,
        get_feature_paths,
        resolve_template,
+        resolve_template_content,
    )
 except ImportError:  # pragma: no cover - direct execution from unusual cwd
    sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent))
    from common import (
        FeaturePaths,
+        TemplateResolutionError,
        format_speckit_command,
        get_feature_paths,
        resolve_template,
+        resolve_template_content,
    )


@@ -55,14 +59,31 @@ def _available_docs(paths: FeaturePaths) -> list[str]:
    return docs


+def _status_marker(ok: bool) -> str:
+    """Return the status glyph, downgraded to ASCII when stdout cannot encode it.
+
+    On Windows sys.stdout falls back to the ANSI code page whenever it is not a
+    console - a pipe or a file redirect, which is how agents and workflow steps
+    invoke these scripts - and U+2713 is unencodable in cp1252, so printing it
+    raised UnicodeEncodeError and aborted the report mid-listing.
+    "[OK]"/"[FAIL]" is the ASCII rendering these markers already have in-tree:
+    see Test-FileExists in scripts/powershell/common.ps1 and
+    normalize_status_text in tests/parity_helpers.py.
+    """
+    glyph = "✓" if ok else "✗"
+    try:
+        glyph.encode(getattr(sys.stdout, "encoding", None) or "utf-8")
+    except (LookupError, UnicodeEncodeError):
+        return "[OK]" if ok else "[FAIL]"
+    return glyph
+
+
 def _check_file(path: Path, description: str) -> None:
-    marker = "✓" if path.is_file() else "✗"
-    print(f"  {marker} {description}")
+    print(f"  {_status_marker(path.is_file())} {description}")


 def _check_dir(path: Path, description: str) -> None:
-    marker = "✓" if _dir_has_entries(path) else "✗"
-    print(f"  {marker} {description}")
+    print(f"  {_status_marker(_dir_has_entries(path))} {description}")


 def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
@@ -103,8 +124,14 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:

    docs = _available_docs(paths)

-    tasks_template = resolve_template("tasks-template", paths.repo_root)
-    if tasks_template is None or not tasks_template.is_file():
+    try:
+        tasks_template_content = resolve_template_content(
+            "tasks-template", paths.repo_root
+        )
+    except TemplateResolutionError as exc:
+        print(f"ERROR: {exc}", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    if tasks_template_content is None:
        print(
            "ERROR: Could not resolve required tasks-template from the template "
            f"override stack for {paths.repo_root}",
@@ -121,18 +148,21 @@ def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
        return 1

    if json_mode:
+        tasks_template = resolve_template("tasks-template", paths.repo_root)
        sys.stdout.write(
            _json_line(
                {
                    "FEATURE_DIR": str(paths.feature_dir),
                    "AVAILABLE_DOCS": docs,
-                    "TASKS_TEMPLATE": str(tasks_template),
+                    "TASKS_TEMPLATE": str(tasks_template) if tasks_template else "",
+                    "TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT": tasks_template_content,
                }
            )
        )
    else:
+        tasks_template = resolve_template("tasks-template", paths.repo_root)
        print(f"FEATURE_DIR: {paths.feature_dir}")
-        print(f"TASKS_TEMPLATE: {tasks_template}")
+        print(f"TASKS_TEMPLATE: {tasks_template or 'not found'}")
        print("AVAILABLE_DOCS:")
        _check_file(paths.research, "research.md")
        _check_file(paths.data_model, "data-model.md")
@@ -77,7 +77,9 @@ from ._version import (
 from ._agent_config import (
    AGENT_CONFIG as AGENT_CONFIG,
    DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION as DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
+    DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR as DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR,
    SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES as SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
+    resolve_default_init_integration as resolve_default_init_integration,
 )
 from ._init_options import (
    INIT_OPTIONS_FILE as INIT_OPTIONS_FILE,
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 """Agent configuration constants derived from the integration registry."""
 from __future__ import annotations

+import os
+import sys
 from typing import Any


@@ -17,6 +19,36 @@ AGENT_CONFIG: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = _build_agent_config()

 DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION = "copilot"

+#: Environment variable used to override the fallback integration that
+#: ``specify init`` selects in non-interactive sessions.  Follows the existing
+#: ``SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_*`` namespace (see ``SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_<KEY>_EXECUTABLE``
+#: and ``SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_CATALOG_URL``).
+DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR = "SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT"
+
+
+def resolve_default_init_integration() -> str:
+    """Return the default init integration, honoring an env-var override.
+
+    Reads :data:`DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR`
+    (``SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT``).  When it names a registered integration
+    key, that key is returned; otherwise the hardcoded
+    :data:`DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION` (``"copilot"``) is used.  An invalid value
+    emits a warning to stderr rather than silently falling back, so operators
+    can tell a typo from an intentional default.
+    """
+    override = (os.environ.get(DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR) or "").strip()
+    if not override:
+        return DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+    if override in AGENT_CONFIG:
+        return override
+    print(
+        f"Warning: {DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION_ENV_VAR}='{override}' is not a "
+        f"recognized integration; falling back to '{DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION}'. "
+        f"Choose from: {', '.join(sorted(AGENT_CONFIG.keys()))}.",
+        file=sys.stderr,
+    )
+    return DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+
 SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES: dict[str, str] = {
    "sh": "POSIX Shell (bash/zsh)",
    "ps": "PowerShell",
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import struct
 import tarfile
 import unicodedata
 import zipfile
+import zlib
 from collections.abc import Iterator
 from contextlib import ExitStack, contextmanager
 from ipaddress import IPv4Address, IPv6Address, ip_address
@@ -69,6 +70,19 @@ _ZIP_MAX_COMMENT_BYTES = (1 << 16) - 1
 _BOUNDED_ZIP_COMPRESSION_METHODS = frozenset(
    (zipfile.ZIP_STORED, zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED)
 )
+#: Decompression failures a truncated or corrupt gzip stream raises from
+#: ``tarfile``. Most are wrapped in ``TarError``, but two escape raw, and
+#: neither derives from ``TarError`` or ``OSError``, so both bypass a
+#: ``(TarError, OSError)`` handler:
+#:
+#: * ``EOFError`` -- from the gzip layer when the stream ends before its
+#:   end-of-stream marker, i.e. a truncated archive.
+#: * ``zlib.error`` -- from a corrupt deflate block. ``tarfile`` converts this
+#:   to ``ReadError`` while reading a member *header*, but the forward seek it
+#:   performs to skip member *data* sits outside that conversion, so a corrupt
+#:   region past the first header escapes raw.
+_TAR_DECOMPRESSION_ERRORS = (tarfile.TarError, EOFError, zlib.error)
+
 _ARCHIVE_CONTENT_TYPES: dict[str, ArchiveFormat] = {
    "application/gzip": "tar.gz",
    "application/x-gzip": "tar.gz",
@@ -166,7 +180,11 @@ def detect_archive_format(
                try:
                    with tarfile.open(fileobj=archive_file, mode="r:gz"):
                        is_tar_gz = True
-                except tarfile.TarError:
+                except _TAR_DECOMPRESSION_ERRORS:
+                    # A truncated gzip stream raises a bare EOFError here rather
+                    # than a TarError, so catching only TarError let it escape
+                    # this probe as a raw exception instead of leaving
+                    # ``is_tar_gz`` False and reporting the format mismatch.
                    pass
            archive_file.seek(0)
        except OSError as exc:
@@ -1077,7 +1095,7 @@ def safe_extract_tar(
            mode="r:gz",
            fileobj=archive_file,
        )
-    except (tarfile.TarError, OSError) as exc:
+    except (*_TAR_DECOMPRESSION_ERRORS, OSError) as exc:
        _raise_from(error_type, f"Invalid tar.gz archive: {archive_path}", exc)

    with archive:
@@ -1149,7 +1167,7 @@ def safe_extract_tar(
                            f"of {max_total_bytes} bytes",
                        )
                validated.append((member, normalized_name, is_dir))
-        except (tarfile.TarError, OSError) as exc:
+        except (*_TAR_DECOMPRESSION_ERRORS, OSError) as exc:
            _raise_from(
                error_type,
                f"Invalid tar.gz archive: {archive_path}",
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ and ``specify init``'s next-steps output stay consistent.
 from __future__ import annotations

 # Agents that render $speckit-<name> (chat invocation) when in skills mode.
-DOLLAR_SKILLS_AGENTS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"codex", "zcode"})
+DOLLAR_SKILLS_AGENTS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"codex", "zcode", "command-code"})

 # Agents that always render /speckit-<name>, regardless of ai_skills.
 ALWAYS_SLASH_AGENTS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({"devin", "droid", "grok", "trae", "zed"})
@@ -192,8 +192,8 @@ def handle_vscode_settings(sub_item, dest_file, rel_path, verbose=False, tracker

            os.replace(temp_path, target_file)
        except Exception:
-            if temp_path and temp_path.exists():
-                temp_path.unlink()
+            if temp_path:
+                temp_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
            raise

    try:
@@ -157,7 +157,11 @@ class CommandRegistrar:
            return ""

        yaml_str = yaml.dump(
-            fm, default_flow_style=False, sort_keys=False, allow_unicode=True
+            fm,
+            default_flow_style=False,
+            sort_keys=False,
+            allow_unicode=True,
+            width=float("inf"),
        )
        return f"---\n{yaml_str}---\n"

@@ -679,7 +683,7 @@ class CommandRegistrar:
            _integ = get_integration(agent_name)
            if _integ is not None:
                _sep = _integ.invoke_separator_for_mode(registrar_writes_skills)
-        except Exception:
+        except (ImportError, ValueError, KeyError):
            pass
        _prefix = get_invocation_prefix(agent_name, registrar_writes_skills)

@@ -45,7 +45,12 @@ def _fail(message: str) -> None:
    """Print an actionable error to stderr and exit non-zero."""
    # Use the stderr console so the error never lands on stdout, which under
    # ``--json`` carries the machine-readable payload and must stay parseable.
-    err_console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] {message}", style=None)
+    # Escape the message: every caller passes ``str(exc)`` from a BundlerError
+    # that interpolates untrusted data (a CLI argument, a catalog url, a
+    # bundle.yml field), so a '[...]' in it would be parsed as a Rich style tag
+    # -- silently swallowing the text, or raising MarkupError on an unbalanced
+    # closer and replacing the whole message with a traceback.
+    err_console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] {_escape_markup(message)}", style=None)
    raise typer.Exit(code=1)


@@ -131,13 +136,13 @@ def _run_init(integration: str, *, script_type: str, offline: bool = False) -> N

 def _resolve_init_integration(override: str | None, manifest) -> str:
    """Precedence (FR-013): explicit override → bundle-declared → default."""
-    from ..._agent_config import DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+    from ..._agent_config import resolve_default_init_integration

    if override:
        return override
    if manifest is not None and manifest.integration is not None:
        return manifest.integration.id
-    return DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+    return resolve_default_init_integration()


 # ===== Consume =====
@@ -332,9 +337,10 @@ def bundle_list(
    console.print("\n[bold cyan]Installed bundles:[/bold cyan]\n")
    for record in records:
        console.print(
-            f"  [bold]{record.bundle_id}[/bold] v{record.version} "
+            f"  [bold]{_escape_markup(str(record.bundle_id))}[/bold] "
+            f"v{_escape_markup(str(record.version))} "
            f"[dim]({len(record.contributed_components)} components, "
-            f"installed {record.installed_at})[/dim]"
+            f"installed {_escape_markup(str(record.installed_at))})[/dim]"
        )


@@ -394,13 +400,13 @@ def bundle_install(
            )
            console.print(
                f"[cyan]No Spec Kit project here; initializing with integration "
-                f"'{init_integration}'…[/cyan]"
+                f"'{_escape_markup(str(init_integration))}'…[/cyan]"
            )
            _run_init(init_integration, script_type=_default_script_type(), offline=offline)
            project_root = require_project_root()

        for overlap in _bundle_overlaps(project_root, manifest, offline=offline):
-            console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {overlap}")
+            console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {_escape_markup(str(overlap))}")

        # For an already-initialized project, the project's recorded active
        # integration is authoritative — an explicit --integration must not be
@@ -415,7 +421,7 @@ def bundle_install(
            integration_explicit=bool(integration) and detected is None,
        )
        for warning in plan.warnings:
-            console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {warning}")
+            console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {_escape_markup(str(warning))}")

        result = install_bundle(
            project_root,
@@ -428,7 +434,7 @@ def bundle_install(
        return

    console.print(
-        f"[green]✓[/green] Installed '{result.bundle_id}' "
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Installed '{_escape_markup(str(result.bundle_id))}' "
        f"({len(result.installed)} added, {len(result.skipped)} already present)."
    )

@@ -480,7 +486,10 @@ def bundle_update(
                integration_explicit=bool(integration) and detected is None,
            )
            install_bundle(project_root, plan, installer, manifest=manifest, refresh=True)
-            console.print(f"[green]✓[/green] Updated '{target}' to v{plan.version}.")
+            console.print(
+                f"[green]✓[/green] Updated '{_escape_markup(str(target))}' "
+                f"to v{_escape_markup(str(plan.version))}."
+            )
    except BundlerError as exc:
        _fail(str(exc))
        return
@@ -502,7 +511,7 @@ def bundle_remove(
        return

    console.print(
-        f"[green]✓[/green] Removed '{result.bundle_id}' "
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Removed '{_escape_markup(str(result.bundle_id))}' "
        f"({len(result.uninstalled)} uninstalled, {len(result.skipped)} kept for other bundles)."
    )

@@ -542,13 +551,16 @@ def bundle_validate(
        return

    for warning in report.warnings:
-        console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {warning}")
+        console.print(f"[yellow]![/yellow] {_escape_markup(str(warning))}")
    if not report.ok:
        console.print("[red]Manifest is invalid:[/red]")
        for error in report.errors:
-            console.print(f"  [red]-[/red] {error}")
+            console.print(f"  [red]-[/red] {_escape_markup(str(error))}")
        raise typer.Exit(code=1)
-    console.print(f"[green]✓[/green] {manifest.bundle.id} is well-formed and valid.")
+    console.print(
+        f"[green]✓[/green] {_escape_markup(str(manifest.bundle.id))} "
+        "is well-formed and valid."
+    )


@bundle_app.command("build")
@@ -571,8 +583,9 @@ def bundle_build(
        return

    console.print(
-        f"[green]✓[/green] Built {result.artifact_path.name} "
-        f"({result.file_count} files) → {result.artifact_path}"
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Built {_escape_markup(result.artifact_path.name)} "
+        f"({result.file_count} files) → "
+        f"{_escape_markup(str(result.artifact_path))}"
    )


@@ -591,7 +604,7 @@ def bundle_init(
            init_integration = _resolve_init_integration(integration, None)
            console.print(
                f"[cyan]Initializing a Spec Kit project with integration "
-                f"'{init_integration}'…[/cyan]"
+                f"'{_escape_markup(str(init_integration))}'…[/cyan]"
            )
            _run_init(init_integration, script_type=_default_script_type(), offline=offline)
            project_root = require_project_root()
@@ -599,7 +612,10 @@ def bundle_init(
        _fail(str(exc))
        return

-    console.print(f"[green]✓[/green] Spec Kit project ready at {project_root}.")
+    console.print(
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Spec Kit project ready at "
+        f"{_escape_markup(str(project_root))}."
+    )
    if bundle:
        bundle_install(bundle, integration=integration, offline=offline)

@@ -623,10 +639,11 @@ def catalog_list() -> None:
    only_builtin = all(s.scope == Scope.BUILTIN for s in sources)
    for source in sources:
        console.print(
-            f"  [bold]{source.id}[/bold]  priority={source.priority}  "
+            f"  [bold]{_escape_markup(str(source.id))}[/bold]  "
+            f"priority={source.priority}  "
            f"policy={source.install_policy.value}  scope={source.scope.value}"
        )
-        console.print(f"    [dim]{source.url}[/dim]")
+        console.print(f"    [dim]{_escape_markup(str(source.url))}[/dim]")
    if only_builtin:
        console.print("\n[dim]Using the built-in default stack.[/dim]")

@@ -651,7 +668,7 @@ def catalog_add(
        return

    console.print(
-        f"[green]✓[/green] Added catalog '{source.id}' "
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Added catalog '{_escape_markup(str(source.id))}' "
        f"(priority {source.priority}, {source.install_policy.value})."
    )

@@ -670,7 +687,10 @@ def catalog_remove(
        _fail(str(exc))
        return

-    console.print(f"[green]✓[/green] Removed catalog source '{removed}'.")
+    console.print(
+        f"[green]✓[/green] Removed catalog source "
+        f"'{_escape_markup(str(removed))}'."
+    )


 # ZIP magic-byte signatures used to detect .zip payloads from REST API asset
@@ -771,7 +791,17 @@ def _local_manifest_source(arg: str):
                error_type=BundlerError,
                label="bundle manifest",
            )
-        data = _yaml.safe_load(io.BytesIO(raw))
+        try:
+            data = _yaml.safe_load(io.BytesIO(raw))
+        except _yaml.YAMLError as exc:
+            # The sibling directory/bundle.yml branches reach YAML through
+            # load_yaml(), which turns a parse failure into a BundlerError. This
+            # branch parses inline, so without this it raises a raw YAMLError --
+            # neither a ValueError nor an OSError -- which escapes
+            # bundle_install()'s `except BundlerError` as a traceback.
+            raise BundlerError(
+                f"Invalid YAML in bundle.yml inside '{candidate}': {exc}"
+            ) from exc
        return BundleManifest.from_dict(data)

    if candidate.name == "bundle.yml" or candidate.suffix in (".yml", ".yaml"):
@@ -24,8 +24,19 @@ def event_run(
    """Resolve and run an event-driven command script with stdin payload."""
    from ..events import resolve_and_run_event_command

-    # Read payload from stdin if available
-    payload = sys.stdin.read() if not sys.stdin.isatty() else "{}"
+    # Read payload from stdin if available (capped at 1 MiB to prevent DoS).
+    MAX_STDIN_BYTES = 1 * 1024 * 1024
+    if not sys.stdin.isatty():
+        raw = sys.stdin.read(MAX_STDIN_BYTES)
+        if not sys.stdin.eof:
+            raise typer.Exit(
+                code=1,
+                message="stdin payload exceeds 1 MiB limit; "
+                "truncate or pipe a smaller payload",
+            )
+        payload = raw
+    else:
+        payload = "{}"

    # Run the event command
    project_root = Path.cwd()  # The agent runs events from project root
@@ -3,19 +3,22 @@
 from __future__ import annotations

 import os
+import shlex
 import shutil
+import subprocess
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any

 import typer
 from rich.live import Live
+from rich.markup import escape as _escape_markup
 from rich.panel import Panel

 from .._agent_config import (
    AGENT_CONFIG,
-    DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
    SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
+    resolve_default_init_integration,
 )
 from .._assets import (
    _locate_bundled_preset,
@@ -169,6 +172,25 @@ def _install_extension_during_init(project_path: Path, ext_spec: str, speckit_ve
    return f"{manifest.name} v{manifest.version} installed"


+def _shell_quote_arg(value: str) -> str:
+    """Quote *value* as one argument for the shells of the host OS.
+
+    The Next Steps ``cd`` line is copy-pasted into whichever shell ran
+    ``specify init``, so it is quoted for the host the same way
+    ``_version._render_argv`` renders its copy-pasteable installer command:
+    ``list2cmdline`` on Windows, ``shlex.quote`` elsewhere. The Windows branch
+    must emit double quotes -- ``cd 'my project'`` is a path-not-found in
+    cmd.exe, while ``cd "my project"`` is accepted by cmd.exe, PowerShell and
+    Git Bash alike. A value needing no quoting is returned unchanged.
+
+    Whitespace only. PowerShell also glob-expands ``[``/``]`` and expands
+    ``$``/backtick inside double quotes, so such a name still needs
+    ``Set-Location -LiteralPath`` there -- syntax invalid in cmd.exe and sh, so
+    this shell-neutral line cannot cover it.
+    """
+    return subprocess.list2cmdline([value]) if os.name == "nt" else shlex.quote(value)
+
+
 def ensure_constitution_from_template(
    project_path: Path, tracker: StepTracker | None = None
 ) -> None:
@@ -351,7 +373,10 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        if integration:
            resolved_integration = get_integration(integration)
            if not resolved_integration:
-                console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Unknown integration: '{integration}'")
+                console.print(
+                    f"[red]Error:[/red] Unknown integration: "
+                    f"'{_escape_markup(str(integration))}'"
+                )
                available = ", ".join(sorted(INTEGRATION_REGISTRY))
                console.print(f"[yellow]Available integrations:[/yellow] {available}")
                raise typer.Exit(1)
@@ -428,26 +453,27 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
            project_path = Path(project_name).resolve()
            dir_existed_before = project_path.exists()
            if project_path.exists():
+                safe_name = _escape_markup(str(project_name))
                if not project_path.is_dir():
                    console.print(
-                        f"[red]Error:[/red] '{project_name}' exists but is not a directory."
+                        f"[red]Error:[/red] '{safe_name}' exists but is not a directory."
                    )
                    raise typer.Exit(1)
                existing_items = list(project_path.iterdir())
                if force:
                    if existing_items:
                        console.print(
-                            f"[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Directory '{project_name}' is not empty ({len(existing_items)} items)"
+                            f"[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Directory '{safe_name}' is not empty ({len(existing_items)} items)"
                        )
                        console.print(
                            "[yellow]Template files will be merged with existing content and may overwrite existing files[/yellow]"
                        )
                    console.print(
-                        f"[cyan]--force supplied: merging into existing directory '[cyan]{project_name}[/cyan]'[/cyan]"
+                        f"[cyan]--force supplied: merging into existing directory '[cyan]{safe_name}[/cyan]'[/cyan]"
                    )
                else:
                    error_panel = Panel(
-                        f"Directory already exists: '[cyan]{project_name}[/cyan]'\n"
+                        f"Directory already exists: '[cyan]{safe_name}[/cyan]'\n"
                        "Please choose a different project name or remove the existing directory.\n"
                        "Use [bold]--force[/bold] to merge into the existing directory.",
                        title="[red]Directory Conflict[/red]",
@@ -461,22 +487,23 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        if integration:
            if integration not in AGENT_CONFIG:
                console.print(
-                    f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid integration '{integration}'. Choose from: {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}"
+                    f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid integration '{_escape_markup(str(integration))}'. Choose from: {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}"
                )
                raise typer.Exit(1)
            selected_ai = integration
        elif not _stdin_is_interactive():
+            default_integration = resolve_default_init_integration()
            console.print(
-                f"[dim]Non-interactive session detected: defaulting to '{DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION}'. "
+                f"[dim]Non-interactive session detected: defaulting to '{default_integration}'. "
                "Use --integration to choose a different agent.[/dim]"
            )
-            selected_ai = DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+            selected_ai = default_integration
        else:
            ai_choices = {key: config["name"] for key, config in AGENT_CONFIG.items()}
            selected_ai = select_with_arrows(
                ai_choices,
                "Choose your coding agent integration:",
-                DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
+                resolve_default_init_integration(),
            )

        if not integration:
@@ -499,12 +526,14 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        setup_lines = [
            "[cyan]Specify Project Setup[/cyan]",
            "",
-            f"{'Project':<15} [green]{project_path.name}[/green]",
-            f"{'Working Path':<15} [dim]{current_dir}[/dim]",
+            f"{'Project':<15} [green]{_escape_markup(project_path.name)}[/green]",
+            f"{'Working Path':<15} [dim]{_escape_markup(str(current_dir))}[/dim]",
        ]

        if not here:
-            setup_lines.append(f"{'Target Path':<15} [dim]{project_path}[/dim]")
+            setup_lines.append(
+                f"{'Target Path':<15} [dim]{_escape_markup(str(project_path))}[/dim]"
+            )

        console.print(
            Panel("\n".join(setup_lines), border_style="cyan", padding=(1, 2))
@@ -531,7 +560,7 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        if script_type:
            if script_type not in SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES:
                console.print(
-                    f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid script type '{script_type}'. Choose from: {', '.join(SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES.keys())}"
+                    f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid script type '{_escape_markup(str(script_type))}'. Choose from: {', '.join(SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES.keys())}"
                )
                raise typer.Exit(1)
            selected_script = script_type
@@ -570,8 +599,6 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
            tracker.add(key, label)

        if extensions:
-            from rich.markup import escape as _escape_markup
-
            for i, ext_spec in enumerate(extensions):
                tracker.add(
                    f"extension-{i}", f"Install extension: {_escape_markup(ext_spec)}"
@@ -634,6 +661,30 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                )
                manifest.save()

+                if force:
+                    from ..integrations._helpers import (
+                        _register_extensions_for_agent,
+                        _register_presets_for_agent,
+                    )
+
+                    _register_extensions_for_agent(
+                        project_path,
+                        resolved_integration.key,
+                        force=True,
+                        continuing=(
+                            "The project was re-initialized, but installed extensions"
+                            " may need re-registration."
+                        ),
+                    )
+                    _register_presets_for_agent(
+                        project_path,
+                        resolved_integration.key,
+                        continuing=(
+                            "The project was re-initialized, but installed presets"
+                            " may need re-registration."
+                        ),
+                    )
+
                integration_settings = _with_integration_setting(
                    {},
                    resolved_integration.key,
@@ -802,8 +853,6 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:

                # Install extensions specified via --extension
                if extensions:
-                    from rich.markup import escape as _escape_markup
-
                    from ..extensions._commands import _refresh_events_and_warn

                    speckit_ver = get_speckit_version()
@@ -893,7 +942,7 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
            if agent_folder:
                security_notice = Panel(
                    f"Some agents may store credentials, auth tokens, or other identifying and private artifacts in the agent folder within your project.\n"
-                    f"Consider adding [cyan]{agent_folder}[/cyan] (or parts of it) to [cyan].gitignore[/cyan] to prevent accidental credential leakage.",
+                    f"Consider adding [cyan]{_escape_markup(str(agent_folder))}[/cyan] (or parts of it) to [cyan].gitignore[/cyan] to prevent accidental credential leakage.",
                    title="[yellow]Agent Folder Security[/yellow]",
                    border_style="yellow",
                    padding=(1, 2),
@@ -904,7 +953,7 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        steps_lines = []
        if not here:
            steps_lines.append(
-                f"1. Go to the project folder: [cyan]cd {project_name}[/cyan]"
+                f"1. Go to the project folder: [cyan]cd {_escape_markup(_shell_quote_arg(str(project_name)))}[/cyan]"
            )
            step_num = 2
        else:
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ def _resolve_argv(template_path, project_root, ext_id):
    return [str(script_abs), *rest]


-def _run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout):
+def _run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout, envelope="plain", native_event=""):
    """Resolve and run the event command with stdlib only (no specify_cli)."""
    template_path, ext_id = _find_command_template(command_name, project_root)
    if not template_path:
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ def _run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout):
            cwd=str(project_root),
        )
        if result.stdout:
-            sys.stdout.write(result.stdout)
+            _emit(result.stdout, envelope, native_event)
        if result.returncode != 0:
            if result.stderr:
                sys.stderr.write(result.stderr)
@@ -283,6 +283,46 @@ def _run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout):
        return 2


+def _emit(output, envelope, native_event=""):
+    """Write handler output to stdout in the agent's context-injection shape.
+
+    Not every agent injects a hook's plain-text stdout as model context:
+    Gemini/Tabnine/Qwen/Devin are JSON-only protocols (plain text becomes
+    user-facing noise, never context), Copilot discards non-JSON stdout, and
+    Cursor parses stdout as JSON. The native hook command passes the envelope
+    as the dispatcher's 5th argument (see events_context_envelope on the
+    integration classes), and the native event name as the 6th argument so
+    hookSpecificOutput can include hookEventName:
+
+      hookSpecificOutput → {"hookSpecificOutput": {"hookEventName": ..., "additionalContext": ...}}
+      additionalContext  → {"additionalContext": ...}   (top-level, Copilot)
+      additional_context → {"additional_context": ...}  (top-level, Cursor)
+      suppress           → emit nothing (strict-JSON agents on events whose
+                           output can't be used)
+      plain (default)    → passthrough (Claude/Codex inject plain stdout)
+
+    Empty output emits nothing under any envelope (an empty additionalContext
+    is useless noise).
+    """
+    if not output:
+        return
+    if envelope == "suppress":
+        return
+    if envelope == "hookSpecificOutput":
+        payload = {"additionalContext": output}
+        if native_event:
+            payload["hookEventName"] = native_event
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"hookSpecificOutput": payload}) + "\\n")
+        return
+    if envelope == "additionalContext":
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"additionalContext": output}) + "\\n")
+        return
+    if envelope == "additional_context":
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"additional_context": output}) + "\\n")
+        return
+    sys.stdout.write(output)
+
+
 def main():
    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
        sys.exit(0)
@@ -297,6 +337,16 @@ def main():
            timeout = int(sys.argv[3])
        except (TypeError, ValueError):
            timeout = 120
+    # Optional 5th arg: context-injection envelope for stdout (C13): plain
+    # (default), hookSpecificOutput, additionalContext, additional_context,
+    # or suppress. Unknown values fall back to plain passthrough.
+    envelope = sys.argv[4] if len(sys.argv) >= 5 else "plain"
+    if envelope not in ("plain", "hookSpecificOutput", "additionalContext", "additional_context", "suppress"):
+        envelope = "plain"
+    # Optional 6th arg: native event name for hookSpecificOutput's
+    # hookEventName field (required by Qwen's hooks spec; included by
+    # Gemini/Tabnine/Devin which derive from the same protocol).
+    native_event = sys.argv[5] if len(sys.argv) >= 6 else ""
    payload = sys.stdin.read() if not sys.stdin.isatty() else "{}"
    project_root = Path(__file__).parent.parent.resolve()

@@ -307,14 +357,14 @@ def main():
        from specify_cli.events import resolve_and_run_event_command
        sys.exit(
            resolve_and_run_event_command(
-                command_name, _event_name, payload, project_root, timeout=timeout
+                command_name, _event_name, payload, project_root, timeout=timeout, envelope=envelope, native_event=native_event
            )
        )
-    except ImportError:
+    except (ImportError, TypeError):
        pass

    # Fallback: self-contained stdlib resolver (one-time/temporary installs).
-    sys.exit(_run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout))
+    sys.exit(_run_inline(command_name, payload, project_root, timeout, envelope, native_event))


 if __name__ == "__main__":
@@ -362,17 +412,21 @@ function resolveDispatcher(directory: string): void {{
  ) as string;
 }}

-function runEvent(command: string, event: string, input: any, output: any, timeoutSec: number): void {{
-  if (!DISPATCHER) return;
+function runEvent(command: string, event: string, input: any, output: any, timeoutSec: number): string {{
+  if (!DISPATCHER) return '';
  try {{
    // execFileSync with an argv array invokes the interpreter directly — no
    // shell — so command/event strings with metacharacters can't break out
    // of the dispatcher argument (C9). The dispatcher arg is seconds; the
    // execFileSync timeout is ms with a buffer so the outer cap fires after
-    // the dispatcher's inner subprocess (S3).
-    execFileSync(INTERPRETER, [DISPATCHER, command, event, String(timeoutSec)], {{
+    // the dispatcher's inner subprocess (S3). stdout is captured and
+    // returned so context-injection hooks (experimental.chat.system.transform,
+    // chat.message) can push it into their outputs; stderr stays inherited so
+    // dispatcher errors remain visible (C11).
+    return execFileSync(INTERPRETER, [DISPATCHER, command, event, String(timeoutSec)], {{
      input: JSON.stringify({{ input, output }}),
-      stdio: ['pipe', 'inherit', 'inherit'],
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'inherit'],
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
      timeout: (timeoutSec + {buffer}) * 1000,
    }});
  }} catch (e) {{
@@ -382,6 +436,12 @@ function runEvent(command: string, event: string, input: any, output: any, timeo
  }}
 }}

+// Cache session_start handler output per sessionID so non-idempotent
+// handlers (setup, telemetry, file-mutating scripts) run once per session
+// instead of on every LLM request (experimental.chat.system.transform
+// fires per LLM turn). Evicted on session.deleted.
+const sessionStartCache = new Map<string, string>();
+
 {event_entries}

 export default (async ({{ client, project, directory, $ }}) => {{
@@ -488,7 +548,15 @@ def _resolve_event_command_argv(
    """
    from .integrations.base import IntegrationBase

-    content = template_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    try:
+        content = template_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+        # An unreadable or undecodable template cannot declare a runnable
+        # script. Degrade to "no argv" like every other failure in this
+        # resolver (missing frontmatter, malformed YAML, absent scripts)
+        # instead of leaking a raw traceback through
+        # resolve_and_run_event_command.
+        return None
    m = re.match(r'^---\n(.*?)\n---', content, re.DOTALL)
    if not m:
        return None
@@ -524,7 +592,13 @@ def _resolve_event_command_argv(
    else:
        base = project_root / ".specify"

-    tokens = shlex.split(script_cmd, posix=(os.name != "nt"))
+    try:
+        tokens = shlex.split(script_cmd, posix=(os.name != "nt"))
+    except ValueError:
+        # Mirror the generated dispatcher's _resolve_argv: a scripts: value
+        # shlex cannot tokenize (e.g. an unclosed quote) declares no runnable
+        # script, so degrade to "no argv" instead of raising.
+        return None
    if not tokens:
        return None
    script_abs = base / tokens[0]
@@ -585,12 +659,26 @@ def resolve_and_run_event_command(
    project_root: Path,
    *,
    timeout: int = 120,
+    envelope: str = "plain",
+    native_event: str = "",
 ) -> int:
    """Core entry point to resolve and execute an event-driven command.

    *timeout* is the per-handler timeout in seconds, passed through from the
    native hook config via the dispatcher (S4) so a handler configured above
    the previous fixed 120s cap can run for its full duration.
+
+    *envelope* selects how the handler's stdout is emitted for the agent's
+    context-injection protocol (C13): ``plain`` passthrough (Claude/Codex
+    inject plain stdout), ``hookSpecificOutput``/``additionalContext``/
+    ``additional_context`` JSON wrappers (Gemini/Tabnine/Qwen/Devin, Copilot,
+    Cursor respectively), or ``suppress`` (strict-JSON agents on events whose
+    output can't be used).
+
+    *native_event* is the agent's native hookEventName (e.g. ``"SessionStart"``),
+    required inside ``hookSpecificOutput`` by Qwen's hooks spec (and included
+    by the Claude Code hooks spec Gemini/Tabnine/Devin derive from). Only
+    used when *envelope* is ``hookSpecificOutput``.
    """
    template_path, ext_id = _find_command_template(command_name, project_root)
    if not template_path:
@@ -610,7 +698,7 @@ def resolve_and_run_event_command(
            cwd=str(project_root),
        )
        if result.stdout:
-            sys.stdout.write(result.stdout)
+            _emit_event_stdout(result.stdout, envelope, native_event)
        if result.returncode != 0:
            if result.stderr:
                sys.stderr.write(result.stderr)
@@ -624,6 +712,35 @@ def resolve_and_run_event_command(
        return 2


+def _emit_event_stdout(output: str, envelope: str, native_event: str = "") -> None:
+    """Write handler stdout in the agent's context-injection shape (C13).
+
+    Mirrors the ``_emit`` helper inside the generated dispatcher template;
+    keep both in sync. Empty output emits nothing under any envelope.
+
+    *native_event* is the agent's native hookEventName, required inside
+    ``hookSpecificOutput`` by Qwen's hooks spec (and included by the
+    Claude Code hooks spec Gemini/Tabnine/Devin derive from).
+    """
+    if not output:
+        return
+    if envelope == "suppress":
+        return
+    if envelope == "hookSpecificOutput":
+        payload = {"additionalContext": output}
+        if native_event:
+            payload["hookEventName"] = native_event
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"hookSpecificOutput": payload}) + "\n")
+        return
+    if envelope == "additionalContext":
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"additionalContext": output}) + "\n")
+        return
+    if envelope == "additional_context":
+        sys.stdout.write(json.dumps({"additional_context": output}) + "\n")
+        return
+    sys.stdout.write(output)
+
+
 # -- Sourcing events map (CLI/Orchestration domain) -------------------------

 # Resolved events map: each canonical event name maps to an *ordered list* of
@@ -737,8 +854,10 @@ def resolve_events(
    if override_file.exists():
        try:
            override = yaml.safe_load(override_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")) or {}
-        except yaml.YAMLError:
-            logger.warning("Could not parse %s; ignoring override", override_file)
+        except (OSError, UnicodeError, yaml.YAMLError):
+            logger.warning(
+                "Could not read or parse %s; ignoring override", override_file
+            )
            override = {}
        integrations = override.get("integrations", {}) if isinstance(override, dict) else {}
        if isinstance(integrations, dict) and integration_key in integrations:
@@ -1016,7 +1135,17 @@ def _dispatcher_command(
    When *timeout_seconds* is given, the resolved timeout (in the
    integration's native unit) is appended as a 4th argument so the dispatcher
    and inner runner honor the per-handler timeout instead of a fixed 120s cap
-    that would kill a handler configured for longer (S4).
+    that would kill a handler configured for longer (S4). When omitted, a
+    default of 60s is emitted so the positional argument order
+    (command event timeout envelope native_event) stays aligned — otherwise
+    the envelope would land in the timeout slot and the dispatcher would
+    silently fall back to plain stdout.
+
+    When the integration declares a context-injection envelope for this
+    canonical event (``events_context_envelope``, C13), the envelope token is
+    appended as a 5th argument so the dispatcher wraps stdout in the JSON
+    shape the agent's hook protocol requires. Plain-passthrough agents
+    (Claude/Codex) declare no envelope and get no extra argument.
    """
    if target_os == "host":
        interpreter = _resolve_interpreter(project_root)
@@ -1036,16 +1165,44 @@ def _dispatcher_command(
    # operator. Prefix & for the explicit windows target only.
    prefix = "& " if target_os == "windows" else ""
    base = f"{prefix}{q_interp} {dispatcher} {q_command} {q_event}"
-    if timeout_seconds is not None:
-        # R2: the dispatcher interprets this argument as seconds, so pass the
-        # raw seconds — NOT _native_timeout(...) (which converts to ms for
-        # Gemini/Qwen/Tabnine and would yield 60000 seconds). The buffer is
-        # applied to the native hook timeout field (in the adapter formatters)
-        # so the agent's outer cap fires after the inner subprocess timeout.
-        base += f" {_shell_quote(str(int(timeout_seconds)), target_os)}"
+    # Always emit the timeout (4th positional arg) so the dispatcher's argv
+    # parsing stays aligned when an envelope (5th) or native_event (6th)
+    # follows. Without it the envelope would land in the timeout slot and
+    # the dispatcher would fall back to plain stdout (R3).
+    resolved_timeout = 60 if timeout_seconds is None else int(timeout_seconds)
+    # R2: the dispatcher interprets this argument as seconds, so pass the
+    # raw seconds — NOT _native_timeout(...) (which converts to ms for
+    # Gemini/Qwen/Tabnine and would yield 60000 seconds). The buffer is
+    # applied to the native hook timeout field (in the adapter formatters)
+    # so the agent's outer cap fires after the inner subprocess timeout.
+    base += f" {_shell_quote(str(resolved_timeout), target_os)}"
+    envelope = _context_envelope_for(integration, event_name)
+    if envelope:
+        base += f" {_shell_quote(envelope, target_os)}"
+        # hookSpecificOutput requires the native hookEventName inside the
+        # envelope (Qwen's hooks spec marks it mandatory; the Claude Code
+        # hooks spec that Gemini/Tabnine/Devin derive from includes it).
+        # Append the native event name as a 6th dispatcher argument so the
+        # dispatcher can populate hookEventName in the JSON output.
+        if envelope == "hookSpecificOutput":
+            native_event = getattr(integration, "CANONICAL_TO_NATIVE", {}).get(event_name, "")
+            if native_event:
+                base += f" {_shell_quote(native_event, target_os)}"
    return base


+def _context_envelope_for(integration: IntegrationBase, canonical_event: str) -> str | None:
+    """Resolve the context-injection envelope for an integration + event (C13).
+
+    The event key wins; ``"*"`` is the fallback. Returns ``None`` when the
+    integration declares no envelope for the event (plain stdout passthrough).
+    """
+    mapping = getattr(integration, "events_context_envelope", None) or {}
+    if canonical_event in mapping:
+        return mapping[canonical_event]
+    return mapping.get("*")
+
+
 def install_integration_events(
    integration: IntegrationBase,
    project_root: Path,
@@ -1193,11 +1350,12 @@ def install_integration_events(
                lines.append(f'timeout = {_native_timeout(integration, cfg.get("timeout", 60) + EVENT_TIMEOUT_BUFFER)}')
                lines.append('speckit_marker = true')
                lines.append('')
-        _merge_toml_fragment(config_path, "\n".join(lines))
-        rel = str(config_path.relative_to(project_root))
-        if rel not in manifest.files:
-            manifest.record_existing(rel)
-        created.append(config_path)
+        # S5: only track when the merge wrote (skips on unreadable file).
+        if _merge_toml_fragment(config_path, "\n".join(lines)):
+            rel = str(config_path.relative_to(project_root))
+            if rel not in manifest.files:
+                manifest.record_existing(rel)
+            created.append(config_path)

    elif fmt == "json-flat":
        # Cursor hooks.json custom merge. Flat command-string entries, one
@@ -1588,6 +1746,14 @@ def _build_opencode_plugin(
    an argv array (C9). Both the ``input`` and ``output`` callback arguments
    are forwarded to ``runEvent`` (C7) so pre_tool_use can inspect tool
    arguments and post_tool_use can inspect the result.
+
+    Context-injection natives get dedicated hook bodies: for
+    ``experimental.chat.system.transform`` the handlers' concatenated stdout
+    is pushed into ``output.system`` (system-prompt injection, re-applied per
+    LLM request so the context survives compaction); for ``chat.message`` it
+    is pushed as a synthetic text part on the user message (C11). Other
+    natives keep their side-effect behavior (tool.execute.* args mutation;
+    session.* lifecycle events via the generic ``event`` hook).
    """
    event_entries: list[str] = []
    plugin_returns: list[str] = []
@@ -1602,11 +1768,16 @@ def _build_opencode_plugin(
        ev_lit = json.dumps(ev)
        native_lit = json.dumps(native)

+        is_injection = native in ("experimental.chat.system.transform", "chat.message")
+
        # Build the body: one runEvent() call per handler wrapped in try/catch,
        # forwarding both input and output (C7). An optional tool-name matcher
        # guard applies to tool.execute.* hooks. All handlers execute before
-        # any aggregate error is thrown.
+        # any aggregate error is thrown. Injection hooks additionally collect
+        # each handler's stdout and return the concatenation.
        body_lines: list[str] = ["    const errors: string[] = [];"]
+        if is_injection:
+            body_lines.append("    const contexts: string[] = [];")
        for cfg in handlers:
            command = str(cfg.get("command", ""))
            command_lit = json.dumps(command)
@@ -1628,6 +1799,10 @@ def _build_opencode_plugin(
                    body_lines.append(
                        f"    try {{ runEvent({command_lit}, {ev_lit}, input, output, {timeout_sec}); }} catch (e) {{ errors.push((e as Error).message); }}"
                    )
+            elif is_injection:
+                body_lines.append(
+                    f"    try {{ const ctx = runEvent({command_lit}, {ev_lit}, input, output, {timeout_sec}); if (ctx) contexts.push(ctx); }} catch (e) {{ errors.push((e as Error).message); }}"
+                )
            else:
                body_lines.append(
                    f"    try {{ runEvent({command_lit}, {ev_lit}, input, output, {timeout_sec}); }} catch (e) {{ errors.push((e as Error).message); }}"
@@ -1646,14 +1821,65 @@ def _build_opencode_plugin(
                f"      _{ev}(input, output);\n"
                f"    }},"
            )
+        elif native == "experimental.chat.system.transform":
+            body_lines.append('    return contexts.join("\\n\\n");')
+            event_entries.append(
+                f"function _{ev}(input: any, output: any): string {{\n"
+                + "\n".join(body_lines) + "\n"
+                "  }"
+            )
+            # OpenCode fires experimental.chat.system.transform for non-session
+            # operations (e.g. agent generation) with no sessionID. Guard so
+            # canonical session_start handlers only run when a session is
+            # present, preventing their output from being injected into
+            # internal prompts. Cache the handler output per sessionID so
+            # non-idempotent handlers (setup, telemetry, file-mutating
+            # scripts) execute once per session instead of on every LLM
+            # request; the cache is evicted on session.deleted.
+            plugin_returns.append(
+                f"    {native_lit}: async (input: any, output: any) => {{\n"
+                f"      if (!input.sessionID) return;\n"
+                f"      let ctx = sessionStartCache.get(input.sessionID);\n"
+                f"      if (ctx === undefined) {{\n"
+                f"        ctx = _{ev}(input, output);\n"
+                f"        sessionStartCache.set(input.sessionID, ctx ?? \"\");\n"
+                f"      }}\n"
+                f"      if (ctx) output.system.push(ctx);\n"
+                f"    }},"
+            )
+        elif native == "chat.message":
+            body_lines.append('    return contexts.join("\\n\\n");')
+            event_entries.append(
+                f"function _{ev}(input: any, output: any): string {{\n"
+                + "\n".join(body_lines) + "\n"
+                "  }"
+            )
+            # Part id must start with "prt" (opencode's Identifier brand): an
+            # invalid id fails the user-part schema validation and crashes the
+            # whole session (C12). Derive it from the last existing part so the
+            # brand survives an opencode prefix change, falling back to "prt_"
+            # when output.parts is empty.
+            plugin_returns.append(
+                f"    {native_lit}: async (input: any, output: any) => {{\n"
+                f"      const ctx = _{ev}(input, output);\n"
+                f"      if (!ctx) return;\n"
+                f"      const base = output.parts[output.parts.length - 1]?.id ?? \"prt_\" + Date.now().toString(36) + Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 10);\n"
+                f"      output.parts.push({{ id: base + \".speckit\" + Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 8), sessionID: input.sessionID, messageID: output.message.id, type: \"text\", text: ctx, synthetic: true }});\n"
+                f"    }},"
+            )
        else:
            event_entries.append(
                f"function _{ev}(input: any, output: any) {{\n"
                + "\n".join(body_lines) + "\n"
                "  }"
            )
+            # Evict the sessionStartCache when the session is deleted so the
+            # cache doesn't grow unbounded across sessions.
+            eviction = ""
+            if native == "session.deleted":
+                eviction = "if (event.sessionID) sessionStartCache.delete(event.sessionID); "
            event_handlers.append(
-                f"      if (event.type === {native_lit}) {{ _{ev}(event, event); }}"
+                f"      if (event.type === {native_lit}) {{ {eviction}_{ev}(event, event); }}"
            )

    if event_handlers:
@@ -1715,11 +1941,27 @@ def _remove_opencode_entries(config_path: Path) -> bool:
    return False


-def _merge_toml_fragment(dst: Path, fragment: str) -> None:
+def _merge_toml_fragment(dst: Path, fragment: str) -> bool:
+    """Merge Specify-owned TOML entries into *dst*, regenerating the file.
+
+    An unreadable or undecodable pre-existing file aborts the merge instead
+    of discarding the user's bytes, mirroring ``_load_user_json`` (#22).
+    Returns False when skipped so callers avoid tracking the untouched file
+    (S5).
+    """
    _ensure_safe_destination(dst)
    existing = ""
    if dst.exists():
-        existing = dst.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        try:
+            existing = dst.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+            logger.warning(
+                "Could not read %s (it may be unreadable or not UTF-8); "
+                "skipping event-config merge to preserve user content.",
+                dst,
+            )
+            logger.debug("Read error detail: %s", exc)
+            return False
    existing = re.sub(
        r'\[\[hooks\.\w+\]\]\n(?:(?!\[\[hooks\.\w+\]\]).)*?speckit_marker = true\n*',
        "",
@@ -1728,6 +1970,7 @@ def _merge_toml_fragment(dst: Path, fragment: str) -> None:
    )
    dst.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    dst.write_text(existing.rstrip() + "\n\n" + fragment + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    return True


 def _remove_toml_entries(dst: Path) -> bool:
@@ -1741,7 +1984,19 @@ def _remove_toml_entries(dst: Path) -> bool:
    # the config after install can't make teardown overwrite a file outside
    # the project (the merge/write path already validates; teardown must too).
    _ensure_safe_destination(dst)
-    existing = dst.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    try:
+        existing = dst.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+        # An unreadable or undecodable file is left untouched rather than
+        # crashing teardown — it contains only user content as far as we can
+        # tell, and the caller drops the manifest claim either way (S9).
+        logger.warning(
+            "Could not read %s (it may be unreadable or not UTF-8); "
+            "skipping event-config cleanup to preserve user content.",
+            dst,
+        )
+        logger.debug("Read error detail: %s", exc)
+        return False
    cleaned = re.sub(
        r'\[\[hooks\.\w+\]\]\n(?:(?!\[\[hooks\.\w+\]\]).)*?speckit_marker = true\n*',
        "",
@@ -61,6 +61,13 @@ _FALLBACK_CORE_COMMAND_NAMES = frozenset(
 )
 EXTENSION_COMMAND_NAME_PATTERN = re.compile(r"^speckit\.([a-z0-9-]+)\.([a-z0-9-]+)$")

+# Naming pattern for provides.templates / provides.scripts entries. Unlike
+# commands, these are not namespaced (they aren't invoked via a command
+# name), so they follow the same plain slug pattern as extension.id.
+VALID_EXTENSION_ARTIFACT_NAME_PATTERN = re.compile(r"^[a-z0-9-]+$")
+
+VALID_SCRIPT_RUNTIMES = frozenset({"bash", "powershell", "python"})
+
 VALID_EFFECTS = frozenset({"read-only", "read-write"})

 DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY = 10
@@ -285,9 +292,25 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
            raise ValidationError(
                f"Invalid extension: expected a mapping, got {type(ext).__name__}"
            )
+        # Check presence AND type: the format/version checks below feed these
+        # values straight to ``re.match`` and ``packaging.Version``, both of
+        # which raise a bare TypeError on a non-string. YAML makes that an easy
+        # authoring slip -- unquoted ``version: 1.0`` parses as a float and
+        # ``id: 2`` as an int -- and TypeError is not a ValidationError, so it
+        # escapes every caller that already handles a malformed manifest (see
+        # list_installed()'s "Corrupted extension" fallback, which catches
+        # ValidationError only, making one bad extension exit ``specify
+        # extension list`` with a raw traceback and hide the healthy ones).
+        # Mirrors the sibling IntegrationDescriptor, which already type-checks
+        # the same four fields.
        for field in ["id", "name", "version", "description"]:
            if field not in ext:
                raise ValidationError(f"Missing extension.{field}")
+            if not isinstance(ext[field], str):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid extension.{field}: expected a string, "
+                    f"got {type(ext[field]).__name__}"
+                )

        # Validate extension ID format
        if not re.match(r"^[a-z0-9-]+$", ext["id"]):
@@ -325,6 +348,25 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
            )
        if "speckit_version" not in requires:
            raise ValidationError("Missing requires.speckit_version")
+        # Presence alone is not enough: check_compatibility() feeds this value to
+        # ``SpecifierSet(required)``, guarded only by ``except InvalidSpecifier``,
+        # which a non-string escapes two different ways. A float/int/bool/None
+        # raises TypeError from the constructor, while a list or dict is an
+        # *iterable*, so SpecifierSet accepts it and the failure surfaces much
+        # later as ``AttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute 'filter'`` from
+        # inside .contains(). Neither is a CompatibilityError, so both bypass the
+        # CLI's "Compatibility Error" handler and exit 1 with a raw traceback
+        # naming no field. An unquoted ``speckit_version: 1.0`` is an easy YAML
+        # slip. Mirrors the sibling IntegrationDescriptor, which already requires
+        # a non-empty string here.
+        if (
+            not isinstance(requires["speckit_version"], str)
+            or not requires["speckit_version"].strip()
+        ):
+            raise ValidationError(
+                "Invalid requires.speckit_version: expected a non-empty string, "
+                f"got {type(requires['speckit_version']).__name__}"
+            )

        # Validate provides section
        provides = self.data["provides"]
@@ -333,11 +375,17 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
                f"Invalid provides: expected a mapping, got {type(provides).__name__}"
            )
        commands = provides.get("commands", [])
+        templates = provides.get("templates", [])
+        scripts = provides.get("scripts", [])
        hooks = self.data.get("hooks")
        events = self.data.get("events")

        if "commands" in provides and not isinstance(commands, list):
            raise ValidationError("Invalid provides.commands: expected a list")
+        if "templates" in provides and not isinstance(templates, list):
+            raise ValidationError("Invalid provides.templates: expected a list")
+        if "scripts" in provides and not isinstance(scripts, list):
+            raise ValidationError("Invalid provides.scripts: expected a list")
        if "hooks" in self.data and not isinstance(hooks, dict):
            raise ValidationError("Invalid hooks: expected a mapping")
        if "events" in self.data:
@@ -347,9 +395,17 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
        has_commands = bool(commands)
        has_hooks = bool(hooks)
        has_events = bool(events)
+        has_templates = bool(templates)
+        has_scripts = bool(scripts)

-        if not has_commands and not has_hooks and not has_events:
-            raise ValidationError("Extension must provide at least one command, hook, or event")
+        if not has_commands and not has_hooks and not has_events and not has_templates and not has_scripts:
+            raise ValidationError(
+                "Extension must provide at least one command, hook, or event "
+                "(or a declared template/script)"
+            )
+
+        self._validate_provided_artifacts(templates, section="templates", singular="template")
+        self._validate_provided_artifacts(scripts, section="scripts", singular="script")

        # Validate hook values (if present).
        # Each event is a single mapping or a list of mappings.
@@ -391,6 +447,16 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
                )
            if "name" not in cmd or "file" not in cmd:
                raise ValidationError("Command missing 'name' or 'file'")
+            # The pattern match below would raise a bare TypeError on a
+            # non-string name (``name: 2``), escaping the ValidationError
+            # contract. The 'file' field needs no check here:
+            # relative_extension_path_violation() below already rejects a
+            # non-string value.
+            if not isinstance(cmd["name"], str):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid command name: expected a string, "
+                    f"got {type(cmd['name']).__name__}"
+                )

            # Validate the 'file' field at manifest-load time using the single
            # shared policy in relative_extension_path_violation(), so manifest
@@ -500,6 +566,80 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
                        f"The extension author should update the manifest."
                    )

+    @staticmethod
+    def _validate_provided_artifacts(entries: List[Any], section: str, singular: str) -> None:
+        """Validate provides.templates / provides.scripts entries.
+
+        Mirrors the shape/path-safety checks PresetManifest applies to its
+        non-command templates, minus 'type' (the section name already
+        distinguishes template vs script) and 'strategy' (extension-provided
+        artifacts are always 'replace' -- see the forced-replace resolver
+        behavior for extension layers in presets/__init__.py). A present
+        'strategy' key is rejected rather than silently ignored, so an author
+        who copies a preset-style entry gets a clear error instead of a
+        silently-dropped field. Duplicate names within a section are also
+        rejected: the resolver returns the first matching entry by name
+        (``PresetResolver._extension_manifest_declared_template``), so a
+        later duplicate would be silently unreachable while still being
+        exposed by ``ExtensionManifest.templates``/``.scripts``.
+        """
+        seen_names: set[str] = set()
+        for entry in entries:
+            if not isinstance(entry, dict):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Each entry in 'provides.{section}' must be a mapping"
+                )
+            if "name" not in entry or "file" not in entry:
+                raise ValidationError(f"{singular.capitalize()} missing 'name' or 'file'")
+
+            name = entry["name"]
+            if not isinstance(name, str):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid {singular} name: expected a string, got {type(name).__name__}"
+                )
+            if not VALID_EXTENSION_ARTIFACT_NAME_PATTERN.match(name):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid {singular} name '{name}': "
+                    "must be lowercase alphanumeric with hyphens only"
+                )
+            if name in seen_names:
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Duplicate {singular} name '{name}' in 'provides.{section}'"
+                )
+            seen_names.add(name)
+
+            file_value = entry["file"]
+            reason = relative_extension_path_violation(file_value)
+            if reason:
+                label = repr(file_value) if isinstance(file_value, str) else f"for {singular} '{name}'"
+                raise ValidationError(f"Invalid {singular} 'file' {label}: {reason}")
+
+            if "description" in entry and not isinstance(entry["description"], str):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid {singular} description for '{name}': expected a string"
+                )
+
+            if "strategy" in entry:
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid {singular} entry '{name}': 'strategy' is not authorable for "
+                    "extension-provided artifacts, which always use 'replace' semantics"
+                )
+
+            if section == "scripts" and "runtimes" in entry:
+                runtimes = entry["runtimes"]
+                if not isinstance(runtimes, list) or not all(
+                    isinstance(r, str) for r in runtimes
+                ):
+                    raise ValidationError(
+                        f"Invalid runtimes for script '{name}': expected a list of strings"
+                    )
+                invalid = sorted(set(runtimes) - VALID_SCRIPT_RUNTIMES)
+                if invalid:
+                    raise ValidationError(
+                        f"Invalid runtimes {invalid} for script '{name}': "
+                        f"must be one of {sorted(VALID_SCRIPT_RUNTIMES)}"
+                    )
+
    @staticmethod
    def _try_correct_command_name(name: str, ext_id: str) -> Optional[str]:
        """Try to auto-correct a non-conforming command name to the required pattern.
@@ -562,6 +702,24 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
        """Get list of provided commands."""
        return self.data.get("provides", {}).get("commands", [])

+    @property
+    def config(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Get list of provided config templates, normalized to dictionaries."""
+        raw = self.data.get("provides", {}).get("config", [])
+        if not isinstance(raw, list) or not all(isinstance(entry, dict) for entry in raw):
+            return []
+        return raw
+
+    @property
+    def templates(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Get list of declared templates (provides.templates)."""
+        return self.data.get("provides", {}).get("templates", [])
+
+    @property
+    def scripts(self) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Get list of declared scripts (provides.scripts)."""
+        return self.data.get("provides", {}).get("scripts", [])
+
    @property
    def hooks(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """Get hook definitions."""
@@ -597,6 +755,13 @@ class ExtensionRegistry:
        if not self.registry_path.exists():
            return {"schema_version": self.SCHEMA_VERSION, "extensions": {}}

+        # A non-regular file (e.g. a directory at the registry path) is not a
+        # readable registry. Recover to empty so construction — used by the
+        # install/enable/disable flows — does not crash. Resolution paths that
+        # must fail closed consult is_corrupt() instead of relying on this.
+        if not self.registry_path.is_file():
+            return {"schema_version": self.SCHEMA_VERSION, "extensions": {}}
+
        try:
            with open(self.registry_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                data = json.load(f)
@@ -607,10 +772,47 @@ class ExtensionRegistry:
            if not isinstance(data.get("extensions"), dict):
                data["extensions"] = {}
            return data
-        except (json.JSONDecodeError, FileNotFoundError):
-            # Corrupted or missing registry, start fresh
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, UnicodeDecodeError, FileNotFoundError):
+            # Corrupted or missing registry, start fresh. A registry whose
+            # bytes cannot be decoded as UTF-8 is the same corruption class as
+            # malformed JSON — only the exception type differs, and it is
+            # raised by the text-mode read before JSON parsing begins. OSError
+            # is deliberately not caught: the data may be intact on disk, and
+            # starting fresh would let a later _save() wipe it.
            return {"schema_version": self.SCHEMA_VERSION, "extensions": {}}

+    def is_corrupt(self) -> bool:
+        """Report whether an existing registry file is present but unreadable.
+
+        ``_load`` deliberately recovers from a corrupt registry by normalizing
+        it to an empty mapping so install/enable/disable flows keep working.
+        Resolution paths, however, must fail closed: a corrupt registry that
+        normalizes to ``{}`` would otherwise cause every on-disk extension
+        directory to be admitted as an unregistered, enabled extension. This
+        probe lets those callers distinguish "no registry" (safe) from
+        "registry exists but is invalid" (unsafe) without changing recovery
+        behavior. An absent registry returns ``False``; a directory, broken
+        or dangling symlink, non-regular file, unreadable file, non-mapping
+        root, or non-mapping ``extensions`` value returns ``True``.
+        """
+        # os.path.lexists (not Path.exists) so a dangling symlink is detected
+        # rather than followed to a non-existent target and mistaken for an
+        # absent registry — which would reopen the fail-open directory scan.
+        if not os.path.lexists(self.registry_path):
+            return False
+        if not self.registry_path.is_file():
+            return True
+        try:
+            with open(self.registry_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+                data = json.load(f)
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+            return True
+        if not isinstance(data, dict):
+            return True
+        if "extensions" in data and not isinstance(data["extensions"], dict):
+            return True
+        return False
+
    def _save(self):
        """Save registry to disk."""
        self.extensions_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
@@ -1817,6 +2019,17 @@ class ExtensionManager:
        required = manifest.requires_speckit_version

        # Parse version specifier (e.g., ">=0.1.0,<2.0.0")
+        # Defense in depth: the manifest validator now rejects a non-string
+        # requires.speckit_version, but this method is public and also reachable
+        # with a hand-built manifest object. ``InvalidSpecifier`` alone does not
+        # cover a non-string -- scalars raise TypeError from the constructor, and
+        # a list/dict is iterable so it constructs here and only breaks inside
+        # .contains(). Reject up front so this always reports a CompatibilityError.
+        if not isinstance(required, str):
+            raise CompatibilityError(
+                "Invalid version specifier: expected a string, got "
+                f"{type(required).__name__} ({required!r})"
+            )
        try:
            SpecifierSet(required)  # Just to validate
        except InvalidSpecifier:
@@ -2059,8 +2272,19 @@ class ExtensionManager:
                        _staged_modes = _loaded_modes
            for staged_name in sorted(staged_names):
                staged_file = rescue_staging_dir / staged_name
-                staged_stat = staged_file.stat()
-                staged_bytes = staged_file.read_bytes()
+                # A staged backup that cannot be read or stat'ed must not
+                # crash the retry with a raw OSError: like an uncomparable
+                # live config below, treat it as a conflict so both copies
+                # are preserved and the user resolves it while dest_dir is
+                # still untouched. Every sibling read in this path (live
+                # twin, packaged baseline, mode sidecar) already catches
+                # OSError.
+                try:
+                    staged_stat = staged_file.stat()
+                    staged_bytes = staged_file.read_bytes()
+                except OSError:
+                    conflicting.add(staged_name)
+                    continue
                # Prefer the sidecar-recorded mode; fall back to the staged
                # file's own mode for backwards-compat with staging dirs
                # written before the sidecar was introduced.
@@ -2152,10 +2376,24 @@ class ExtensionManager:
                        "a regular file or remove it — then reinstall."
                    )
                if cfg_file.is_file():
-                    stranded_configs[cfg_file.name] = (
-                        cfg_file.read_bytes(),
-                        cfg_file.stat().st_mode,
-                    )
+                    # A kept config that cannot be read or stat'ed must not
+                    # crash the reinstall with a raw OSError — and must not
+                    # reach the rmtree below unrescued. Like the symlink
+                    # guard above, reject while dest_dir is untouched so the
+                    # preserved bytes are never lost.
+                    try:
+                        stranded_configs[cfg_file.name] = (
+                            cfg_file.read_bytes(),
+                            cfg_file.stat().st_mode,
+                        )
+                    except OSError as exc:
+                        raise ValidationError(
+                            "Preserved extension config for "
+                            f"'{manifest.id}' cannot be read "
+                            f"({cfg_file.name}) in {dest_dir}: {exc}. "
+                            "Resolve manually — fix its permissions or "
+                            "remove it — then reinstall."
+                        ) from exc

        if stranded_configs and not staging_is_complete:
            # Write a durable backup outside dest_dir before any
@@ -2489,6 +2727,149 @@ class ExtensionManager:
                extension_dir, speckit_version, priority=priority, force=force
            )

+    def _config_root_is_contained(self, specify_dir: Path) -> bool:
+        """Report whether `.specify` is a real directory inside the project.
+
+        Checked component by component so a symlink anywhere on the path is
+        rejected before it becomes the containment root. A missing `.specify`
+        is fine: scaffolding creates it under the project root.
+        """
+        try:
+            root = self.project_root.resolve()
+        except OSError:
+            return False
+        current = self.project_root
+        for part in specify_dir.relative_to(self.project_root).parts:
+            current = current / part
+            if current.is_symlink():
+                return False
+            if not current.exists():
+                return True
+            try:
+                if current.resolve().relative_to(root) is None:
+                    return False
+            except (OSError, ValueError):
+                return False
+        return current.is_dir()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _target_follows_preserved_convention(target_name: str) -> bool:
+        """True when a scaffold target survives remove/backup/restore.
+
+        Those paths only handle top-level ``*-config.yml`` and
+        ``*-config.local.yml`` files, so anything nested or otherwise named is
+        not preserved across an update.
+        """
+        if "/" in target_name or "\\" in target_name:
+            return False
+        return target_name.endswith("-config.yml") or target_name.endswith(
+            "-config.local.yml"
+        )
+
+    def scaffold_config(self, extension_id: str) -> tuple[List[str], List[str], List[str]]:
+        """Deploy config templates from an installed extension to the project.
+
+        Reads the extension's manifest provides.config section and copies
+        each config template to the project's .specify/ directory. Existing
+        config files are never overwritten (user customizations are preserved).
+
+        Args:
+            extension_id: ID of the installed extension
+
+        Returns:
+            Tuple of (deployed, skipped_existing, failed) where each is a list
+            of config file names.
+        """
+        ext_dir = self.extensions_dir / extension_id
+        manifest_path = ext_dir / "extension.yml"
+        if not manifest_path.exists():
+            return [], [], []
+
+        manifest = ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
+        deployed = []
+        skipped_existing = []
+        failed = []
+
+        provides = manifest.data.get("provides", {})
+        raw_config = provides.get("config", [])
+        config_is_malformed = (
+            "config" in provides
+            and (
+                not isinstance(raw_config, list)
+                or not all(isinstance(entry, dict) for entry in raw_config)
+            )
+        )
+        if config_is_malformed:
+            return deployed, skipped_existing, ["provides.config"]
+
+        ext_dir_resolved = ext_dir.resolve()
+        # Config is deployed beneath the extension's own directory because that
+        # is where it is read from: ConfigManager._get_project_config() loads
+        # `.specify/extensions/<id>/<id>-config.yml`, and the bundled scripts
+        # and READMEs use the same location. Writing to `.specify/<name>` put
+        # the file somewhere nothing ever looks.
+        config_dir = self.project_root / ".specify" / "extensions" / extension_id
+        # Resolving that directory and trusting the result as the containment
+        # root lets a symlinked component point outside the project: every
+        # target would then satisfy relative_to and copy2 would write
+        # externally. Refuse a symlinked component up front, matching the
+        # project safe-write path in shared_infra.
+        if not self._config_root_is_contained(config_dir):
+            return deployed, skipped_existing, ["provides.config"]
+        config_dir_resolved = config_dir.resolve()
+
+        for config_entry in manifest.config:
+            template_name = config_entry.get("template", "")
+            target_name = config_entry.get("name", template_name)
+            failure_name = target_name if isinstance(target_name, str) and target_name else "provides.config"
+            if not isinstance(template_name, str) or not template_name:
+                failed.append(failure_name)
+                continue
+            if not isinstance(target_name, str) or not target_name:
+                failed.append(failure_name)
+                continue
+            # Only scaffold what removal actually preserves. remove(keep_config)
+            # keeps top-level files ending in -config.yml / -config.local.yml and
+            # rmtree's every subdirectory; the backup path globs the same
+            # top-level pattern. A nested or differently-named target would be
+            # silently destroyed by `extension add --force` and replaced with the
+            # template default, losing the user's customization.
+            if not self._target_follows_preserved_convention(target_name):
+                failed.append(failure_name)
+                continue
+
+            template_candidate = ext_dir / template_name
+            template_path = template_candidate.resolve()
+            target_path = (config_dir / target_name).resolve()
+            try:
+                template_path.relative_to(ext_dir_resolved)
+                target_path.relative_to(config_dir_resolved)
+            except ValueError:
+                failed.append(failure_name)
+                continue
+
+            if template_candidate.is_symlink() or not template_path.is_file():
+                failed.append(failure_name)
+                continue
+
+            if target_path.exists():
+                skipped_existing.append(target_name)
+                continue
+
+            try:
+                # mkdir belongs inside the handler: a nested target like
+                # foo/config.yml must land in `failed` when `.specify/foo` is a
+                # file or cannot be created, not raise out of scaffolding after
+                # `extension add` has already installed the extension.
+                target_path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+                shutil.copy2(template_path, target_path)
+            except OSError:
+                failed.append(target_name)
+                continue
+            deployed.append(target_name)
+
+        return deployed, skipped_existing, failed
+
    def install_from_zip(
        self,
        zip_path: Path,
@@ -4078,11 +4459,10 @@ class ConfigManager:
        Returns an empty list if the registry is missing or corrupted
        (fresh project, ad-hoc test harness) so ``_get_env_config`` degrades
        to its pre-fix behaviour rather than crashing. ``UnicodeError`` is
-        caught alongside ``OSError`` because ``ExtensionRegistry._load()``
-        opens the file in text mode and only handles ``JSONDecodeError`` /
-        ``FileNotFoundError``, so a registry file with non-UTF-8 bytes would
-        otherwise surface a ``UnicodeDecodeError`` here and break *every*
-        config read instead of degrading gracefully.
+        kept alongside ``OSError`` as belt-and-braces: ``_load()`` now starts
+        fresh on non-UTF-8 registry bytes itself, but catching it here too
+        keeps this call site degrading gracefully rather than breaking *every*
+        config read if that handling ever regresses.

        Used by ``_get_env_config`` to detect env vars whose remainder claims
        a longer, sibling-owned prefix (e.g. ``SPECKIT_GIT_HOOKS_URL`` is
@@ -1071,8 +1071,29 @@ def extension_add(
        if reg_skills:
            console.print(f"\n[green]✓[/green] {len(reg_skills)} agent skill(s) auto-registered")

-        console.print("\n[yellow]⚠[/yellow]  Configuration may be required")
-        console.print(f"   Check: .specify/extensions/{_escape_markup(str(manifest.id))}/")
+        # Scaffold config templates automatically
+        deployed, skipped, failed = manager.scaffold_config(manifest.id)
+        config_home = f".specify/extensions/{_escape_markup(str(manifest.id))}"
+        if deployed:
+            console.print("\n[bold cyan]Config scaffolded:[/bold cyan]")
+            for cfg in deployed:
+                console.print(f"  • {config_home}/{_escape_markup(str(cfg))}")
+        if skipped:
+            console.print(f"\n[dim]Config files already exist (preserved): {_escape_markup(', '.join(skipped))}[/dim]")
+        if failed:
+            console.print(
+                f"\n[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Config templates not scaffolded: "
+                f"{_escape_markup(', '.join(failed))}. "
+                "Verify the extension manifest and template files."
+            )
+
+        # Only warn when configuration is actually unresolved. Scaffolding that
+        # deployed or preserved every template has already answered this, and an
+        # extension without provides.config has nothing to configure; the blanket
+        # warning contradicted the output directly above it.
+        if failed or not (deployed or skipped):
+            console.print("\n[yellow]⚠[/yellow]  Configuration may be required")
+            console.print(f"   Check: {config_home}/")

    except ValidationError as e:
        console.print(f"\n[red]Validation Error:[/red] {_escape_markup(str(e))}")
@@ -2552,6 +2573,30 @@ def extension_enable(
    # are re-emitted in installed integrations.
    _refresh_events_and_warn(project_root)

+    # Scaffold config templates on enable
+    try:
+        deployed, skipped, failed = manager.scaffold_config(extension_id)
+    except Exception as exc:
+        console.print(
+            f"\n[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Failed to scaffold config for extension "
+            f"'{_escape_markup(str(display_name))}'."
+        )
+        console.print(f"[dim]Details: {_escape_markup(str(exc))}[/dim]")
+        deployed, skipped, failed = [], [], []
+    config_home = f".specify/extensions/{_escape_markup(str(extension_id))}"
+    if deployed:
+        console.print("\n[bold cyan]Config scaffolded:[/bold cyan]")
+        for cfg in deployed:
+            console.print(f"  • {config_home}/{_escape_markup(str(cfg))}")
+    if skipped:
+        console.print(f"\n[dim]Config files already exist (preserved): {_escape_markup(', '.join(skipped))}[/dim]")
+    if failed:
+        console.print(
+            f"\n[yellow]Warning:[/yellow] Config templates not scaffolded: "
+            f"{_escape_markup(', '.join(failed))}. "
+            "Verify the extension manifest and template files."
+        )
+

@extension_app.command("disable")
 def extension_disable(
@@ -70,8 +70,8 @@ def with_integration_setting(
    # ``script_type`` changes (``parsed_options`` and ``raw_options`` both
    # None), the previously-stored ``parsed_options`` are retained above, so
    # deriving the separator from the argument (None) would drop an
-    # options-dependent separator (e.g. Copilot ``--skills`` -> "-") back to
-    # the default ".".
+    # options-dependent separator (e.g. Copilot ``--commands`` -> ".") back to
+    # the default "-".
    current["invoke_separator"] = integration.effective_invoke_separator(
        current.get("parsed_options"), project_root
    )
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ def _register_builtins() -> None:
    from .cline import ClineIntegration
    from .codebuddy import CodebuddyIntegration
    from .codex import CodexIntegration
+    from .command_code import CommandCodeIntegration
    from .copilot import CopilotIntegration
    from .cursor_agent import CursorAgentIntegration
    from .devin import DevinIntegration
@@ -95,6 +96,7 @@ def _register_builtins() -> None:
    _register(ClineIntegration())
    _register(CodebuddyIntegration())
    _register(CodexIntegration())
+    _register(CommandCodeIntegration())
    _register(CopilotIntegration())
    _register(CursorAgentIntegration())
    _register(DevinIntegration())
@@ -331,6 +331,14 @@ def integration_switch(

    selected_script = _resolve_script_type(project_root, script)

+    # Resolve and validate target options before uninstalling the current
+    # integration. Invalid options must not leave the project partially
+    # switched with the previous integration already removed.
+    target_raw_options, target_parsed_options = _resolve_integration_options(
+        target_integration, current, target, integration_options
+    )
+    target_integration.is_skills_mode(target_parsed_options, project_root)
+
    # Phase 1: Uninstall current integration (if any)
    if installed_key:
        current_integration = get_integration(installed_key)
@@ -403,7 +411,10 @@ def integration_switch(
            fallback_key = installed_keys[0]
            fallback_integration = get_integration(fallback_key)
            if fallback_integration is not None:
-                raw_options, parsed_options = _resolve_integration_options(
+                (
+                    fallback_raw_options,
+                    fallback_parsed_options,
+                ) = _resolve_integration_options(
                    fallback_integration, current, fallback_key, None
                )
                _set_default_integration_or_exit(
@@ -412,8 +423,8 @@ def integration_switch(
                    fallback_key,
                    fallback_integration,
                    installed_keys,
-                    raw_options=raw_options,
-                    parsed_options=parsed_options,
+                    raw_options=fallback_raw_options,
+                    parsed_options=fallback_parsed_options,
                )
            else:
                _write_integration_json(
@@ -423,13 +434,6 @@ def integration_switch(
            _remove_integration_json(project_root)
        current = _read_integration_json(project_root)

-    # Build parsed options from --integration-options so the integration
-    # can determine its effective invoke separator before shared infra
-    # is installed.
-    raw_options, parsed_options = _resolve_integration_options(
-        target_integration, current, target, integration_options
-    )
-
    # Refresh shared infrastructure to the current CLI version. Switching
    # integrations is exactly when stale vendored shared scripts (e.g.
    # update-agent-context.sh that pre-dates the target integration's
@@ -445,11 +449,11 @@ def integration_switch(
        force=refresh_shared_infra,
        refresh_managed=True,
        invoke_separator=_invoke_separator_for_integration(
-            target_integration, current, target, parsed_options,
+            target_integration, current, target, target_parsed_options,
            project_root=project_root,
        ),
        invoke_prefix=_invoke_prefix_for_integration(
-            target_integration, target, parsed_options, project_root
+            target_integration, target, target_parsed_options, project_root
        ),
        refresh_hint=(
            "To overwrite customizations, re-run with "
@@ -471,14 +475,14 @@ def integration_switch(
        target_integration.key,
        target_integration.config,
        project_root,
-        parsed_options,
+        target_parsed_options,
    )
    try:
        target_integration.setup(
            project_root, manifest,
-            parsed_options=parsed_options,
+            parsed_options=target_parsed_options,
            script_type=selected_script,
-            raw_options=raw_options,
+            raw_options=target_raw_options,
            events=events_map,
        )
        manifest.save()
@@ -489,8 +493,8 @@ def integration_switch(
            target_integration,
            _dedupe_integration_keys([*installed_keys, target_integration.key]),
            script_type=selected_script,
-            raw_options=raw_options,
-            parsed_options=parsed_options,
+            raw_options=target_raw_options,
+            parsed_options=target_parsed_options,
        )

    except Exception as exc:
@@ -225,8 +225,8 @@ class IntegrationBase(ABC):
        on-disk layout to avoid silently migrating an existing project to a
        different mode.  The default ignores it.

-        The default (command-first integrations, e.g. Copilot's default
-        layout) is skills mode only when ``--skills`` was requested.
+        The default for command-first integrations is skills mode only when
+        ``--skills`` was requested.
        ``SkillsIntegration`` overrides this to return ``True`` by default;
        skills-first integrations that expose a legacy opt-out (e.g. Bob)
        override it to honor their own flag.
@@ -957,6 +957,20 @@ class IntegrationBase(ABC):
        """Return True if this integration supports agent-native events."""
        return bool(getattr(self, "CANONICAL_TO_NATIVE", None) and getattr(self, "events_config_file", None))

+    # Context-injection envelope for hook stdout, keyed by canonical event
+    # (with "*" as the fallback). Not every agent injects a hook's plain-text
+    # stdout as model context: Gemini/Tabnine/Qwen/Devin are JSON-only
+    # protocols (plain text becomes user-facing noise), Copilot discards
+    # non-JSON stdout, and Cursor parses stdout as JSON. Values:
+    #   "hookSpecificOutput" → {"hookSpecificOutput": {"additionalContext": ...}}
+    #   "additionalContext"  → {"additionalContext": ...}   (top-level, Copilot)
+    #   "additional_context" → {"additional_context": ...}  (top-level, Cursor)
+    #   "suppress"           → emit nothing (strict-JSON agents on events whose
+    #                          output can't be used)
+    # Absent (no matching key and no "*") → plain stdout passthrough
+    # (Claude/Codex inject plain stdout; opencode injects via its TS plugin).
+    events_context_envelope: dict[str, str] = {}
+
    # -- Convenience helpers for subclasses -------------------------------

    def install(
@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ class IntegrationCatalog(CatalogStackBase):
                        max_bytes=MAX_JSON_METADATA_BYTES,
                        error_type=IntegrationCatalogError,
                        label=f"catalog from {entry.url}",
-                    )
+                    ).decode("utf-8")
                )

            shape_error = _catalog_shape_error(catalog_data)
@@ -237,6 +237,15 @@ class IntegrationCatalog(CatalogStackBase):
            raise IntegrationCatalogError(
                f"Failed to fetch catalog from {entry.url}: {exc}"
            )
+        except UnicodeDecodeError as exc:
+            # A non-UTF-8 response body fails at .decode() before json.loads()
+            # ever runs, so JSONDecodeError below does not cover it (the two are
+            # sibling ValueError subclasses, not parent/child). Without this the
+            # raw UnicodeDecodeError escapes _get_merged_integrations()'s
+            # "warn and skip this catalog" handler and kills the whole command.
+            raise IntegrationCatalogError(
+                f"Catalog from {entry.url} is not valid UTF-8: {exc}"
+            )
        except json.JSONDecodeError as exc:
            raise IntegrationCatalogError(
                f"Invalid JSON in catalog from {entry.url}: {exc}"
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+"""Command Code integration — skills-based agent.
+
+Command Code loads agent skills from ``.commandcode/skills/speckit-<name>/SKILL.md``
+(project) or ``~/.commandcode/skills/`` (personal). Skills are invoked in chat
+with ``$speckit-<name>``.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from ..base import IntegrationOption, SkillsIntegration
+
+
+class CommandCodeIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
+    """Integration for Command Code CLI."""
+
+    key = "command-code"
+    config = {
+        "name": "Command Code",
+        "folder": ".commandcode/",
+        "commands_subdir": "skills",
+        "install_url": "https://commandcode.ai/docs",
+        "requires_cli": True,
+    }
+    registrar_config = {
+        "dir": ".commandcode/skills",
+        "format": "markdown",
+        "args": "$ARGUMENTS",
+        "extension": "/SKILL.md",
+    }
+    multi_install_safe = True
+
+    @classmethod
+    def options(cls) -> list[IntegrationOption]:
+        return [
+            IntegrationOption(
+                "--skills",
+                is_flag=True,
+                default=True,
+                help="Install as agent skills (default for Command Code)",
+            ),
+        ]
@@ -1,13 +1,19 @@
 """Copilot integration — GitHub Copilot in VS Code.

-Copilot has several unique behaviors compared to standard markdown agents:
+Copilot supports two layouts:
+- Skills are the default and use ``speckit-<name>/SKILL.md`` directories under
+  ``.github/skills/``
+- ``--commands`` uses ``.agent.md`` files, companion ``.prompt.md`` files, and
+  a VS Code settings merge
+
+The two modes are mutually exclusive. The commands layout remains supported,
+but is no longer the preferred default.
+
+The commands layout has several unique behaviors compared to standard markdown
+agents:
 - Commands use ``.agent.md`` extension (not ``.md``)
 - Each command gets a companion ``.prompt.md`` file in ``.github/prompts/``
 - Installs ``.vscode/settings.json`` with prompt file recommendations
-
-When ``--skills`` is passed via ``--integration-options``, Copilot scaffolds
-commands as ``speckit-<name>/SKILL.md`` directories under ``.github/skills/``
-instead.  The two modes are mutually exclusive.
 """

 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -19,9 +25,24 @@ import warnings
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any

+import typer
+
 from ..base import IntegrationBase, IntegrationOption, SkillsIntegration
 from ..manifest import IntegrationManifest

+_COPILOT_CORE_COMMANDS = {
+    "analyze",
+    "checklist",
+    "clarify",
+    "constitution",
+    "converge",
+    "implement",
+    "plan",
+    "specify",
+    "tasks",
+    "taskstoissues",
+}
+

 def _copilot_executable() -> str:
    """Return the executable name for Copilot CLI on this platform.
@@ -57,22 +78,24 @@ def _allow_all() -> bool:
    return True


-def _warn_legacy_markdown_default() -> None:
-    """Warn that Copilot's default markdown scaffold is being phased out."""
-    warnings.warn(
-        "Copilot legacy markdown mode is deprecated and will stop being the "
-        'default in a future Spec Kit release; pass --integration-options "--skills" '
-        "to opt in to Copilot skills mode now.",
-        UserWarning,
-        stacklevel=3,
-    )
+def _validate_mode_options(parsed_options: dict[str, Any] | None) -> None:
+    """Reject the two explicit Copilot layout selectors used together."""
+    opts = parsed_options or {}
+    if opts.get("skills") and opts.get("commands"):
+        from ..._console import console
+
+        console.print(
+            "[red]Error:[/red] --skills and --commands are mutually exclusive; "
+            "pass only one."
+        )
+        raise typer.Exit(1)


 class _CopilotSkillsHelper(SkillsIntegration):
    """Internal helper used when Copilot is scaffolded in skills mode.

-    Not registered in the integration registry — only used as a delegate
-    by ``CopilotIntegration`` when ``--skills`` is passed.
+    Not registered in the integration registry — only used as the default
+    skills-layout delegate by ``CopilotIntegration``.
    """

    key = "copilot"
@@ -94,13 +117,11 @@ class _CopilotSkillsHelper(SkillsIntegration):
 class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
    """Integration for GitHub Copilot (VS Code IDE + CLI).

-    The IDE integration (``requires_cli: False``) installs ``.agent.md``
-    command files.  Workflow dispatch additionally requires the
-    ``copilot`` CLI to be installed separately.
-
-    When ``--skills`` is passed via ``--integration-options``, commands
-    are scaffolded as ``speckit-<name>/SKILL.md`` under ``.github/skills/``
-    instead of the default ``.agent.md`` + ``.prompt.md`` layout.
+    The default IDE integration (``requires_cli: False``) installs skills under
+    ``.github/skills/``. Pass ``--commands`` via ``--integration-options`` to
+    install the supported ``.agent.md`` + ``.prompt.md`` layout instead.
+    Workflow dispatch additionally requires the ``copilot`` CLI to be installed
+    separately.
    """

    key = "copilot"
@@ -117,6 +138,7 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
        "args": "$ARGUMENTS",
        "extension": ".agent.md",
    }
+    invoke_separator = "-"

    CANONICAL_TO_NATIVE = {
        "session_start": "sessionStart",
@@ -130,40 +152,101 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
    }
    events_config_file = ".github/hooks/speckit.json"
    events_format = "copilot-json"
+    # Copilot sessionStart and userPromptSubmitted inject a top-level
+    # additionalContext field into the model-facing prompt (C13). Non-JSON
+    # stdout is discarded harmlessly by Copilot on other events, so no other
+    # event needs an envelope.
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "session_start": "additionalContext",
+        "user_prompt_submit": "additionalContext",
+    }

    # Mutable flag set by setup() — indicates the active scaffolding mode.
-    _skills_mode: bool = False
+    _skills_mode: bool = True

    def effective_invoke_separator(
        self,
        parsed_options: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
        project_root: Path | None = None,
    ) -> str:
-        """Return ``"-"`` when skills mode is requested, ``"."`` otherwise."""
-        if parsed_options and parsed_options.get("skills"):
-            return "-"
-        if self._skills_mode:
-            return "-"
-        return self.invoke_separator
+        """Return the separator for the resolved Copilot layout."""
+        return "-" if self.is_skills_mode(parsed_options, project_root) else "."

    def is_skills_mode(
        self,
        parsed_options: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
        project_root: Path | None = None,
    ) -> bool:
-        """Copilot is skills mode when ``--skills`` was requested.
+        """Copilot defaults to skills; ``--commands`` opts into commands mode.

-        On the init path ``setup()`` has already recorded the choice in
-        ``self._skills_mode``; on the ``use``/``install`` path (where no
-        ``setup()`` runs) the signal comes from *parsed_options* (#3550), which
-        round-trips because ``--skills`` is persisted in the stored options.
+        Explicit flags override on-disk detection. Without a flag, existing
+        projects retain their managed Spec Kit layout while fresh projects use
+        skills. This prevents ``use`` and ``upgrade`` from silently migrating
+        projects created before skills became the default.
        """
-        if parsed_options and parsed_options.get("skills"):
+        opts = parsed_options or {}
+        _validate_mode_options(opts)
+        if opts.get("skills"):
            return True
-        return self._skills_mode
+        if opts.get("commands"):
+            return False
+        if project_root is not None:
+            project_root = Path(project_root)
+            manifest_path = (
+                project_root
+                / ".specify"
+                / "integrations"
+                / "copilot.manifest.json"
+            )
+            if manifest_path.is_file():
+                try:
+                    manifest_files = IntegrationManifest.load(
+                        self.key, Path(project_root)
+                    ).files
+                except (OSError, ValueError):
+                    manifest_files = None
+                if manifest_files is not None and any(
+                    path.startswith(".github/skills/speckit-")
+                    and path.endswith("/SKILL.md")
+                    for path in manifest_files
+                ):
+                    return True
+                if manifest_files is not None and any(
+                    path.startswith(".github/agents/speckit.")
+                    and path.endswith(".agent.md")
+                    for path in manifest_files
+                ):
+                    return False
+
+            github_dir = project_root / ".github"
+            has_managed_skills = any(
+                (
+                    github_dir
+                    / "skills"
+                    / f"speckit-{command}"
+                    / "SKILL.md"
+                ).is_file()
+                for command in _COPILOT_CORE_COMMANDS
+            )
+            has_managed_commands = any(
+                (
+                    github_dir
+                    / "agents"
+                    / f"speckit.{command}.agent.md"
+                ).is_file()
+                or (
+                    github_dir
+                    / "prompts"
+                    / f"speckit.{command}.prompt.md"
+                ).is_file()
+                for command in _COPILOT_CORE_COMMANDS
+            )
+            if has_managed_commands and not has_managed_skills:
+                return False
+        return True

    def invoke_separator_for_mode(self, skills_enabled: bool) -> str:
-        """Skills projects render ``/speckit-<cmd>``; default markdown ``.``.
+        """Skills projects render ``/speckit-<cmd>``; commands use ``.``.

        Copilot is dual-layout, so — like Bob — the command-reference
        separator depends on the persisted ``ai_skills`` state rather than a
@@ -171,7 +254,7 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
        Copilot skills project consistent with ``build_command_invocation``
        (which emits ``/speckit-<stem>``).
        """
-        return "-" if skills_enabled else self.invoke_separator
+        return "-" if skills_enabled else "."

    @classmethod
    def options(cls) -> list[IntegrationOption]:
@@ -184,7 +267,22 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
                "--skills",
                is_flag=True,
                default=False,
-                help="Scaffold commands as agent skills (speckit-<name>/SKILL.md) instead of .agent.md files",
+                help=(
+                    "Force the default skills layout (.github/skills/), "
+                    "overriding on-disk auto-detection"
+                ),
+            ),
+        )
+        opts.append(
+            IntegrationOption(
+                "--commands",
+                is_flag=True,
+                default=False,
+                help=(
+                    "Scaffold .github/agents/*.agent.md commands with companion "
+                    ".github/prompts/*.prompt.md files instead of the default "
+                    "skills layout"
+                ),
            ),
        )
        return opts
@@ -228,8 +326,8 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
    def build_command_invocation(self, command_name: str, args: str = "") -> str:
        """Build the native invocation for a Copilot command.

-        Default mode: agents are not slash-commands — return args as prompt.
-        Skills mode: ``/speckit-<stem>`` slash-command dispatch.
+        Commands mode: agents are not slash-commands — return args as prompt.
+        Skills mode (default): ``/speckit-<stem>`` slash-command dispatch.
        """
        if self._skills_mode:
            stem = command_name
@@ -266,15 +364,11 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
        if stem.startswith("speckit."):
            stem = stem[len("speckit."):]

-        # Detect skills mode from project layout when not set via setup()
-        skills_mode = self._skills_mode
-        if not skills_mode and project_root:
-            skills_dir = project_root / ".github" / "skills"
-            if skills_dir.is_dir():
-                skills_mode = any(
-                    d.is_dir() and (d / "SKILL.md").is_file()
-                    for d in skills_dir.glob("speckit-*")
-                )
+        skills_mode = (
+            self.is_skills_mode(project_root=project_root)
+            if project_root
+            else self._skills_mode
+        )

        if skills_mode:
            prompt = "/speckit-" + stem.replace(".", "-")
@@ -366,20 +460,18 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
        parsed_options: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
        **opts: Any,
    ) -> list[Path]:
-        """Install copilot commands, companion prompts, and VS Code settings.
+        """Install Copilot skills or the opt-in commands layout.

-        When ``parsed_options["skills"]`` is truthy, delegates to skills
-        scaffolding (``speckit-<name>/SKILL.md`` under ``.github/skills/``).
-        Otherwise uses the default ``.agent.md`` + ``.prompt.md`` layout.
+        Skills are the default. ``parsed_options["commands"]`` selects
+        ``.agent.md`` files, companion prompts, and the VS Code settings merge.
+        Existing managed command layouts are preserved when no mode is explicit.
        """
        parsed_options = parsed_options or {}
-        self._skills_mode = bool(parsed_options.get("skills"))
+        self._skills_mode = self.is_skills_mode(parsed_options, project_root)
        if self._skills_mode:
            created = self._setup_skills(project_root, manifest, parsed_options, **opts)
        else:
-            if "skills" not in parsed_options:
-                _warn_legacy_markdown_default()
-            created = self._setup_default(project_root, manifest, parsed_options, **opts)
+            created = self._setup_commands(project_root, manifest, parsed_options, **opts)

        # Install agent runtime events
        event_files = self.emit_events(
@@ -388,14 +480,14 @@ class CopilotIntegration(IntegrationBase):
        created.extend(event_files)
        return created

-    def _setup_default(
+    def _setup_commands(
        self,
        project_root: Path,
        manifest: IntegrationManifest,
        parsed_options: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
        **opts: Any,
    ) -> list[Path]:
-        """Default mode: .agent.md + .prompt.md + VS Code settings merge."""
+        """Commands mode: .agent.md + .prompt.md + VS Code settings merge."""
        project_root_resolved = project_root.resolve()
        if manifest.project_root != project_root_resolved:
            raise ValueError(
@@ -48,6 +48,14 @@ class CursorAgentIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
    }
    events_config_file = ".cursor/hooks.json"
    events_format = "json-flat"
+    # Cursor sessionStart injects a top-level additional_context (snake_case)
+    # field (C13). beforeSubmitPrompt has no context output field (block/allow
+    # only), and plain text on any hook fails Cursor's JSON parse — suppress
+    # everything else.
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "*": "suppress",
+        "session_start": "additional_context",
+    }

    def build_exec_args(
        self,
@@ -44,6 +44,13 @@ class DevinIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
    # top-level "hooks" wrapper (U2), unlike the settings.json formats. The
    # json-root-nested writer/remover operate directly on the root event keys.
    events_format = "json-root-nested"
+    # Devin's hooks protocol is JSON-stdout; additionalContext is the
+    # documented injection field for SessionStart/UserPromptSubmit (C13).
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "*": "suppress",
+        "session_start": "hookSpecificOutput",
+        "user_prompt_submit": "hookSpecificOutput",
+    }

    def build_exec_args(
        self,
@@ -33,6 +33,15 @@ class GeminiIntegration(TomlIntegration):
    }
    events_config_file = ".gemini/settings.json"
    events_format = "json-nested"
+    # Gemini mandates JSON-only hook stdout ("silence is mandatory"): plain
+    # text becomes a user-facing systemMessage, never context. Inject via
+    # hookSpecificOutput.additionalContext on the two context events and
+    # suppress stdout everywhere else (C13).
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "*": "suppress",
+        "session_start": "hookSpecificOutput",
+        "user_prompt_submit": "hookSpecificOutput",
+    }
    # Gemini measures hook timeouts in milliseconds, unlike Claude/Cursor/Codex
    # which use seconds. The shared formatter converts via _native_timeout (#7)
    # so the default 60s becomes 60000ms instead of terminating the dispatcher
@@ -121,13 +121,27 @@ class HermesIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
            command_name = src_file.stem  # e.g. "plan"
            skill_name = f"speckit-{command_name.replace('.', '-')}"

-            # Parse frontmatter for description
+            # Parse frontmatter for description. Locate the closing ``---`` on
+            # its own line rather than with ``raw.split("---", 2)`` — a bare
+            # substring split stops at the first ``---`` *anywhere*, including
+            # one inside a value such as ``description: Separate sections
+            # with ---``, which truncates the frontmatter and drops later keys.
+            # The block between the delimiters is parsed unstripped so trailing
+            # newlines in literal (``|``) block scalars survive.
            frontmatter: dict[str, Any] = {}
            if raw.startswith("---"):
-                parts = raw.split("---", 2)
-                if len(parts) >= 3:
+                fm_lines = raw.splitlines(keepends=True)
+                fm_close = next(
+                    (
+                        i
+                        for i in range(1, len(fm_lines))
+                        if fm_lines[i].rstrip() == "---"
+                    ),
+                    None,
+                )
+                if fm_close is not None:
                    try:
-                        fm = yaml.safe_load(parts[1])
+                        fm = yaml.safe_load("".join(fm_lines[1:fm_close]))
                        if isinstance(fm, dict):
                            frontmatter = fm
                    except yaml.YAMLError:
@@ -143,10 +157,26 @@ class HermesIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
                project_root=project_root,
            )
            # Strip the processed frontmatter — we rebuild it for skills.
+            # Scan for the closing ``---`` on its own line rather than
+            # ``split("---", 2)`` so a ``---`` embedded in a value does not
+            # truncate the frontmatter and spill it into the body.
            if processed_body.startswith("---"):
-                parts = processed_body.split("---", 2)
-                if len(parts) >= 3:
-                    processed_body = parts[2]
+                body_lines = processed_body.splitlines(keepends=True)
+                close_idx = next(
+                    (
+                        i
+                        for i in range(1, len(body_lines))
+                        if body_lines[i].rstrip() == "---"
+                    ),
+                    None,
+                )
+                if close_idx is not None:
+                    # Keep whatever trails the ``---`` marker on the closing
+                    # line so the body stays byte-for-byte identical to
+                    # ``split("---", 2)[2]`` for well-formed templates.
+                    processed_body = body_lines[close_idx][3:] + "".join(
+                        body_lines[close_idx + 1 :]
+                    )

            # Select description
            description = frontmatter.get("description", "")
@@ -317,20 +317,30 @@ def _is_speckit_generated_skill(skill_dir: Path) -> bool:

    try:
        content = skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-    except OSError:
+    except (OSError, UnicodeError):
        return False

    if not content.startswith("---"):
        return False

-    parts = content.split("---", 2)
-    if len(parts) < 3:
+    # Locate the closing ``---`` on its own line rather than with
+    # ``content.split("---", 2)`` — a bare substring split stops at the first
+    # ``---`` *anywhere*, including one inside a value such as
+    # ``description: Separate sections with ---``, which truncates the parsed
+    # frontmatter and can drop the metadata block this check relies on (so a
+    # Speckit-generated skill would not be recognized on teardown).
+    lines = content.splitlines(keepends=True)
+    close_idx = next(
+        (i for i in range(1, len(lines)) if lines[i].rstrip() == "---"),
+        None,
+    )
+    if close_idx is None:
        return False

    try:
        import yaml

-        frontmatter = yaml.safe_load(parts[1])
+        frontmatter = yaml.safe_load("".join(lines[1:close_idx]))
    except Exception:
        return False

@@ -451,8 +451,7 @@ class IntegrationManifest:
            _ensure_safe_manifest_destination(self.project_root, path)
            os.replace(temp_path, path)
        finally:
-            if temp_path.exists():
-                temp_path.unlink()
+            temp_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)
        return path

    @classmethod
@@ -23,7 +23,15 @@ class OpencodeIntegration(MarkdownIntegration):
    CANONICAL_TO_NATIVE = {
        "pre_tool_use": "tool.execute.before",
        "post_tool_use": "tool.execute.after",
-        "session_start": "session.created",
+        # session_start maps to the system-prompt transform hook (not the
+        # session.created event) so the handler's stdout is injected into the
+        # system prompt — session.created has no output channel. The hook
+        # fires per LLM request, which keeps the context present across
+        # compaction at the cost of running the handler per turn.
+        "session_start": "experimental.chat.system.transform",
+        # user_prompt_submit maps to chat.message so handler stdout is
+        # injected as a synthetic text part on the user's message.
+        "user_prompt_submit": "chat.message",
        "session_end": "session.deleted",
    }
    events_config_file = "opencode.json"
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ class QwenIntegration(MarkdownIntegration):
    }
    events_config_file = ".qwen/settings.json"
    events_format = "json-nested"
+    # Qwen hooks are a JSON stdin/stdout protocol (Gemini-derived) (C13).
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "*": "suppress",
+        "session_start": "hookSpecificOutput",
+        "user_prompt_submit": "hookSpecificOutput",
+    }
    # Qwen Code's command hooks measure timeout in milliseconds (default
    # 60000), per the Qwen Code hooks documentation. Declaring the unit makes
    # the shared formatter convert the 60s default to 60000ms instead of
@@ -33,6 +33,12 @@ class TabnineIntegration(TomlIntegration):
    }
    events_config_file = ".tabnine/agent/settings.json"
    events_format = "json-nested"
+    # Tabnine is Gemini-hooks-compatible (JSON-only stdout) (C13).
+    events_context_envelope = {
+        "*": "suppress",
+        "session_start": "hookSpecificOutput",
+        "user_prompt_submit": "hookSpecificOutput",
+    }
    # Tabnine mirrors Gemini's hook schema (BeforeTool/AfterTool) and, like
    # Gemini, measures hook timeouts in milliseconds. Declaring the unit makes
    # the shared formatter convert the 60s default to 60000ms instead of
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ from ..shared_infra import (


 _CONSTITUTION_PROVENANCE_FILE = ".constitution-template.json"
+_CONSTITUTION_SYNC_PRESET_ID = "constitution-sync"


 def _content_sha256(content: bytes) -> str:
@@ -178,7 +179,7 @@ def _substitute_core_template(
        by the core template body and core_frontmatter holds the core template's parsed
        frontmatter (so callers can inherit scripts/agent_scripts from it).  Both are
        unchanged / empty when the placeholder is absent or the core template file does
-        not exist.
+        not exist or cannot be read.
    """
    if "{CORE_TEMPLATE}" not in body:
        return body, {}
@@ -208,7 +209,23 @@ def _substitute_core_template(
    if core_file is None:
        return body, {}

-    core_frontmatter, core_body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    # Treat an unreadable/undecodable core template like a missing one so a
+    # single corrupted project override cannot crash command registration —
+    # the wrap-strategy callers already skip an unreadable preset source with
+    # a warning (CommandRegistrar.register_pack).
+    try:
+        core_content = core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+        import warnings
+
+        warnings.warn(
+            f"Ignoring core template for command '{cmd_name}': could not read "
+            f"'{core_file.name}' ({exc.__class__.__name__}: {exc}).",
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
+        return body, {}
+
+    core_frontmatter, core_body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(core_content)
    return body.replace("{CORE_TEMPLATE}", core_body), core_frontmatter


@@ -307,9 +324,25 @@ class PresetManifest:

        # Validate preset metadata
        pack = self.data["preset"]
+        # Check presence AND type: the format/version checks below feed these
+        # values straight to ``re.match`` and ``packaging.Version``, both of
+        # which raise a bare TypeError on a non-string. YAML makes that an easy
+        # authoring slip -- unquoted ``version: 1.0`` parses as a float and
+        # ``id: 2`` as an int -- and TypeError is not a PresetValidationError,
+        # so it escapes every caller that already handles a malformed manifest
+        # (see list_installed()'s "Corrupted preset" fallback, which catches
+        # PresetValidationError only, making one bad preset exit ``specify
+        # preset list`` with a raw traceback and hide the healthy ones).
+        # Mirrors the sibling IntegrationDescriptor, which already type-checks
+        # the same four fields.
        for field in ["id", "name", "version", "description"]:
            if field not in pack:
                raise PresetValidationError(f"Missing preset.{field}")
+            if not isinstance(pack[field], str):
+                raise PresetValidationError(
+                    f"Invalid preset.{field}: expected a string, "
+                    f"got {type(pack[field]).__name__}"
+                )

        # Validate pack ID format
        if not re.match(r'^[a-z0-9-]+$', pack["id"]):
@@ -328,6 +361,25 @@ class PresetManifest:
        requires = self.data["requires"]
        if "speckit_version" not in requires:
            raise PresetValidationError("Missing requires.speckit_version")
+        # Presence alone is not enough: check_compatibility() feeds this value to
+        # ``SpecifierSet(required)``, guarded only by ``except InvalidSpecifier``,
+        # which a non-string escapes two different ways. A float/int/bool/None
+        # raises TypeError from the constructor, while a list or dict is an
+        # *iterable*, so SpecifierSet accepts it and the failure surfaces much
+        # later as ``AttributeError: 'str' object has no attribute 'filter'`` from
+        # inside .contains(). Neither is a PresetCompatibilityError, so both
+        # bypass the CLI's "Compatibility Error" handler and exit 1 with a raw
+        # traceback naming no field. An unquoted ``speckit_version: 1.0`` is an
+        # easy YAML slip. Mirrors the sibling IntegrationDescriptor, which already
+        # requires a non-empty string here.
+        if (
+            not isinstance(requires["speckit_version"], str)
+            or not requires["speckit_version"].strip()
+        ):
+            raise PresetValidationError(
+                "Invalid requires.speckit_version: expected a non-empty string, "
+                f"got {type(requires['speckit_version']).__name__}"
+            )

        # Validate provides section
        provides = self.data["provides"]
@@ -367,6 +419,19 @@ class PresetManifest:
                    "Template missing 'type', 'name', or 'file'"
                )

+            # 'name' feeds re.match and 'file' feeds os.path.normpath below;
+            # both raise a bare TypeError on a non-string, which is not a
+            # PresetValidationError and so escapes the callers that handle a
+            # malformed manifest. The sibling extension manifest already
+            # rejects a non-string command 'file' via
+            # relative_extension_path_violation().
+            for field in ("type", "name", "file"):
+                if not isinstance(tmpl[field], str):
+                    raise PresetValidationError(
+                        f"Invalid template {field}: expected a string, "
+                        f"got {type(tmpl[field]).__name__}"
+                    )
+
            if tmpl["type"] not in VALID_PRESET_TEMPLATE_TYPES:
                raise PresetValidationError(
                    f"Invalid template type '{tmpl['type']}': "
@@ -502,7 +567,12 @@ class PresetRegistry:
            if not isinstance(data.get("presets"), dict):
                data["presets"] = {}
            return data
-        except (json.JSONDecodeError, FileNotFoundError):
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, UnicodeDecodeError, FileNotFoundError):
+            # Corrupted or missing registry, start fresh. A registry whose
+            # bytes cannot be decoded as UTF-8 is the same corruption class
+            # as malformed JSON — only the exception type differs. OSError is
+            # deliberately not caught: the data may be intact on disk, and
+            # starting fresh would let a later _save() wipe it.
            return {
                "schema_version": self.SCHEMA_VERSION,
                "presets": {}
@@ -727,6 +797,18 @@ class PresetManager:
            PresetCompatibilityError: If pack is incompatible
        """
        required = manifest.requires_speckit_version
+        # Defense in depth: the manifest validator now rejects a non-string
+        # requires.speckit_version, but this method is public and also reachable
+        # with a hand-built manifest object. ``InvalidSpecifier`` alone does not
+        # cover a non-string -- scalars raise TypeError from the constructor, and
+        # a list/dict is iterable so it constructs here and only breaks inside
+        # .contains(). Reject up front so this always reports a
+        # PresetCompatibilityError.
+        if not isinstance(required, str):
+            raise PresetCompatibilityError(
+                "Invalid version specifier: expected a string, got "
+                f"{type(required).__name__} ({required!r})"
+            )
        try:
            SpecifierSet(required)  # Just to validate
        except InvalidSpecifier:
@@ -2157,7 +2239,10 @@ class PresetManager:
            ]
            if dir_core_ext_names:
                self._unregister_skills_in_dir(
-                    dir_core_ext_names, skills_dir, dir_agent
+                    dir_core_ext_names,
+                    skills_dir,
+                    dir_agent,
+                    restore_from_bundled_core=True,
                )

            for _skill_name, cmd_name, top_layer in override_skills:
@@ -2675,7 +2760,7 @@ class PresetManager:
            if frontmatter.get("strategy") == "wrap":
                body, core_frontmatter = _substitute_core_template(body, cmd_name, self.project_root, registrar)
                frontmatter = dict(frontmatter)
-                for key in ("scripts", "agent_scripts"):
+                for key in ("scripts", "agent_scripts", "argument-hint"):
                    if key not in frontmatter and key in core_frontmatter:
                        frontmatter[key] = core_frontmatter[key]

@@ -2992,6 +3077,7 @@ class PresetManager:
        preset_dir: Union[Path, str],
        *,
        additional_owned_sources: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = None,
+        restore_from_bundled_core: bool = False,
    ) -> Dict[Path, tuple[Optional[str], List[str]]]:
        """Restore original SKILL.md files after a preset is removed.

@@ -2999,6 +3085,17 @@ class PresetManager:
        regenerate the skill from the core command template.  If no core
        template exists, the skill directory is removed.

+        Args:
+            restore_from_bundled_core: When True, a missing project-local
+                core template (the common case — ``specify init`` never
+                populates ``.specify/templates/commands``) falls back to
+                the bundled core_pack/repo-root templates so the skill is
+                restored instead of deleted (#3928). Callers that are
+                retiring a skill because its command now renders elsewhere
+                (a command file superseding it) must leave this False so
+                the skill is removed rather than resurrected with core
+                content that would duplicate the winning command.
+
        ``registered_skills`` records exactly which agent directories this
        preset actually wrote to (see :meth:`_register_skills`), so removal
        restores precisely those directories rather than guessing at every
@@ -3072,6 +3169,7 @@ class PresetManager:
                    renderer_agent,
                    pack_id=pack_id,
                    additional_owned_sources=additional_owned_sources,
+                    restore_from_bundled_core=restore_from_bundled_core,
                )
                if mutated_names:
                    restored[skills_dir] = (
@@ -3104,6 +3202,7 @@ class PresetManager:
            selected_ai,
            pack_id=pack_id,
            additional_owned_sources=additional_owned_sources,
+            restore_from_bundled_core=restore_from_bundled_core,
        )
        return (
            {skills_dir: (selected_ai, mutated_names)}
@@ -3169,6 +3268,30 @@ class PresetManager:
            if source in owned_sources:
                shutil.rmtree(skill_subdir)

+    @staticmethod
+    def _warn_unrestored_skill(
+        skill_name: str, source_file: Path, exc: BaseException
+    ) -> None:
+        """Warn that a skill kept preset content because its restore source is unreadable.
+
+        Skipping the restore is the safe recovery — the alternative branch
+        deletes the skill outright — but it is still a partial removal: the
+        preset directory and registry entry go away while this ``SKILL.md``
+        keeps the removed preset's content, and reconciliation never revisits
+        it because the name is left out of ``mutated_names``. Name the skill
+        and the source so the condition is actionable instead of silent.
+        """
+        import warnings
+
+        warnings.warn(
+            f"Skill '{skill_name}' still contains the removed preset's content: "
+            f"its restore source '{source_file}' could not be read "
+            f"({exc.__class__.__name__}: {exc}). The skill was left in place "
+            f"rather than deleted. Fix or remove that file and re-run "
+            f"'specify preset add'/'specify preset remove' to refresh it.",
+            stacklevel=2,
+        )
+
    def _unregister_skills_in_dir(
        self,
        skill_names: List[str],
@@ -3177,6 +3300,7 @@ class PresetManager:
        *,
        pack_id: Optional[str] = None,
        additional_owned_sources: Optional[Dict[str, str]] = None,
+        restore_from_bundled_core: bool = False,
    ) -> List[str]:
        """Restore original SKILL.md files within a single skills directory.

@@ -3187,6 +3311,7 @@ class PresetManager:
                placeholder resolution and argument-hint formatting.
            additional_owned_sources: Generated non-preset source markers
                accepted as owned for specific skill names.
+            restore_from_bundled_core: See ``_unregister_skills``.

        Returns:
            Skill names whose files were restored or removed.
@@ -3262,14 +3387,51 @@ class PresetManager:
                if current_source not in owned_sources:
                    continue

-            # Try to find the core command template
-            core_file = core_templates_dir / f"{short_name}.md" if core_templates_dir.exists() else None
-            if core_file and not core_file.exists():
+            extension_restore = extension_restore_index.get(skill_name)
+
+            # Try to find the core command template. Project-local overrides
+            # in core_templates_dir take precedence, but that directory is
+            # rarely populated — the real core commands ship in the bundled
+            # core_pack (wheel install) or the repo-root templates/ tree
+            # (source checkout). Callers that want a genuine restore (a
+            # preset was removed outright, not superseded by another
+            # renderer) opt into that fallback via restore_from_bundled_core
+            # so the skill is restored instead of deleted (#3928). An
+            # installed extension providing a core-named command resolves
+            # ahead of bundled core elsewhere, so skip the bundled fallback
+            # when an extension restore exists — otherwise it would win
+            # over the higher-priority extension layer below.
+            core_file = core_templates_dir / f"{short_name}.md"
+            if (
+                not core_file.exists()
+                and restore_from_bundled_core
+                and extension_restore is None
+            ):
+                from .. import _locate_core_pack, _repo_root
+
+                _core_pack = _locate_core_pack()
+                if _core_pack is not None:
+                    core_file = _core_pack / "commands" / f"{short_name}.md"
+                else:
+                    core_file = _repo_root() / "templates" / "commands" / f"{short_name}.md"
+            if not core_file.exists():
                core_file = None

            if core_file:
-                # Restore from core template
-                content = core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                # Restore from core template. An unreadable/undecodable
+                # source cannot produce restored content, so leave the
+                # existing skill untouched rather than leaking a raw
+                # OSError/UnicodeDecodeError out of `preset remove` — and
+                # rather than falling through to the rmtree below, which
+                # would delete a skill precisely when its replacement
+                # cannot be generated. Matches the `continue` guards above
+                # (unsafe name, missing subdir, foreign owner), which also
+                # skip without recording the name as mutated.
+                try:
+                    content = core_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+                    self._warn_unrestored_skill(skill_name, core_file, exc)
+                    continue
                frontmatter, body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(content)
                if isinstance(selected_ai, str):
                    body = registrar.resolve_skill_placeholders(
@@ -3309,9 +3471,17 @@ class PresetManager:
                mutated_names.append(skill_name)
                continue

-            extension_restore = extension_restore_index.get(skill_name)
            if extension_restore:
-                content = extension_restore["source_file"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                # Same boundary as the core-template branch above: an
+                # unreadable extension source leaves the skill in place
+                # instead of crashing or being deleted.
+                try:
+                    content = extension_restore["source_file"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+                except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError) as exc:
+                    self._warn_unrestored_skill(
+                        skill_name, extension_restore["source_file"], exc
+                    )
+                    continue
                frontmatter, body = registrar.parse_frontmatter(content)
                # Mirror the register-time rewrite (#2101): resolve
                # extension-relative subdir references (agents/,
@@ -3448,7 +3618,9 @@ class PresetManager:
                "registered_skills", registered_skills
            )
            if persisted_skills:
-                self._unregister_skills(persisted_skills, dest_dir)
+                self._unregister_skills(
+                    persisted_skills, dest_dir, restore_from_bundled_core=True
+                )
            try:
                if dest_dir.exists():
                    shutil.rmtree(dest_dir)
@@ -3476,13 +3648,10 @@ class PresetManager:
                    stacklevel=2,
                )

-        # Seed/re-seed memory/constitution.md from a preset-provided
-        # constitution-template. The constitution is the only template that is
-        # materialized to a live file rather than resolved on demand, so a
-        # preset that ships one (e.g. strategy: replace with a ratified
-        # constitution) must be propagated here. Guard against clobbering an
-        # already-authored constitution by only replacing a file whose recorded
-        # hash (or exact legacy core-template content) proves it was generated.
+        # Materialize constitution-template changes only for projects that opt
+        # into the constitution-sync preset. The core /constitution command
+        # resolves this template on demand; constitution-sync preserves the
+        # previous install-time behavior for teams that want reviewed snapshots.
        self._seed_constitution_from_preset(manifest, dest_dir)

        return manifest
@@ -3490,14 +3659,13 @@ class PresetManager:
    def _seed_constitution_from_preset(
        self, manifest: PresetManifest, preset_dir: Path
    ) -> None:
-        """Seed memory/constitution.md from a preset constitution-template.
+        """Seed memory/constitution.md when constitution-sync opts into snapshots.

-        Only runs when the preset declares a ``type: template`` entry named
-        ``constitution-template`` or provides one at a convention path, and the
-        live memory file is either missing or is an unchanged generated file.
-        Authored constitutions are never overwritten.
+        Installing constitution-sync itself materializes the currently resolved
+        stack. Later preset installs only reconcile when they provide a
+        ``constitution-template``. Authored constitutions are never overwritten.
        """
-        provides_constitution = any(
+        provides_constitution = manifest.id == _CONSTITUTION_SYNC_PRESET_ID or any(
            t.get("type") == "template" and t.get("name") == "constitution-template"
            for t in manifest.templates
        ) or any(
@@ -3518,7 +3686,7 @@ class PresetManager:
    def reconcile_constitution(
        self, failure_context: str, *, create_if_missing: bool = False
    ) -> None:
-        """Reconcile generated constitution content without failing a persisted change."""
+        """Reconcile an opted-in generated constitution without failing a change."""
        try:
            self._reconcile_constitution(create_if_missing=create_if_missing)
        except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError, PresetValidationError, ValueError) as exc:
@@ -3530,7 +3698,11 @@ class PresetManager:
            )

    def _reconcile_constitution(self, *, create_if_missing: bool = False) -> None:
-        """Materialize the winning constitution layer when the live file is generated."""
+        """Materialize the winning layer when constitution-sync is enabled."""
+        sync_metadata = self.registry.get(_CONSTITUTION_SYNC_PRESET_ID)
+        if sync_metadata is None or not sync_metadata.get("enabled", True):
+            return
+
        memory_constitution = (
            self.project_root / ".specify" / "memory" / "constitution.md"
        )
@@ -3786,6 +3958,7 @@ class PresetManager:
                restorable_skills,
                pack_dir,
                additional_owned_sources=override_sources,
+                restore_from_bundled_core=True,
            )
            try:
                from ..agents import CommandRegistrar
@@ -4835,6 +5008,18 @@ class PresetResolver:
                self._manifest_cache[key] = None
        return self._manifest_cache[key]

+    @staticmethod
+    def _is_safe_registry_id(value: object) -> bool:
+        return isinstance(value, str) and re.fullmatch(r"[a-z0-9-]+", value) is not None
+
+    def _get_all_presets_by_priority(self) -> List[tuple[str, dict]]:
+        registry = PresetRegistry(self.presets_dir)
+        return [
+            (pack_id, metadata)
+            for pack_id, metadata in registry.list_by_priority()
+            if self._is_safe_registry_id(pack_id)
+        ]
+
    def _manifest_declared_template(
        self, pack_dir: Path, template_name: str, template_type: str
    ) -> tuple[dict | None, Path | None]:
@@ -4868,6 +5053,64 @@ class PresetResolver:
                return tmpl, None
        return None, None

+    def _extension_manifest_declared_template(
+        self, ext_dir: Path, template_name: str, template_type: str
+    ) -> tuple[dict | None, Path | None]:
+        """Resolve an extension's manifest-declared command/template/script entry and usable file.
+
+        Mirrors ``_manifest_declared_template`` (for presets): returns ``(entry, candidate)``
+        where ``entry`` is the matching ``provides.<type>`` mapping, or ``None`` if the
+        extension has no (valid) manifest or doesn't declare this ``(name, type)``.
+        ``candidate`` is the declared ``file:`` resolved under ``ext_dir`` IFF it is a
+        regular file that stays within ``ext_dir`` (guards against path traversal via a
+        malformed manifest, mirroring ``resolve_extension_command_via_manifest``);
+        ``None`` otherwise.
+
+        The manifest is authoritative: when ``entry`` is not ``None`` but ``candidate`` is
+        ``None``, callers must NOT fall back to convention-based lookup — that would mask
+        a typo or pick up an undeclared file. Shared by ``resolve()`` and
+        ``collect_all_layers()`` so their manifest-first resolution cannot silently
+        diverge (the divergence flagged in review on #4012).
+        """
+        if template_type not in ("command", "template", "script"):
+            return None, None
+        ext_manifest_path = ext_dir / "extension.yml"
+        if not ext_manifest_path.exists():
+            return None, None
+        from ..extensions import ExtensionManifest, ValidationError as ExtValidationError
+
+        try:
+            ext_manifest = ExtensionManifest(ext_manifest_path)
+        except (ExtValidationError, yaml.YAMLError, OSError, TypeError, AttributeError):
+            return None, None
+        if template_type == "command":
+            entries = ext_manifest.commands
+        elif template_type == "template":
+            entries = ext_manifest.templates
+        else:
+            entries = ext_manifest.scripts
+        for entry in entries:
+            if entry.get("name") != template_name:
+                continue
+            file_rel = entry.get("file")
+            if not file_rel:
+                return entry, None
+            rel_path = Path(file_rel)
+            if rel_path.is_absolute():
+                return entry, None
+            candidate = ext_dir / rel_path
+            try:
+                # Resolve only for the containment check, not for the
+                # returned path -- resolving the returned path would follow
+                # symlinks in ext_dir's ancestors (e.g. a symlinked tmp dir
+                # on macOS) and diverge from the unresolved paths convention
+                # lookup returns for the same directory.
+                candidate.resolve().relative_to(ext_dir.resolve())  # raises ValueError if outside
+            except (OSError, ValueError):
+                return entry, None
+            return entry, (candidate if candidate.is_file() else None)
+        return None, None
+
    def _get_all_extensions_by_priority(self) -> list[tuple[int, str, dict | None]]:
        """Build unified list of registered and unregistered extensions sorted by priority.

@@ -4882,6 +5125,16 @@ class PresetResolver:
            return []

        registry = ExtensionRegistry(self.extensions_dir)
+        # Fail closed on a corrupt registry. ExtensionRegistry._load() recovers
+        # by normalizing an unreadable registry to an empty mapping, which would
+        # otherwise cause the directory scan below to admit every on-disk
+        # directory as an unregistered, enabled extension — a fail-open path
+        # that could supply constitution content from an invalid registry state.
+        if registry.is_corrupt():
+            raise PresetValidationError(
+                f"Invalid extension registry {registry.registry_path}: "
+                "refusing to enumerate extensions"
+            )
        # Use keys() to track ALL extensions (including corrupted entries) without deep copy
        # This prevents corrupted entries from being picked up as "unregistered" dirs
        registered_extension_ids = registry.keys()
@@ -4893,6 +5146,8 @@ class PresetResolver:

        # Only include enabled extensions in the result
        for ext_id, metadata in all_registered:
+            if not self._is_safe_registry_id(ext_id):
+                continue
            # Skip disabled extensions
            if not metadata.get("enabled", True):
                continue
@@ -4901,7 +5156,7 @@ class PresetResolver:

        # Add unregistered directories with implicit priority=10
        for ext_dir in self.extensions_dir.iterdir():
-            if not ext_dir.is_dir() or ext_dir.name.startswith("."):
+            if not ext_dir.is_dir() or not self._is_safe_registry_id(ext_dir.name):
                continue
            if ext_dir.name not in registered_extension_ids:
                all_extensions.append((10, ext_dir.name, None))
@@ -4967,8 +5222,7 @@ class PresetResolver:

        # Priority 2: Installed presets (sorted by priority — lower number wins)
        if not skip_presets and self.presets_dir.exists():
-            registry = PresetRegistry(self.presets_dir)
-            for pack_id, _metadata in registry.list_by_priority():
+            for pack_id, _metadata in self._get_all_presets_by_priority():
                pack_dir = self.presets_dir / pack_id
                # The preset manifest is authoritative: if it declares this
                # template with an explicit ``file:``, resolve to that path —
@@ -5004,6 +5258,16 @@ class PresetResolver:
            ext_dir = self.extensions_dir / ext_id
            if not ext_dir.is_dir():
                continue
+            # The extension manifest is authoritative, same as preset manifests
+            # above: check it before convention-based lookup so a declared entry
+            # at a non-conventional path wins over a stale conventional file.
+            entry, manifest_candidate = self._extension_manifest_declared_template(
+                ext_dir, template_name, template_type
+            )
+            if manifest_candidate is not None:
+                return manifest_candidate
+            if entry is not None:
+                continue
            for subdir in subdirs:
                if subdir:
                    candidate = ext_dir / subdir / f"{template_name}{ext}"
@@ -5161,13 +5425,11 @@ class PresetResolver:
            return {"path": resolved_str, "source": "project override"}

        if str(self.presets_dir) in resolved_str and self.presets_dir.exists():
-            registry = PresetRegistry(self.presets_dir)
-            for pack_id, _metadata in registry.list_by_priority():
+            for pack_id, metadata in self._get_all_presets_by_priority():
                pack_dir = self.presets_dir / pack_id
                try:
                    resolved.relative_to(pack_dir)
-                    meta = registry.get(pack_id)
-                    version = meta.get("version", "?") if meta else "?"
+                    version = metadata.get("version", "?")
                    return {
                        "path": resolved_str,
                        "source": f"{pack_id} v{version}",
@@ -5253,8 +5515,7 @@ class PresetResolver:

        # Priority 2: Installed presets (sorted by priority — lower number = higher precedence)
        if self.presets_dir.exists():
-            registry = PresetRegistry(self.presets_dir)
-            for pack_id, metadata in registry.list_by_priority():
+            for pack_id, metadata in self._get_all_presets_by_priority():
                pack_dir = self.presets_dir / pack_id
                # Read strategy and manifest file path from preset manifest
                strategy = "replace"
@@ -5297,7 +5558,7 @@ class PresetResolver:
                                        fm_strategy = fm_data.get("strategy")
                                        if isinstance(fm_strategy, str) and fm_strategy.lower() in VALID_PRESET_STRATEGIES:
                                            strategy = fm_strategy.lower()
-                        except (yaml.YAMLError, OSError):
+                        except (UnicodeDecodeError, yaml.YAMLError, OSError):
                            # Best-effort legacy frontmatter parsing: keep default
                            # strategy ("replace") when content is unreadable/invalid.
                            pass
@@ -5313,27 +5574,15 @@ class PresetResolver:
            ext_dir = self.extensions_dir / ext_id
            if not ext_dir.is_dir():
                continue
-            # Try convention-based lookup first
-            candidate = _find_in_subdirs(ext_dir)
-            # If not found and this is a command, check extension manifest
-            if candidate is None and template_type == "command":
-                ext_manifest_path = ext_dir / "extension.yml"
-                if ext_manifest_path.exists():
-                    try:
-                        from ..extensions import ExtensionManifest, ValidationError as ExtValidationError
-                        ext_manifest = ExtensionManifest(ext_manifest_path)
-                        for cmd in ext_manifest.commands:
-                            if cmd.get("name") == template_name:
-                                cmd_file = cmd.get("file")
-                                if cmd_file:
-                                    c = ext_dir / cmd_file
-                                    if c.exists():
-                                        candidate = c
-                                break
-                    except (ExtValidationError, yaml.YAMLError):
-                        # Invalid extension manifest — fall back to
-                        # convention-based lookup (already attempted above).
-                        pass
+            # The extension manifest is authoritative, same as preset manifests
+            # above: check it before convention-based lookup so a declared entry
+            # at a non-conventional path wins over a stale conventional file, and
+            # a declared-but-missing file isn't silently masked by convention.
+            entry, candidate = self._extension_manifest_declared_template(
+                ext_dir, template_name, template_type
+            )
+            if entry is None:
+                candidate = _find_in_subdirs(ext_dir)
            if candidate:
                if ext_meta:
                    version = ext_meta.get("version", "?")
@@ -5465,7 +5714,7 @@ class PresetResolver:
        if not layers:
            return None

-        def _read_layer_content(layer: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
+        def _read_layer_content(layer: Dict[str, Any]) -> Optional[str]:
            """Read a layer's raw text, rewriting extension-relative subdir
            references (agents/, knowledge-base/, etc.) to their installed
            location when the layer is extension-provided (#2101).
@@ -5475,8 +5724,18 @@ class PresetResolver:
            rewrite when it wins outright above or serves as the
            composition base below — never as a mid-stack composing
            (append/prepend/wrap) layer.
+
+            Returns None when the layer cannot be read or decoded:
+            collect_all_layers deliberately keeps a non-UTF-8 legacy layer
+            (with its "replace" default) so unrelated commands still
+            resolve, so the same tolerance must apply here — the documented
+            contract is "Composed content string, or None if not found",
+            not a raw UnicodeDecodeError at composition time.
            """
-            text = layer["path"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            try:
+                text = layer["path"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+                return None
            extension_id = layer.get("extension_id")
            extension_dir = layer.get("extension_dir")
            if extension_id and extension_dir:
@@ -5514,6 +5773,8 @@ class PresetResolver:
        # Convert to reversed_layers index
        base_reversed_idx = len(layers) - 1 - base_layer_idx
        content = _read_layer_content(layers[base_layer_idx])
+        if content is None:
+            return None
        # Compose only the layers above the base (higher priority = lower index in layers,
        # higher index in reversed_layers). Process bottom-up from base+1.
        start_idx = base_reversed_idx + 1
@@ -5557,7 +5818,12 @@ class PresetResolver:

        # Apply composition layers from bottom to top
        for layer in reversed_layers[start_idx:]:
-            layer_content = layer["path"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            try:
+                layer_content = layer["path"].read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            except (OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+                # Same tolerance as _read_layer_content: an unreadable layer
+                # means the composed result cannot be produced.
+                return None
            strategy = layer["strategy"]

            if is_command:
@@ -5614,7 +5880,7 @@ class PresetResolver:
            # Inherit scripts/agent_scripts from base frontmatter if missing
            if base_frontmatter_text and base_frontmatter_text != top_frontmatter_text:
                base_fm = _parse_fm_yaml(base_frontmatter_text)
-                for key in ("scripts", "agent_scripts"):
+                for key in ("scripts", "agent_scripts", "argument-hint"):
                    if key not in top_fm and key in base_fm:
                        top_fm[key] = base_fm[key]

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ keeps working.
 from __future__ import annotations

 import os
+import re
 from pathlib import Path

 import typer
@@ -352,9 +353,26 @@ def preset_resolve(
    from .. import _require_specify_project
    from . import PresetResolver

+    is_command = "." in template_name
+    valid_name = (
+        re.fullmatch(r"[a-z0-9-]+(?:\.[a-z0-9-]+)+", template_name)
+        if is_command
+        else re.fullmatch(r"[a-z0-9-]+", template_name)
+    )
+    if valid_name is None:
+        typer.echo(
+            f"Error: invalid template name '{template_name}'; "
+            "use lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens, with non-empty "
+            "dot-separated segments for commands",
+            err=True,
+        )
+        raise typer.Exit(1)
+
    project_root = _require_specify_project()
    resolver = PresetResolver(project_root)
-    layers = resolver.collect_all_layers(template_name)
+    template_type = "command" if is_command else "template"
+
+    layers = resolver.collect_all_layers(template_name, template_type)
    safe_template_name = _escape_markup(str(template_name))

    if layers:
@@ -377,7 +395,7 @@ def preset_resolve(
        if has_composition:
            # Verify composition is actually possible
            try:
-                composed = resolver.resolve_content(template_name)
+                composed = resolver.resolve_content(template_name, template_type)
            except Exception as exc:
                composed = None
                console.print(
@@ -416,7 +434,7 @@ def preset_resolve(
                )
    else:
        # No layers found — fall back to resolve_with_source for non-composition cases
-        result = resolver.resolve_with_source(template_name)
+        result = resolver.resolve_with_source(template_name, template_type)
        if result:
            console.print(
                f"  [bold]{safe_template_name}[/bold]: "
@@ -800,8 +818,8 @@ def preset_catalog_remove(

    try:
        config = yaml.safe_load(config_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")) or {}
-    except Exception:
-        console.print("[red]Error:[/red] Failed to read preset catalog config.")
+    except Exception as e:
+        console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Failed to read preset catalog config: {e}")
        raise typer.Exit(1)

    catalogs = config.get("catalogs", [])
@@ -16,6 +16,22 @@ from .integrations.manifest import IntegrationManifest

 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

+# Managed ``.specify/.gitignore``. Keeps machine-local Spec Kit state out of
+# version control while leaving shareable project files (specs, constitution,
+# templates, scripts, extension config) tracked. Patterns are relative to the
+# ``.specify/`` directory the file lives in.
+SPECIFY_GITIGNORE_CONTENT = """\
+# Machine-local Spec Kit state — not meant to be shared.
+# Managed by the Specify CLI; safe to edit (your changes are preserved on refresh).
+
+# Local pointer to the current feature directory. Rewritten every time you
+# switch features, so it is per-checkout state rather than something to share.
+feature.json
+
+# Per-machine extension config overrides.
+extensions/*/local-config.yml
+"""
+
 # Matches a SHA-256 digest in its normalized form: exactly 64 hexadecimal
 # characters. Callers lowercase the declared value before matching (see
 # ``expected_hex = raw.lower()`` below), so an uppercase digest is accepted and
@@ -262,8 +278,7 @@ def _write_shared_bytes(
        _ensure_safe_shared_destination(project_path, dest)
        os.replace(temp_path, dest)
    finally:
-        if temp_path.exists():
-            temp_path.unlink()
+        temp_path.unlink(missing_ok=True)


 _BASH_FORMAT_COMMAND_RE = re.compile(
@@ -608,6 +623,36 @@ def install_shared_infra(
                )
                planned_templates.append((dst, rel, content))

+    # Managed ``.specify/.gitignore`` — keeps machine-local state (the
+    # ``feature.json`` pointer and per-machine ``local-config.yml`` overrides)
+    # out of git while leaving everything else shareable. Routed through the
+    # same overwrite/skip/preserve policy as templates so ``--force`` refreshes
+    # it and user edits are preserved. Like every other shared-infra file it is
+    # tracked in ``speckit.manifest.json`` (not the per-integration manifest) and
+    # is therefore intentionally left in place by ``integration uninstall``.
+    specify_dir = project_path / ".specify"
+    if _ensure_or_bucket_dir(specify_dir):
+        gitignore_dst = specify_dir / ".gitignore"
+        gitignore_rel = gitignore_dst.relative_to(project_path).as_posix()
+        seen_rels.add(gitignore_rel)
+        if _safe_dest_or_bucket(gitignore_dst, gitignore_rel):
+            write, bucket = _decide_overwrite(gitignore_rel, gitignore_dst)
+            if write:
+                planned_templates.append(
+                    (gitignore_dst, gitignore_rel, SPECIFY_GITIGNORE_CONTENT)
+                )
+            elif bucket == "preserved":
+                preserved_user_files.append(gitignore_rel)
+            else:
+                skipped_files.append(gitignore_rel)
+                if gitignore_dst.is_file() and gitignore_rel not in prior_hashes:
+                    try:
+                        manifest.record_existing(gitignore_rel, recovered=True)
+                    except (OSError, ValueError) as exc:
+                        console.print(
+                            f"[yellow]⚠[/yellow]  could not record {gitignore_rel} in manifest: {exc}"
+                        )
+
    for dst_path, rel, content, mode in planned_copies:
        if not _ensure_or_bucket_dir(dst_path.parent):
            continue
@@ -1594,6 +1594,12 @@ def workflow_status(
        except ValueError as exc:
            err.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] {_escape_markup(str(exc))}")
            raise typer.Exit(1)
+        except OSError as exc:
+            # An unreadable state.json (bad permissions, a directory in its
+            # place, I/O error) must fail as cleanly as the malformed-JSON
+            # case above -- `workflow resume` already handles OSError here.
+            err.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] {_escape_markup(str(exc))}")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)

        if json_output:
            # Build on the shared run/resume payload so the common fields
@@ -761,6 +761,11 @@ class RunState:
                "Invalid run state: missing required field(s): "
                + ", ".join(missing_fields)
            )
+        if state_data["run_id"] != run_id:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Invalid run state: stored run_id {state_data['run_id']!r} "
+                f"does not match requested run_id {run_id!r}"
+            )

        workflow_id = state_data["workflow_id"]
        if not isinstance(workflow_id, str) or not _ID_PATTERN.fullmatch(
@@ -1705,8 +1710,13 @@ class WorkflowEngine:
                continue
            state_path = run_dir / "state.json"
            if state_path.exists():
-                with open(state_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
-                    state_data = json.load(f)
+                try:
+                    with open(state_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
+                        state_data = json.load(f)
+                except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError, UnicodeDecodeError):
+                    continue
+                if not isinstance(state_data, dict) or "run_id" not in state_data:
+                    continue
                runs.append(state_data)
        return runs

@@ -671,8 +671,20 @@ def evaluate_condition(condition: str, context: Any) -> bool:
    result = evaluate_expression(condition, context)
    # Treat plain "false"/"true" strings as booleans so that
    # condition: "false" (without {{ }}) behaves as expected.
+    #
+    # Strip before matching: the string a condition resolves to is most often
+    # captured command output, and a ``shell`` step stores ``proc.stdout``
+    # verbatim, so ``run: echo false`` resolves to ``"false\n"``. Without the
+    # strip that trailing newline matches neither branch and falls through to
+    # ``bool("false\n")`` -> True, silently taking an ``if`` step's ``then``
+    # branch (and keeping a ``while``/``do-while`` looping) on a step that
+    # printed "false". A workflow cannot strip it itself -- the registered
+    # filters are default/join/map/contains/from_json, there is no ``trim``.
+    # ``InitStep._resolve_bool`` and the catalog readers already strip before
+    # matching boolean text. ``bool(result)`` below still sees the raw string,
+    # so no non-boolean text changes truthiness.
    if isinstance(result, str):
-        lower = result.lower()
+        lower = result.strip().lower()
        if lower == "false":
            return False
        if lower == "true":
@@ -87,7 +87,12 @@ def _parse_edit(edit_raw: dict[str, Any], idx: int) -> tuple[OverlayEdit | None,
    else:
        return None, f"Edit at index {idx} has no operation; expected one of {sorted(VALID_OPERATIONS)}."

-    if operation not in VALID_OPERATIONS:
+    # ``operation`` comes straight from hand-edited YAML, so it may be an
+    # unhashable mapping/sequence (``operation: {insert_after: a}`` when the
+    # shorthand form is nested by mistake). Membership-testing an unhashable
+    # value against the frozenset raises TypeError, which would escape this
+    # never-raising validator; check the type first, like 'anchor' below.
+    if not isinstance(operation, str) or operation not in VALID_OPERATIONS:
        return None, f"Edit at index {idx} has invalid operation {operation!r}."

    if not isinstance(anchor, str) or not anchor:
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import os
 from typing import Any

-from specify_cli._agent_config import DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION, SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES
+from specify_cli._agent_config import (
+    SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
+    resolve_default_init_integration,
+)
 from specify_cli.workflows.base import StepBase, StepContext, StepResult, StepStatus
 from specify_cli.workflows.expressions import evaluate_expression

@@ -54,7 +57,8 @@ class InitStep(StepBase):
        Initialize in the target directory instead of creating a new one.
    ``integration``
        Integration key (e.g. ``copilot``).  Defaults to the workflow's
-        default integration, then to ``DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION``.
+        default integration, then to the resolved default init integration
+        (``SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT`` env var, else ``copilot``).
    ``integration_options``
        Extra options for the integration (e.g. ``"--skills"`` or
        ``"--commands-dir .myagent/cmds"``).
@@ -81,7 +85,7 @@ class InitStep(StepBase):
        # Apply the same default that specify init uses in non-interactive mode
        # so that output.integration reflects the actual integration used.
        if not integration:
-            integration = DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION
+            integration = resolve_default_init_integration()

        integration_options = self._resolve(
            config.get("integration_options"), context
@@ -91,9 +95,17 @@ class InitStep(StepBase):

        force = self._resolve_bool(config.get("force"), context)
        # Workflows run unattended; skip the agent CLI presence check by default.
-        ignore_agent_tools = self._resolve_bool(
-            config.get("ignore_agent_tools", True), context
-        )
+        # ``config.get(key, True)`` applies that default only when the key is
+        # ABSENT: a bare ``ignore_agent_tools:`` in YAML parses to None, which
+        # ``_resolve_bool`` then turns into False -- flipping the documented
+        # default and re-enabling the agent-CLI presence check this step promises
+        # to skip, so an unattended run fails with "Agent Detection Error" for
+        # any integration whose CLI is not installed. Normalize an explicit null
+        # to the default, mirroring the while/do-while ``max_iterations`` handling.
+        raw_ignore_agent_tools = config.get("ignore_agent_tools")
+        if raw_ignore_agent_tools is None:
+            raw_ignore_agent_tools = True
+        ignore_agent_tools = self._resolve_bool(raw_ignore_agent_tools, context)

        argv: list[str] = ["init"]
        if here:
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 ---
 description: Generate a custom checklist for the current feature based on user requirements.
 scripts:
-  sh: scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json
-  ps: scripts/powershell/check-prerequisites.ps1 -Json
-  py: scripts/python/check_prerequisites.py --json
+  sh: scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh --json --template checklist-template
+  ps: scripts/powershell/check-prerequisites.ps1 -Json -Template checklist-template
+  py: scripts/python/check_prerequisites.py --json --template checklist-template
 ---

 ## Checklist Purpose: "Unit Tests for English"
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

 ## Execution Steps

-1. **Setup**: Run `{SCRIPT}` from repo root and parse JSON for FEATURE_DIR and AVAILABLE_DOCS list.
+1. **Setup**: Run `{SCRIPT}` from repo root and parse JSON for FEATURE_DIR, AVAILABLE_DOCS list, and TEMPLATE_CONTENT.
   - All file paths must be absolute.
   - For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).
   - Use progressive disclosure: add follow-on retrieval only if gaps detected
   - If source docs are large, generate interim summary items instead of embedding raw text

-6. **Generate checklist** - Create "Unit Tests for Requirements":
+6. **Generate checklist** - Use TEMPLATE_CONTENT as the structural template and create "Unit Tests for Requirements":
   - Create `FEATURE_DIR/checklists/` directory if it doesn't exist
   - Generate unique checklist filename:
     - Use short, descriptive name based on domain (e.g., `ux.md`, `api.md`, `security.md`)
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ handoffs:
  - label: Build Specification
    agent: speckit.specify
    prompt: Implement the feature specification based on the updated constitution. I want to build...
+scripts:
+  sh: scripts/bash/resolve-template.sh constitution-template --json
+  ps: scripts/powershell/resolve-template.ps1 constitution-template -Json
+  py: scripts/python/resolve_template.py constitution-template --json
 ---

 ## User Input
@@ -70,13 +74,22 @@ and commands read the constitution at runtime and are not modified here.

 ## Outline

-You are updating the project constitution at `.specify/memory/constitution.md`. This file is a TEMPLATE containing placeholder tokens in square brackets (e.g. `[PROJECT_NAME]`, `[PRINCIPLE_1_NAME]`). Your job is to (a) collect/derive concrete values and (b) fill the template precisely.
-
-**Note**: If `.specify/memory/constitution.md` does not exist yet, it should have been initialized from `.specify/templates/constitution-template.md` during project setup. If it's missing, copy the template first.
+You are updating the project constitution at `.specify/memory/constitution.md`. The active
+constitution scaffold is resolved at command time from `constitution-template` through the Spec Kit
+preset/template resolution stack.

 Follow this execution flow:

-1. Load the existing constitution at `.specify/memory/constitution.md`.
+1. Run `{SCRIPT}` from the repository root and parse `TEMPLATE_CONTENT` as the active template.
+   - The shared resolver applies project overrides, composing preset layers, and extension layers
+     before the core template fallback. It MUST succeed before continuing.
+   - If it fails, stop and report the resolution error; do not continue with only one contributing
+     template layer.
+   - If `.specify/memory/constitution.md` exists, load it as the source of current project-specific
+     values and amendments. Preserve information that is still applicable when applying the newly
+     resolved scaffold.
+   - If it does not exist, use the resolved template as the initial document.
+   - Do not write back to any versioned template layer.
   - Identify every placeholder token of the form `[ALL_CAPS_IDENTIFIER]`.
   **IMPORTANT**: The user might require less or more principles than the ones used in the template. If a number is specified, respect that - follow the general template. You will update the doc accordingly.

@@ -90,7 +103,7 @@ Follow this execution flow:
     - PATCH: Clarifications, wording, typo fixes, non-semantic refinements.
   - If version bump type ambiguous, propose reasoning before finalizing.

-3. Draft the updated constitution content:
+3. Draft the updated constitution content using the resolved template as the required structure:
   - Replace every placeholder with concrete text (no bracketed tokens left except intentionally retained template slots that the project has chosen not to define yet—explicitly justify any left).
   - Preserve heading hierarchy and comments can be removed once replaced unless they still add clarifying guidance.
   - Ensure each Principle section: succinct name line, paragraph (or bullet list) capturing non‑negotiable rules, explicit rationale if not obvious.
@@ -128,7 +141,7 @@ If the user supplies partial updates (e.g., only one principle revision), still

 If critical info missing (e.g., ratification date truly unknown), insert `TODO(<FIELD_NAME>): explanation` and include in the Sync Impact Report under deferred items.

-Do not create a new template; always operate on the existing `.specify/memory/constitution.md` file.
+Write only `.specify/memory/constitution.md`; do not create or modify template source files.

 ## Post-Execution Checks

@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

 ## Outline

-1. **Setup**: Run `{SCRIPT}` from repo root and parse FEATURE_DIR, TASKS_TEMPLATE, and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. `FEATURE_DIR` and `TASKS_TEMPLATE` must be absolute paths when provided. `AVAILABLE_DOCS` is a list of document names/relative paths available under `FEATURE_DIR` (for example `research.md` or `contracts/`). For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").
+1. **Setup**: Run `{SCRIPT}` from repo root and parse FEATURE_DIR, TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT, TASKS_TEMPLATE, and AVAILABLE_DOCS list. `FEATURE_DIR` and `TASKS_TEMPLATE` must be absolute paths when provided. `AVAILABLE_DOCS` is a list of document names/relative paths available under `FEATURE_DIR` (for example `research.md` or `contracts/`). For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'\''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot").

 2. **Load design documents**: Read from FEATURE_DIR:
   - **Required**: plan.md (tech stack, libraries, structure), spec.md (user stories with priorities)
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ You **MUST** consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).
   - Create parallel execution examples per user story
   - Validate task completeness (each user story has all needed tasks, independently testable)

-4. **Generate tasks.md**: Read the tasks template from TASKS_TEMPLATE (from the JSON output above) and use it as structure. If TASKS_TEMPLATE is empty, fall back to `.specify/templates/tasks-template.md`. Fill with:
+4. **Generate tasks.md**: Use TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT (from the JSON output above) as the structure. For compatibility with older setup scripts that omit TASKS_TEMPLATE_CONTENT, read TASKS_TEMPLATE instead. Fill with:
   - Correct feature name from plan.md
   - Phase 1: Setup tasks (project initialization)
   - Phase 2: Foundational tasks (blocking prerequisites for all user stories)
@@ -217,6 +217,31 @@ def test_catalog_remove_builtin_is_refused(project: Path):
    assert "built-in" in result.output


+# Every ``bundle`` error path funnels through ``_fail(str(exc))``, and the
+# BundlerError messages interpolate untrusted data -- including the command's
+# own argument. An unbalanced closer used to raise MarkupError instead of the
+# error, leaving the user with a traceback and no message at all.
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "argv, expected",
+    [
+        (
+            ["bundle", "catalog", "add", "ssh://ex[/red]ample.com/c.json"],
+            "ssh://ex[/red]ample.com/c.json",
+        ),
+        (["bundle", "catalog", "remove", "no[/red]such"], "no[/red]such"),
+        (["bundle", "update", "no[/red]such"], "no[/red]such"),
+        (["bundle", "remove", "no[/red]such"], "no[/red]such"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_error_paths_escape_rich_markup(project: Path, argv: list, expected: str):
+    result = runner.invoke(app, argv)
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 1
+    # A MarkupError would surface here as an exception rather than a clean exit.
+    assert isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
+    assert expected in strip_ansi(result.output)
+
+
 def test_validate_reports_invalid_manifest(project: Path):
    data = valid_manifest_dict()
    del data["bundle"]["license"]
@@ -237,6 +262,33 @@ def test_validate_accepts_valid_manifest(project: Path):
    assert "valid" in result.output


+def test_validate_escapes_manifest_markup_in_errors(project: Path):
+    data = valid_manifest_dict()
+    # An invalid constraint is echoed back inside the validation error.
+    data["requires"] = {"speckit_version": ">=1.0[/bold]"}
+    (project / "bundle.yml").write_text(yaml.safe_dump(data), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    result = runner.invoke(app, ["bundle", "validate", "--offline"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 1
+    assert isinstance(result.exception, SystemExit)
+    assert ">=1.0[/bold]" in strip_ansi(result.output)
+
+
+def test_validate_escapes_manifest_markup_in_warnings(project: Path):
+    data = valid_manifest_dict()
+    # Step ids are not charset-validated, and the unresolved-reference warning
+    # echoes them -- so an otherwise *valid* manifest crashed just as readily as
+    # an invalid one, on the success path.
+    data["provides"]["steps"] = [{"id": "step[/bold]a"}]
+    (project / "bundle.yml").write_text(yaml.safe_dump(data), encoding="utf-8")
+
+    result = runner.invoke(app, ["bundle", "validate", "--offline"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0, repr(result.exception)
+    assert "step[/bold]a" in strip_ansi(result.output)
+
+
 def test_validate_rejects_broken_reference(project: Path):
    # Synthetic component ids resolve to nothing in any catalog → hard failure.
    (project / "bundle.yml").write_text(
@@ -267,6 +319,65 @@ def test_build_produces_artifact(project: Path):
    assert len(artifacts) == 1


+def test_build_escapes_markup_in_output_path(project: Path):
+    """The build success line echoes a caller-supplied ``--output`` path.
+
+    Brackets are legal in a directory name on both POSIX and Windows, so the
+    artifact is built and *then* misreported: ``[bold]`` is consumed as a style
+    tag, and the success line names a path that does not exist on disk.
+
+    A closing tag (``[/red]``) would raise MarkupError outright, but ``/`` is a
+    path separator on Windows, so this uses the silent-swallow form to keep the
+    fixture portable.
+    """
+    (project / "bundle.yml").write_text(
+        yaml.safe_dump(valid_manifest_dict()), encoding="utf-8"
+    )
+    (project / "README.md").write_text("# Demo", encoding="utf-8")
+    out_dir = project / "dist[bold]out"
+
+    result = runner.invoke(app, ["bundle", "build", "--output", str(out_dir)])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0, repr(result.exception)
+    assert list(out_dir.glob("*.zip")), "the artifact should still be built"
+    assert "dist[bold]out" in strip_ansi(result.output), (
+        "the reported path must match the directory actually written"
+    )
+
+
+def test_list_escapes_markup_in_records(project: Path):
+    """``bundle list`` renders record fields that are never charset-validated.
+
+    ``InstalledBundleRecord.from_dict`` accepts any non-empty string for
+    ``bundle_id``/``version`` and any string for ``installed_at``, so a records
+    file that *loads cleanly* could still crash the command that displays it.
+    """
+    (project / ".specify" / "bundle-records.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps(
+            {
+                "schema_version": "1.0",
+                "bundles": [
+                    {
+                        "bundle_id": "demo[/red]id",
+                        "version": "1.0.0[/bold]",
+                        "installed_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z[/dim]",
+                        "contributed_components": [],
+                    }
+                ],
+            }
+        ),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    result = runner.invoke(app, ["bundle", "list"])
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0, repr(result.exception)
+    output = strip_ansi(result.output)
+    assert "demo[/red]id" in output
+    assert "1.0.0[/bold]" in output
+    assert "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z[/dim]" in output
+
+
 def _mock_manifest_download(monkeypatch, source_path: Path) -> None:
    """Mock the HTTPS manifest fetch to return a locally-authored manifest.

@@ -222,32 +222,6 @@ def test_python_custom_markers_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
    assert "old" not in content


-@requires_posix_bash
-def test_python_blank_markers_use_defaults_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
-    # Regression: with blank markers (config relying on the built-in defaults),
-    # the Bash port must fall back to DEFAULT_START/END, matching the Python and
-    # PowerShell ports. Previously the Bash config-parser transport dropped the
-    # trailing empty marker lines under $(...) command substitution, tripping the
-    # "malformed config parser output" guard so the default-marker substitution
-    # became unreachable and the context file was never updated.
-    markers = {"start": "", "end": ""}
-    repo_a, repo_b = twin_projects(
-        tmp_path, context_file="AGENTS.md", context_markers=markers
-    )
-    add_plan(repo_a)
-    add_plan(repo_b)
-
-    bash = run_bash(repo_a)
-    py = run_python(repo_b)
-
-    assert_parity(bash, py, repo_a, repo_b)
-    content = (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
-    assert content == (repo_a / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
-    assert b"<!-- SPECKIT START -->" in content
-    assert b"<!-- SPECKIT END -->" in content
-    assert b"at specs/001-demo/plan.md" in content
-
-
@requires_posix_bash
 def test_python_multiple_context_files_dedup_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
    files = ["AGENTS.md", "docs/CONTEXT.md", "AGENTS.md"]
@@ -344,14 +318,19 @@ def test_python_mtime_fallback_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -> None:


@requires_posix_bash
-def test_python_mtime_fallback_finds_nested_plan_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
-    # Regression: the mtime fallback must discover plan.md in nested scoped
-    # layouts (specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md), matching the Bash/PowerShell
-    # ports and the documented recursive-discovery contract (see #3024). A
-    # one-level scan (specs/*/plan.md) would miss this and omit the plan link.
+def test_python_mtime_fallback_finds_nested_plan_matching_bash(
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    """The mtime fallback must recurse into scoped layouts.
+
+    A plan created under specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md (as produced via
+    SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY) is more than one level below specs/. The old
+    Python port used a one-level specs/*/plan.md glob and missed it, while the
+    bash/PowerShell twins recurse (#3024). This locks in the parity.
+    """
    repo_a, repo_b = twin_projects(tmp_path, context_file="AGENTS.md")
    for repo in (repo_a, repo_b):
-        plan = repo / "specs" / "scope-a" / "002-nested" / "plan.md"
+        plan = repo / "specs" / "backend" / "001-nested" / "plan.md"
        plan.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
        plan.write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")

@@ -361,7 +340,39 @@ def test_python_mtime_fallback_finds_nested_plan_matching_bash(tmp_path: Path) -
    assert_parity(bash, py, repo_a, repo_b)
    content = (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
    assert content == (repo_a / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
-    assert b"at specs/scope-a/002-nested/plan.md" in content
+    assert b"at specs/backend/001-nested/plan.md" in content
+
+
+@requires_posix_bash
+def test_python_mtime_fallback_skips_plan_reached_through_escaping_symlink(
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    """A plan reached via a specs/ symlink out of the project is not selected.
+
+    ``relative_to()`` is lexical, so ``specs/linked/001-x/plan.md`` looks
+    in-project even when ``specs/linked`` points outside the tree. Resolving
+    before the containment check rejects it, so the fallback finds nothing and
+    the ``at <plan>`` line is omitted rather than naming an out-of-project file
+    with an in-project-looking path. Mirrors the bash twin's ``_resolved_rel``.
+    """
+    repo_a, repo_b = twin_projects(tmp_path, context_file="AGENTS.md")
+    for repo in (repo_a, repo_b):
+        outside = repo.parent / f"outside-{repo.name}" / "001-x"
+        outside.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        (outside / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        specs = repo / "specs"
+        specs.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        (specs / "linked").symlink_to(outside.parent, target_is_directory=True)
+        # Sanity: the plan really is reachable through the symlink.
+        assert (specs / "linked" / "001-x" / "plan.md").is_file()
+
+    bash = run_bash(repo_a)
+    py = run_python(repo_b)
+
+    assert_parity(bash, py, repo_a, repo_b)
+    content = (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
+    assert content == (repo_a / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
+    assert b"\nat " not in content


@requires_posix_bash
@@ -508,6 +519,31 @@ def test_python_fresh_context_file_matches_powershell(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
    assert (repo_a / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes() == (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()


+@pytest.mark.skipif(not POWERSHELL, reason="no PowerShell available")
+def test_python_mtime_fallback_finds_nested_plan_matches_powershell(
+    tmp_path: Path,
+) -> None:
+    """Python's mtime fallback must recurse like the PowerShell twin.
+
+    With no feature.json, discovery falls back to scanning under specs/. A plan
+    at specs/<scope>/<feature>/plan.md sits more than one level deep; the old
+    Python one-level glob missed it while PowerShell already recurses (#3024).
+    """
+    repo_a = make_project(tmp_path / "proj-ps", context_file="AGENTS.md")
+    repo_b = make_project(tmp_path / "proj-py", context_file="AGENTS.md")
+    for repo in (repo_a, repo_b):
+        plan = repo / "specs" / "backend" / "001-nested" / "plan.md"
+        plan.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        plan.write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+    ps = run_powershell(repo_a)
+    py = run_python(repo_b)
+
+    assert ps.returncode == py.returncode == 0, ps.stderr + py.stderr
+    assert (repo_a / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes() == (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
+    assert b"at specs/backend/001-nested/plan.md" in (repo_b / "AGENTS.md").read_bytes()
+
+
@pytest.mark.skipif(not POWERSHELL, reason="no PowerShell available")
 def test_python_upsert_matches_powershell(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
    repo_a = make_project(tmp_path / "proj-ps", context_file="AGENTS.md")
@@ -44,6 +44,20 @@ def test_precedence_default_when_unspecified():
    assert _resolve_init_integration(None, None) == "copilot"


+def test_precedence_default_honors_env_var(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_DEFAULT", "gemini")
+    # With no override and no bundle-declared integration, the env-var default
+    # applies instead of the hardcoded "copilot".
+    assert _resolve_init_integration(None, None) == "gemini"
+    assert _resolve_init_integration(None, _manifest()) == "gemini"
+    # Explicit override and bundle-declared integration still take precedence.
+    assert _resolve_init_integration("claude", None) == "claude"
+    assert (
+        _resolve_init_integration(None, _manifest(integration={"id": "claude"}))
+        == "claude"
+    )
+
+
 def _build_mini(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
    bundle = tmp_path / "mini"
    bundle.mkdir()
@@ -186,6 +186,50 @@ def test_local_zip_uses_bounded_archive_open(tmp_path: Path):
        _local_manifest_source(str(artifact))


+def test_local_zip_wraps_malformed_manifest_yaml(tmp_path: Path):
+    """A malformed bundle.yml inside a .zip must raise BundlerError.
+
+    The zip branch parses YAML inline rather than through load_yaml(), so the
+    raw yaml.YAMLError used to escape. It is neither a ValueError nor an
+    OSError, so nothing upstream caught it.
+    """
+    artifact = tmp_path / "bad-manifest.zip"
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(artifact, "w") as archive:
+        archive.writestr("bundle.yml", "bundle: [unclosed\n  id: demo\n")
+
+    with pytest.raises(BundlerError, match="Invalid YAML"):
+        _local_manifest_source(str(artifact))
+
+
+def test_malformed_manifest_yaml_fails_alike_for_every_local_source(tmp_path: Path):
+    """`bundle install` reports malformed YAML the same way for all 3 sources.
+
+    Directory and bundle.yml sources already exited 1 with an "Invalid YAML"
+    message; the .zip source dumped a yaml.parser.ParserError traceback.
+    """
+    bad_yaml = "bundle: [unclosed\n  id: demo\n"
+
+    directory = tmp_path / "dir-src"
+    directory.mkdir()
+    (directory / "bundle.yml").write_text(bad_yaml, encoding="utf-8")
+
+    manifest_file = tmp_path / "standalone.yml"
+    manifest_file.write_text(bad_yaml, encoding="utf-8")
+
+    artifact = tmp_path / "artifact.zip"
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(artifact, "w") as archive:
+        archive.writestr("bundle.yml", bad_yaml)
+
+    runner = CliRunner()
+    for source in (directory, manifest_file, artifact):
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["bundle", "install", str(source)])
+        assert result.exit_code == 1, f"{source.name}: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exception is None or isinstance(
+            result.exception, SystemExit
+        ), f"{source.name} leaked {type(result.exception).__name__}"
+        assert "Invalid YAML" in result.output, f"{source.name}: {result.output}"
+
+
 def test_invalid_local_manifest_is_rejected_before_project_init(
    tmp_path: Path,
    monkeypatch,
--- a/Show More
+++ b/Show More