Implementation Phases

Phase 1: Core Extension System ✅ COMPLETED

Goal: Basic extension infrastructure

Deliverables:

• [x] Extension manifest schema (extension.yml)
• [x] Extension directory structure
• [x] CLI commands:
  • [x] specify extension list
  • [x] specify extension add (from URL and local --dev)
  • [x] specify extension remove
• [x] Extension registry (.specify/extensions/.registry)
• [x] Command registration (Claude and 15+ other agents)
• [x] Basic validation (manifest schema, compatibility)
• [x] Documentation (extension development guide)

Testing:

• [x] Unit tests for manifest parsing
• [x] Integration test: Install dummy extension
• [x] Integration test: Register commands with Claude

Phase 2: Jira Extension ✅ COMPLETED

Goal: First production extension

Deliverables:

• [x] Create spec-kit-jira repository
• [x] Port Jira functionality to extension
• [x] Create jira-config.yml template
• [x] Commands:
  • [x] specstoissues.md
  • [x] discover-fields.md
  • [x] sync-status.md
• [x] Helper scripts
• [x] Documentation (README, configuration guide, examples)
• [x] Release v3.0.0

Testing:

• [x] Test on eng-msa-ts project
• [x] Verify spec→Epic, phase→Story, task→Issue mapping
• [x] Test configuration loading and validation
• [x] Test custom field application

Phase 3: Extension Catalog ✅ COMPLETED

Goal: Discovery and distribution

Deliverables:

• [x] Central catalog (extensions/catalog.json in spec-kit repo)
• [x] Community catalog (extensions/catalog.community.json)
• [x] Catalog fetch and parsing with multi-catalog support
• [x] CLI commands:
  • [x] specify extension search
  • [x] specify extension info
  • [x] specify extension catalog list
  • [x] specify extension catalog add
  • [x] specify extension catalog remove
• [x] Documentation (how to publish extensions)

Testing:

• [x] Test catalog fetch
• [x] Test extension search/filtering
• [x] Test catalog caching
• [x] Test multi-catalog merge with priority

Phase 4: Advanced Features ✅ COMPLETED

Goal: Hooks, updates, multi-agent support

Deliverables:

• [x] Hook system (hooks in extension.yml)
• [x] Hook registration and execution
• [x] Project extensions config (.specify/extensions.yml)
• [x] CLI commands:
  • [x] specify extension update (with atomic backup/restore)
  • [x] specify extension enable/disable
• [x] Command registration for multiple agents (15+ agents including Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Cursor, etc.)
• [x] Extension update notifications (version comparison)
• [x] Configuration layer resolution (project, local, env)

Additional features implemented beyond original RFC:

• [x] Display name resolution: All commands accept extension display names in addition to IDs
• [x] Ambiguous name handling: User-friendly tables when multiple extensions match a name
• [x] Atomic update with rollback: Full backup of extension dir, commands, hooks, and registry with automatic rollback on failure
• [x] Pre-install ID validation: Validates extension ID from ZIP before installing (security)
• [x] Enabled state preservation: Disabled extensions stay disabled after update
• [x] Registry update/restore methods: Clean API for enable/disable and rollback operations
• [x] Catalog error fallback: extension info falls back to local info when catalog unavailable
• [x] _install_allowed flag: Discovery-only catalogs can't be used for installation
• [x] Cache invalidation: Cache invalidated when SPECKIT_CATALOG_URL changes

Testing:

• [x] Test hooks in core commands
• [x] Test extension updates (preserve config)
• [x] Test multi-agent registration
• [x] Test atomic rollback on update failure
• [x] Test enabled state preservation
• [x] Test display name resolution

Phase 5: Polish & Documentation ✅ COMPLETED

Goal: Production ready

Deliverables:

• [x] Comprehensive documentation:
  • [x] User guide (EXTENSION-USER-GUIDE.md)
  • [x] Extension development guide (EXTENSION-DEV-GUIDE.md)
  • [x] Extension API reference (EXTENSION-API-REFERENCE.md)
• [x] Error messages and validation improvements
• [x] CLI help text updates

Testing:

• [x] End-to-end testing on multiple projects
• [x] 163 unit tests passing