Extract Canvas Design into a standalone Specify extension package

[nicolehaugen]

Summary

Extract Canvas Design into an independently publishable Specify CLI extension package, with a Copilot-specific extension catalog parallel to the existing preset catalog. No Wizard/Designer consumer changes.

• Extract spec-kit-extensions/ from the pinned source snapshot 22efef80d01a70178ca2357b5fcfc6b3e9ca3876 in Add required Canvas Design extension and dynamic Designer pages #40. Preserve version 0.1.0, command/template IDs, four JSON pages, and command. Add the requested copilot and exact lowercase canvas-design discovery tags to the source manifest. Tighten the page schema so a field's default requires an explicit boolean type, matching the pinned Designer's runtime validation.
• Add spec-kit-extensions/catalog.json, scoped to extensions depending on Copilot tools/providers, with Canvas Design as its only entry. Its metadata and published ZIP URL agree with the manifest and release workflow. This is a Specify extension catalog, not a Copilot plugin marketplace entry or upstream community-catalog submission.
• Document catalog registration using --install-allowed, install-by-ID, and direct --from <release-url> installation. Preserve Copilot --skills initialization and explicitly require a separately supplied compatible Designer provider exposing speckit_designer_load_pages. The package does not ship a Designer or imply existing released Wizards support the protocol. Installation requires the release ZIP to be published.
• Add focused Python unittest package contracts with PyYAML/jsonschema, independent of Wizard dependencies or the Specify executable.
• Add release-extension.yml: test and inline ZIP packaging on relevant PRs/main pushes; publish only from maintainer-pushed extension/canvas-design/vX.Y.Z tags, following the existing tag-driven Release Preset approach. Validate manifest/catalog/tag versions, catalog download URL, and archive contents before publishing. No custom manual-dispatch publisher or workflow tag creation remains. Extension tags do not match the existing preset release trigger, and releases do not become the repository's latest release.

Validation

• 13/13 tests passed, covering schema positive/negative cases, default page/field shape, manifest/file declarations, command contract, Copilot catalog and discovery tags, installation documentation, release permissions/triggers, version guards, and rejection of catalog version/download-URL drift.
• The field-default regression reproduced all four invalid cases before the fix: omitted/string types with true/false defaults. They now fail schema validation while explicitly boolean fields accept both defaults.
• Executed the workflow's exact inline ZIP builder locally and verified all 8 archive members, with extension.yml at the archive root and byte-for-byte matches to package files. The catalog and tests remain outside the installable ZIP; no plugin/provider code or cache files are packaged.
• Checked the new catalog entry against the actual designerCatalogFingerprint implementation from the pinned Add required Canvas Design extension and dynamic Designer pages #40 source: the entry is included using canvas-design; wrong-case, partial, missing, and non-array tag variants are rejected.
• Every workflow shell block passes bash -n; staged diff checks pass.

Scope and sequencing

This is a standalone PR targeting main, not a native stack member. No release/tag was published. No preset release behavior, plugin/marketplace metadata, core skills, Wizard/Designer implementation, or existing PR/stack was changed. #40 remains the consumer and was not modified or closed.

Repository-hosted catalog support and exact discovery tags were added at the user's request after the initial extraction. Publishing, upstream catalog submission, the full real-CLI normal-install/preset-composition matrix (Step 2), and migration of the consumer to a released URL remain separate follow-ups. These package tests do not claim that integration matrix has passed. The known development-symlink composition issue is not worked around by changing integration mode.

Blockers: none for this extraction PR.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

Manual publishing cannot recover from a transient failure after its tag has been pushed.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Allow safe retries when release tag already points to same commit · New

What changed in this PR

Extracts Canvas Design into an independently versioned Specify extension package with validation and release automation.

Changes:

• Adds the extension manifest, command, schema, and four page templates.
• Documents installation, provider boundaries, customization, and versioning.
• Adds package-contract tests and ZIP publishing automation.

File	Description
.github/​workflows/​release-extension.yml	Tests, packages, and publishes the extension.
spec-kit-extensions/​.gitignore	Ignores Python cache files.
spec-kit-extensions/​README.md	Documents extension packaging and releases.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​README.md	Documents installation and usage.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​extension.yml	Defines the extension package.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​commands/​load-page.md	Defines page resolution and loading.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​schemas/​page.schema.json	Defines page validation rules.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​pages/​setup.json	Adds Essentials fields.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​pages/​artifacts.json	Adds the Artifacts placeholder.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​pages/​appearance.json	Adds the Appearance placeholder.
spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​pages/​results.json	Adds the Result Badges placeholder.
spec-kit-extensions/​tests/​test_canvas_design.py	Tests package and workflow contracts.
spec-kit-extensions/​tests/​requirements.txt	Declares test dependencies.

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[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🔵 Needs a closer look

The schema accepts string fields with boolean defaults that the compatible Designer provider rejects.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

Resolved since last review (1)

• Allow safe retries when release tag already points to same commit

Previously missed (1)

In code that hasn't changed since last review

Require boolean type for fields with boolean defaults

spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​schemas/​page.schema.json:26

The shipped schema accepts a field with default: true when type is omitted (implicitly string) or explicitly string, but the compatible Designer provider rejects defaults unless the field type is boolean. This lets a preset pass the package's advertised schema validation and then fail during page loading. Require an explicit boolean type whenever default is present, and cover that schema-negative case.

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🔵 Needs a closer look

The published schema accepts field defaults that the compatible Designer rejects.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

Previously missed (1)

In code that hasn't changed since last review

Schema allows boolean defaults for string-typed fields

spec-kit-extensions/​canvas-design/​schemas/​page.schema.json:26

The schema accepts a boolean default when type is omitted (implicitly a string) or is explicitly string, but the compatible Designer implementation pinned in #40 rejects both as an invalid field. Preset authors can therefore pass the published schema and still have the entire page batch rejected. Couple default to an explicit boolean type (and cover this case in the schema tests).

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟢 Approval recommended

The standalone package, documentation, contracts, and release workflow are internally consistent and appropriately scoped.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: None

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

The published schema differs from the pinned source despite the stated preservation requirement.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1

Open (1)

• Remove unintended dependentSchemas contract change · New