Add `init` workflow step to bootstrap projects like `specify init` by Copilot · Pull Request #2838 · github/spec-kit

Copilot · 2026-06-03T21:49:49Z

Workflows had no way to scaffold a project; users had to run specify init manually before any workflow could drive the spec-driven process. This adds an init step type so a workflow can bootstrap (or merge into) a project itself.

Changes

New InitStep (type: init) in src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/ — runs the bundled specify init command in-process against context.project_root, capturing exit_code/stdout/stderr and returning FAILED on non-zero exit.
- Config fields (all optional): project, here, integration, integration_options, script, force, ignore_agent_tools, preset; string fields resolve {{ }} expressions.
- Integration falls back to the workflow-level default, then to DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION (copilot); defaults to --ignore-agent-tools since workflows run unattended.
- When only engine-owned directories (.specify/) exist, --force is implicitly added so init proceeds unattended.
- validate() rejects script values other than sh/ps.
Registration — added to STEP_REGISTRY and the engine's valid-step-types fallback.
Docs — workflows/ARCHITECTURE.md and workflows/README.md updated (step table, module tree, new "Init Steps" section).
Tests — coverage for bootstrap, default-integration fallback, project-name subdirectory, invalid-integration failure, engine-owned dir handling, integration_options passthrough, and validation.

Example

- id: bootstrap
  type: init
  here: true
  integration: copilot   # optional; defaults to workflow integration
  integration_options: "--skills"  # optional
  script: sh

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new workflow step type (type: init) so workflows can bootstrap (or merge into) a Spec Kit project by invoking the bundled specify init logic in-process, enabling end-to-end “scaffold → run steps” workflows without requiring a manual pre-step.

Changes:

Introduces InitStep (src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/) that builds specify init argv from step config, runs it via CliRunner, and captures exit_code/stdout/stderr.
Registers the new step type in the workflow step registry and engine’s valid-step-type fallback, and updates architecture/README docs.
Adds tests covering argv building, workflow-default integration fallback, directory creation via project, invalid integration failure, and validation.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
workflows/README.md	Documents the new `init` step type and provides a YAML example.
workflows/ARCHITECTURE.md	Updates step-type counts/table and module tree to include `init`.
tests/test_workflows.py	Adds test coverage for the new `InitStep`.
src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/init.py	Implements `InitStep` execution, expression resolution, and validation.
src/specify_cli/workflows/engine.py	Adds `init` to the engine’s valid step-type fallback set.
src/specify_cli/workflows/init.py	Registers `InitStep` in the built-in `STEP_REGISTRY`.

Copilot's findings

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Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 3

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 1

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 3

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 2

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 0 new

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 2

…orce fix

- Use `with os.scandir(...)` context manager so the iterator is always closed even when `any()` short-circuits, preventing file-descriptor leaks in long-running workflow runs. - Guard `os.chdir(prev_cwd)` in the `finally` block with a try/except so an `OSError` (e.g. directory deleted) doesn't bypass returning the captured `StepResult`. - Reject non-string `script` values in `validate()` with a clear error message, rather than silently passing them through to become `--script True` at runtime.

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <223894421+github-code-quality[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

The --no-git and --branch-numbering flags were removed from `specify init` on main. Update InitStep to drop these unsupported config fields and fix tests accordingly. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 4

…ne-owned dirs - Apply DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION fallback when neither step config nor workflow context provides an integration, so output.integration always reflects the actual integration used. - Add integration_options config field to support --integration-options passthrough (required for generic integration and --skills mode). - Exclude .specify/ from the non-empty directory fast-fail check so that here: true works when the engine has already created its run-state directory before steps execute. - Note: mix_stderr=False is not needed — Click 8.2+ captures stderr separately by default and the existing try/except handles access. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 3

+        targets_current_dir = here or not project or str(project) == "."
+        if targets_current_dir and not force:
+            base = context.project_root or os.getcwd()
+            try:
+                with os.scandir(base) as it:
+                    not_empty = any(
+                        entry for entry in it
+                        if entry.name not in _ENGINE_OWNED_DIRS
+                    )
+            except OSError:
+                not_empty = False
+            if not_empty:


+    Supported config fields (all optional):
+
+    ``project``
+        Project name or path to create.  Use ``"."`` for the current
+        directory.  Ignored when ``here`` is truthy.


When the workflow engine creates .specify/workflows/runs/ before steps execute, the directory is technically non-empty. Previously, specify init would prompt for confirmation (hanging in unattended mode) unless the user explicitly set force: true. Now the step detects that only engine-owned directories (.specify/) are present and implicitly adds --force so init proceeds without user interaction. Also fixes the test to exercise the implicit-force path rather than passing force: True explicitly (which bypassed the check entirely). Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and mnriem Jun 3, 2026

Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot June 3, 2026 21:49

Copilot AI linked an issue Jun 3, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

Add a InitStep so we can use a workflow to bootstrap a project #2837

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Copilot started work on behalf of mnriem June 3, 2026 21:49 View session

Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot June 3, 2026 21:56

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Add InitStep for bootstrapping project workflow~~ Add init workflow step to bootstrap projects like specify init Jun 3, 2026

Copilot finished work on behalf of mnriem June 3, 2026 21:58

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mnriem requested a review from Copilot June 3, 2026 22:41

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Copilot started work on behalf of mnriem June 8, 2026 12:36 View session

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github-code-quality Bot found potential problems Jun 8, 2026

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Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py Fixed

mnriem marked this pull request as ready for review June 8, 2026 19:53

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 8, 2026 19:53

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Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

mnriem force-pushed the copilot/add-init-step-bootstrap-project branch from 1746289 to fc8d6c3 Compare June 8, 2026 20:07

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mnriem approved these changes Jun 9, 2026

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Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings June 9, 2026 13:38

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Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

Comment thread workflows/README.md Outdated

Copilot AI and others added 8 commits June 9, 2026 08:53

Initial plan

371296c

Add init workflow step to bootstrap projects like specify init

f647c54

Address review: simplify stderr capture and extract VALID_SCRIPT_TYPES

be7f7d3

Address review: fail fast on non-empty dir, stdout fallback, README f…

a7c9b0f

…orce fix

Populate exit_code/stdout/stderr in non-empty-dir fast-fail

bf58aef

Potential fix for pull request finding 'Empty except'

3c51272

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <223894421+github-code-quality[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

mnriem force-pushed the copilot/add-init-step-bootstrap-project branch from 02d67c1 to 5540606 Compare June 9, 2026 13:55

mnriem requested a review from Copilot June 9, 2026 14:09

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Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

Comment thread src/specify_cli/workflows/steps/init/__init__.py

mnriem requested a review from Copilot June 9, 2026 20:10

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Copilot AI commented Jun 3, 2026 •

edited by mnriem

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