feat(init)!: make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at v0.10.0 by Copilot · Pull Request #2873 · github/spec-kit

Copilot · 2026-06-05T17:20:24Z

Finalizes the git extension default change at v0.10.0: specify init no longer auto-installs the bundled git extension, and the deprecated --no-git flag is removed. Users who want the git extension must opt in via specify extension add git.

Core changes

src/specify_cli/commands/init.py
- Remove --no-git parameter and its deprecation warning block
- Remove git extension auto-installation (ExtensionManager.install_from_directory for git) from the init flow
- Remove git_default_notice variable and the "Notice: Git Default Changing" panel
- Git repository initialization (git init) still runs unconditionally when git is available and no repo exists — only the extension install is dropped
- Tracker step relabeled from "Install git extension" → "Git repository setup"

Tests

TestGitExtensionAutoInstall → replaced with TestGitExtensionOptIn:
- test_git_extension_not_auto_installed — extension dir absent after plain specify init
- test_no_git_flag_is_rejected — --no-git now exits non-zero (unknown option)
- test_git_extension_commands_not_registered_by_default — no speckit-git-* skills after init
Removed --no-git from all other test invocations throughout tests/integrations/test_cli.py

Docs & changelog

docs/reference/core.md: removed --no-git row from options table and the pre-v0.10.0 NOTE; updated examples
docs/upgrade.md: updated Scenario 4 (no-git projects); removed the ## Using --no-git Flag section
docs/local-development.md: updated common-issues table
CHANGELOG.md: added ## [0.10.0] - TBD section documenting both breaking changes

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR finalizes the v0.10.0 breaking change around Git behavior during specify init: the bundled git extension is no longer auto-installed, and the deprecated --no-git flag is removed, while git repository initialization (git init) still occurs when git is available and no repo exists.

Changes:

Removes --no-git from the init command and drops bundled git extension auto-installation from the init flow.
Updates integration tests to stop passing --no-git and adds new opt-in assertions around the git extension.
Updates docs/changelog to reflect the new “git extension is opt-in” behavior and the flag removal.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/specify_cli/commands/init.py	Removes the `--no-git` flag and bundled git extension auto-install; keeps `git init` when available.
tests/integrations/test_cli.py	Removes `--no-git` usage and replaces auto-install tests with opt-in expectations.
docs/upgrade.md	Updates upgrade guidance for projects previously relying on `--no-git`.
docs/reference/core.md	Removes `--no-git` from `specify init` reference and updates notes/examples.
docs/local-development.md	Updates troubleshooting guidance related to the git step.
CHANGELOG.md	Adds a v0.10.0 entry documenting the breaking changes.

Copilot's findings

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Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
Comments generated: 5

+
+### Breaking Changes
+
+- **Git extension is now opt-in** — `specify init` no longer auto-installs the git extension. Use `specify extension add git` to install it, or pass `--extension git` during init.


 ### Scenario 4: "I'm working on a project without Git"

-If you initialized your project with `--no-git`, you can still upgrade:
+If your project directory does not use Git, Spec Kit will automatically detect this and skip repository initialization. You can still upgrade normally:


+            ])
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)

-        normalized_output = _normalize_cli_output(result.output)
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
-        assert "--no-git" in normalized_output
-        assert "deprecated" in normalized_output
-        assert "0.10.0" in normalized_output
-        assert "specify extension" in normalized_output
-        assert "will be removed" in normalized_output
-        assert "git extension will no longer be enabled by default" in normalized_output
+        assert result.exit_code != 0, "--no-git should be rejected as an unknown option"


+        # Git extension skill commands should NOT be present
        claude_skills = project / ".claude" / "skills"
-        assert claude_skills.exists(), "Claude skills directory was not created"
-        git_skills = [f for f in claude_skills.iterdir() if f.name.startswith("speckit-git-")]
-        assert len(git_skills) > 0, "no git extension commands registered"
+        if claude_skills.exists():
+            git_skills = [f for f in claude_skills.iterdir() if f.name.startswith("speckit-git-")]
+            assert len(git_skills) == 0, "git extension commands should not be registered by default"


    def init(
        project_name: str = typer.Argument(None, help="Name for your new project directory (optional if using --here, or use '.' for current directory)"),
        ai_assistant: str = typer.Option(None, "--ai", help=AI_ASSISTANT_HELP),
        ai_commands_dir: str = typer.Option(None, "--ai-commands-dir", help="Directory for agent command files (required with --ai generic, e.g. .myagent/commands/)"),
        script_type: str = typer.Option(None, "--script", help="Script type to use: sh or ps"),
        ignore_agent_tools: bool = typer.Option(False, "--ignore-agent-tools", help="Skip checks for coding agent tools like Claude Code"),
-        no_git: bool = typer.Option(False, "--no-git", help="Skip git repository initialization"),
        here: bool = typer.Option(False, "--here", help="Initialize project in the current directory instead of creating a new one"),
        force: bool = typer.Option(False, "--force", help="Force merge/overwrite when using --here (skip confirmation)"),


- Remove --no-git parameter from specify init command - Remove git extension auto-installation from init flow - Git repository initialization (git init) still runs when git is available - Remove --no-git from all test invocations across the test suite - Update docs to reflect opt-in git extension behavior - Replace TestGitExtensionAutoInstall with TestGitExtensionOptIn tests BREAKING CHANGE: specify init no longer auto-installs the git extension. Use `specify extension add git` to install it explicitly. The --no-git flag has been removed. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Git functionality is now entirely managed by the git extension. Core scripts only handle directory-based feature creation and numbering. - Remove has_git(), check_feature_branch(), git branch creation from core - Simplify number detection to use only spec directory scanning - Remove HAS_GIT output from get_feature_paths() - Remove git remote fetching and branch querying - Keep BRANCH_NAME output key for backward compatibility Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 36/36 changed files
Comments generated: 6

 )
 from .._console import StepTracker, console, select_with_arrows, show_banner
-from .._utils import check_tool, init_git_repo, is_git_repo
+from .._utils import check_tool


        for key, label in [
            ("chmod", "Ensure scripts executable"),
            ("constitution", "Constitution setup"),
-            ("git", "Install git extension"),
            ("workflow", "Install bundled workflow"),
            ("agent-context", "Install agent-context extension"),
            ("final", "Finalize"),
        ]:


                ensure_constitution_from_template(project_path, tracker=tracker)



    local repo_root=$(get_repo_root)
-    if has_git; then
-        git -C "$repo_root" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
-        return
-    fi

-    # For non-git repos, try to find the latest feature directory
+    # Fall back to the latest feature directory
    local specs_dir="$repo_root/specs"


    $repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot
-    if (Test-HasGit) {
-        try {
-            $result = git -C $repoRoot rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>$null
-            if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
-                return $result
-            }
-        } catch {
-            # Git command failed
-        }
-    }

-    # For non-git repos, try to find the latest feature directory
+    # Fall back to the latest feature directory
    $specsDir = Join-Path $repoRoot "specs"


        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"

-        # Check that the tracker didn't report a git error
-        assert "install failed" not in result.output, f"git extension install failed: {result.output}"
-
-        # Git extension files should be installed
-        ext_dir = project / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git"
-        assert ext_dir.exists(), "git extension directory not installed"
-        assert (ext_dir / "extension.yml").exists()
-        assert (ext_dir / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh").exists()
-        assert (ext_dir / "scripts" / "bash" / "initialize-repo.sh").exists()
-
-        # Hooks should be registered
-        extensions_yml = project / ".specify" / "extensions.yml"
-        assert extensions_yml.exists(), "extensions.yml not created"
-        hooks_data = yaml.safe_load(extensions_yml.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-        assert "hooks" in hooks_data
-        assert "before_specify" in hooks_data["hooks"]
-        assert "before_constitution" in hooks_data["hooks"]
-
-    def test_no_git_skips_extension(self, tmp_path):
-        """With --no-git, the git extension is NOT installed."""
-        from typer.testing import CliRunner
-        from specify_cli import app
-
-        project = tmp_path / "no-git"
-        project.mkdir()
-        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
-        try:
-            os.chdir(project)
-            runner = CliRunner()
-            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh",
-                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
-            ], catch_exceptions=False)
-        finally:
-            os.chdir(old_cwd)
-
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
-
-        # Git extension should NOT be installed
+        # Git extension directory should NOT be present after init
        ext_dir = project / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git"
-        assert not ext_dir.exists(), "git extension should not be installed with --no-git"
+        assert not ext_dir.exists(), "git extension should not be auto-installed"


- Remove is_git_repo() and init_git_repo() dead code from _utils.py - Remove --branch-numbering from init command - Remove git from 'specify check' (now extension-only) - Update docs: git is optional prerequisite, check command description - Fix tests to reflect no-git-in-core reality (fallback to main) Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

… core Core scripts now resolve feature context exclusively from: 1. SPECIFY_FEATURE env var (set by git extension) 2. .specify/feature.json (persisted by specify command) Removed find_feature_dir_by_prefix() and directory scanning heuristics — these are the git extension's responsibility. Scripts error clearly when no feature context is available. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 44/44 changed files
Comments generated: 8

+            echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory." >&2
            return 1


+        echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or run the specify command to create .specify/feature.json." >&2
        return 1


+            [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory.")
+            exit 1


+        [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or run the specify command to create .specify/feature.json.")
+        exit 1


-If you use `--no-git`, you'll need to manage feature directories manually:
-
-**Set the `SPECIFY_FEATURE` environment variable** before using planning commands:
+Projects that do not use Git can still work with Spec Kit by setting `SPECIFY_FEATURE` manually before planning commands:


 export SPECIFY_FEATURE="001-my-feature"

 # PowerShell
 $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE = "001-my-feature"


 | `ModuleNotFoundError: typer` | Run `uv pip install -e .` |
 | Scripts not executable (Linux) | Re-run init or `chmod +x scripts/*.sh` |
-| Git step skipped | You passed `--no-git` or Git not installed |
+| Git step skipped | Git not installed on your system |


        This command will:
-        1. Check that required tools are installed (git is optional)
+        1. Check that required tools are installed
        2. Let you choose your coding agent integration, or default to Copilot
           in non-interactive sessions
        3. Install bundled Spec Kit templates, scripts, workflow, and shared
           project infrastructure
-        4. Initialize a fresh git repository (if not --no-git and no existing repo)
-        5. Set up coding agent integration commands and optional presets
+        4. Set up coding agent integration commands and optional presets


…-options - specify command template now reads feature_numbering (preferred) with fallback to branch_numbering (deprecated) from init-options.json - Git extension reads git-config.yml > feature_numbering > branch_numbering - init now writes feature_numbering: sequential to init-options.json - Deprecation warning emitted when branch_numbering is used as fallback Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and mnriem Jun 5, 2026

Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot June 5, 2026 17:20

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Copilot AI linked an issue Jun 5, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request

Make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at 0.10.0 #2168

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Copilot AI requested review from Copilot and removed request for Copilot June 5, 2026 17:29

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Finalize git extension as opt-in and remove --no-git flag~~ feat(init)!: make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at v0.10.0 Jun 5, 2026

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feat(init)!: make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at v0.10.0#2873

feat(init)!: make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at v0.10.0#2873
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		### Breaking Changes

		- Git extension is now opt-in — `specify init` no longer auto-installs the git extension. Use `specify extension add git` to install it, or pass `--extension git` during init.

		ensure_constitution_from_template(project_path, tracker=tracker)

		echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory." >&2
		return 1

		[Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory.")
		exit 1

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Copilot AI commented Jun 5, 2026 •

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