feat(cli): interactive Ultracite linter selection in verno create

[PunGrumpy]

Problem

Interactive verno create with the Ultracite add-on runs ultracite init with --pm. Ultracite treats that as a non-interactive signal and skips the linter prompt, defaulting to Biome. Users who expected to pick Oxlint or ESLint never saw a linter step, while Verno’s copy suggested they would choose the stack in Ultracite.

Root cause

Ultracite’s init flow does not prompt for a linter when --pm is set without --linter; tooling like Verno always passes --pm to pin the package manager.

Result

• The interactive wizard asks for a linter preset (Oxlint, Biome, or ESLint + Prettier + Stylelint) when the Ultracite add-on is on and --linter is not passed on the CLI.
• Verno passes ultracite init --linter <id> so the choice is explicit and CI/non-interactive (-y) behavior is unchanged (still defaults to oxlint when --linter is omitted).
• CLI help, README, manifest field comment, scaffold template README, and create-plan tests are aligned with the new flow.

Made with Cursor

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features

  • Interactive setup wizard now prompts for linter selection when Ultracite is enabled and always shows the chosen linter in the init summary; non-interactive runs pass an explicit --linter.

• Documentation

  • Updated CLI help, project templates, and READMEs to document the new Ultracite initialization and linter-selection flow (including -y default behavior).

• Tests

  • Updated interactive-create tests to expect explicit --linter usage and default linter behavior.

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 804c7e49-7b71-4564-aaab-04fa7c25af71

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 7fb7452 and 458b0a6.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Interactive verno create now prompts for an Ultracite linter when --linter is not provided and passes the resolved --linter to ultracite init. Docs, tests, prompts, and generated templates were updated to reflect this behavior.

Changes

Cohort / File(s)	Summary
README & Templates packages/cli/README.md, packages/template-generator/templates/shared/README.md.hbs, packages/template-generator/src/templates.generated.ts	Updated README/template text to state verno create supplies ultracite init --linter (or interactive Ultracite); fixed spacing in generated Next.js dev script.
CLI Help & JSDoc packages/cli/src/index.ts, packages/cli/src/commands/create-actions.ts, packages/cli/src/commands/create-args.ts	Clarified help text and JSDoc: ultraciteLinter is provided via CLI flag, wizard selection, or -y default; no signature changes.
Prompts / Wizard packages/cli/src/commands/create-prompts.ts	Added conditional prompt to ask for Ultracite linter when Ultracite is enabled and --linter is unset; summary now shows explicit --linter (falls back to DEFAULT_ULTRACITE_LINTER).
Create Flow / Messaging packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts	Require a resolved ultraciteLinter when running Ultracite; simplified Ultracite header and messaging; interactive vs non-interactive ultracite init modes handled explicitly.
Tests packages/cli/__tests__/create-plan.test.ts	Updated interactive create test to provide ultraciteLinter ("oxlint") and assert --linter oxlint is included in generated Ultracite args.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant User
  participant VernoCLI as Verno CLI (wizard)
  participant Ultracite as Ultracite init

  User->>VernoCLI: run "verno create" (interactive)
  VernoCLI->>VernoCLI: check if ultracite enabled & --linter provided
  alt --linter not provided
    VernoCLI->>User: prompt for linter (DEFAULT_ULTRACITE_LINTER preselected)
    User->>VernoCLI: select linter
  end
  VernoCLI->>Ultracite: run "ultracite init --linter <selected>"
  Ultracite-->>User: interactive initialization continues

Loading

Estimated code review effort

🎯 3 (Moderate) | ⏱️ ~25 minutes

Poem

🐰 I asked the user, “Which linter?” with a hop,
I nudged the wizard till the choice did stop,
oxlint tucked in the command with cheer,
Ultracite wakes, the path is clear—
Hop, test, commit, and off we trot! 🥕

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly and specifically describes the main change: adding interactive Ultracite linter selection to verno create, which is the central focus of all file modifications.
Description check	✅ Passed	The description comprehensively covers the problem, root cause, and solution, but is missing required checklist items (all unchecked) and lacks a changeset file reference or related issues link.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/interactive-ultracite-linter

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[coderabbitai]

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts (1)

186-193: Enforce the “linter must be resolved” invariant before interactive Ultracite run.
At Line 187, silently allowing undefined can hide regressions and re-open implicit-linter behavior. Prefer failing fast (or defaulting explicitly) in this branch.

♻️ Suggested tightening

-      const prefix =
-        resolved.ultraciteLinter === undefined ? "" : `Linter: ${resolved.ultraciteLinter}. `;
+      if (resolved.ultraciteLinter === undefined) {
+        throw new CLIError("Internal error: ultracite linter must be resolved for interactive runs.", {
+          code: "VALIDATION",
+        });
+      }
+      const prefix = `Linter: ${resolved.ultraciteLinter}. `;
       process.stdout.write(
         `\n${pc.cyan("ultracite")} — ${prefix}Continue in Ultracite for frameworks, editors, and hooks.\n\n`,
       );
       await runUltraciteIfEnabled(true, resolved.packageManager, projectDir, "interactive", {
         ciSafe: false,
         linter: resolved.ultraciteLinter,
       });

🤖 Prompt for AI Agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In `@packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts` around lines 186 - 193, The code
currently allows resolved.ultraciteLinter to be undefined before calling
runUltraciteIfEnabled, which hides regressions; update the create command to
enforce that resolved.ultraciteLinter is resolved before launching the
interactive Ultracite run (the prefix calculation and the
runUltraciteIfEnabled(...) call). Specifically, check resolved.ultraciteLinter
and either throw a clear error (fail-fast) or explicitly assign a default value
before computing prefix and calling runUltraciteIfEnabled, and ensure the
error/assignment references resolved.ultraciteLinter so the invariant is
explicit.

🤖 Prompt for all review comments with AI agents

Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

Nitpick comments:
In `@packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts`:
- Around line 186-193: The code currently allows resolved.ultraciteLinter to be
undefined before calling runUltraciteIfEnabled, which hides regressions; update
the create command to enforce that resolved.ultraciteLinter is resolved before
launching the interactive Ultracite run (the prefix calculation and the
runUltraciteIfEnabled(...) call). Specifically, check resolved.ultraciteLinter
and either throw a clear error (fail-fast) or explicitly assign a default value
before computing prefix and calling runUltraciteIfEnabled, and ensure the
error/assignment references resolved.ultraciteLinter so the invariant is
explicit.

---

ℹ️ Review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: defaults

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: c6c3fec2-d0bb-4173-8f04-c1f4b38dfab7

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 4d13e4f and 7fb7452.

📒 Files selected for processing (9)

• packages/cli/README.md
• packages/cli/__tests__/create-plan.test.ts
• packages/cli/src/commands/create-actions.ts
• packages/cli/src/commands/create-args.ts
• packages/cli/src/commands/create-prompts.ts
• packages/cli/src/commands/create.ts
• packages/cli/src/index.ts
• packages/template-generator/src/templates.generated.ts
• packages/template-generator/templates/shared/README.md.hbs