feat: update Bob integration to skills-based layout for Bob 2.0 by davidebibm · Pull Request #3415 · github/spec-kit

davidebibm · 2026-07-08T18:26:37Z

Bob 2.0 replaces the command-based workflow with a skills-based layout.

https://bob.ibm.com/blog/bob-v2-release-announcement

Description

Testing

Tested locally with uv run specify --help
Ran existing tests with uv sync && uv run pytest
Tested with a sample project (if applicable)

AI Disclosure

I did not use AI assistance for this contribution
I did use AI assistance (describe below)

Very simple code generated by Bob but verified by me

Bob 2.0 replaces the command-based workflow (.bob/commands/*.md) with a skills-based layout (.bob/skills/speckit-<name>/SKILL.md), matching the pattern used by Claude Code, Codex, and other skills-first agents. - Switch BobIntegration from MarkdownIntegration to SkillsIntegration - Update folder/dir from .bob/commands to .bob/skills - Change extension from .md to /SKILL.md (skills layout) - Add --skills option (default: True) consistent with Codex pattern - Update tests to inherit from SkillsIntegrationTests (28 tests pass) - Bump catalog entry to version 2.0.0 with updated description Assisted-by: IBM Bob (model: claude-sonnet-4-5, autonomous)

davidebibm · 2026-07-09T12:20:14Z

@mnriem please review, we need to make this work with new Bob... Thankyou so much

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR updates the built-in IBM Bob integration to align with Bob 2.0’s skills-based layout, switching installation output from command files to speckit-<name>/SKILL.md skills directories and bumping the integration’s catalog version accordingly.

Changes:

Migrate BobIntegration from MarkdownIntegration to SkillsIntegration and update output paths to .bob/skills/.../SKILL.md.
Update Bob integration tests to use the shared SkillsIntegrationTests mixin.
Bump the Bob entry in integrations/catalog.json to 2.0.0 with an updated description.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`src/specify_cli/integrations/bob/__init__.py`	Switch Bob to `SkillsIntegration` and update registrar/config output to `.bob/skills` + `/SKILL.md`.
`tests/integrations/test_integration_bob.py`	Update base test mixin and expected output directories for the skills layout.
`integrations/catalog.json`	Bump Bob integration version/description to reflect the 2.0.0 skills-based update.

Review details

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Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
Comments generated: 2
Review effort level: Low

mnriem

As this fundamentally changes the layout for any Bob users what is the migration strategy? This will break them once they adopt a new version of Spec Kit so you need to make sure this goes through a deprecation cycle so they can migrate to the new Bob version. E.g make it an opt-in to the new version of Bob first and then in 2 minor releases (X.Y.Z where Y is minor) you can then remove the non-skill variant

davidebibm · 2026-07-10T16:02:29Z

As this fundamentally changes the layout for any Bob users what is the migration strategy? This will break them once they adopt a new version of Spec Kit so you need to make sure this goes through a deprecation cycle so they can migrate to the new Bob version. E.g make it an opt-in to the new version of Bob first and then in 2 minor releases (X.Y.Z where Y is minor) you can then remove the non-skill variant

Hi @mnriem
this should not break for Bob 1 user cause it was already compatible with skill mode.
Still needed this?

mnriem · 2026-07-13T12:18:20Z

Thanks @davidebibm — but I think we're talking about two different layers, and this still needs to change before it can land.

Your point is about Bob the tool — that Bob 1.x can already read the skills layout. My concern is about Spec Kit's generated output: this PR changes what specify writes for the bob integration from .bob/commands/*.md to .bob/skills/speckit-<name>/SKILL.md. Any project someone already initialized has .bob/commands/*.md on disk. When they upgrade Spec Kit and re-init or switch, that layout is orphaned/replaced. That's a breaking change in our contract regardless of whether the Bob app happens to read both directories.

A hard cutover isn't acceptable here — we shouldn't catch existing users off guard. This needs to go through a proper deprecation cycle:

This release: make skills an opt-in and keep the existing .bob/commands markdown layout as the default. That's real dual-mode — setup() branching between the two layouts, the way Copilot does it — not the --skills flag as written now.
Next cycle: flip the default to skills, with the legacy layout still available.
Cycle after that: remove the legacy markdown mode.

As it stands the --skills flag is a no-op: BobIntegration is hardwired to SkillsIntegration and the MarkdownIntegration variant is deleted, so --skills=False still emits skills. There's no path that produces the old layout, so it doesn't actually provide the opt-in it implies.

Can you rework it along those lines — genuine dual-mode with skills opt-in first — so we phase this in without breaking anyone?

davidebibm · 2026-07-13T12:28:51Z

Ok, thankyou @mnriem i'll do that

…s-integration

davidebibm · 2026-07-13T15:01:48Z

@mnriem Done, hope this is what you are expecting

Copilot

Review details

Files reviewed: 3/3 changed files
Comments generated: 3
Review effort level: Medium

mnriem · 2026-07-13T20:21:56Z

Please address Copilot feedback. You will need to update the description to reflect the reality

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

davidebibm · 2026-07-14T06:53:03Z

@mnriem Addressed Copilot comments and aligned with main

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Review details

Files reviewed: 38/38 changed files
Comments generated: 4
Review effort level: Medium

mnriem · 2026-07-14T14:30:35Z

Please address Copilot feedback and resolve conflicts

…te legacy commands to opt-in

…to ALWAYS_SLASH_AGENTS - init.py: suppress ai_skills=True when --legacy-commands is passed so extensions and presets target .bob/commands, not .bob/skills - _invocation_style.py: add 'bob' to ALWAYS_SLASH_AGENTS so init next-steps and hook invocations always show /speckit-<name> (skills is the default layout; no ai_skills flag required)

davidebibm · 2026-07-14T14:52:08Z

@mnriem Solved Copilot fb and rebased to avoid get Copilot feedback on other devs code 👍

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Review details

Files reviewed: 8/8 changed files
Comments generated: 1
Review effort level: Medium

mnriem

Please address Copilot feedback. If not applicable, please explain why

davidebibm · 2026-07-16T15:36:44Z

@mnriem Applied Copilot suggestion

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Review details

Files reviewed: 8/8 changed files
Comments generated: 1
Review effort level: Medium

mnriem · 2026-07-16T15:45:19Z

Please address Copilot feedback. If not applicable, please explain why

davidebibm · 2026-07-16T15:50:36Z

@mnriem Explained in the comment why do this is will be stupid and useless

…-ref separators Rework the dual-mode handling introduced for Bob 2.0 so an integration's internal representation never leaks into shared init/install/upgrade code, and fix the legacy command-reference separator surfaced in review. Base-class contract: - Add IntegrationBase.is_skills_mode(parsed_options) — the single hook the shared machinery consults to decide whether to persist ai_skills and render skill invocations. SkillsIntegration returns True; Copilot honors --skills / self._skills_mode; Bob returns `not legacy_commands`. - Add IntegrationBase.invoke_separator_for_mode(skills_enabled) — resolves the command-ref separator from a project's persisted mode for registration paths that only have the ai_skills flag (no CLI parsed_options). Default is behavior-preserving; Bob maps skills->"-", legacy->".". - BobIntegration stays on IntegrationBase (mirroring Copilot, the other dual-mode agent) and delegates setup() to internal _BobSkillsHelper / _BobMarkdownHelper. Removes the _skills_mode method and all isinstance(SkillsIntegration) / callable(_skills_mode) probing from _helpers.py and init.py. Fix legacy separator (review feedback): CommandRegistrar.register_commands and PresetManager._resolve_skill_command_refs previously read the single static AGENT_CONFIGS[key]["invoke_separator"], so legacy .bob/commands/ extension and preset command refs rendered /speckit-<cmd> instead of Bob 1.x /speckit.<cmd>. Both now resolve the separator per project mode via invoke_separator_for_mode. Tests: add regression coverage for the is_skills_mode / invoke_separator_for_mode hooks and legacy extension command-ref separators; normalize a width-sensitive workflow assertion to match its siblings. Full suite green. Assisted-by: GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8, autonomous) Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Copilot-Session: 63f93544-a77f-4f01-bf04-c88806a97dbf

mnriem · 2026-07-16T16:50:33Z

@davidebibm I hope you do not mind me taking it over. I realized there is some additional work that needs to be done to do this cleanly. Stay tuned!

mnriem · 2026-07-16T17:01:45Z

Pushed a revision to this branch (force-update of my own earlier commit, tip now 5a8cb61).

What changed since the previous push:

Reworked Bob onto IntegrationBase with a polymorphic is_skills_mode(parsed_options) hook plus internal _BobSkillsHelper/_BobMarkdownHelper, so mode selection is config-driven (mirrors Copilot) and no _skills_mode method leaks into shared code paths. Base-class behavior is unchanged for every other integration.
Fixed the command-reference separator bug flagged in review: legacy .bob/commands/ was rendering /speckit-specify instead of Bob 1.x /speckit.specify. Introduced invoke_separator_for_mode(skills_enabled) (skills → -, legacy → .) and wired it through agents.py and the preset resolver, so the fix does not regress skills mode.
Made a workflow test width-robust (whitespace-normalized assertion).
Dropped my earlier extension-skills token fix — main's fix(extensions): resolve __SPECKIT_COMMAND tokens in auto-registered skills #3544 already resolves __SPECKIT_COMMAND_*__ tokens more completely. Removing it is what cleared the merge conflict; this rewrote only my own tip commit, not @davidebibm's.

Testing: full suite green both on the branch tip (4494 passed, 5 skipped) and merged with current main including #3544 (4516 passed, 5 skipped). PR now reports MERGEABLE.

Posted on behalf of @mnriem by GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8), acting autonomously.

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Review details

Files reviewed: 13/13 changed files
Comments generated: 3
Review effort level: Medium

…lls-pr-3415

…separators, extension-skill token resolution Addresses PR review 4716036212 (3 comments): 1. Bob legacy-install regression: `use`/`switch`/`upgrade` on an existing Bob 1.x project (only `.bob/commands/` on disk, no stored `legacy_commands`) called `is_skills_mode(None)` -> True and rewrote `ai_skills=True`, silently switching extension/command-reference handling to the skills layout. `is_skills_mode` now takes an optional `project_root`; Bob preserves an already-installed legacy layout until an explicit upgrade creates `.bob/skills/`. A fresh project still defaults to skills. 2. Copilot dual-mode separator: `invoke_separator_for_mode` was inherited from the base (mode-independent) and returned Copilot's static `.`, so preset/extension command refs in a Copilot skills project rendered `/speckit.<name>` instead of `/speckit-<name>`. Override it on Copilot to track the persisted `ai_skills` state, consistent with `build_command_invocation` and `effective_invoke_separator`. 3. Bob extension-skill command-ref tokens: verified that merging main's generic `_resolve_command_ref_tokens` (github#3544) resolves Bob's tokens via the `CONDITIONAL_SLASH_AGENTS` path (`/speckit-<name>`); added Bob to the command-ref regression parametrize plus dedicated Bob use-path tests. All tests pass (full suite green; merged with current main incl. github#3544). Assisted-by: GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8, autonomous) Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Copilot-Session: 63f93544-a77f-4f01-bf04-c88806a97dbf

mnriem · 2026-07-16T17:32:01Z

Addressed the three review comments in d929bfb. This push also merges current main into the branch (brings in #3544), so it's now up to date and self-consistent.

1. Bob legacy-install regression (bob/__init__.py) — the real bug. use/switch/upgrade on an existing Bob 1.x project (only .bob/commands/ on disk, no stored legacy_commands) hit is_skills_mode(None) → True and rewrote ai_skills: true, silently switching the project to the skills layout. is_skills_mode now accepts an optional project_root; Bob preserves an already-installed legacy layout until an explicit upgrade actually creates .bob/skills/. A fresh project still defaults to skills. Threaded project_root through the init and _update_init_options_for_integration call sites.

2. Copilot dual-mode separator (copilot/__init__.py) — Copilot inherited the mode-independent invoke_separator_for_mode default, returning its static ., so preset/extension command refs in a Copilot skills project rendered /speckit.<name>. Added an override that tracks the persisted ai_skills state (- skills, . default), consistent with build_command_invocation and effective_invoke_separator.

3. Bob extension-skill command-ref tokens — with main merged, the generic _resolve_command_ref_tokens from #3544 resolves Bob's __SPECKIT_COMMAND_*__ tokens via the CONDITIONAL_SLASH_AGENTS path (/speckit-<name>), so no Bob-specific build_command_invocation is needed. Added Bob to the command-ref-token regression parametrize plus dedicated Bob is_skills_mode/use-path tests to lock the behavior in.

Testing: full suite green on the merged result — 4524 passed, 5 skipped, 0 failures.

Posted on behalf of @mnriem by GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8), acting autonomously.

Copilot

Review details

Files reviewed: 15/15 changed files
Comments generated: 1
Review effort level: Medium

…e shared-infra refresh (review github#3415) The `use`/`switch` paths refresh shared infrastructure via `_with_integration_setting()` / `_invoke_separator_for_integration()`, which previously resolved the invoke separator through `effective_invoke_separator` / `is_skills_mode` WITHOUT a project_root. For a pre-PR Bob 1.x project (.bob/commands/ on disk, no stored options), this defaulted to the skills "-" separator and rewrote rendered shared-template command refs to /speckit-*, even though ai_skills stayed false. Thread project_root through effective_invoke_separator, the two runtime helpers, and every call site so Bob's on-disk legacy detection governs the separator before shared infra is refreshed. Add a rendered-shared-template regression test covering `use --force`. Assisted-by: GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8, autonomous) Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> Copilot-Session: 63f93544-a77f-4f01-bf04-c88806a97dbf

mnriem · 2026-07-16T17:56:19Z

Addressed review 4716253844 in 8a162b3.

Finding (valid): the legacy-layout detection wasn't applied when use/switch refreshes shared infrastructure. _set_default_integration() refreshed rendered shared templates via _with_integration_setting() / _invoke_separator_for_integration(), both of which resolved the invoke separator through effective_invoke_separator/is_skills_mode without project_root. For a pre-PR Bob 1.x project (.bob/commands/ on disk, no stored options) this defaulted to the skills - separator and rewrote rendered command refs to /speckit-* even though ai_skills stayed false.

Fix: threaded project_root through effective_invoke_separator, the two runtime helpers (with_integration_setting, invoke_separator_for_integration), and every call site, so Bob's on-disk legacy detection governs the separator before shared infra is refreshed. Added an end-to-end regression test (test_use_force_keeps_legacy_command_refs_in_shared_templates) that inits a legacy Bob project, runs integration use bob --force, and asserts rendered shared templates keep /speckit.* (dot) refs.

Full suite green: 4526 passed, 5 skipped.

Posted on behalf of @mnriem by GitHub Copilot (model: Claude Opus 4.8), acting autonomously.

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Review details

Files reviewed: 16/16 changed files
Comments generated: 1
Review effort level: Medium

+                _sep = _integ.invoke_separator_for_mode(
+                    is_ai_skills_enabled(load_init_options(project_root))
+                )


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davidebibm added 2 commits July 13, 2026 16:53

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into feat/update-bob-skill…

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…s-integration

PR comments fix: keep old Bob 1 commands till next release

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feat(bob): address copilot comments, make skills layout default, demo…

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…te legacy commands to opt-in

davidebibm force-pushed the feat/update-bob-skills-integration branch from 6b3a18c to 674a8db Compare July 14, 2026 14:44

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