Fix parameter ordering issues in CLI by mnriem · Pull Request #1669 · github/spec-kit

mnriem · 2026-02-23T19:12:53Z

Problem

When users forgot to provide a value for the --ai flag, CLI parameter parsing would consume the next token (often another flag like --here), leading to:

Confusing error messages
Parameter order dependency
Flags being misinterpreted as values

Original Failing Command

specify init --ai-skills --ai --here
# Error: Must specify either a project name, use '.' for current directory, or use --here flag

Solution

Added early validation to detect when option values look like flags (start with --):

Parameter Validation: Checks --ai and --ai-commands-dir values for flag patterns
Clear Error Messages: Provides actionable feedback with:
- Specific invalid value detected
- Helpful usage hints
- Correct usage examples
- List of available agents
Comprehensive Tests: 5 new tests prevent regressions

Improved Error Output

Before (confusing):

Error: Must specify either a project name, use '.' for current directory, or use --here flag

After (clear and actionable):

Error: Invalid value for --ai: '--here'
Hint: Did you forget to provide a value for --ai?
Example: specify init --ai claude --here
Available agents: copilot, claude, gemini, cursor-agent, ...

Testing

✅ All 56 tests pass (51 existing + 5 new)

Changes

src/specify_cli/__init__.py: Added validation logic (+14 lines)
tests/test_ai_skills.py: Added comprehensive test suite (+62 lines)
pyproject.toml: Version bump to 0.1.6
CHANGELOG.md: Added release notes
.github/CODEOWNERS: Updated to @mnriem

@mnriem

- Add validation to detect when option flags are consumed as values - Provide clear error messages with helpful hints and examples - Add 5 comprehensive tests to prevent regressions - Update CODEOWNERS to @mnriem - Bump version to 0.1.6 with changelog entry Fixes: github#1641

…placeholders

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR fixes CLI argument parsing edge-cases where --ai / --ai-commands-dir can accidentally consume a following flag (e.g., --here), causing confusing validation errors and parameter-order dependency.

Changes:

Add early validation in init to detect when --ai / --ai-commands-dir values look like flags and emit actionable errors.
Add regression tests covering the broken parameter-ordering scenarios.
Bump version and update release notes / ownership metadata.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
`src/specify_cli/__init__.py`	Adds early “value looks like a flag” validation for `--ai` and `--ai-commands-dir`.
`tests/test_ai_skills.py`	Adds 5 CLI tests to prevent regressions for issue #1641 scenarios.
`pyproject.toml`	Bumps package version to `0.1.6`.
`CHANGELOG.md`	Adds `0.1.6` notes and adjusts changelog structure/content.
`.github/CODEOWNERS`	Updates global code owner.

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Copilot · 2026-02-23T19:16:27Z

CHANGELOG.md

+## [0.1.6] - 2026-02-23
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Parameter Ordering Issues (#1641)**: Fixed CLI parameter parsing issue where option flags were incorrectly consumed as values for preceding options
+  - Added validation to detect when `--ai` or `--ai-commands-dir` incorrectly consume following flags like `--here` or `--ai-skills`
+  - Now provides clear error messages: "Invalid value for --ai: '--here'"
+  - Includes helpful hints suggesting proper usage and listing available agents
+  - Commands like `specify init --ai-skills --ai --here` now fail with actionable feedback instead of confusing "Must specify project name" errors
+  - Added comprehensive test suite (5 new tests) to prevent regressions
+
+## [0.1.5] - 2026-02-21


CHANGELOG no longer includes an "Unreleased" section (it now jumps straight into dated releases). If any tooling/docs expect Keep a Changelog structure, this makes it harder to stage changes before a release. Consider reintroducing an "Unreleased" section at the top and moving the 0.1.6 notes under a released heading only when cutting the release.

Copilot · 2026-02-23T19:16:27Z

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -69,7 +80,3 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 ## [0.0.94] - 2026-02-11

 - Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)


This change removes older changelog history (e.g., the 0.0.93 entry and anything below it). Changelogs are typically append-only; please restore the removed sections so historical release notes remain available.

Suggested change

- Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)

- Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)

## [0.0.93] - 2026-02-10

- Historical changelog entry for version 0.0.93 was previously present and is preserved in the project’s git history (tag `v0.0.93`).

- Refer to the `CHANGELOG.md` content from that tag or the corresponding GitHub release page for the full list of changes.

## Earlier releases (0.0.1–0.0.92)

- Detailed release notes for versions 0.0.1 through 0.0.92 are also available in version control history.

- To view them, check out an earlier revision of `CHANGELOG.md` (before this truncation) or consult the project’s tagged releases.

Copilot · 2026-02-23T19:16:27Z

src/specify_cli/__init__.py

+    # Detect when option values are likely misinterpreted flags (parameter ordering issue)
+    if ai_assistant and ai_assistant.startswith("--"):
+        console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid value for --ai: '{ai_assistant}'")
+        console.print("[yellow]Hint:[/yellow] Did you forget to provide a value for --ai?")
+        console.print("[yellow]Example:[/yellow] specify init --ai claude --here")
+        console.print(f"[yellow]Available agents:[/yellow] {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}")
+        raise typer.Exit(1)


The new validation block duplicates agent-list rendering and error formatting that already exists later in init() (e.g., the "Invalid AI assistant" path). To reduce drift and keep messaging consistent, consider factoring the shared "available agents" string / rendering into a small helper or constant and reusing it in both places.

@mnriem

* chore: bump version to v0.0.6 [skip ci] * Fix parameter ordering issues in CLI (github#1641) - Add validation to detect when option flags are consumed as values - Provide clear error messages with helpful hints and examples - Add 5 comprehensive tests to prevent regressions - Update CODEOWNERS to @mnriem - Bump version to 0.1.6 with changelog entry Fixes: github#1641 * Fix ruff linting errors: remove f-string prefix from strings without placeholders --------- Co-authored-by: github-actions[bot] <41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

github-actions bot and others added 2 commits February 21, 2026 14:08

chore: bump version to v0.0.6 [skip ci]

d0a21a6

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 23, 2026 19:12

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of mnriem February 23, 2026 19:13 View session

Fix ruff linting errors: remove f-string prefix from strings without …

03abbb1

…placeholders

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 23, 2026

View reviewed changes

mnriem merged commit 3040d33 into github:main Feb 23, 2026
8 checks passed

mnriem deleted the fix/parameter-ordering-issue-1641 branch February 23, 2026 19:17

brianluby mentioned this pull request Feb 24, 2026

Integrate extension system from upstream brianluby/spec-kit#16

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Fix parameter ordering issues in CLI#1669

Fix parameter ordering issues in CLI#1669
mnriem merged 3 commits intogithub:mainfrom
mnriem:fix/parameter-ordering-issue-1641

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		@@ -69,7 +80,3 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
		## [0.0.94] - 2026-02-11

		- Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)

-- Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)
+- Add stale workflow for 180-day inactive issues and PRs (#1594)
+## [0.0.93] - 2026-02-10
+- Historical changelog entry for version 0.0.93 was previously present and is preserved in the project’s git history (tag `v0.0.93`).
+  - Refer to the `CHANGELOG.md` content from that tag or the corresponding GitHub release page for the full list of changes.
+## Earlier releases (0.0.1–0.0.92)
+- Detailed release notes for versions 0.0.1 through 0.0.92 are also available in version control history.
+  - To view them, check out an earlier revision of `CHANGELOG.md` (before this truncation) or consult the project’s tagged releases.

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mnriem commented Feb 23, 2026

Problem

Original Failing Command

Solution

Improved Error Output

Testing

Changes

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