feat(templates): add pluggable template system with packs, catalog, resolver, and CLI commands

Co-authored-by: mnriem <15701806+mnriem@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: Copilot

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -7,6 +7,21 @@ Recent changes to the Specify CLI and templates are documented here.
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.2.1] - 2026-03-09
+
+### Added
+
+- feat(templates): Pluggable template system with template packs, catalog, and resolver
+- Template pack manifest (`template-pack.yml`) with validation for artifact, command, and script types
+- `TemplatePackManifest`, `TemplatePackRegistry`, `TemplatePackManager`, `TemplateCatalog`, `TemplateResolver` classes in `src/specify_cli/templates.py`
+- CLI commands: `specify template search`, `specify template add`, `specify template list`, `specify template remove`, `specify template resolve`
+- `--template` option for `specify init` to install template packs during initialization
+- `resolve_template()` / `Resolve-Template` helpers in bash and PowerShell common scripts
+- Template resolution priority stack: overrides → packs → extensions → core
+- Template catalog files (`templates/catalog.json`, `templates/catalog.community.json`)
+- Template pack scaffold directory (`templates/template/`)
+- Scripts updated to use template resolution instead of hardcoded paths
+
 ## [0.2.0] - 2026-03-09
 
 ### Changed

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "specify-cli"
-version = "0.2.0"
+version = "0.2.1"
 description = "Specify CLI, part of GitHub Spec Kit. A tool to bootstrap your projects for Spec-Driven Development (SDD)."
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
 dependencies = [

scripts/bash/common.sh

@@ -154,3 +154,44 @@ EOF
 check_file() { [[ -f "$1" ]] && echo "  ✓ $2" || echo "  ✗ $2"; }
 check_dir() { [[ -d "$1" && -n $(ls -A "$1" 2>/dev/null) ]] && echo "  ✓ $2" || echo "  ✗ $2"; }
 
+# Resolve a template name to a file path using the priority stack:
+#   1. .specify/templates/overrides/
+#   2. .specify/templates/packs/<pack-id>/templates/
+#   3. .specify/extensions/<ext-id>/templates/
+#   4. .specify/templates/ (core)
+resolve_template() {
+    local template_name="$1"
+    local repo_root="$2"
+    local base="$repo_root/.specify/templates"
+
+    # Priority 1: Project overrides
+    local override="$base/overrides/${template_name}.md"
+    [ -f "$override" ] && echo "$override" && return 0
+
+    # Priority 2: Installed packs (by directory order)
+    local packs_dir="$base/packs"
+    if [ -d "$packs_dir" ]; then
+        for pack in "$packs_dir"/*/; do
+            [ -d "$pack" ] || continue
+            local candidate="$pack/templates/${template_name}.md"
+            [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
+        done
+    fi
+
+    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates
+    local ext_dir="$repo_root/.specify/extensions"
+    if [ -d "$ext_dir" ]; then
+        for ext in "$ext_dir"/*/; do
+            [ -d "$ext" ] || continue
+            local candidate="$ext/templates/${template_name}.md"
+            [ -f "$candidate" ] && echo "$candidate" && return 0
+        done
+    fi
+
+    # Priority 4: Core templates
+    local core="$base/${template_name}.md"
+    [ -f "$core" ] && echo "$core" && return 0
+
+    return 1
+}
+

scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh

@@ -166,6 +166,7 @@ clean_branch_name() {
 # to searching for repository markers so the workflow still functions in repositories that
 # were initialised with --no-git.
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(CDPATH="" cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
+source "$SCRIPT_DIR/common.sh"
 
 if git rev-parse --show-toplevel >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
@@ -296,9 +297,9 @@ fi
 FEATURE_DIR="$SPECS_DIR/$BRANCH_NAME"
 mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"
 
-TEMPLATE="$REPO_ROOT/.specify/templates/spec-template.md"
+TEMPLATE=$(resolve_template "spec-template" "$REPO_ROOT")
 SPEC_FILE="$FEATURE_DIR/spec.md"
-if [ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]; then cp "$TEMPLATE" "$SPEC_FILE"; else touch "$SPEC_FILE"; fi
+if [ -n "$TEMPLATE" ] && [ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]; then cp "$TEMPLATE" "$SPEC_FILE"; else touch "$SPEC_FILE"; fi
 
 # Set the SPECIFY_FEATURE environment variable for the current session
 export SPECIFY_FEATURE="$BRANCH_NAME"

scripts/bash/setup-plan.sh

@@ -37,12 +37,12 @@ check_feature_branch "$CURRENT_BRANCH" "$HAS_GIT" || exit 1
 mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"
 
 # Copy plan template if it exists
-TEMPLATE="$REPO_ROOT/.specify/templates/plan-template.md"
-if [[ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]]; then
+TEMPLATE=$(resolve_template "plan-template" "$REPO_ROOT")
+if [[ -n "$TEMPLATE" ]] && [[ -f "$TEMPLATE" ]]; then
     cp "$TEMPLATE" "$IMPL_PLAN"
     echo "Copied plan template to $IMPL_PLAN"
 else
-    echo "Warning: Plan template not found at $TEMPLATE"
+    echo "Warning: Plan template not found"
     # Create a basic plan file if template doesn't exist
     touch "$IMPL_PLAN"
 fi

scripts/powershell/common.ps1

@@ -135,3 +135,45 @@ function Test-DirHasFiles {
     }
 }
 
+# Resolve a template name to a file path using the priority stack:
+#   1. .specify/templates/overrides/
+#   2. .specify/templates/packs/<pack-id>/templates/
+#   3. .specify/extensions/<ext-id>/templates/
+#   4. .specify/templates/ (core)
+function Resolve-Template {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$TemplateName,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)][string]$RepoRoot
+    )
+
+    $base = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/templates'
+
+    # Priority 1: Project overrides
+    $override = Join-Path $base "overrides/$TemplateName.md"
+    if (Test-Path $override) { return $override }
+
+    # Priority 2: Installed packs (by directory order)
+    $packsDir = Join-Path $base 'packs'
+    if (Test-Path $packsDir) {
+        foreach ($pack in Get-ChildItem -Path $packsDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
+            $candidate = Join-Path $pack.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
+            if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
+        }
+    }
+
+    # Priority 3: Extension-provided templates
+    $extDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify/extensions'
+    if (Test-Path $extDir) {
+        foreach ($ext in Get-ChildItem -Path $extDir -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
+            $candidate = Join-Path $ext.FullName "templates/$TemplateName.md"
+            if (Test-Path $candidate) { return $candidate }
+        }
+    }
+
+    # Priority 4: Core templates
+    $core = Join-Path $base "$TemplateName.md"
+    if (Test-Path $core) { return $core }
+
+    return $null
+}
+

scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1

@@ -141,6 +141,9 @@ if (-not $fallbackRoot) {
     exit 1
 }
 
+# Load common functions (includes Resolve-Template)
+. "$PSScriptRoot/common.ps1"
+
 try {
     $repoRoot = git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>$null
     if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
@@ -276,9 +279,9 @@ if ($hasGit) {
 $featureDir = Join-Path $specsDir $branchName
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $featureDir -Force | Out-Null
 
-$template = Join-Path $repoRoot '.specify/templates/spec-template.md'
+$template = Resolve-Template -TemplateName 'spec-template' -RepoRoot $repoRoot
 $specFile = Join-Path $featureDir 'spec.md'
-if (Test-Path $template) { 
+if ($template -and (Test-Path $template)) { 
     Copy-Item $template $specFile -Force 
 } else { 
     New-Item -ItemType File -Path $specFile | Out-Null 

scripts/powershell/setup-plan.ps1

@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ if (-not (Test-FeatureBranch -Branch $paths.CURRENT_BRANCH -HasGit $paths.HAS_GI
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $paths.FEATURE_DIR -Force | Out-Null
 
 # Copy plan template if it exists, otherwise note it or create empty file
-$template = Join-Path $paths.REPO_ROOT '.specify/templates/plan-template.md'
-if (Test-Path $template) { 
+$template = Resolve-Template -TemplateName 'plan-template' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
+if ($template -and (Test-Path $template)) { 
     Copy-Item $template $paths.IMPL_PLAN -Force
     Write-Output "Copied plan template to $($paths.IMPL_PLAN)"
 } else {
-    Write-Warning "Plan template not found at $template"
+    Write-Warning "Plan template not found"
     # Create a basic plan file if template doesn't exist
     New-Item -ItemType File -Path $paths.IMPL_PLAN -Force | Out-Null
 }