feat(cli): gate AI service auto-registration on a declared @objectstack/service-ai dependency

The CLI auto-registered the headless AIServicePlugin whenever the `ai` tier was
enabled (default) and @objectstack/service-ai was merely *resolvable*. In a
workspace/monorepo the package is hoist-resolvable even when an app doesn't
declare it, so every app got the AI service — discovery reported services.ai as
available and the agent runtime served any metadata-defined agents — including
Community-Edition apps that ship no AI.

Make the DECLARED dependency the AI edition boundary: auto-register AIService
only when the host app lists @objectstack/service-ai in its dependencies. A
Community-Edition app that omits it now gets no AI service, no agents, and
services.ai { enabled:false, status:'unavailable' } in discovery — so the MIT
console hides its AI surface — while MCP and every other capability are
unaffected. MCP is a separate capability: it bridges data/metadata regardless
and only optionally bridges the AI tool registry when the 'ai' service is present.

Declare @objectstack/service-ai in the showcase and crm examples (they ship AI
agents) so they keep AI.

Verified e2e in an isolated build:
- app WITHOUT the dep → discovery AI unavailable, /api/v1/ai/agents 404,
  AIService not loaded; MCP server still starts and serves
  (OS_MCP_SERVER_ENABLED=true → 401 auth-gate, i.e. live).
- app that DECLARES it → services.ai available + agents served.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: os-zhuang

.changeset/ce-ai-opt-in.md

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+---
+"@objectstack/cli": minor
+---
+
+feat(cli): gate AI service auto-registration on a declared `@objectstack/service-ai` dependency
+
+The CLI auto-registered the headless `AIServicePlugin` whenever the `ai` tier was
+enabled (default) and `@objectstack/service-ai` was merely *resolvable*. In a
+workspace/monorepo the package is hoist-resolvable even when an app does not
+declare it, so every app got the AI service — discovery reported
+`services.ai: available` and the agent runtime served any metadata-defined
+agents — including Community-Edition apps that ship no AI.
+
+Make the *declared* dependency the AI edition boundary: auto-register the AI
+service only when the host app lists `@objectstack/service-ai` in its
+dependencies. A Community-Edition app that omits it now gets no AI service, no
+agents, and `services.ai: { enabled: false, status: 'unavailable' }` in discovery
+(so the MIT console hides its AI surface). MCP and every other capability are
+unaffected — MCP is a separate capability that bridges data/metadata regardless
+and only *optionally* bridges the AI tool registry when present.
+
+The `app-showcase` and `app-crm` examples now declare `@objectstack/service-ai`
+(they ship AI agents) so they keep their AI service.

examples/app-crm/package.json

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "@objectstack/runtime": "workspace:*",
+    "@objectstack/service-ai": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/spec": "workspace:*"
   },
   "devDependencies": {

examples/app-showcase/package.json

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
     "@objectstack/connector-slack": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/driver-sql": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/runtime": "workspace:*",
+    "@objectstack/service-ai": "workspace:*",
     "@objectstack/spec": "workspace:*"
   },
   "devDependencies": {

packages/cli/src/commands/serve.ts

@@ -1416,7 +1416,28 @@ export default class Serve extends Command {
           return import(/* webpackIgnore: true */ pkg);
         }
       };
-      if (!hasAIPlugin && tierEnabled('ai')) {
+      // [CE AI opt-in] Auto-register the headless AI service ONLY when the host
+      // app DECLARES `@objectstack/service-ai`. Declaration is the edition
+      // boundary: a Community-Edition app that omits it gets no AI service, no
+      // agents, and no `services.ai` in discovery (so the console hides its AI
+      // surface), while MCP and every other capability are unaffected. Gating on
+      // a *declared* dep — not mere resolvability — makes this reliable in a
+      // workspace/monorepo, where the package stays hoist-resolvable when undeclared.
+      const _fs = await import('node:fs');
+      const hostDeclaresDependency = (pkg: string): boolean => {
+        try {
+          const hostPkg = JSON.parse(
+            _fs.readFileSync(_hostRequire.resolve('./package.json'), 'utf8'),
+          ) as Record<string, Record<string, string> | undefined>;
+          return Boolean(
+            hostPkg.dependencies?.[pkg] ?? hostPkg.devDependencies?.[pkg]
+              ?? hostPkg.optionalDependencies?.[pkg] ?? hostPkg.peerDependencies?.[pkg],
+          );
+        } catch {
+          return false;
+        }
+      };
+      if (!hasAIPlugin && tierEnabled('ai') && hostDeclaresDependency('@objectstack/service-ai')) {
         try {
           const aiPkg = '@objectstack/service-ai';
           const { AIServicePlugin } = await importFromHost(aiPkg);