refactor(actions)!: target is the only handler slot — delete the execute alias (objectstack#3856)

`ActionRunner.executeScript` read `action.target || action.execute`. Against
`@objectstack/spec` 17 that fallback is unreachable: `execute` is a tombstoned
key (objectstack#3855) the parser rejects with the rename prescription, so no
parsed action can carry it and the `||` could only ever yield `target`. Verified
against 17.0.0-rc.0 — an action declaring `execute` fails `ActionSchema.safeParse`
and a `target` action's parsed output has no `execute` key.

Deleted rather than kept as harmless residue: two handler slots is what let one
action run one script server-side and a different one client-side
(objectstack#3713, where this renderer preferred the alias while the spec
transform preferred `target`). A dead slot still reads as a live contract.

objectstack#3856 predicted a compile error here and there wasn't one — the real
finding. Neither reader was typed against the spec's `z.infer`; both
hand-declared the key:

- `@object-ui/types` `ActionSchema.execute` removed, so `execute: '…'` now fails
  `tsc` at the authoring site (TS2353).
- `@object-ui/core` `ActionDef.execute` removed too, but `ActionDef` carries a
  `[key: string]: any` index signature, so stale hand-authored metadata still
  compiles. For that path `executeScript` returns the rename prescription rather
  than a bare "No script provided" — removing an authorable key has to be
  audible, and binding no handler silently is the objectstack#2169 "Mark Done
  does nothing" shape.

The four action renderers stop forwarding `execute`, and Studio's `ActionPreview`
no longer falls back to it (previewing an alias-only draft as bound contradicted
the parse that rejects it on save). Tests move to `target`; the "prefer canonical
over the alias" case becomes a regression test that the alias is not read.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_014DBMo8gnFduzgpuSHd5Eje

Author: claude

.changeset/action-target-is-the-only-handler-slot.md

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+'@object-ui/types': major
+'@object-ui/core': major
+'@object-ui/components': major
+'@object-ui/app-shell': major
+---
+
+**`target` is the only action handler slot — the `execute` alias is gone from the renderer (framework#3856).**
+
+`ActionRunner.executeScript` read `action.target || action.execute`. That fallback
+is unreachable against `@objectstack/spec` 17: `execute` is now a tombstoned key
+(framework#3855) that the parser **rejects** with the rename prescription, so no
+parsed action can carry it and the `||` could only ever yield `target`. Verified
+against 17.0.0-rc.0 — an action declaring `execute` fails `ActionSchema.safeParse`,
+and a `target` action's parsed output has no `execute` key at all.
+
+Deleted rather than left as harmless residue: two handler slots is what let one
+action run one script server-side and a different one client-side (framework#3713,
+where this renderer preferred the alias while the spec transform preferred
+`target`). A dead slot still reads as a live contract to the next maintainer.
+
+`execute` is also **removed from the types**, which is the part that had never
+landed. framework#3856 predicted a compile error here; there wasn't one, because
+neither reader was typed against the spec's `z.infer`:
+
+- `@object-ui/types` `ActionSchema` hand-declared `execute?: string`. Removed, so
+  `execute: '…'` now fails `tsc` at the authoring site (TS2353).
+- `@object-ui/core` `ActionDef` hand-declared it too. Removed — but `ActionDef`
+  carries a `[key: string]: any` index signature, so stale hand-authored metadata
+  that never passed through the parser still compiles. For that path
+  `executeScript` now returns the rename prescription instead of a bare
+  "No script provided", matching the spec tombstone's rule that removing an
+  authorable key must be audible: silently binding no handler is the
+  "Mark Done does nothing" shape (framework#2169).
+
+The four action renderers (`action:button`, `action:icon`, `action:menu`,
+`action:group`) no longer forward `execute` into the runner, and Studio's
+`ActionPreview` no longer falls back to it — previewing an alias-only draft as
+"bound" contradicted the parse that rejects it on save.
+
+Requires `@objectstack/spec` 17. Metadata still on the alias is rewritten by
+`os migrate meta --from 16`.

packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/previews/ActionPreview.tsx

@@ -151,7 +151,10 @@ export function ActionPreview({ name, draft }: MetadataPreviewProps) {
   const label = localize(d.label) || actionName;
   const icon = (d.icon as string | undefined) || undefined;
   const type = String(d.type ?? 'script');
-  const target = (d.target as string | undefined) ?? (d.execute as string | undefined);
+  // `target` only: the `execute` alias was removed in @objectstack/spec 17
+  // (#3855, #3856). Reading it here would preview a draft as bound when the
+  // spec rejects it at save, which is the opposite of what a preview is for.
+  const target = d.target as string | undefined;
   const variant = (d.variant as string | undefined) || undefined;
   const component = String(d.component ?? '');
   const locations = Array.isArray(d.locations) ? (d.locations as string[]) : [];

packages/components/src/renderers/action/action-button.tsx

@@ -99,7 +99,6 @@ const ActionButtonRenderer = forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, ActionButtonProps>(
           // Static "open in new tab" switch for url actions — forward so the
           // runner's executeUrl honors it (dropped, the toggle is silently lost).
           openIn: (schema as any).openIn,
-          execute: schema.execute,
           endpoint: schema.endpoint,
           method: schema.method,
           ...paramsPayload,

packages/components/src/renderers/action/action-group.tsx

@@ -200,7 +200,6 @@ const ActionGroupRenderer = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, { schema: ActionGroupSche
           name: action.name,
           target: action.target,
           openIn: (action as any).openIn,
-          execute: action.execute,
           endpoint: action.endpoint,
           method: action.method,
           params: action.params as Record<string, any> | undefined,

packages/components/src/renderers/action/action-icon.tsx

@@ -62,7 +62,6 @@ const ActionIconRenderer = forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, ActionIconProps>(
           name: schema.name,
           target: schema.target,
           openIn: (schema as any).openIn,
-          execute: schema.execute,
           endpoint: schema.endpoint,
           method: schema.method,
           params: schema.params as Record<string, any> | undefined,

packages/components/src/renderers/action/action-menu.tsx

@@ -145,7 +145,6 @@ const ActionMenuRenderer = forwardRef<HTMLButtonElement, { schema: ActionMenuSch
             name: action.name,
             target: action.target,
             openIn: (action as any).openIn,
-            execute: action.execute,
             endpoint: action.endpoint,
             method: action.method,
             params: action.params as Record<string, any> | undefined,

packages/core/src/actions/ActionRunner.ts

@@ -128,9 +128,15 @@ export interface ActionDef {
    * reveal dialog rendering `result.data` (see ResultDialogSpec).
    */
   resultDialog?: ResultDialogSpec;
-  /** Script/expression to execute (for type: 'script') */
-  execute?: string;
-  /** Target URL or identifier (for type: 'url', 'modal', 'flow') */
+  /**
+   * The one handler slot: script name/expression for `type: 'script'`, URL for
+   * `'url'`, flow name for `'flow'`, modal/page for `'modal'`, endpoint for
+   * `'api'`, FormView name for `'form'`.
+   *
+   * The `execute` alias was REMOVED in @objectstack/spec 17 (#3855) and is not
+   * read here (#3856) — don't re-add it. Two handler slots is how one action ran
+   * one script server-side and a different one client-side (#3713).
+   */
   target?: string;
   /**
    * Action body (spec `ActionSchema.body` — `HookBodySchema`). Opaque here:
@@ -718,18 +724,17 @@ export class ActionRunner {
    * Supports ${} template expressions referencing data, record, user context.
    */
   private async executeScript(action: ActionDef): Promise<ActionResult> {
-    // `target` is the canonical binding; `execute` is its deprecated alias
-    // (@objectstack/spec ActionSchema). Canonical wins when both are present,
-    // matching the spec's own fold and ActionPreview's `target ?? execute`.
-    // Spec >=16.1 folds `execute` into `target` and drops it at parse, so this
-    // only bites on raw, unparsed metadata — where the two readers used to
-    // disagree. Alias-only authoring still works via the fallback.
-    const script = action.target || action.execute;
+    // `target` is the only handler slot. The `execute` alias was removed in
+    // @objectstack/spec 17 (#3855), which rejects an authored `execute` at parse
+    // with the rename prescription — so parsed metadata cannot carry it and a
+    // `target || execute` fallback could only ever evaluate to `target` (#3856).
+    const script = action.target;
     if (!script) {
       // A spec `body` IS a script — this runner just cannot run one (see the
       // `body` field docs). Saying "no script provided" would send the author
       // hunting for a missing field they actually wrote, so name the real
-      // cause and the remedy instead.
+      // cause and the remedy instead. Checked before the retired `execute` key:
+      // a `body` action ignores `target`, so "rename it" would be wrong advice.
       if (action.body != null) {
         return {
           success: false,
@@ -739,6 +744,20 @@ export class ActionRunner {
             'Register a `script` handler that POSTs to /api/v1/actions/{object}/{action}.',
         };
       }
+      // ActionDef is open-ended (`[key: string]: any`), so hand-authored
+      // metadata that never passed through the spec parser still compiles with
+      // the retired key. Carry the same prescription the spec's tombstone does,
+      // for the same reason: a bare "no script provided" reads as "you forgot a
+      // field" to an author who did write one.
+      if (typeof action.execute === 'string') {
+        return {
+          success: false,
+          error:
+            '`execute` was removed in @objectstack/spec 17 — rename the key to `target`. ' +
+            'The value (a script name or expression) is unchanged. ' +
+            'Run `os migrate meta --from 16` to rewrite it automatically.',
+        };
+      }
       return { success: false, error: 'No script provided for script action' };
     }
 

packages/core/src/actions/__tests__/ActionEngine.test.ts

@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ describe('ActionEngine', () => {
 
   describe('dispatch', () => {
     it('executes mapped actions for an event', async () => {
-      engine.registerAction({ name: 'log', type: 'script', execute: '"logged"' });
+      engine.registerAction({ name: 'log', type: 'script', target: '"logged"' });
       engine.addMapping({ event: 'row:click', actionName: 'log' });
 
       const results = await engine.dispatch('row:click');
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ describe('ActionEngine', () => {
 
     it('skips actions when mapping condition is false', async () => {
       engine = new ActionEngine({ data: { status: 'locked' } });
-      engine.registerAction({ name: 'edit', type: 'script', execute: '"edited"' });
+      engine.registerAction({ name: 'edit', type: 'script', target: '"edited"' });
       engine.addMapping({ 
         event: 'row:click', 
         actionName: 'edit',
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ describe('ActionEngine', () => {
   describe('handleShortcut', () => {
     it('executes action for matching shortcut', async () => {
       engine.registerAction(
-        { name: 'save', type: 'script', execute: '"saved"' },
+        { name: 'save', type: 'script', target: '"saved"' },
         { shortcut: 'ctrl+s' }
       );
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ describe('ActionEngine', () => {
 
     it('normalizes shortcut key order', async () => {
       engine.registerAction(
-        { name: 'save', type: 'script', execute: '"saved"' },
+        { name: 'save', type: 'script', target: '"saved"' },
         { shortcut: 'ctrl+shift+s' }
       );
 
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ describe('ActionEngine', () => {
   describe('executeBulk', () => {
     it('executes action on multiple records sequentially', async () => {
       engine.registerAction(
-        { name: 'approve', type: 'script', execute: '"approved"' },
+        { name: 'approve', type: 'script', target: '"approved"' },
         { bulkEnabled: true }
       );
 

packages/core/src/actions/__tests__/ActionRunner.scriptAwait.test.ts

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ describe('ActionRunner - script action awaits a Promise-returning formula', () =
     // so the expression must call it by that same upper-cased name.
     runner.getEvaluator().registerFunction('doWrite', () => write);
 
-    const action: ActionDef = { type: 'script', execute: 'DOWRITE()' };
+    const action: ActionDef = { type: 'script', target: 'DOWRITE()' };
     const pending = runner.execute(action);
 
     // The write hasn't resolved yet — no toast should have fired.
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ describe('ActionRunner - script action awaits a Promise-returning formula', () =
 
   it('surfaces a rejected write as success:false instead of a false-positive success toast', async () => {
     runner.getEvaluator().registerFunction('doFailingWrite', () => Promise.reject(new Error('write failed')));
-    const action: ActionDef = { type: 'script', execute: 'DOFAILINGWRITE()' };
+    const action: ActionDef = { type: 'script', target: 'DOFAILINGWRITE()' };
 
     const result = await runner.execute(action);
 

packages/core/src/actions/__tests__/ActionRunner.test.ts

@@ -194,13 +194,13 @@ describe('ActionRunner', () => {
     it('should evaluate script expression', async () => {
       const result = await runner.execute({
         type: 'script',
-        execute: 'record.id + 100',
+        target: 'record.id + 100',
       });
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);
       expect(result.data).toBe(101);
     });
 
-    it('should evaluate script from the canonical target field', async () => {
+    it('should evaluate a script expression against the data scope', async () => {
       const result = await runner.execute({
         type: 'script',
         target: 'data.name',
@@ -209,17 +209,21 @@ describe('ActionRunner', () => {
       expect(result.data).toBe('Test');
     });
 
-    it('should prefer canonical target over the deprecated execute alias', async () => {
-      // Spec >=16.1 folds `execute` into `target` at parse, so the two keys only
-      // coexist on raw metadata. When they do, canonical wins — the same
-      // precedence ActionPreview and the spec's own fold already use.
+    it('should not read the retired execute alias, and should prescribe the rename', async () => {
+      // `execute` was removed in @objectstack/spec 17 (#3855) — the parser now
+      // rejects it outright, so no parsed action can carry it and the runner has
+      // exactly one handler slot (#3856). Pinned as a test because the failure
+      // mode of re-adding `target || execute` is invisible: it type-checks (
+      // ActionDef is open-ended) and it runs, it just resurrects the two-slot
+      // ambiguity that had one action running different scripts on each side of
+      // the wire (#3713).
       const result = await runner.execute({
         type: 'script',
-        target: 'data.name',
         execute: 'record.id + 100',
       });
-      expect(result.success).toBe(true);
-      expect(result.data).toBe('Test');
+      expect(result.success).toBe(false);
+      expect(result.error).toContain('`execute` was removed');
+      expect(result.error).toContain('`target`');
     });
 
     it('should fail when no script provided', async () => {
@@ -264,7 +268,7 @@ describe('ActionRunner', () => {
     it('should return data as undefined for expressions referencing missing vars', async () => {
       const result = await runner.execute({
         type: 'script',
-        execute: 'data.nonExistent',
+        target: 'data.nonExistent',
       });
       // ExpressionEvaluator returns undefined for missing properties (doesn't throw)
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);
@@ -875,7 +879,7 @@ describe('ActionRunner', () => {
   describe('executeAction', () => {
     it('should execute an action with the convenience function', async () => {
       const result = await executeAction(
-        { type: 'script', execute: '1 + 2' },
+        { type: 'script', target: '1 + 2' },
         { data: {} },
       );
       expect(result.success).toBe(true);