manifest-automation

name	manifest-automation
description	Create and update manifest files using advanced web automation with Playwright, intelligent retry logic, and smart merge capabilities

Manifest Automation Skill

Automate the creation and updating of manifest files for AI coding tools using advanced browser automation, web search, and intelligent field-level retry logic.

Overview

This skill extends beyond the existing manifest-creator by adding:

• Dual Mode Operation: CREATE new manifests or UPDATE existing ones with smart merge
• Advanced Web Automation: Playwright MCP for dynamic content, pricing calculators, and marketplace navigation
• Intelligent Retry Logic: 3-attempt strategy per field with graceful degradation to TODO comments
• Smart Merge: UPDATE mode preserves user-curated data while refreshing auto-discoverable fields
• Type-Optimized Workflows: Dedicated extraction strategies for each manifest type

Supported Manifest Types

1. CLI - Command-line tools with platform-specific install commands
2. Extension - IDE extensions with marketplace URLs and install URIs
3. IDE - Integrated development environments with GUI installers
4. Model - AI models with technical specs and token pricing
5. Provider - Model providers (foundation or service)
6. Vendor - Companies and organizations

Usage

CREATE Mode

Create a new manifest from scratch:

# CLI tool
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create cli cursor-cli https://cursor.com/cli

# Extension
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create extension copilot https://github.com/features/copilot

# Model
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create model claude-opus https://anthropic.com/claude

# Provider
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create provider openrouter https://openrouter.ai

# IDE
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create ide cursor https://cursor.com

# Vendor
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create vendor anthropic https://anthropic.com

UPDATE Mode

Update an existing manifest with fresh data:

# Update existing CLI manifest
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs update cli cursor-cli https://cursor.com/cli

# Update extension (URL optional if already in manifest)
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs update extension copilot

How It Works

CREATE Mode Workflow

1. Load Schema & Workflow

   • Read JSON schema for manifest type
   • Load type-specific workflow instructions
   • Initialize field tracker for retry logic

2. Extract Information

   • Use Playwright MCP to navigate websites
   • Use WebSearch to discover GitHub repos, marketplaces, social media
   • Extract data following type-specific workflow
   • Track attempts per field (max 3)

3. Handle Failures Gracefully

   • After 3 failed attempts per field: add TODO comment
   • Continue with partial data (save as draft)
   • Generate completion report

4. Validate & Save

   • Write manifest JSON to appropriate path
   • For IDE/CLI/Extension: check vendor manifest exists, create if missing
   • Update data/github-stars.json
   • Run npm run generate to regenerate TypeScript data files
   • Run schema validation
   • Report success/failures to user

UPDATE Mode Workflow

1. Load Existing Manifest

   • Read current manifest from disk
   • Parse and validate structure

2. Extract Fresh Data

   • Follow same extraction workflow as CREATE
   • Use Playwright and WebSearch for current data

3. Smart Merge

   • AUTO_UPDATE: Replace with new values (versions, descriptions, pricing, specs)
   • PRESERVE: Keep existing (id, name, verified, i18n, relatedProducts)
   • MERGE_ADDITIVE: Add new items to arrays/objects (communityUrls, platforms)
   • CONDITIONAL: Present both for manual review (license)

4. Generate Change Report

   • Show what was updated, added, preserved
   • Flag fields needing manual review
   • Validate and save merged manifest

Field Extraction Strategies

CLI Workflow Focus

• Platform-specific install commands (brew, npm, apt, winget)
• Launch commands and installation paths
• GitHub releases for version tracking
• Cross-platform support detection

Extension Workflow Focus

• IDE marketplace URLs (VS Code, JetBrains, Open VSX)
• Install URIs (vscode:extension/, cursor:extension/)
• Supported IDE detection and compatibility
• Publisher and extension ID extraction

Model Workflow Focus

• Technical specifications (parameter size, context window, max output)
• Token pricing ($/M tokens for input/output/cache)
• Platform URLs (HuggingFace, Artificial Analysis, OpenRouter)
• Model card information extraction

Provider Workflow Focus

• Provider type detection (foundation vs service)
• API key application URLs
• Platform integration discovery
• Developer documentation

IDE Workflow Focus

• GUI installation (DMG, EXE, DEB installers)
• Download page navigation
• App Store distributions
• GUI-based installation steps

Vendor Workflow Focus

• Company mission and description
• Official social media accounts
• Community links and presence
• Organization-level information

Tool Integration

When to Use Each Tool

Playwright MCP (mcp__playwright__browser_*):

• Dynamic JavaScript-rendered content
• Multi-step navigation (tabs, dropdowns, modals)
• IDE marketplace pages
• Pricing calculators and forms
• Interactive website elements
• LinkedIn company pages (verification and metadata)

WebSearch:

• Discovering GitHub repositories
• Finding marketplace URLs
• Locating social media profiles
• Platform-specific pages (HuggingFace, npm, PyPI)
• Validation and alternatives
• Wikipedia for cross-referencing company information
• LinkedIn company pages for authoritative metadata

WebFetch (fallback):

• Static documentation pages
• Simple content fetching
• Direct URL access for known pages

Reference-Only Sources

Wikipedia:

• Use for verifying company descriptions and basic facts
• Cross-reference founding dates, headquarters, official names
• Validate social media links listed in Wikipedia infobox
• NEVER store Wikipedia URLs in manifests - use only for verification

LinkedIn Company Pages:

• Primary authoritative source for company metadata
• Verify company size, industry, official description
• Store the LinkedIn URL in communityUrls.linkedin
• Use company description to validate website description accuracy

Playwright Patterns

Pattern 1: Navigate → Snapshot → Extract

1. mcp__playwright__browser_navigate(url)
2. mcp__playwright__browser_snapshot()
3. Extract data from snapshot elements

Pattern 2: Interactive Navigation

1. Take initial snapshot
2. mcp__playwright__browser_click(element)
3. mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for(text)
4. Take new snapshot and extract

Pattern 3: Form Interaction

1. mcp__playwright__browser_fill_form(fields)
2. Click submit button
3. Extract results from response

Retry Logic

3-Attempt Strategy

Each field gets up to 3 extraction attempts before falling back to TODO comment:

Attempt 1: Direct extraction from primary source

• Official website, documentation, or main page
• Most authoritative source

Attempt 2: Alternative sources or search

• WebSearch for the information
• Alternative URL patterns
• Related pages or sections

Attempt 3: Final fallback sources

• Third-party platforms
• Package manager websites
• Community resources

After 3 failures: Add TODO comment with reason

Retry Examples

Installation Commands:

1. Official installation docs page
2. WebSearch for package manager (brew, npm, PyPI)
3. GitHub README or package manager sites
4. TODO if still not found

Pricing:

1. Official pricing page
2. Footer/header navigation links
3. Documentation pricing mentions
4. TODO if behind "Contact Sales"

Community URLs:

1. Website footer social links
2. WebSearch " official "
3. Common URL patterns validation
4. Set to null if not found

TODO Comment Format

{
  "communityUrls": {
    "discord": null, // TODO: Could not auto-discover after 3 attempts. Not found in footer or search results.
    "twitter": "https://x.com/product"
  }
}

Smart Merge Field Categories

AUTO_UPDATE Fields

Always replaced with freshly discovered values:

• latestVersion - Always fetch latest
• description - From official source
• websiteUrl - Official URL
• docsUrl - Documentation URL
• tokenPricing - Model pricing (changes frequently)
• size, contextWindow, maxOutput - Model specs

PRESERVE Fields

Never updated (user-curated):

• id - Core identifier
• name - Display name
• verified - Manual verification status
• i18n - User translations
• relatedProducts - Manually curated relationships

MERGE_ADDITIVE Fields

Add new items, keep existing:

• communityUrls - Add newly discovered social links
• platformUrls - Add new platform integrations
• supportedIdes - Add new IDE support
• platforms - Add new OS support
• pricing - Add new tiers, preserve existing

CONDITIONAL Fields

Require manual review:

• license - Only update if from authoritative source (GitHub)
• vendor - Review name changes carefully

Error Handling

Graceful Degradation

1. Field-Level Failures: Track each field independently
2. Partial Manifests: Save draft even with missing fields
3. TODO Comments: Mark failed fields with reason
4. Completion Reports: Show what succeeded/failed

Completion Report Format

📊 Manifest Automation Report
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Status: DRAFT (3 fields incomplete)

✅ Successfully Extracted (42 fields)
❌ Failed Extraction (3 fields):
   1. communityUrls.discord (3 attempts)
      Reason: Not found in website footer or WebSearch
   2. pricing[2].value (3 attempts)
      Reason: Enterprise pricing behind contact form
   3. platforms[1].installCommand (3 attempts)
      Reason: Windows installation docs incomplete

⚠️  Cross-Reference Validation:
   ✓ Wikipedia: Company description verified
   ✓ LinkedIn: Company metadata matches
   ⚠️ Description length mismatch: Website (180 chars) vs LinkedIn (220 chars)

🌐 i18n Consistency Warnings (UPDATE mode only):
   ⚠️ English description updated - review i18n translations
   ⚠️ i18n.zh-Hans may be outdated (last updated: previous description)
   ⚠️ i18n.de may be outdated (last updated: previous description)
   → Add TODO comments to i18n fields requiring manual review

📝 Next Steps:
1. Review manifest file: manifests/clis/cursor-cli.json
2. Manually fill TODO-marked fields if information available
3. Add i18n translations (zh-Hans, de, ko)
4. Update verified field once data confirmed accurate
5. Run validation: npm run test:validate

Note: Vendor manifest, github-stars.json, and TypeScript files already updated.

Comparison with manifest-creator

Feature	manifest-creator	manifest-automation
Tools	WebFetch only	Playwright MCP + WebSearch + WebFetch
Modes	CREATE only	CREATE + UPDATE
Retry Logic	Manual/ask user	Automatic 3-attempt per field
Dynamic Content	Limited	Full Playwright support
Merge Logic	N/A	Smart field categorization
Error Handling	Stop and ask	TODO + draft + report
Workflows	Generic 7-step	Type-optimized phases
Community Discovery	Basic	Advanced WebSearch
Pricing Extraction	Static pages	Dynamic calculators
Marketplace Support	Limited	Full automation (VS Code, JetBrains)

Best Practices

Accuracy

• Never generate or guess data - always extract from authoritative sources
• Validate URLs exist and are official
• Verify version numbers from releases, not estimates
• Check social media accounts are official (verification badges, content)
• Use Wikipedia for cross-referencing company facts, model specs, and historical data
• Use LinkedIn as authoritative source for company metadata and descriptions

Completeness

• Follow type-specific workflow completely
• Don't skip optional fields - attempt extraction
• Use full 3-attempt retry strategy before TODO
• Generate comprehensive completion reports
• Cross-reference with Wikipedia and LinkedIn to ensure no critical information is missed
• Validate i18n translations match English default content

Validation

• Always run schema validation after manifest creation
• Fix validation errors before marking complete
• Verify enum values (os, ideId, pricing categories)
• Check URL formats (https://, proper domains)
• Verify company information against Wikipedia and LinkedIn
• Ensure i18n consistency - all languages must reflect the same content

Smart Merge

• In UPDATE mode, trust the merge categories
• Review CONDITIONAL fields manually
• Don't blindly replace PRESERVE fields
• Validate MERGE_ADDITIVE doesn't create duplicates
• Flag i18n fields for review when English content changes
• Include i18n drift warnings in completion reports

Cross-Referencing Strategy

1. Primary source: Official website and documentation
2. Verification source 1: LinkedIn company page (for vendors/companies)
3. Verification source 2: Wikipedia (for well-known entities)
4. Conflict resolution: Official website > LinkedIn > Wikipedia
5. Never store reference URLs: Wikipedia and verification sources are for validation only

Troubleshooting

Playwright Navigation Fails

• Wait 2 seconds, retry navigation
• Check for redirects or authentication walls
• Try alternative URLs or WebSearch fallback

Element Not Found in Snapshot

• Take screenshot for debugging
• Search page text directly (not by element ref)
• Try WebSearch as alternative approach

Dynamic Content Doesn't Load

• Use mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for with specific text
• Scroll page to trigger lazy loading
• Click "Load More" or "Show All" buttons
• Fallback to WebSearch

Rate Limiting or Blocking

• Add delays between requests
• Use WebSearch as alternative data source
• Mark field as TODO if consistently blocked

Files Created

After running this skill, expect:

1. Manifest file: manifests/<type>s/<name>.json
2. With TODO comments: For failed field extractions
3. Valid against schema: manifests/$schemas/<type>.schema.json
4. Ready for validation: Run npm run test:validate

GitHub Stars Update

After creating or updating a manifest, you MUST update the data/github-stars.json file:

Why Update github-stars.json?

The github-stars.json file tracks GitHub star counts for all manifests. When you create or update a manifest:

• A new entry must be added for tracking
• The entry is initialized with null (stars not yet fetched)
• A scheduled job will automatically fetch the actual star count later

How to Update

Use the updateGithubStarsEntry() function from github-stars-updater.mjs:

import { updateGithubStarsEntry } from './lib/github-stars-updater.mjs'

// After creating a new manifest
const result = updateGithubStarsEntry('cli', 'cursor-cli', { isNew: true })

// After updating an existing manifest
const result = updateGithubStarsEntry('extension', 'claude-code', { isNew: false })

CLI Usage

You can also use the CLI directly:

# Add new entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs add cli cursor-cli

# Update existing entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs update extension claude-code

# Remove entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs remove ide windsurf

What It Does

The updater will:

1. Load the current github-stars.json file
2. Add or update the entry: <category>["<id>"] = null
3. Sort entries alphabetically within the category
4. Save the updated file back to disk

Example Result

For a new CLI manifest cursor-cli:

{
  "clis": {
    "claude-code-cli": 43.5,
    "cursor-cli": null,  // ← newly added
    "kode": 3.6
  }
}

Integration with Workflow

The automate.mjs script exports the necessary information for you to call the updater:

// After workflow completes and manifest is saved:
import {
  updateGithubStarsEntry,
  manifestType,
  manifestName,
  operationMode
} from './automate.mjs'

updateGithubStarsEntry(manifestType, manifestName, { isNew: operationMode === 'create' })

Next Steps After Creation

1. Review manifest: Check all extracted values for accuracy
2. Fill TODOs: Manually add fields that couldn't be auto-discovered
3. Add translations: Populate i18n object with localized content (zh-Hans, de, ko)
4. Set verified: Change verified to true if data is confirmed accurate
5. Add related products: Manually curate relatedProducts array
6. Run validation: Ensure schema compliance with npm run test:validate
7. Commit changes: Add manifest to git repository

Note: Vendor manifest and github-stars.json are automatically handled during creation.

i18n Consistency Requirements

IMPORTANT: When creating or updating manifests with i18n content:

1. Default Language (English):

   • All English content should be in top-level fields (e.g., description, name)
   • English should NEVER appear in the i18n object

2. Multi-Language Support:

   • Support at least 3 languages: English (default), Simplified Chinese (zh-Hans), German (de)
   • NEVER hardcode only 'en' | 'zh-Hans' - always include de and support extensibility

3. Content Synchronization:

   • All i18n translations must reflect the SAME content as the English default
   • When updating default English fields, flag i18n fields for manual review
   • Never auto-translate - mark translations as TODO if not manually provided

4. Validation Checks:

   • After UPDATE mode, verify i18n content hasn't become stale
   • Flag i18n fields that may need updating when English content changes
   • Include i18n consistency warnings in completion reports

5. Structure Example:

{
  "name": "Example Product",
  "description": "This is the default English description",
  "i18n": {
    "zh-Hans": {
      "name": "示例产品",
      "description": "这是默认的英文描述"
    },
    "de": {
      "name": "Beispielprodukt",
      "description": "Dies ist die englische Standardbeschreibung"
    }
  }
}

In UPDATE mode:

• If default English fields change, add comment: // TODO: Update i18n translations to match new English content
• Report i18n drift in completion report
• Preserve existing i18n content (PRESERVE category) but flag for review