cli-finalization-build

name	cli-finalization-build
description	Use when: finalizing a fix or feature in vscode-extension-tester, rebuilding CLI dist, rebuilding the bundled controller VSIX, packaging release artifacts, and verifying vscode-ext-test install-into-project/update deploy the latest assets to other projects.

CLI Finalization Build

Use this skill whenever a fix or feature is done and the user needs the local vscode-ext-test CLI package to be immediately usable from other projects.

Artifact Contract

The CLI package must ship all three current artifacts:

• packages/cli/dist/**: compiled CLI runner code used by bin/vscode-ext-test.js
• packages/cli/src/skill/SKILL.md: the skill deployed by vscode-ext-test install-into-project
• packages/cli/assets/controller-extension.vsix: the controller extension installed by vscode-ext-test install-into-profile and vscode-ext-test update

vscode-ext-test install-into-project overwrites .github/skills/e2e-test-extension/SKILL.md in the target project from packages/cli/src/skill/SKILL.md inside the package.

vscode-ext-test install-into-profile and vscode-ext-test update install the bundled VSIX from packages/cli/assets/controller-extension.vsix.

The controller extension VSIX version is independent from the CLI package version. Whenever a functional change touches packages/controller-extension/**, use the extension-versioning skill to bump packages/controller-extension/package.json before rebuilding the VSIX.

Required Workflow

1. Run the focused tests for the change, then build the CLI and controller:

   npm run build -w packages/controller-extension
   npm run build -w packages/cli
   

2. If dotnet/ or native UI automation changed, rebuild the native bridge too:

   npm run build:native
   

3. Repackage the local CLI artifact after all builds finish:

   npm run package:release
   

4. Verify the built CLI starts from its package bin:

   node packages/cli/bin/vscode-ext-test.js --version
   

5. Verify the local release tarball exists and includes the expected assets:

   Get-Content release-artifacts/release-manifest.json
   Get-Content release-artifacts/SHA256SUMS.txt
   

Smoke Test Contract

When the user asks whether the latest CLI is ready for other projects, verify these two behaviors before answering yes:

• vscode-ext-test install-into-project deploys the exact latest packages/cli/src/skill/SKILL.md into .github/skills/e2e-test-extension/SKILL.md in the target project.
• vscode-ext-test update installs the exact latest packages/cli/assets/controller-extension.vsix into VS Code and every named vscode-extension-tester profile.

For a local package smoke test, install the freshly packed tarball first:

npm install -g .\release-artifacts\vscode-ext-test-0.1.1.tgz

Then run the user-facing commands from a separate test project:

vscode-ext-test install-into-project
vscode-ext-test update

If the version has been bumped, use the tarball name from release-artifacts/release-manifest.json instead of assuming 0.1.1.

Final Answer Checklist

Before telling the user the CLI is ready, report:

• which build commands ran
• which tests ran
• whether release-artifacts/*.tgz was regenerated
• whether the init skill and update VSIX smoke contract was verified or not

Do not say other projects will get the latest until the global/package install source they use has been refreshed from the regenerated tarball.