delphi-ide-control

name	delphi-ide-control
description	Control a live Delphi 12 IDE safely and verify Delphi-specific workflows, including menus, editor context menus, Projects, Project Options, Object Inspector, builds, Messages, and debugger windows. Use when an agent must inspect or operate RAD Studio rather than only edit or build Delphi source externally.

Delphi IDE control

Use this skill together with $windows-desktop-control. Read references/navigation.md before operating Delphi and references/evidence-model.md before claiming a result. Use references/inspection-plan.md when expanding or recertifying the skill.

Operating contract

1. Discover bds.exe, its TAppBuilder HWND, active title, modal windows, and NVDA Speech Viewer without foreground input.
2. If Delphi Companion is loaded, probe MaxLogicAccessibilityAgentBridge.<bds-pid>. Treat bridge mutation as background command mode, not keyboard or screen-reader evidence.
3. Map the exact form or control before mutation. Prefer bridge refs for stable VCL forms; never reuse a ref after a bridge mutation invalidates its snapshot.
4. Use real keyboard or pointer input only for behavior that requires it. Announce the takeover, acquire a bounded foreground lease for the exact Delphi PID and current top-level HWND, activate that HWND inside the lease, guard every input, and release in finally.
5. Re-discover after every modal transition. Menus and editor popups use ephemeral HWNDs and must not be cached.
6. Verify the result through the strongest applicable boundary: IDE state, external UIA/MSAA, build output, or NVDA Speech Viewer. Release any foreground session before reporting or pausing.

Safety rules

• Confirm the active project, configuration, and target platform before compiling, building, running, or changing Project Options.
• Do not invoke a menu item merely because its accelerator appears plausible. Open the menu and verify the selected caption first.
• Do not save Project Options, Object Inspector changes, source edits, or project files unless the task authorizes that mutation.
• Stop at save, overwrite, migration, credential, signing, deployment, package-install, or debugger side-effect prompts unless they are explicitly in scope.
• A successful bridge response does not prove external accessibility. An external UIA/MSAA name does not prove NVDA spoke it. Speech Viewer text is the acceptance boundary for spoken output.
• Delphi design-package replacement is restart-only when the package has installed host-wide VCL hooks. Do not dynamically unload Delphi Companion during an automated session; an external IDE extension can retain a callback into the unloaded BPL.

Default workflow

1. Establish the target and record PID, main HWND, title, active project, and whether a modal owns the IDE.
2. Choose the route in references/navigation.md.
3. Capture a before-state at the same boundary used for acceptance.
4. Perform one bounded action.
5. Re-map and verify the after-state. For menu speech, compare Speech Viewer text appended after the baseline.
6. Close transient menus with Esc, leave user-owned windows in a sensible state, and release input.
7. Record the exact route, observed Delphi class/form names, proof boundary, and any version/layout dependency.