zowe-conformance

name	zowe-conformance
description	Validate VS Code extensions and CLI plug-ins against Zowe V3 Conformance Criteria. Audit package.json, settings, commands, menus, profile usage, and API registration for conformance. Use when checking Zowe conformance, preparing for conformance submission, auditing an extension/plug-in against Zowe criteria, or when the user mentions conformance.

Zowe V3 Conformance Check

Validate a VS Code extension or CLI plug-in against the Zowe V3 Conformance Criteria. Identifies which criteria are met, which are violated, and which need manual verification.

Quick Start

1. Determine if the target is a CLI Plug-in.
2. Identify which conformance sections apply (see below).
3. Copy the applicable checklist from CLI_CRITERIA.md (or fetch live criteria if requested, see "Full Criteria Reference").
4. Audit the extension/plug-in against each item.
5. Report findings using the output format.

Determining Applicable Sections

For CLI Plug-ins

Every CLI plug-in must pass all applicable sections in CLI_CRITERIA.md, which include:

• Infrastructure (items 1-8)
• Installation (items 9-13)
• Naming (items 14-16)
• Profiles (items 17-30)
• Support (item 31)
• Documentation (item 32)

Audit Workflow

Step 1: Gather Evidence

Read these files from the extension/plug-in under review:

• package.json — dependencies, extensionDependencies, contributes (commands, menus, configuration)
• README.md — Zowe references, tags, support documentation
• Extension/Plug-in entry point (activate() function or imperative configuration) — API registration, profile initialization
• Any profile/config handling code

Step 2: Automated Checks

For each applicable criterion, verify programmatically where possible.

CLI checks:

• package.json has no @zowe/cli peer dependency (item 5)
• Uses @zowe/imperative RestClient instead of axios or request (item 7)
• Option names do not use reserved aliases like --rfj, --help, etc. (item 16)
• Profile properties use exact names like host, port, user, password (item 20)
• No reads/writes of v1 profiles (item 30)

Step 3: Manual Verification Items

Some criteria require human judgment:

• Zowe trademark usage compliance
• Support documentation quality
• Error message format consistency
• SDK usage justification if not using Zowe SDKs
• API implementation completeness / meaningful error messages
• Test suite coverage
• Menu placement below Zowe groups
• Command naming consistency with Zowe conventions

Step 4: Report Findings

Use this output format:

## Zowe V3 Conformance Audit

**Target:** [name] (CLI)
**Applicable sections:** [list sections]
**Date:** [date]

### Summary

| Status | Count |
| ------ | ----- |
| PASS   | X     |
| FAIL   | X     |
| MANUAL | X     |
| N/A    | X     |

### [Section Name] (items X-Y)

| #   | Criterion | Status           | Evidence  |
| --- | --------- | ---------------- | --------- |
| 1   | [Summary] | PASS/FAIL/MANUAL | [details] |
| ... | ...       | ...              | ...       |

### Required Actions

🔴 **FAIL** items (must fix for conformance):

- [item]: [what needs to change]

🟡 **MANUAL** items (needs human verification):

- [item]: [what to verify]

Status Definitions

Status	Meaning
PASS	Criterion met, evidence confirmed in code/config
FAIL	Criterion violated, specific issue identified
MANUAL	Cannot be verified programmatically, needs human review
N/A	Criterion does not apply to this extension/plug-in

Key V3 Changes from V2

• CLI Item 30 (new): Must NOT read or write v1 profiles (previously required backward compatibility)
• CLI Item 8 (new best practice): Exit codes should be 0 for success, non-zero for failure
• CLI Item 13 (new best practice): Plug-ins should be installable from a local archive
• Several items reworded for clarity but requirements unchanged

Full Criteria Reference

For the complete text of all conformance criteria with version info and required/best-practice classification, see CLI_CRITERIA.md for CLI plug-ins.

Live Audit Option: By default, use the local criteria files. If the user explicitly asks for a "live audit" or "latest criteria", use your web browsing or fetching capabilities to read the latest criteria directly from the official documentation: https://docs.zowe.org/stable/whats-new/zowe-v3-conformance-criteria/