feat(cli): add --local-templates option for local development testing #1386
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Add support for loading templates from a local directory instead of GitHub releases. This enables testing template and CLI changes locally before publishing. - New load_template_from_local() function with input validation - Validates directory exists and is accessible - Preserves local template files (doesn't delete after extraction) - Displays [DEV MODE] indicator in output
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Pull request overview
This PR adds a --local-templates CLI option to enable loading templates from a local directory instead of GitHub releases, improving the development workflow for contributors testing local template changes.
Key Changes
- Added
load_template_from_local()function to load templates from local.genreleasesdirectory - Modified
download_and_extract_template()to support local template loading via optionallocal_dirparameter - Updated CLI documentation in README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md with usage examples
Reviewed changes
Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src/specify_cli/init.py | Implements local template loading functionality with new function and parameter integration |
| README.md | Documents the new --local-templates CLI option with example usage |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | Updates local testing workflow to use --local-templates instead of manual copying |
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src/specify_cli/__init__.py
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| # Sort alphabetically - versions like v1.0.0, v1.0.1 will order correctly | ||
| zip_path = sorted(matches)[-1] |
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The alphabetical sorting of version strings may not work correctly for all semantic version formats. For example, "v1.10.0" would sort before "v1.9.0" alphabetically, which is incorrect. Consider using a more robust version sorting method, such as extracting the version numbers and comparing them numerically, or using a library like packaging.version for proper semantic version comparison.
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Good catch. I removed the sorting since we usually only have one file locally anyway. Keeps it simple and avoids the sorting bug.
1 participant
Summary
Adds a
--local-templatesCLI option to enable loading templates from a local directory instead of GitHub releases. This improves the development workflow described in the "Testing template and command changes locally" section of CONTRIBUTING.md https://github.com/github/spec-kit/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#testing-template-and-command-changes-locallyMotivation
Currently, testing local template changes requires manually copying packages (step 2 in CONTRIBUTING.md). This feature allows developers to test directly with:
Changes
load_template_from_local()function insrc/specify_cli/__init__.py--local-templatesparameter to theinitcommandREADME.mdwith CLI option documentation and usage exampleCONTRIBUTING.mdlocal testing section with--local-templatesworkflowTesting
I have personally tested these changes:
specify init . --ai claude --local-templates ".genreleases"AI Disclosure
This PR was developed with assistance from Antigravity IDE powered by Claude Opus 4.5 (Anthropic's AI coding assistant).