chore: bump version to 0.9.5

2026-06-21 13:51:39 +00:00 · 2026-06-05 17:39:12 +00:00
71 changed files with 2040 additions and 1502 deletions
@@ -2,20 +2,6 @@

 <!-- insert new changelog below this comment -->

-## [0.10.0] - 2026-06-09
-
-### Changed
-
- feat: make git extension opt-in and remove --no-git at v0.10.0 (#2873)
- [Preset] UpdateFiction book writing v1.9.0 - Illustration support (#2821)
- test(workflows): cover executable override fallback preflight (#2843)
- Add GitHub Copilot CLI guidance to readme (#2891)
- Update Security Review extension to v1.5.3 (#2898)
- Update Architecture Guard extension to v1.8.17 (#2897)
- feat(extensions): per-event hook lists with priority ordering (#2798)
- feat!: remove legacy --ai, --ai-commands-dir, and --ai-skills flags (0.10.0) (#2872)
- chore: release 0.9.5, begin 0.9.6.dev0 development (#2875)
-
 ## [0.9.5] - 2026-06-05

 ### Changed
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ Bare `specify self upgrade` executes immediately, matching the no-prompt behavio

 ### 3. Establish project principles

-Launch your coding agent in the project directory. Most agents expose spec-kit as `/speckit.*` slash commands; Codex CLI in skills mode uses `$speckit-*` instead; GitHub Copilot CLI uses `/agents` to select the agent or address it directly in a prompt.
+Launch your coding agent in the project directory. Most agents expose spec-kit as `/speckit.*` slash commands; Codex CLI in skills mode uses `$speckit-*` instead.

 Use the **`/speckit.constitution`** command to create your project's governing principles and development guidelines that will guide all subsequent development.

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ The following community-contributed presets customize how Spec Kit behaves — o
 | Claude AskUserQuestion | Upgrades `/speckit.clarify` and `/speckit.checklist` on Claude Code from Markdown-table prompts to the native AskUserQuestion picker, with a recommended option and reasoning on every question | 2 commands | — | [spec-kit-preset-claude-ask-questions](https://github.com/0xrafasec/spec-kit-preset-claude-ask-questions) |
 | Cross-Platform Governance | Adds Bash/PowerShell parity, dry-run/WhatIf parity, Unix man-page expectations, PowerShell comment-based help, and Verb-Noun Cmdlet discipline | 8 templates, 3 commands | — | [spec-kit-preset-cross-platform-governance](https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-cross-platform-governance) |
 | Explicit Task Dependencies | Adds explicit `(depends on T###)` dependency declarations and an Execution Wave DAG to tasks.md for parallel scheduling | 1 template, 1 command | — | [spec-kit-preset-explicit-task-dependencies](https://github.com/Quratulain-bilal/spec-kit-preset-explicit-task-dependencies) |
-| Fiction Book Writing | It adapts the Spec-Driven Development workflow for storytelling to create books or audiobooks (with annotations) in 12 languages: features become story elements, specs become story briefs, plans become story structures, and tasks become scene-by-scene writing tasks. Supports single and multi-POV, all major plot structure frameworks, and two style modes: an author voice sample or humanized AI prose principles. Supports interactive elements like brainstorming, interview, roleplay, and extras like statistics, cover builder, illustration builder, and bio command. Export with templates for KDP, D2D, etc. | 26 templates, 34 commands, 2 scripts | — | [speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing](https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing) |
+| Fiction Book Writing | It adapts the Spec-Driven Development workflow for storytelling to create books or audiobooks (with annotations) in 12 languages: features become story elements, specs become story briefs, plans become story structures, and tasks become scene-by-scene writing tasks. Supports single and multi-POV, all major plot structure frameworks, and two style modes: an author voice sample or humanized AI prose principles. Supports interactive elements like brainstorming, interview, roleplay and extras like statistics, cover builder and bio command. Export with templates for KDP, D2D etc. | 25 templates, 33 commands, 2 scripts | — | [speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing](https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing) |
 | Game Narrative Writing | Spec-Driven Development for interactive game narrative pre-production for video games. Authors write in a portable generic format, Twine/Sugarcube (.twee) or Ink (.ink). Covers choice-IF, visual novels, and branching dialogue. Supports Tier 1 mechanic hooks (flag, counter, inventory, timer, trust, currency, npc_state, ending_condition), multi-ending design, series carry-over variable registry, and NPC-focused character architecture. | 22 templates, 36 commands, 2 scripts | — | [speckit-preset-game-narrative-writing](https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-game-narrative-writing) |
 | iSAQB Architecture Governance | Adds general iSAQB/CPSA-F and arc42 architecture governance: goals, context, building blocks, runtime and deployment views, quality scenarios, ADRs, risks, and technical debt | 13 templates, 3 commands | — | [spec-kit-preset-isaqb-architecture-governance](https://github.com/hindermath/spec-kit-preset-isaqb-architecture-governance) |
 | Jira Issue Tracking | Overrides `speckit.taskstoissues` to create Jira epics, stories, and tasks instead of GitHub Issues via Atlassian MCP tools | 1 command | — | [spec-kit-preset-jira](https://github.com/luno/spec-kit-preset-jira) |
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 - AI coding agent: [Claude Code](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code), [GitHub Copilot](https://code.visualstudio.com/), [Codebuddy CLI](https://www.codebuddy.ai/cli), [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli), or [Pi Coding Agent](https://pi.dev)
 - [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) for package management (recommended) or [pipx](https://pipx.pypa.io/) for persistent installation
 - [Python 3.11+](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
- [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads) _(optional — required only when the git extension is enabled)_
+- [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads)

 ## Installation

@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ rm -rf .venv dist build *.egg-info
 |---------|-----|
 | `ModuleNotFoundError: typer` | Run `uv pip install -e .` |
 | Scripts not executable (Linux) | Re-run init or `chmod +x scripts/*.sh` |
-| Git commands unavailable | Install the git extension with `specify extension add git` |
+| Git step skipped | You passed `--no-git` or Git not installed |
 | Wrong script type downloaded | Pass `--script sh` or `--script ps` explicitly |
 | TLS errors on corporate network | Configure your environment's certificate store or proxy. The `--skip-tls` flag is deprecated and has no effect. |

@@ -15,13 +15,16 @@ specify init [<project_name>]
 | `--script sh\|ps`        | Script type: `sh` (bash/zsh) or `ps` (PowerShell)                       |
 | `--here`                 | Initialize in the current directory instead of creating a new one        |
 | `--force`                | Force merge/overwrite when initializing in an existing directory         |
+| `--no-git`               | Skip git repository initialization                                       |
 | `--ignore-agent-tools`   | Skip checks for AI coding agent CLI tools                                |
 | `--preset <id>`          | Install a preset during initialization                                   |
+| `--branch-numbering`     | Branch numbering strategy: `sequential` (default) or `timestamp`         |

 Creates a new Spec Kit project with the necessary directory structure, templates, scripts, and AI coding agent integration files.

 > [!NOTE]
-> Git repository initialization and branching are managed by the **git extension**, which is not installed by default. Run `specify extension add git` after init to enable git workflows.
+> The git extension is currently enabled by default during `specify init`.
+> Starting in `v0.10.0`, it will require explicit opt-in. To add it after init, run `specify extension add git`.

 Use `<project_name>` to create a new directory, or `--here` (or `.`) to initialize in the current directory. If the directory already has files, use `--force` to merge without confirmation.

@@ -42,8 +45,14 @@ specify init --here --force --integration copilot
 # Use PowerShell scripts (Windows/cross-platform)
 specify init my-project --integration copilot --script ps

+# Skip git initialization
+specify init my-project --integration copilot --no-git
+
 # Install a preset during initialization
 specify init my-project --integration copilot --preset compliance
+
+# Use timestamp-based branch numbering (useful for distributed teams)
+specify init my-project --integration copilot --branch-numbering timestamp
 ```

 ### Environment Variables
@@ -58,7 +67,7 @@ specify init my-project --integration copilot --preset compliance
 specify check
 ```

-Checks that CLI-based AI coding agents are available on your system. IDE-based agents are skipped since they don't require a CLI tool.
+Checks that required tools are available on your system: `git` and any CLI-based AI coding agents. IDE-based agents are skipped since they don't require a CLI tool.

 This command stays offline. If a command behaves like an older Spec Kit version or an expected CLI feature is missing, run `specify self check` to check whether your local CLI is behind the latest release.

@@ -257,38 +257,70 @@ rm speckit.old-command-name.md
 # Restart your IDE
 ```

-### Scenario 4: "I don't want the git extension"
+### Scenario 4: "I'm working on a project without Git"

-The git extension is now opt-in, so upgrades do not install it unless you add it explicitly.
+If you initialized your project with `--no-git`, you can still upgrade:

 ```bash
 # Manually back up files you customized
-cp .specify/memory/constitution.md .specify/memory/constitution.backup.md
+cp .specify/memory/constitution.md /tmp/constitution-backup.md

 # Run upgrade
-specify init --here --force --integration copilot
+specify init --here --force --integration copilot --no-git

 # Restore customizations
-mv .specify/memory/constitution.backup.md .specify/memory/constitution.md
+mv /tmp/constitution-backup.md .specify/memory/constitution.md
 ```

-If you later decide you want the git extension's commands and hooks, install it explicitly:
+The `--no-git` flag skips git initialization but doesn't affect file updates.
+
+---
+
+## Using `--no-git` Flag
+
+The `--no-git` flag tells Spec Kit to **skip git repository initialization**. This is useful when:
+
+- You manage version control differently (Mercurial, SVN, etc.)
+- Your project is part of a larger monorepo with existing git setup
+- You're experimenting and don't want version control yet
+
+**During initial setup:**

 ```bash
-specify extension add git
+specify init my-project --integration copilot --no-git
 ```

-Projects that do not use Git can still work with Spec Kit by setting `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` to the feature directory path before planning commands:
+**During upgrade:**
+
+```bash
+specify init --here --force --integration copilot --no-git
+```
+
+### What `--no-git` does NOT do
+
+❌ Does NOT prevent file updates
+❌ Does NOT skip slash command installation
+❌ Does NOT affect template merging
+
+It **only** skips running `git init` and creating the initial commit.
+
+### Working without Git
+
+If you use `--no-git`, you'll need to manage feature directories manually:
+
+**Set the `SPECIFY_FEATURE` environment variable** before using planning commands:

 ```bash
 # Bash/Zsh
-export SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY="specs/001-my-feature"
+export SPECIFY_FEATURE="001-my-feature"

 # PowerShell
-$env:SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY = "specs/001-my-feature"
+$env:SPECIFY_FEATURE = "001-my-feature"
 ```

-Alternatively, run the `/speckit.specify` command which creates `.specify/feature.json` automatically.
+This tells Spec Kit which feature directory to use when creating specs, plans, and tasks.
+
+**Why this matters:** Without git, Spec Kit can't detect your current branch name to determine the active feature. The environment variable provides that context manually.

 ---

@@ -52,19 +52,13 @@ provides:
      description: string
      required: boolean  # Default: false

-hooks:                   # Optional, event hooks. Each event accepts either form below.
+hooks:                   # Optional, event hooks
  event_name:            # e.g., "after_specify", "after_plan", "after_tasks", "after_implement"
    command: string      # Command to execute
-    priority: integer    # Optional, >= 1, default 10 (lower runs first)
    optional: boolean    # Default: true
    prompt: string       # Prompt text for optional hooks
    description: string  # Hook description
    condition: string    # Optional, condition expression
-  another_event:         # Any event may instead use a list of mappings (multiple commands)
-    - command: string    # Same fields as the single mapping, per entry
-      priority: integer
-    - command: string
-      priority: integer

 tags:                    # Optional, array of tags (2-10 recommended)
  - string
@@ -115,10 +109,8 @@ defaults:                # Optional, default configuration values

 - **Type**: object
 - **Keys**: Event names (e.g., `after_specify`, `after_plan`, `after_tasks`, `after_implement`, `before_analyze`)
- **Value**: A single hook mapping, or a list of hook mappings to register multiple commands on one event
 - **Description**: Hooks that execute at lifecycle events
 - **Events**: Defined by core spec-kit commands
- **Ordering**: Within an event, hooks run by ascending `priority` (integer ≥ 1, default 10; lower runs first; equal priorities keep authoring order via a stable sort)

 ---

@@ -543,9 +535,7 @@ Examples:

 ### Hook Definition

-Each event accepts either a single hook mapping or a list of mappings. A list registers multiple commands on the same event.
-
-**Single mapping (in extension.yml)**:
+**In extension.yml**:

 ```yaml
 hooks:
@@ -557,24 +547,6 @@ hooks:
    condition: null
 ```

-**List of mappings with priority**:
-
-```yaml
-hooks:
-  after_plan:
-    - command: "speckit.my-ext.verify"
-      priority: 5
-      optional: false
-      description: "Verify the plan"
-    - command: "speckit.my-ext.report"
-      priority: 10
-      optional: true
-      prompt: "Generate the report?"
-      description: "Generate a report from the plan"
-```
-
-Within a single manifest list, a repeated `command` is deduped as "last wins" and moved to the end, so it also breaks equal-priority ties in authoring order.
-
 ### Hook Events

 Standard events (defined by core):
@@ -206,12 +206,9 @@ Available hook points:
 - `before_constitution` / `after_constitution`: Before/after constitution update
 - `before_taskstoissues` / `after_taskstoissues`: Before/after tasks-to-issues conversion

-Each event accepts a single hook object or a list of hook objects (multiple commands on one event).
-
 Hook object:

 - `command`: Command to execute (typically from `provides.commands`, but can reference any registered command)
- `priority`: Run order within the event (integer ≥ 1, default 10; lower runs first; equal priorities keep authoring order)
 - `optional`: If true, prompt user before executing
 - `prompt`: Prompt text for optional hooks
 - `description`: Hook description
@@ -658,23 +655,6 @@ hooks:
    description: "Analyze tasks after generation"
 ```

-Multiple commands on one event, ordered by `priority` (lower runs first):
-
-```yaml
-# extension.yml
-hooks:
-  after_plan:
-    - command: "speckit.my-ext.verify"
-      priority: 5
-      optional: false
-      description: "Verify the plan"
-    - command: "speckit.my-ext.report"
-      priority: 10
-      optional: true
-      prompt: "Generate the report?"
-      description: "Generate a report from the plan"
-```
-
 ---

 ## Troubleshooting
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
  "schema_version": "1.0",
-  "updated_at": "2026-06-08T00:00:00Z",
+  "updated_at": "2026-06-04T00:00:00Z",
  "catalog_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/spec-kit/main/extensions/catalog.community.json",
  "extensions": {
    "aide": {
@@ -242,11 +242,11 @@
      "id": "architecture-guard",
      "description": "Framework-agnostic architecture review extension for validating implementation against governance and architecture constitutions, detecting architectural drift, and generating non-blocking refactor tasks.",
      "author": "DyanGalih",
-      "version": "1.8.17",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard/archive/refs/tags/v1.8.17.zip",
+      "version": "1.8.9",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard/archive/refs/tags/v1.8.9.zip",
      "repository": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard",
-      "documentation": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard/blob/main/docs/architecture-overview.md",
+      "documentation": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard/blob/main/README.md",
      "changelog": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-architecture-guard/releases",
      "license": "MIT",
      "requires": {
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@
      "downloads": 0,
      "stars": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-05-05T07:26:00Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-06-08T00:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-05-27T00:00:00Z"
    },
    "archive": {
      "name": "Archive Extension",
@@ -2554,9 +2554,9 @@
      "name": "Security Review",
      "id": "security-review",
      "description": "Full-project secure-by-design security audits plus staged, branch/PR, plan, task, follow-up, and apply reviews",
-      "author": "Spec-Kit Security Team",
-      "version": "1.5.3",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-security-review/archive/refs/tags/v1.5.3.zip",
+      "author": "DyanGalih",
+      "version": "1.5.0",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-security-review/archive/refs/tags/v1.5.0.zip",
      "repository": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-security-review",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-security-review",
      "documentation": "https://github.com/DyanGalih/spec-kit-security-review/blob/main/README.md",
@@ -2580,7 +2580,7 @@
      "downloads": 0,
      "stars": 0,
      "created_at": "2026-04-03T03:24:03Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-06-08T00:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-05-11T14:58:00Z"
    },
    "sf": {
      "name": "SFSpeckit — Salesforce Spec-Driven Development",
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ When Git is not installed or the directory is not a Git repository:

 The extension bundles cross-platform scripts:

- `scripts/bash/create-new-feature-branch.sh` — Bash implementation (branch creation only)
+- `scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh` — Bash implementation
 - `scripts/bash/git-common.sh` — Shared Git utilities (Bash)
- `scripts/powershell/create-new-feature-branch.ps1` — PowerShell implementation (branch creation only)
+- `scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1` — PowerShell implementation
 - `scripts/powershell/git-common.ps1` — Shared Git utilities (PowerShell)
@@ -31,9 +31,8 @@ If the user explicitly provided `GIT_BRANCH_NAME` (e.g., via environment variabl
 Determine the branch numbering strategy by checking configuration in this order:

 1. Check `.specify/extensions/git/git-config.yml` for `branch_numbering` value
-2. Check `.specify/init-options.json` for `feature_numbering` value (inherit from core)
-3. Check `.specify/init-options.json` for `branch_numbering` value (deprecated, backward compatibility — will be removed in a future release)
-4. Default to `sequential` if none of the above exist
+2. Check `.specify/init-options.json` for `branch_numbering` value (backward compatibility)
+3. Default to `sequential` if neither exists

 ## Execution

@@ -44,10 +43,10 @@ Generate a concise short name (2-4 words) for the branch:

 Run the appropriate script based on your platform:

- **Bash**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/bash/create-new-feature-branch.sh --json --short-name "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
- **Bash (timestamp)**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/bash/create-new-feature-branch.sh --json --timestamp --short-name "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
- **PowerShell**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature-branch.ps1 -Json -ShortName "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
- **PowerShell (timestamp)**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature-branch.ps1 -Json -Timestamp -ShortName "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
+- **Bash**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh --json --short-name "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
+- **Bash (timestamp)**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh --json --timestamp --short-name "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
+- **PowerShell**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 -Json -ShortName "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`
+- **PowerShell (timestamp)**: `.specify/extensions/git/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 -Json -Timestamp -ShortName "<short-name>" "<feature description>"`

 **IMPORTANT**:
 - Do NOT pass `--number` — the script determines the correct next number automatically
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
-# Git extension: create-new-feature-branch.sh
-# Creates a git feature branch only. The feature directory and spec file
-# are created by the core create-new-feature.sh script.
+# Git extension: create-new-feature.sh
+# Adapted from core scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh for extension layout.
 # Sources common.sh from the project's installed scripts, falling back to
 # git-common.sh for minimal git helpers.

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env pwsh
-# Git extension: create-new-feature-branch.ps1
-# Creates a git feature branch only. The feature directory and spec file
-# are created by the core create-new-feature.ps1 script.
+# Git extension: create-new-feature.ps1
+# Adapted from core scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 for extension layout.
 # Sources common.ps1 from the project's installed scripts, falling back to
 # git-common.ps1 for minimal git helpers.
 [CmdletBinding()]
@@ -20,7 +19,7 @@ param(
 $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

 if ($Help) {
-    Write-Host "Usage: ./create-new-feature-branch.ps1 [-Json] [-DryRun] [-AllowExistingBranch] [-ShortName <name>] [-Number N] [-Timestamp] <feature description>"
+    Write-Host "Usage: ./create-new-feature.ps1 [-Json] [-DryRun] [-AllowExistingBranch] [-ShortName <name>] [-Number N] [-Timestamp] <feature description>"
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Options:"
    Write-Host "  -Json               Output in JSON format"
@@ -38,7 +37,7 @@ if ($Help) {
 }

 if (-not $FeatureDescription -or $FeatureDescription.Count -eq 0) {
-    Write-Error "Usage: ./create-new-feature-branch.ps1 [-Json] [-DryRun] [-AllowExistingBranch] [-ShortName <name>] [-Number N] [-Timestamp] <feature description>"
+    Write-Error "Usage: ./create-new-feature.ps1 [-Json] [-DryRun] [-AllowExistingBranch] [-ShortName <name>] [-Number N] [-Timestamp] <feature description>"
    exit 1
 }

@@ -79,14 +79,6 @@ hooks:
  #   optional: false  # Auto-execute without prompting
  #   description: "Runs automatically after implementation"

-  # MULTIPLE COMMANDS ON ONE EVENT: use a list of entries.
-  # Add optional `priority` (integer >= 1, default 10) to order them, lowest first.
-  # after_plan:
-  #   - command: "speckit.my-extension.verify"
-  #     priority: 5
-  #   - command: "speckit.my-extension.report"
-  #     priority: 10
-
 # CUSTOMIZE: Add relevant tags (2-5 recommended)
 # Used for discovery in catalog
 tags:
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@
      "id": "generic",
      "name": "Generic (bring your own agent)",
      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "description": "Generic integration for any agent via --integration-options=\"--commands-dir <dir>\"",
+      "description": "Generic integration for any agent via --ai-commands-dir",
      "author": "spec-kit-core",
      "repository": "https://github.com/github/spec-kit",
      "tags": ["generic"]
@@ -224,11 +224,11 @@
    "fiction-book-writing": {
      "name": "Fiction Book Writing",
      "id": "fiction-book-writing",
-      "version": "1.9.0",
-      "description": "Spec-Driven Development for novel and long-form fiction. 34 AI commands from idea to submission: story bible governance, 9 POV modes, all major plot structure frameworks, scene-by-scene drafting with quality gates, audiobook pipeline (SSML/ElevenLabs), cover design, illustrations, sensitivity review, pacing and prose statistics, and pandoc-based export to DOCX/EPUB/LaTeX. Two style modes: author voice sample extraction or humanized-AI prose with 5 craft profiles. 12 languages supported. Support for offline semantic search.",
+      "version": "1.8.1",
+      "description": "Spec-Driven Development for novel and long-form fiction. 33 AI commands from idea to submission: story bible governance, 9 POV modes, all major plot structure frameworks, scene-by-scene drafting with quality gates, audiobook pipeline (SSML/ElevenLabs), cover design, sensitivity review, pacing and prose statistics, and pandoc-based export to DOCX/EPUB/LaTeX. Two style modes: author voice sample extraction or humanized-AI prose with 5 craft profiles. 12 languages supported. Support for offline semantic search.",
      "author": "Andreas Daumann",
      "repository": "https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing",
-      "download_url": "https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing/archive/refs/tags/v1.9.0.zip",
+      "download_url": "https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing/archive/refs/tags/v1.8.1.zip",
      "homepage": "https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing",
      "documentation": "https://github.com/adaumann/speckit-preset-fiction-book-writing/blob/main/fiction-book-writing/README.md",
      "license": "MIT",
@@ -236,8 +236,8 @@
        "speckit_version": ">=0.5.0"
      },
      "provides": {
-        "templates": 26,
-        "commands": 34,
+        "templates": 25,
+        "commands": 33,
        "scripts": 2
      },
      "tags": [
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@
        "language-support"
      ],
      "created_at": "2026-04-09T08:00:00Z",
-      "updated_at": "2026-06-02T08:00:00Z"
+      "updated_at": "2026-05-24T08:00:00Z"
    },
    "game-narrative-writing": {
      "name": "Game Narrative Writing",
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "specify-cli"
-version = "0.10.0"
+version = "0.9.5"
 description = "Specify CLI, part of GitHub Spec Kit. A tool to bootstrap your projects for Spec-Driven Development (SDD)."
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
 dependencies = [
@@ -111,6 +111,9 @@ if $PATHS_ONLY; then
    exit 0
 fi

+# Validate branch name
+check_feature_branch "$CURRENT_BRANCH" "$HAS_GIT" || exit 1
+
 # Validate required directories and files
 if [[ ! -d "$FEATURE_DIR" ]]; then
    echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found: $FEATURE_DIR" >&2
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ find_specify_root() {
    return 1
 }

-# Get repository root, prioritizing .specify directory
-# This prevents using a parent repository when spec-kit is initialized in a subdirectory
+# Get repository root, prioritizing .specify directory over git
+# This prevents using a parent git repo when spec-kit is initialized in a subdirectory
 get_repo_root() {
    # First, look for .specify directory (spec-kit's own marker)
    local specify_root
@@ -34,24 +34,123 @@ get_repo_root() {
        return
    fi

-    # Final fallback to script location
+    # Fallback to git if no .specify found
+    if git rev-parse --show-toplevel >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+        git rev-parse --show-toplevel
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Final fallback to script location for non-git repos
    local script_dir="$(CDPATH="" cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
    (cd "$script_dir/../../.." && pwd)
 }

-# Get current feature name from explicit state only.
-# Returns the feature identifier or empty string if none is set.
-# Feature state is set by SPECIFY_FEATURE (from create-new-feature or
-# the git extension) or implicitly via .specify/feature.json.
+# Get current branch, with fallback for non-git repositories
 get_current_branch() {
+    # First check if SPECIFY_FEATURE environment variable is set
    if [[ -n "${SPECIFY_FEATURE:-}" ]]; then
        echo "$SPECIFY_FEATURE"
        return
    fi

-    # No explicit feature set — caller must handle this via feature.json
-    # in get_feature_paths(). Return empty to signal "unknown".
-    echo ""
+    # Then check git if available at the spec-kit root (not parent)
+    local repo_root=$(get_repo_root)
+    if has_git; then
+        git -C "$repo_root" rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # For non-git repos, try to find the latest feature directory
+    local specs_dir="$repo_root/specs"
+
+    if [[ -d "$specs_dir" ]]; then
+        local latest_feature=""
+        local highest=0
+        local latest_timestamp=""
+
+        for dir in "$specs_dir"/*; do
+            if [[ -d "$dir" ]]; then
+                local dirname=$(basename "$dir")
+                if [[ "$dirname" =~ ^([0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6})- ]]; then
+                    # Timestamp-based branch: compare lexicographically
+                    local ts="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+                    if [[ "$ts" > "$latest_timestamp" ]]; then
+                        latest_timestamp="$ts"
+                        latest_feature=$dirname
+                    fi
+                elif [[ "$dirname" =~ ^([0-9]{3,})- ]]; then
+                    local number=${BASH_REMATCH[1]}
+                    number=$((10#$number))
+                    if [[ "$number" -gt "$highest" ]]; then
+                        highest=$number
+                        # Only update if no timestamp branch found yet
+                        if [[ -z "$latest_timestamp" ]]; then
+                            latest_feature=$dirname
+                        fi
+                    fi
+                fi
+            fi
+        done
+
+        if [[ -n "$latest_feature" ]]; then
+            echo "$latest_feature"
+            return
+        fi
+    fi
+
+    echo "main"  # Final fallback
+}
+
+# Check if we have git available at the spec-kit root level
+# Returns true only if git is installed and the repo root is inside a git work tree
+# Handles both regular repos (.git directory) and worktrees/submodules (.git file)
+has_git() {
+    # First check if git command is available (before calling get_repo_root which may use git)
+    command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1 || return 1
+    local repo_root=$(get_repo_root)
+    # Check if .git exists (directory or file for worktrees/submodules)
+    [ -e "$repo_root/.git" ] || return 1
+    # Verify it's actually a valid git work tree
+    git -C "$repo_root" rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree >/dev/null 2>&1
+}
+
+# Strip a single optional path segment (e.g. gitflow "feat/004-name" -> "004-name").
+# Only when the full name is exactly two slash-free segments; otherwise returns the raw name.
+spec_kit_effective_branch_name() {
+    local raw="$1"
+    if [[ "$raw" =~ ^([^/]+)/([^/]+)$ ]]; then
+        printf '%s\n' "${BASH_REMATCH[2]}"
+    else
+        printf '%s\n' "$raw"
+    fi
+}
+
+check_feature_branch() {
+    local raw="$1"
+    local has_git_repo="$2"
+
+    # For non-git repos, we can't enforce branch naming but still provide output
+    if [[ "$has_git_repo" != "true" ]]; then
+        echo "[specify] Warning: Git repository not detected; skipped branch validation" >&2
+        return 0
+    fi
+
+    local branch
+    branch=$(spec_kit_effective_branch_name "$raw")
+
+    # Accept sequential prefix (3+ digits) but exclude malformed timestamps
+    # Malformed: 7-or-8 digit date + 6-digit time with no trailing slug (e.g. "2026031-143022" or "20260319-143022")
+    local is_sequential=false
+    if [[ "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{3,}- ]] && [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{7}-[0-9]{6}- ]] && [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{7,8}-[0-9]{6}$ ]]; then
+        is_sequential=true
+    fi
+    if [[ "$is_sequential" != "true" ]] && [[ ! "$branch" =~ ^[0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6}- ]]; then
+        echo "ERROR: Not on a feature branch. Current branch: $raw" >&2
+        echo "Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name, 1234-feature-name, or 20260319-143022-feature-name" >&2
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    return 0
 }

 # Safely read .specify/feature.json's "feature_directory" value.
@@ -86,66 +185,105 @@ read_feature_json_feature_directory() {
    return 0
 }

-# Persist a feature_directory value to .specify/feature.json.
-# Writes only when the file is missing or the value differs from what's stored.
-# Accepts the raw (possibly relative) path — callers should pass the original
-# user-supplied value, not the normalized absolute path.
-_persist_feature_json() {
+# Returns 0 when .specify/feature.json lists feature_directory that exists as a directory
+# and matches the resolved active FEATURE_DIR (so __SPECKIT_COMMAND_PLAN__ can skip git branch pattern checks).
+# Delegates parsing to read_feature_json_feature_directory, which is safe under `set -e`.
+feature_json_matches_feature_dir() {
    local repo_root="$1"
-    local feature_dir_value="$2"
-    local fj="$repo_root/.specify/feature.json"
+    local active_feature_dir="$2"

-    # Strip repo_root prefix if the value is absolute and under repo_root
-    if [[ "$feature_dir_value" == "$repo_root/"* ]]; then
-        feature_dir_value="${feature_dir_value#"$repo_root/"}"
-    fi
+    local _fd
+    _fd=$(read_feature_json_feature_directory "$repo_root")

-    # Read current value (if any) and skip write when unchanged
-    local current_val
-    current_val=$(read_feature_json_feature_directory "$repo_root")
-    if [[ "$current_val" == "$feature_dir_value" ]]; then
-        return 0
-    fi
+    [[ -n "$_fd" ]] || return 1
+    [[ "$_fd" != /* ]] && _fd="$repo_root/$_fd"
+    [[ -d "$_fd" ]] || return 1

-    # Ensure .specify/ directory exists
-    mkdir -p "$repo_root/.specify"
+    local norm_json norm_active
+    norm_json="$(cd -- "$_fd" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)" || return 1
+    norm_active="$(cd -- "$active_feature_dir" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)" || return 1

-    # Write feature.json — prefer jq for safe JSON, fall back to printf
-    if command -v jq >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        jq -cn --arg fd "$feature_dir_value" '{feature_directory:$fd}' > "$fj"
+    [[ "$norm_json" == "$norm_active" ]]
+}
+
+# Find feature directory by numeric prefix instead of exact branch match
+# This allows multiple branches to work on the same spec (e.g., 004-fix-bug, 004-add-feature)
+find_feature_dir_by_prefix() {
+    local repo_root="$1"
+    local branch_name
+    branch_name=$(spec_kit_effective_branch_name "$2")
+    local specs_dir="$repo_root/specs"
+
+    # Extract prefix from branch (e.g., "004" from "004-whatever" or "20260319-143022" from timestamp branches)
+    local prefix=""
+    if [[ "$branch_name" =~ ^([0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6})- ]]; then
+        prefix="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
+    elif [[ "$branch_name" =~ ^([0-9]{3,})- ]]; then
+        prefix="${BASH_REMATCH[1]}"
    else
-        printf '{"feature_directory":"%s"}\n' "$(json_escape "$feature_dir_value")" > "$fj"
+        # If branch doesn't have a recognized prefix, fall back to exact match
+        echo "$specs_dir/$branch_name"
+        return
+    fi
+
+    # Search for directories in specs/ that start with this prefix
+    local matches=()
+    if [[ -d "$specs_dir" ]]; then
+        for dir in "$specs_dir"/"$prefix"-*; do
+            if [[ -d "$dir" ]]; then
+                matches+=("$(basename "$dir")")
+            fi
+        done
+    fi
+
+    # Handle results
+    if [[ ${#matches[@]} -eq 0 ]]; then
+        # No match found - return the branch name path (will fail later with clear error)
+        echo "$specs_dir/$branch_name"
+    elif [[ ${#matches[@]} -eq 1 ]]; then
+        # Exactly one match - perfect!
+        echo "$specs_dir/${matches[0]}"
+    else
+        # Multiple matches - this shouldn't happen with proper naming convention
+        echo "ERROR: Multiple spec directories found with prefix '$prefix': ${matches[*]}" >&2
+        echo "Please ensure only one spec directory exists per prefix." >&2
+        return 1
    fi
 }

 get_feature_paths() {
    local repo_root=$(get_repo_root)
    local current_branch=$(get_current_branch)
+    local has_git_repo="false"
+
+    if has_git; then
+        has_git_repo="true"
+    fi

    # Resolve feature directory.  Priority:
    #   1. SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY env var (explicit override)
-    #   2. .specify/feature.json "feature_directory" key (persisted by specify command)
-    #   3. Error — no feature context available
+    #   2. .specify/feature.json "feature_directory" key (persisted by __SPECKIT_COMMAND_SPECIFY__)
+    #   3. Branch-name-based prefix lookup (legacy fallback)
    local feature_dir
    if [[ -n "${SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY:-}" ]]; then
        feature_dir="$SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY"
        # Normalize relative paths to absolute under repo root
        [[ "$feature_dir" != /* ]] && feature_dir="$repo_root/$feature_dir"
-        # Persist to feature.json so future sessions without the env var still work
-        _persist_feature_json "$repo_root" "$SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY"
    elif [[ -f "$repo_root/.specify/feature.json" ]]; then
+        # Shared, set -e-safe parser: jq -> python3 -> grep/sed. Returns empty on
+        # missing/unparseable/unset so we fall through to the branch-prefix lookup.
        local _fd
        _fd=$(read_feature_json_feature_directory "$repo_root")
        if [[ -n "$_fd" ]]; then
            feature_dir="$_fd"
            # Normalize relative paths to absolute under repo root
            [[ "$feature_dir" != /* ]] && feature_dir="$repo_root/$feature_dir"
-        else
-            echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory." >&2
+        elif ! feature_dir=$(find_feature_dir_by_prefix "$repo_root" "$current_branch"); then
+            echo "ERROR: Failed to resolve feature directory" >&2
            return 1
        fi
-    else
-        echo "ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY or run the specify command to create .specify/feature.json." >&2
+    elif ! feature_dir=$(find_feature_dir_by_prefix "$repo_root" "$current_branch"); then
+        echo "ERROR: Failed to resolve feature directory" >&2
        return 1
    fi

@@ -153,6 +291,7 @@ get_feature_paths() {
    # via crafted branch names or paths containing special characters
    printf 'REPO_ROOT=%q\n' "$repo_root"
    printf 'CURRENT_BRANCH=%q\n' "$current_branch"
+    printf 'HAS_GIT=%q\n' "$has_git_repo"
    printf 'FEATURE_DIR=%q\n' "$feature_dir"
    printf 'FEATURE_SPEC=%q\n' "$feature_dir/spec.md"
    printf 'IMPL_PLAN=%q\n' "$feature_dir/plan.md"
@@ -57,9 +57,9 @@ while [ $i -le $# ]; do
            echo ""
            echo "Options:"
            echo "  --json              Output in JSON format"
-            echo "  --dry-run           Compute feature name and paths without creating directories or files"
-            echo "  --allow-existing-branch  Reuse an existing feature directory if it already exists"
-            echo "  --short-name <name> Provide a custom short name (2-4 words) for the feature"
+            echo "  --dry-run           Compute branch name and paths without creating branches, directories, or files"
+            echo "  --allow-existing-branch  Switch to branch if it already exists instead of failing"
+            echo "  --short-name <name> Provide a custom short name (2-4 words) for the branch"
            echo "  --number N          Specify branch number manually (overrides auto-detection)"
            echo "  --timestamp         Use timestamp prefix (YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS) instead of sequential numbering"
            echo "  --help, -h          Show this help message"
@@ -113,18 +113,94 @@ get_highest_from_specs() {
    echo "$highest"
 }

+# Function to get highest number from git branches
+get_highest_from_branches() {
+    git branch -a 2>/dev/null | sed 's/^[* ]*//; s|^remotes/[^/]*/||' | _extract_highest_number
+}
+
+# Extract the highest sequential feature number from a list of ref names (one per line).
+# Shared by get_highest_from_branches and get_highest_from_remote_refs.
+_extract_highest_number() {
+    local highest=0
+    while IFS= read -r name; do
+        [ -z "$name" ] && continue
+        if echo "$name" | grep -Eq '^[0-9]{3,}-' && ! echo "$name" | grep -Eq '^[0-9]{8}-[0-9]{6}-'; then
+            number=$(echo "$name" | grep -Eo '^[0-9]+' || echo "0")
+            number=$((10#$number))
+            if [ "$number" -gt "$highest" ]; then
+                highest=$number
+            fi
+        fi
+    done
+    echo "$highest"
+}
+
+# Function to get highest number from remote branches without fetching (side-effect-free)
+get_highest_from_remote_refs() {
+    local highest=0
+
+    for remote in $(git remote 2>/dev/null); do
+        local remote_highest
+        remote_highest=$(GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 git ls-remote --heads "$remote" 2>/dev/null | sed 's|.*refs/heads/||' | _extract_highest_number)
+        if [ "$remote_highest" -gt "$highest" ]; then
+            highest=$remote_highest
+        fi
+    done
+
+    echo "$highest"
+}
+
+# Function to check existing branches (local and remote) and return next available number.
+# When skip_fetch is true, queries remotes via ls-remote (read-only) instead of fetching.
+check_existing_branches() {
+    local specs_dir="$1"
+    local skip_fetch="${2:-false}"
+
+    if [ "$skip_fetch" = true ]; then
+        # Side-effect-free: query remotes via ls-remote
+        local highest_remote=$(get_highest_from_remote_refs)
+        local highest_branch=$(get_highest_from_branches)
+        if [ "$highest_remote" -gt "$highest_branch" ]; then
+            highest_branch=$highest_remote
+        fi
+    else
+        # Fetch all remotes to get latest branch info (suppress errors if no remotes)
+        git fetch --all --prune >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+        local highest_branch=$(get_highest_from_branches)
+    fi
+
+    # Get highest number from ALL specs (not just matching short name)
+    local highest_spec=$(get_highest_from_specs "$specs_dir")
+
+    # Take the maximum of both
+    local max_num=$highest_branch
+    if [ "$highest_spec" -gt "$max_num" ]; then
+        max_num=$highest_spec
+    fi
+
+    # Return next number
+    echo $((max_num + 1))
+}
+
 # Function to clean and format a branch name
 clean_branch_name() {
    local name="$1"
    echo "$name" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]' | sed 's/[^a-z0-9]/-/g' | sed 's/-\+/-/g' | sed 's/^-//' | sed 's/-$//'
 }

-# Resolve repository root using common.sh functions which prioritize .specify
+# Resolve repository root using common.sh functions which prioritize .specify over git
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(CDPATH="" cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 source "$SCRIPT_DIR/common.sh"

 REPO_ROOT=$(get_repo_root)

+# Check if git is available at this repo root (not a parent)
+if has_git; then
+    HAS_GIT=true
+else
+    HAS_GIT=false
+fi
+
 cd "$REPO_ROOT"

 SPECS_DIR="$REPO_ROOT/specs"
@@ -200,10 +276,23 @@ if [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ]; then
    FEATURE_NUM=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
    BRANCH_NAME="${FEATURE_NUM}-${BRANCH_SUFFIX}"
 else
-    # Determine branch number from existing feature directories
+    # Determine branch number
    if [ -z "$BRANCH_NUMBER" ]; then
-        HIGHEST=$(get_highest_from_specs "$SPECS_DIR")
-        BRANCH_NUMBER=$((HIGHEST + 1))
+        if [ "$DRY_RUN" = true ] && [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
+            # Dry-run: query remotes via ls-remote (side-effect-free, no fetch)
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches "$SPECS_DIR" true)
+        elif [ "$DRY_RUN" = true ]; then
+            # Dry-run without git: local spec dirs only
+            HIGHEST=$(get_highest_from_specs "$SPECS_DIR")
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$((HIGHEST + 1))
+        elif [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
+            # Check existing branches on remotes
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$(check_existing_branches "$SPECS_DIR")
+        else
+            # Fall back to local directory check
+            HIGHEST=$(get_highest_from_specs "$SPECS_DIR")
+            BRANCH_NUMBER=$((HIGHEST + 1))
+        fi
    fi

    # Force base-10 interpretation to prevent octal conversion (e.g., 010 → 8 in octal, but should be 10 in decimal)
@@ -237,13 +326,43 @@ FEATURE_DIR="$SPECS_DIR/$BRANCH_NAME"
 SPEC_FILE="$FEATURE_DIR/spec.md"

 if [ "$DRY_RUN" != true ]; then
-    if [ -d "$FEATURE_DIR" ] && [ "$ALLOW_EXISTING" != true ]; then
-        if [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ]; then
-            >&2 echo "Error: Feature directory '$FEATURE_DIR' already exists. Rerun to get a new timestamp or use a different --short-name."
-        else
-            >&2 echo "Error: Feature directory '$FEATURE_DIR' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with --number."
+    if [ "$HAS_GIT" = true ]; then
+        branch_create_error=""
+        if ! branch_create_error=$(git checkout -q -b "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>&1); then
+            current_branch="$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)"
+            # Check if branch already exists
+            if git branch --list "$BRANCH_NAME" | grep -q .; then
+                if [ "$ALLOW_EXISTING" = true ]; then
+                    # If we're already on the branch, continue without another checkout.
+                    if [ "$current_branch" = "$BRANCH_NAME" ]; then
+                        :
+                    # Otherwise switch to the existing branch instead of failing.
+                    elif ! switch_branch_error=$(git checkout -q "$BRANCH_NAME" 2>&1); then
+                        >&2 echo "Error: Failed to switch to existing branch '$BRANCH_NAME'. Please resolve any local changes or conflicts and try again."
+                        if [ -n "$switch_branch_error" ]; then
+                            >&2 printf '%s\n' "$switch_branch_error"
+                        fi
+                        exit 1
+                    fi
+                elif [ "$USE_TIMESTAMP" = true ]; then
+                    >&2 echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH_NAME' already exists. Rerun to get a new timestamp or use a different --short-name."
+                    exit 1
+                else
+                    >&2 echo "Error: Branch '$BRANCH_NAME' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with --number."
+                    exit 1
+                fi
+            else
+                >&2 echo "Error: Failed to create git branch '$BRANCH_NAME'."
+                if [ -n "$branch_create_error" ]; then
+                    >&2 printf '%s\n' "$branch_create_error"
+                else
+                    >&2 echo "Please check your git configuration and try again."
+                fi
+                exit 1
+            fi
        fi
-        exit 1
+    else
+        >&2 echo "[specify] Warning: Git repository not detected; skipped branch creation for $BRANCH_NAME"
    fi

    mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"
@@ -258,12 +377,8 @@ if [ "$DRY_RUN" != true ]; then
        fi
    fi

-    # Persist to .specify/feature.json so downstream commands can find the feature
-    _persist_feature_json "$REPO_ROOT" "$FEATURE_DIR"
-
-    # Inform the user how to set feature state in their own shell
+    # Inform the user how to persist the feature variable in their own shell
    printf '# To persist: export SPECIFY_FEATURE=%q\n' "$BRANCH_NAME" >&2
-    printf '#              export SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY=%q\n' "$FEATURE_DIR" >&2
 fi

 if $JSON_MODE; then
@@ -294,6 +409,5 @@ else
    echo "FEATURE_NUM: $FEATURE_NUM"
    if [ "$DRY_RUN" != true ]; then
        printf '# To persist in your shell: export SPECIFY_FEATURE=%q\n' "$BRANCH_NAME"
-        printf '#                           export SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY=%q\n' "$FEATURE_DIR"
    fi
 fi
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ _paths_output=$(get_feature_paths) || { echo "ERROR: Failed to resolve feature p
 eval "$_paths_output"
 unset _paths_output

+# If feature.json pins an existing feature directory, branch naming is not required.
+if ! feature_json_matches_feature_dir "$REPO_ROOT" "$FEATURE_DIR"; then
+    check_feature_branch "$CURRENT_BRANCH" "$HAS_GIT" || exit 1
+fi
+
 # Ensure the feature directory exists
 mkdir -p "$FEATURE_DIR"

@@ -70,15 +75,17 @@ if $JSON_MODE; then
            --arg impl_plan "$IMPL_PLAN" \
            --arg specs_dir "$FEATURE_DIR" \
            --arg branch "$CURRENT_BRANCH" \
-            '{FEATURE_SPEC:$feature_spec,IMPL_PLAN:$impl_plan,SPECS_DIR:$specs_dir,BRANCH:$branch}'
+            --arg has_git "$HAS_GIT" \
+            '{FEATURE_SPEC:$feature_spec,IMPL_PLAN:$impl_plan,SPECS_DIR:$specs_dir,BRANCH:$branch,HAS_GIT:$has_git}'
    else
-        printf '{"FEATURE_SPEC":"%s","IMPL_PLAN":"%s","SPECS_DIR":"%s","BRANCH":"%s"}\n' \
-            "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_SPEC")" "$(json_escape "$IMPL_PLAN")" "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$(json_escape "$CURRENT_BRANCH")"
+        printf '{"FEATURE_SPEC":"%s","IMPL_PLAN":"%s","SPECS_DIR":"%s","BRANCH":"%s","HAS_GIT":"%s"}\n' \
+            "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_SPEC")" "$(json_escape "$IMPL_PLAN")" "$(json_escape "$FEATURE_DIR")" "$(json_escape "$CURRENT_BRANCH")" "$(json_escape "$HAS_GIT")"
    fi
 else
    echo "FEATURE_SPEC: $FEATURE_SPEC"
    echo "IMPL_PLAN: $IMPL_PLAN" 
    echo "SPECS_DIR: $FEATURE_DIR"
    echo "BRANCH: $CURRENT_BRANCH"
+    echo "HAS_GIT: $HAS_GIT"
 fi

@@ -27,7 +27,12 @@ _paths_output=$(get_feature_paths) || { echo "ERROR: Failed to resolve feature p
 eval "$_paths_output"
 unset _paths_output

-# Validate required files
+# Validate branch
+# If feature.json pins an existing feature directory, branch naming is not required.
+if ! feature_json_matches_feature_dir "$REPO_ROOT" "$FEATURE_DIR"; then
+    check_feature_branch "$CURRENT_BRANCH" "$HAS_GIT" || exit 1
+fi
+
 if [[ ! -f "$IMPL_PLAN" ]]; then
    echo "ERROR: plan.md not found in $FEATURE_DIR" >&2
    echo "Run $(format_speckit_command plan "$REPO_ROOT") first to create the implementation plan." >&2
@@ -81,6 +81,11 @@ if ($PathsOnly) {
    exit 0
 }

+# Validate branch name
+if (-not (Test-FeatureBranch -Branch $paths.CURRENT_BRANCH -HasGit:$paths.HAS_GIT)) {
+    exit 1
+}
+
 # Validate required directories and files
 if (-not (Test-Path $paths.FEATURE_DIR -PathType Container)) {
    Write-Output "ERROR: Feature directory not found: $($paths.FEATURE_DIR)"
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ function Find-SpecifyRoot {
    }
 }

-# Get repository root, prioritizing .specify directory
-# This prevents using a parent repository when spec-kit is initialized in a subdirectory
+# Get repository root, prioritizing .specify directory over git
+# This prevents using a parent git repo when spec-kit is initialized in a subdirectory
 function Get-RepoRoot {
    # First, look for .specify directory (spec-kit's own marker)
    $specifyRoot = Find-SpecifyRoot
@@ -33,81 +33,263 @@ function Get-RepoRoot {
        return $specifyRoot
    }

-    # Final fallback to script location
+    # Fallback to git if no .specify found
+    try {
+        $result = git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>$null
+        if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+            return $result
+        }
+    } catch {
+        # Git command failed
+    }
+
+    # Final fallback to script location for non-git repos
    # Use -LiteralPath to handle paths with wildcard characters
    return (Resolve-Path -LiteralPath (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "../../..")).Path
 }

 function Get-CurrentBranch {
-    # Return feature name from explicit state only.
-    # Feature state is set by SPECIFY_FEATURE (from create-new-feature or
-    # the git extension) or implicitly via .specify/feature.json.
+    # First check if SPECIFY_FEATURE environment variable is set
    if ($env:SPECIFY_FEATURE) {
        return $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE
    }

-    # No explicit feature set - return empty to signal "unknown".
-    return ""
-}
-
-
-
-# Persist a feature_directory value to .specify/feature.json.
-# Writes only when the file is missing or the value differs from what's stored.
-function Save-FeatureJson {
-    param(
-        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$RepoRoot,
-        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$FeatureDirectory
-    )
-
-    # Strip repo root prefix if the value is absolute and under repo root.
-    # Use case-insensitive comparison on Windows only (case-sensitive filesystems elsewhere).
-    $prefix = $RepoRoot + [System.IO.Path]::DirectorySeparatorChar
-    if ($null -ne $IsWindows) { $onWin = $IsWindows } else { $onWin = $true }
-    if ($onWin) {
-        $cmp = [System.StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase
-    } else {
-        $cmp = [System.StringComparison]::Ordinal
-    }
-    if ($FeatureDirectory.StartsWith($prefix, $cmp)) {
-        $FeatureDirectory = $FeatureDirectory.Substring($prefix.Length)
-    }
-
-    $fjPath = Join-Path (Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify') 'feature.json'
-
-    # Read current value and skip write when unchanged
-    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $fjPath -PathType Leaf) {
+    # Then check git if available at the spec-kit root (not parent)
+    $repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot
+    if (Test-HasGit) {
        try {
-            $raw = Get-Content -LiteralPath $fjPath -Raw
-            $cfg = $raw | ConvertFrom-Json
-            if ($cfg.feature_directory -eq $FeatureDirectory) {
-                return
+            $result = git -C $repoRoot rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>$null
+            if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+                return $result
            }
        } catch {
-            # File is corrupt or unreadable - overwrite it
+            # Git command failed
        }
    }

-    # Ensure .specify/ directory exists
-    $specifyDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify'
-    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $specifyDir -PathType Container)) {
-        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $specifyDir -Force | Out-Null
+    # For non-git repos, try to find the latest feature directory
+    $specsDir = Join-Path $repoRoot "specs"
+    
+    if (Test-Path $specsDir) {
+        $latestFeature = ""
+        $highest = 0
+        $latestTimestamp = ""
+
+        Get-ChildItem -Path $specsDir -Directory | ForEach-Object {
+            if ($_.Name -match '^(\d{8}-\d{6})-') {
+                # Timestamp-based branch: compare lexicographically
+                $ts = $matches[1]
+                if ($ts -gt $latestTimestamp) {
+                    $latestTimestamp = $ts
+                    $latestFeature = $_.Name
+                }
+            } elseif ($_.Name -match '^(\d{3,})-') {
+                $num = [long]$matches[1]
+                if ($num -gt $highest) {
+                    $highest = $num
+                    # Only update if no timestamp branch found yet
+                    if (-not $latestTimestamp) {
+                        $latestFeature = $_.Name
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if ($latestFeature) {
+            return $latestFeature
+        }
+    }
+    
+    # Final fallback
+    return "main"
+}
+
+# Check if we have git available at the spec-kit root level
+# Returns true only if git is installed and the repo root is inside a git work tree
+# Handles both regular repos (.git directory) and worktrees/submodules (.git file)
+function Test-HasGit {
+    # First check if git command is available (before calling Get-RepoRoot which may use git)
+    if (-not (Get-Command git -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+        return $false
+    }
+    $repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot
+    # Check if .git exists (directory or file for worktrees/submodules)
+    # Use -LiteralPath to handle paths with wildcard characters
+    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath (Join-Path $repoRoot ".git"))) {
+        return $false
+    }
+    # Verify it's actually a valid git work tree
+    try {
+        $null = git -C $repoRoot rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree 2>$null
+        return ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0)
+    } catch {
+        return $false
+    }
+}
+
+# Strip a single optional path segment (e.g. gitflow "feat/004-name" -> "004-name").
+# Only when the full name is exactly two slash-free segments; otherwise returns the raw name.
+function Get-SpecKitEffectiveBranchName {
+    param([string]$Branch)
+    if ($Branch -match '^([^/]+)/([^/]+)$') {
+        return $Matches[2]
+    }
+    return $Branch
+}
+
+function Test-FeatureBranch {
+    param(
+        [string]$Branch,
+        [bool]$HasGit = $true
+    )
+    
+    # For non-git repos, we can't enforce branch naming but still provide output
+    if (-not $HasGit) {
+        Write-Warning "[specify] Warning: Git repository not detected; skipped branch validation"
+        return $true
    }

-    # Write feature.json
-    $json = @{ feature_directory = $FeatureDirectory } | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
-    $utf8NoBom = New-Object System.Text.UTF8Encoding($false)
-    [System.IO.File]::WriteAllText($fjPath, $json, $utf8NoBom)
+    $raw = $Branch
+    $Branch = Get-SpecKitEffectiveBranchName $raw
+    
+    # Accept sequential prefix (3+ digits) but exclude malformed timestamps
+    # Malformed: 7-or-8 digit date + 6-digit time with no trailing slug (e.g. "2026031-143022" or "20260319-143022")
+    $hasMalformedTimestamp = ($Branch -match '^[0-9]{7}-[0-9]{6}-') -or ($Branch -match '^(?:\d{7}|\d{8})-\d{6}$')
+    $isSequential = ($Branch -match '^[0-9]{3,}-') -and (-not $hasMalformedTimestamp)
+    if (-not $isSequential -and $Branch -notmatch '^\d{8}-\d{6}-') {
+        [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Not on a feature branch. Current branch: $raw")
+        [Console]::Error.WriteLine("Feature branches should be named like: 001-feature-name, 1234-feature-name, or 20260319-143022-feature-name")
+        return $false
+    }
+    return $true
+}
+
+# True when .specify/feature.json pins an existing feature directory that matches the
+# active FEATURE_DIR from Get-FeaturePathsEnv (so __SPECKIT_COMMAND_PLAN__ can skip git branch pattern checks).
+function Test-FeatureJsonMatchesFeatureDir {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$RepoRoot,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$ActiveFeatureDir
+    )
+
+    $featureJson = Join-Path (Join-Path $RepoRoot '.specify') 'feature.json'
+    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $featureJson -PathType Leaf)) {
+        return $false
+    }
+
+    try {
+        $raw = Get-Content -LiteralPath $featureJson -Raw
+        $cfg = $raw | ConvertFrom-Json
+    } catch {
+        return $false
+    }
+
+    $fd = $cfg.feature_directory
+    if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace([string]$fd)) {
+        return $false
+    }
+
+    if (-not [System.IO.Path]::IsPathRooted($fd)) {
+        $fd = Join-Path $RepoRoot $fd
+    }
+
+    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $fd -PathType Container)) {
+        return $false
+    }
+
+    # Resolve both paths to canonical absolute form. Prefer Resolve-Path (follows
+    # symlinks and is the canonical PS way); fall back to [Path]::GetFullPath when
+    # Resolve-Path can't produce a value. Mirrors the pattern used by Find-SpecifyRoot.
+    $resolvedJson = Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $fd -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($resolvedJson) {
+        $normJson = $resolvedJson.Path
+    } else {
+        $normJson = [System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath($fd)
+    }
+
+    $resolvedActive = Resolve-Path -LiteralPath $ActiveFeatureDir -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($resolvedActive) {
+        $normActive = $resolvedActive.Path
+    } else {
+        $normActive = [System.IO.Path]::GetFullPath($ActiveFeatureDir)
+    }
+
+    # Use case-insensitive compare only on Windows; POSIX filesystems are case-sensitive.
+    # PowerShell 5.1 is Windows-only and does not define $IsWindows, so treat its
+    # absence as "we're on Windows".
+    if ($null -ne $IsWindows) {
+        $onWindows = $IsWindows
+    } else {
+        $onWindows = $true
+    }
+
+    if ($onWindows) {
+        $comparison = [System.StringComparison]::OrdinalIgnoreCase
+    } else {
+        $comparison = [System.StringComparison]::Ordinal
+    }
+
+    return [string]::Equals($normJson, $normActive, $comparison)
+}
+
+# Resolve specs/<feature-dir> by numeric/timestamp prefix (mirrors scripts/bash/common.sh find_feature_dir_by_prefix).
+function Find-FeatureDirByPrefix {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$RepoRoot,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Branch
+    )
+    $specsDir = Join-Path $RepoRoot 'specs'
+    $branchName = Get-SpecKitEffectiveBranchName $Branch
+
+    $prefix = $null
+    if ($branchName -match '^(\d{8}-\d{6})-') {
+        $prefix = $Matches[1]
+    } elseif ($branchName -match '^(\d{3,})-') {
+        $prefix = $Matches[1]
+    } else {
+        return (Join-Path $specsDir $branchName)
+    }
+
+    $dirMatches = @()
+    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $specsDir -PathType Container) {
+        $dirMatches = @(Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $specsDir -Filter "$prefix-*" -Directory -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
+    }
+
+    if ($dirMatches.Count -eq 0) {
+        return (Join-Path $specsDir $branchName)
+    }
+    if ($dirMatches.Count -eq 1) {
+        return $dirMatches[0].FullName
+    }
+    $names = ($dirMatches | ForEach-Object { $_.Name }) -join ' '
+    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Multiple spec directories found with prefix '$prefix': $names")
+    [Console]::Error.WriteLine('Please ensure only one spec directory exists per prefix.')
+    return $null
+}
+
+# Branch-based prefix resolution; mirrors bash get_feature_paths failure (stderr + exit 1).
+function Get-FeatureDirFromBranchPrefixOrExit {
+    param(
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$RepoRoot,
+        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$CurrentBranch
+    )
+    $resolved = Find-FeatureDirByPrefix -RepoRoot $RepoRoot -Branch $CurrentBranch
+    if ($null -eq $resolved) {
+        [Console]::Error.WriteLine('ERROR: Failed to resolve feature directory')
+        exit 1
+    }
+    return $resolved
 }

 function Get-FeaturePathsEnv {
    $repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot
    $currentBranch = Get-CurrentBranch
+    $hasGit = Test-HasGit

    # Resolve feature directory.  Priority:
    #   1. SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY env var (explicit override)
-    #   2. .specify/feature.json "feature_directory" key (persisted by specify command)
-    #   3. Error - no feature context available
+    #   2. .specify/feature.json "feature_directory" key (persisted by __SPECKIT_COMMAND_SPECIFY__)
+    #   3. Branch-name-based prefix lookup (same as scripts/bash/common.sh)
    $featureJson = Join-Path $repoRoot '.specify/feature.json'
    if ($env:SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY) {
        $featureDir = $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY
@@ -115,8 +297,6 @@ function Get-FeaturePathsEnv {
        if (-not [System.IO.Path]::IsPathRooted($featureDir)) {
            $featureDir = Join-Path $repoRoot $featureDir
        }
-        # Persist to feature.json so future sessions without the env var still work
-        Save-FeatureJson -RepoRoot $repoRoot -FeatureDirectory $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY
    } elseif (Test-Path $featureJson) {
        $featureJsonRaw = Get-Content -LiteralPath $featureJson -Raw
        try {
@@ -132,17 +312,16 @@ function Get-FeaturePathsEnv {
                $featureDir = Join-Path $repoRoot $featureDir
            }
        } else {
-            [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY or ensure .specify/feature.json contains feature_directory.")
-            exit 1
+            $featureDir = Get-FeatureDirFromBranchPrefixOrExit -RepoRoot $repoRoot -CurrentBranch $currentBranch
        }
    } else {
-        [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: Feature directory not found. Set SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY or run the specify command to create .specify/feature.json.")
-        exit 1
+        $featureDir = Get-FeatureDirFromBranchPrefixOrExit -RepoRoot $repoRoot -CurrentBranch $currentBranch
    }
    
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        REPO_ROOT     = $repoRoot
        CURRENT_BRANCH = $currentBranch
+        HAS_GIT       = $hasGit
        FEATURE_DIR   = $featureDir
        FEATURE_SPEC  = Join-Path $featureDir 'spec.md'
        IMPL_PLAN     = Join-Path $featureDir 'plan.md'
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ if ($Help) {
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Options:"
    Write-Host "  -Json               Output in JSON format"
-    Write-Host "  -DryRun             Compute feature name and paths without creating directories or files"
-    Write-Host "  -AllowExistingBranch  Reuse an existing feature directory if it already exists"
-    Write-Host "  -ShortName <name>   Provide a custom short name (2-4 words) for the feature"
+    Write-Host "  -DryRun             Compute branch name and paths without creating branches, directories, or files"
+    Write-Host "  -AllowExistingBranch  Switch to branch if it already exists instead of failing"
+    Write-Host "  -ShortName <name>   Provide a custom short name (2-4 words) for the branch"
    Write-Host "  -Number N           Specify branch number manually (overrides auto-detection)"
    Write-Host "  -Timestamp          Use timestamp prefix (YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS) instead of sequential numbering"
    Write-Host "  -Help               Show this help message"
@@ -67,17 +67,111 @@ function Get-HighestNumberFromSpecs {
    return $highest
 }

+# Extract the highest sequential feature number from a list of branch/ref names.
+# Shared by Get-HighestNumberFromBranches and Get-HighestNumberFromRemoteRefs.
+function Get-HighestNumberFromNames {
+    param([string[]]$Names)
+
+    [long]$highest = 0
+    foreach ($name in $Names) {
+        if ($name -match '^(\d{3,})-' -and $name -notmatch '^\d{8}-\d{6}-') {
+            [long]$num = 0
+            if ([long]::TryParse($matches[1], [ref]$num) -and $num -gt $highest) {
+                $highest = $num
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return $highest
+}
+
+function Get-HighestNumberFromBranches {
+    param()
+
+    try {
+        $branches = git branch -a 2>$null
+        if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and $branches) {
+            $cleanNames = $branches | ForEach-Object {
+                $_.Trim() -replace '^\*?\s+', '' -replace '^remotes/[^/]+/', ''
+            }
+            return Get-HighestNumberFromNames -Names $cleanNames
+        }
+    } catch {
+        Write-Verbose "Could not check Git branches: $_"
+    }
+    return 0
+}
+
+function Get-HighestNumberFromRemoteRefs {
+    [long]$highest = 0
+    try {
+        $remotes = git remote 2>$null
+        if ($remotes) {
+            foreach ($remote in $remotes) {
+                $env:GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT = '0'
+                $refs = git ls-remote --heads $remote 2>$null
+                $env:GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT = $null
+                if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0 -and $refs) {
+                    $refNames = $refs | ForEach-Object {
+                        if ($_ -match 'refs/heads/(.+)$') { $matches[1] }
+                    } | Where-Object { $_ }
+                    $remoteHighest = Get-HighestNumberFromNames -Names $refNames
+                    if ($remoteHighest -gt $highest) { $highest = $remoteHighest }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    } catch {
+        Write-Verbose "Could not query remote refs: $_"
+    }
+    return $highest
+}
+
+# Return next available branch number. When SkipFetch is true, queries remotes
+# via ls-remote (read-only) instead of fetching.
+function Get-NextBranchNumber {
+    param(
+        [string]$SpecsDir,
+        [switch]$SkipFetch
+    )
+
+    if ($SkipFetch) {
+        # Side-effect-free: query remotes via ls-remote
+        $highestBranch = Get-HighestNumberFromBranches
+        $highestRemote = Get-HighestNumberFromRemoteRefs
+        $highestBranch = [Math]::Max($highestBranch, $highestRemote)
+    } else {
+        # Fetch all remotes to get latest branch info (suppress errors if no remotes)
+        try {
+            git fetch --all --prune 2>$null | Out-Null
+        } catch {
+            # Ignore fetch errors
+        }
+        $highestBranch = Get-HighestNumberFromBranches
+    }
+
+    # Get highest number from ALL specs (not just matching short name)
+    $highestSpec = Get-HighestNumberFromSpecs -SpecsDir $SpecsDir
+
+    # Take the maximum of both
+    $maxNum = [Math]::Max($highestBranch, $highestSpec)
+
+    # Return next number
+    return $maxNum + 1
+}
+
 function ConvertTo-CleanBranchName {
    param([string]$Name)

    return $Name.ToLower() -replace '[^a-z0-9]', '-' -replace '-{2,}', '-' -replace '^-', '' -replace '-$', ''
 }
-# Load common functions (includes Get-RepoRoot and Resolve-Template)
+# Load common functions (includes Get-RepoRoot, Test-HasGit, Resolve-Template)
 . "$PSScriptRoot/common.ps1"

-# Use common.ps1 functions which prioritize .specify
+# Use common.ps1 functions which prioritize .specify over git
 $repoRoot = Get-RepoRoot

+# Check if git is available at this repo root (not a parent)
+$hasGit = Test-HasGit
+
 Set-Location $repoRoot

 $specsDir = Join-Path $repoRoot 'specs'
@@ -150,9 +244,21 @@ if ($Timestamp) {
    $featureNum = Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss'
    $branchName = "$featureNum-$branchSuffix"
 } else {
-    # Determine branch number from existing feature directories
+    # Determine branch number
    if ($Number -eq 0) {
-        $Number = (Get-HighestNumberFromSpecs -SpecsDir $specsDir) + 1
+        if ($DryRun -and $hasGit) {
+            # Dry-run: query remotes via ls-remote (side-effect-free, no fetch)
+            $Number = Get-NextBranchNumber -SpecsDir $specsDir -SkipFetch
+        } elseif ($DryRun) {
+            # Dry-run without git: local spec dirs only
+            $Number = (Get-HighestNumberFromSpecs -SpecsDir $specsDir) + 1
+        } elseif ($hasGit) {
+            # Check existing branches on remotes
+            $Number = Get-NextBranchNumber -SpecsDir $specsDir
+        } else {
+            # Fall back to local directory check
+            $Number = (Get-HighestNumberFromSpecs -SpecsDir $specsDir) + 1
+        }
    }

    $featureNum = ('{0:000}' -f $Number)
@@ -185,13 +291,58 @@ $featureDir = Join-Path $specsDir $branchName
 $specFile = Join-Path $featureDir 'spec.md'

 if (-not $DryRun) {
-    if ((Test-Path -LiteralPath $featureDir -PathType Container) -and -not $AllowExistingBranch) {
-        if ($Timestamp) {
-            Write-Error "Error: Feature directory '$featureDir' already exists. Rerun to get a new timestamp or use a different -ShortName."
-        } else {
-            Write-Error "Error: Feature directory '$featureDir' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with -Number."
+    if ($hasGit) {
+        $branchCreated = $false
+        $branchCreateError = ''
+        try {
+            $branchCreateError = git checkout -q -b $branchName 2>&1 | Out-String
+            if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
+                $branchCreated = $true
+            }
+        } catch {
+            $branchCreateError = $_.Exception.Message
        }
-        exit 1
+
+        if (-not $branchCreated) {
+            $currentBranch = ''
+            try { $currentBranch = (git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD 2>$null).Trim() } catch {}
+            # Check if branch already exists
+            $existingBranch = git branch --list $branchName 2>$null
+            if ($existingBranch) {
+                if ($AllowExistingBranch) {
+                    # If we're already on the branch, continue without another checkout.
+                    if ($currentBranch -eq $branchName) {
+                        # Already on the target branch -- nothing to do
+                    } else {
+                        # Otherwise switch to the existing branch instead of failing.
+                        $switchBranchError = git checkout -q $branchName 2>&1 | Out-String
+                        if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
+                            if ($switchBranchError) {
+                                Write-Error "Error: Branch '$branchName' exists but could not be checked out.`n$($switchBranchError.Trim())"
+                            } else {
+                                Write-Error "Error: Branch '$branchName' exists but could not be checked out. Resolve any uncommitted changes or conflicts and try again."
+                            }
+                            exit 1
+                        }
+                    }
+                } elseif ($Timestamp) {
+                    Write-Error "Error: Branch '$branchName' already exists. Rerun to get a new timestamp or use a different -ShortName."
+                    exit 1
+                } else {
+                    Write-Error "Error: Branch '$branchName' already exists. Please use a different feature name or specify a different number with -Number."
+                    exit 1
+                }
+            } else {
+                if ($branchCreateError) {
+                    Write-Error "Error: Failed to create git branch '$branchName'.`n$($branchCreateError.Trim())"
+                } else {
+                    Write-Error "Error: Failed to create git branch '$branchName'. Please check your git configuration and try again."
+                }
+                exit 1
+            }
+        }
+    } else {
+        Write-Warning "[specify] Warning: Git repository not detected; skipped branch creation for $branchName"
    }

    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $featureDir -Force | Out-Null
@@ -208,12 +359,8 @@ if (-not $DryRun) {
        }
    }

-    # Persist to .specify/feature.json so downstream commands can find the feature
-    Save-FeatureJson -RepoRoot $repoRoot -FeatureDirectory $featureDir
-
-    # Set environment variables for the current session
+    # Set the SPECIFY_FEATURE environment variable for the current session
    $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE = $branchName
-    $env:SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY = $featureDir
 }

 if ($Json) {
@@ -221,6 +368,7 @@ if ($Json) {
        BRANCH_NAME = $branchName
        SPEC_FILE = $specFile
        FEATURE_NUM = $featureNum
+        HAS_GIT = $hasGit
    }
    if ($DryRun) {
        $obj | Add-Member -NotePropertyName 'DRY_RUN' -NotePropertyValue $true
@@ -230,8 +378,8 @@ if ($Json) {
    Write-Output "BRANCH_NAME: $branchName"
    Write-Output "SPEC_FILE: $specFile"
    Write-Output "FEATURE_NUM: $featureNum"
+    Write-Output "HAS_GIT: $hasGit"
    if (-not $DryRun) {
-        Write-Output "SPECIFY_FEATURE set to: $branchName"
-        Write-Output "SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY set to: $featureDir"
+        Write-Output "SPECIFY_FEATURE environment variable set to: $branchName"
    }
 }
@@ -23,6 +23,13 @@ if ($Help) {
 # Get all paths and variables from common functions
 $paths = Get-FeaturePathsEnv

+# If feature.json pins an existing feature directory, branch naming is not required.
+if (-not (Test-FeatureJsonMatchesFeatureDir -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT -ActiveFeatureDir $paths.FEATURE_DIR)) {
+    if (-not (Test-FeatureBranch -Branch $paths.CURRENT_BRANCH -HasGit $paths.HAS_GIT)) {
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
 # Ensure the feature directory exists
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $paths.FEATURE_DIR -Force | Out-Null

@@ -54,6 +61,7 @@ if ($Json) {
        IMPL_PLAN = $paths.IMPL_PLAN
        SPECS_DIR = $paths.FEATURE_DIR
        BRANCH = $paths.CURRENT_BRANCH
+        HAS_GIT = $paths.HAS_GIT
    }
    $result | ConvertTo-Json -Compress
 } else {
@@ -61,4 +69,5 @@ if ($Json) {
    Write-Output "IMPL_PLAN: $($paths.IMPL_PLAN)"
    Write-Output "SPECS_DIR: $($paths.FEATURE_DIR)"
    Write-Output "BRANCH: $($paths.CURRENT_BRANCH)"
+    Write-Output "HAS_GIT: $($paths.HAS_GIT)"
 }
@@ -16,9 +16,16 @@ if ($Help) {
 # Source common functions
 . "$PSScriptRoot/common.ps1"

-# Get feature paths
+# Get feature paths and validate branch
 $paths = Get-FeaturePathsEnv

+# If feature.json pins an existing feature directory, branch naming is not required.
+if (-not (Test-FeatureJsonMatchesFeatureDir -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT -ActiveFeatureDir $paths.FEATURE_DIR)) {
+    if (-not (Test-FeatureBranch -Branch $paths.CURRENT_BRANCH -HasGit $paths.HAS_GIT)) {
+        exit 1
+    }
+}
+
 if (-not (Test-Path $paths.IMPL_PLAN -PathType Leaf)) {
    [Console]::Error.WriteLine("ERROR: plan.md not found in $($paths.FEATURE_DIR)")
    $planCommand = Format-SpecKitCommand -CommandName 'plan' -RepoRoot $paths.REPO_ROOT
@@ -69,6 +69,8 @@ from ._utils import (
    _display_project_path,
    check_tool as check_tool,
    handle_vscode_settings as handle_vscode_settings,
+    init_git_repo as init_git_repo,
+    is_git_repo as is_git_repo,
    merge_json_files as merge_json_files,
    run_command as run_command,
 )
@@ -80,6 +82,8 @@ from ._version import (
 )
 from ._agent_config import (
    AGENT_CONFIG as AGENT_CONFIG,
+    AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES as AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES,
+    AI_ASSISTANT_HELP as AI_ASSISTANT_HELP,
    DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION as DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
    SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES as SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
 )
@@ -451,6 +455,9 @@ def check():

    tracker = StepTracker("Check Available Tools")

+    tracker.add("git", "Git version control")
+    git_ok = check_tool("git", tracker=tracker)
+
    agent_results = {}
    for agent_key, agent_config in AGENT_CONFIG.items():
        if agent_key == "generic":
@@ -478,6 +485,9 @@ def check():

    console.print("\n[bold green]Specify CLI is ready to use![/bold green]")

+    if not git_ok:
+        console.print("[dim]Tip: Install git for repository management[/dim]")
+
    if not any(agent_results.values()):
        console.print("[dim]Tip: Install a coding agent for the best experience[/dim]")

@@ -17,4 +17,29 @@ AGENT_CONFIG: dict[str, dict[str, Any]] = _build_agent_config()

 DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION = "copilot"

+AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES: dict[str, str] = {
+    "kiro": "kiro-cli",
+}
+
+
+def _build_ai_assistant_help() -> str:
+    non_generic_agents = sorted(agent for agent in AGENT_CONFIG if agent != "generic")
+    base_help = (
+        f"AI assistant to use: {', '.join(non_generic_agents)}, "
+        "or generic (requires --ai-commands-dir)."
+    )
+    if not AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES:
+        return base_help
+    alias_phrases = []
+    for alias, target in sorted(AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES.items()):
+        alias_phrases.append(f"'{alias}' as an alias for '{target}'")
+    if len(alias_phrases) == 1:
+        aliases_text = alias_phrases[0]
+    else:
+        aliases_text = ", ".join(alias_phrases[:-1]) + " and " + alias_phrases[-1]
+    return base_help + " Use " + aliases_text + "."
+
+
+AI_ASSISTANT_HELP: str = _build_ai_assistant_help()
+
 SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES: dict[str, str] = {"sh": "POSIX Shell (bash/zsh)", "ps": "PowerShell"}
@@ -77,6 +77,51 @@ def check_tool(tool: str, tracker=None) -> bool:
    return found


+def is_git_repo(path: Path | None = None) -> bool:
+    """Check if the specified path is inside a git repository."""
+    if path is None:
+        path = Path.cwd()
+
+    if not path.is_dir():
+        return False
+
+    try:
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "rev-parse", "--is-inside-work-tree"],
+            check=True,
+            capture_output=True,
+            cwd=path,
+        )
+        return True
+    except (subprocess.CalledProcessError, FileNotFoundError):
+        return False
+
+
+def init_git_repo(project_path: Path, quiet: bool = False) -> tuple[bool, str | None]:
+    """Initialize a git repository in the specified path."""
+    try:
+        original_cwd = Path.cwd()
+        os.chdir(project_path)
+        if not quiet:
+            console.print("[cyan]Initializing git repository...[/cyan]")
+        subprocess.run(["git", "init"], check=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "add", "."], check=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
+        subprocess.run(["git", "commit", "-m", "Initial commit from Specify template"], check=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
+        if not quiet:
+            console.print("[green]✓[/green] Git repository initialized")
+        return True, None
+    except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
+        error_msg = f"Command: {' '.join(e.cmd)}\nExit code: {e.returncode}"
+        if e.stderr:
+            error_msg += f"\nError: {e.stderr.strip()}"
+        elif e.stdout:
+            error_msg += f"\nOutput: {e.stdout.strip()}"
+        if not quiet:
+            console.print(f"[red]Error initializing git repository:[/red] {e}")
+        return False, error_msg
+    finally:
+        os.chdir(original_cwd)
+

 def handle_vscode_settings(sub_item, dest_file, rel_path, verbose=False, tracker=None) -> None:
    """Handle merging or copying of .vscode/settings.json files.
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations

 import os
+import shlex
 import shutil
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -13,6 +14,8 @@ from rich.panel import Panel

 from .._agent_config import (
    AGENT_CONFIG,
+    AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES,
+    AI_ASSISTANT_HELP,
    DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
    SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
 )
@@ -23,7 +26,32 @@ from .._assets import (
    get_speckit_version,
 )
 from .._console import StepTracker, console, select_with_arrows, show_banner
-from .._utils import check_tool
+from .._utils import check_tool, init_git_repo, is_git_repo
+
+def _build_integration_equivalent(
+    integration_key: str,
+    ai_commands_dir: str | None = None,
+) -> str:
+    parts = [f"--integration {integration_key}"]
+    if integration_key == "generic" and ai_commands_dir:
+        parts.append(
+            f'--integration-options="--commands-dir {shlex.quote(ai_commands_dir)}"'
+        )
+    return " ".join(parts)
+
+
+def _build_ai_deprecation_warning(
+    integration_key: str,
+    ai_commands_dir: str | None = None,
+) -> str:
+    replacement = _build_integration_equivalent(
+        integration_key,
+        ai_commands_dir=ai_commands_dir,
+    )
+    return (
+        "[bold]--ai[/bold] is deprecated and will no longer be available in version 0.10.0 or later.\n\n"
+        f"Use [bold]{replacement}[/bold] instead."
+    )


 def _stdin_is_interactive() -> bool:
@@ -69,16 +97,21 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
    @app.command()
    def init(
        project_name: str = typer.Argument(None, help="Name for your new project directory (optional if using --here, or use '.' for current directory)"),
+        ai_assistant: str = typer.Option(None, "--ai", help=AI_ASSISTANT_HELP),
+        ai_commands_dir: str = typer.Option(None, "--ai-commands-dir", help="Directory for agent command files (required with --ai generic, e.g. .myagent/commands/)"),
        script_type: str = typer.Option(None, "--script", help="Script type to use: sh or ps"),
        ignore_agent_tools: bool = typer.Option(False, "--ignore-agent-tools", help="Skip checks for coding agent tools like Claude Code"),
+        no_git: bool = typer.Option(False, "--no-git", help="Skip git repository initialization"),
        here: bool = typer.Option(False, "--here", help="Initialize project in the current directory instead of creating a new one"),
        force: bool = typer.Option(False, "--force", help="Force merge/overwrite when using --here (skip confirmation)"),
        skip_tls: bool = typer.Option(False, "--skip-tls", help="Deprecated (no-op). Previously: skip SSL/TLS verification.", hidden=True),
        debug: bool = typer.Option(False, "--debug", help="Deprecated. Previously: show verbose diagnostic output; currently only prints additional diagnostic details on failure.", hidden=True),
        github_token: str = typer.Option(None, "--github-token", help="Deprecated (no-op). Previously: GitHub token for API requests.", hidden=True),
+        ai_skills: bool = typer.Option(False, "--ai-skills", help="Install Prompt.MD templates as agent skills (requires --ai)"),
        offline: bool = typer.Option(False, "--offline", help="Deprecated (no-op). All scaffolding now uses bundled assets.", hidden=True),
        preset: str = typer.Option(None, "--preset", help="Install a preset during initialization (by preset ID)"),
-        integration: str = typer.Option(None, "--integration", help="AI coding agent integration to use (e.g. --integration copilot). See 'specify check' for available integrations."),
+        branch_numbering: str = typer.Option(None, "--branch-numbering", help="Branch numbering strategy: 'sequential' (001, 002, …, 1000, … — expands past 999 automatically) or 'timestamp' (YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS)"),
+        integration: str = typer.Option(None, "--integration", help="Use the new integration system (e.g. --integration copilot). Mutually exclusive with --ai."),
        integration_options: str = typer.Option(None, "--integration-options", help='Options for the integration (e.g. --integration-options="--commands-dir .myagent/cmds")'),
    ):
        """
@@ -89,16 +122,18 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        match the installed CLI version.

        This command will:
-        1. Check that required tools are installed
+        1. Check that required tools are installed (git is optional)
        2. Let you choose your coding agent integration, or default to Copilot
           in non-interactive sessions
        3. Install bundled Spec Kit templates, scripts, workflow, and shared
           project infrastructure
-        4. Set up coding agent integration commands and optional presets
+        4. Initialize a fresh git repository (if not --no-git and no existing repo)
+        5. Set up coding agent integration commands and optional presets

        Examples:
            specify init my-project
            specify init my-project --integration claude
+            specify init my-project --integration copilot --no-git
            specify init --ignore-agent-tools my-project
            specify init . --integration claude         # Initialize in current directory
            specify init .                     # Initialize in current directory (interactive integration selection)
@@ -128,6 +163,27 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        from ..integration_runtime import with_integration_setting as _with_integration_setting

        show_banner()
+        ai_deprecation_warning: str | None = None
+
+        if ai_assistant and ai_assistant.startswith("--"):
+            console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid value for --ai: '{ai_assistant}'")
+            console.print("[yellow]Hint:[/yellow] Did you forget to provide a value for --ai?")
+            console.print("[yellow]Example:[/yellow] specify init --integration claude --here")
+            console.print(f"[yellow]Available agents:[/yellow] {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)
+
+        if ai_commands_dir and ai_commands_dir.startswith("--"):
+            console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid value for --ai-commands-dir: '{ai_commands_dir}'")
+            console.print("[yellow]Hint:[/yellow] Did you forget to provide a value for --ai-commands-dir?")
+            console.print("[yellow]Example:[/yellow] specify init --integration generic --integration-options=\"--commands-dir .myagent/commands/\"")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)
+
+        if ai_assistant:
+            ai_assistant = AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES.get(ai_assistant, ai_assistant)
+
+        if integration and ai_assistant:
+            console.print("[red]Error:[/red] --integration and --ai are mutually exclusive")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)

        from ..integrations import INTEGRATION_REGISTRY, get_integration
        if integration:
@@ -137,6 +193,42 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                available = ", ".join(sorted(INTEGRATION_REGISTRY))
                console.print(f"[yellow]Available integrations:[/yellow] {available}")
                raise typer.Exit(1)
+            ai_assistant = integration
+        elif ai_assistant:
+            resolved_integration = get_integration(ai_assistant)
+            if not resolved_integration:
+                console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Unknown agent '{ai_assistant}'. Choose from: {', '.join(sorted(INTEGRATION_REGISTRY))}")
+                raise typer.Exit(1)
+            ai_deprecation_warning = _build_ai_deprecation_warning(
+                resolved_integration.key,
+                ai_commands_dir=ai_commands_dir,
+            )
+
+        if ai_assistant or integration:
+            if ai_skills:
+                from ..integrations.base import SkillsIntegration as _SkillsCheck
+                if isinstance(resolved_integration, _SkillsCheck):
+                    console.print(
+                        "[dim]Note: --ai-skills is not needed; "
+                        "skills are the default for this integration.[/dim]"
+                    )
+                else:
+                    console.print(
+                        "[dim]Note: --ai-skills has no effect with "
+                        f"{resolved_integration.key}; this integration uses commands, not skills.[/dim]"
+                    )
+            if ai_commands_dir and resolved_integration.key != "generic":
+                console.print(
+                    "[dim]Note: --ai-commands-dir is deprecated; "
+                    'use [bold]--integration generic --integration-options="--commands-dir <dir>"[/bold] instead.[/dim]'
+                )
+
+        if no_git:
+            console.print(
+                "[yellow]⚠️  --no-git is deprecated and will be removed in v0.10.0.[/yellow]\n"
+                "[yellow]The git extension will no longer be enabled by default "
+                "— use the [bold]specify extension[/bold] commands to install or enable the git extension if needed.[/yellow]"
+            )

        if project_name == ".":
            here = True
@@ -150,7 +242,15 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
            console.print("[red]Error:[/red] Must specify either a project name, use '.' for current directory, or use --here flag")
            raise typer.Exit(1)

+        if ai_skills and not ai_assistant:
+            console.print("[red]Error:[/red] --ai-skills requires --ai to be specified")
+            console.print("[yellow]Usage:[/yellow] specify init <project> --ai <agent> --ai-skills")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)

+        BRANCH_NUMBERING_CHOICES = {"sequential", "timestamp"}
+        if branch_numbering and branch_numbering not in BRANCH_NUMBERING_CHOICES:
+            console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid --branch-numbering value '{branch_numbering}'. Choose from: {', '.join(sorted(BRANCH_NUMBERING_CHOICES))}")
+            raise typer.Exit(1)

        dir_existed_before = False
        if here:
@@ -195,11 +295,11 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                    console.print(error_panel)
                    raise typer.Exit(1)

-        if integration:
-            if integration not in AGENT_CONFIG:
-                console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid integration '{integration}'. Choose from: {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}")
+        if ai_assistant:
+            if ai_assistant not in AGENT_CONFIG:
+                console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Invalid AI assistant '{ai_assistant}'. Choose from: {', '.join(AGENT_CONFIG.keys())}")
                raise typer.Exit(1)
-            selected_ai = integration
+            selected_ai = ai_assistant
        elif not _stdin_is_interactive():
            console.print(
                f"[dim]Non-interactive session detected: defaulting to '{DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION}'. "
@@ -214,16 +314,17 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
            )

-        if not integration:
+        if not ai_assistant:
            resolved_integration = get_integration(selected_ai)
            if not resolved_integration:
                console.print(f"[red]Error:[/red] Unknown agent '{selected_ai}'")
                raise typer.Exit(1)

        if selected_ai == "generic" and not integration_options:
-            console.print("[red]Error:[/red] --integration generic requires --integration-options with --commands-dir")
-            console.print('[dim]Example: specify init my-project --integration generic --integration-options="--commands-dir .myagent/commands/"[/dim]')
-            raise typer.Exit(1)
+            if not ai_commands_dir:
+                console.print("[red]Error:[/red] --ai-commands-dir is required when using --ai generic or --integration generic")
+                console.print('[dim]Example: specify init my-project --integration generic --integration-options="--commands-dir .myagent/commands/"[/dim]')
+                raise typer.Exit(1)

        current_dir = Path.cwd()

@@ -239,6 +340,12 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:

        console.print(Panel("\n".join(setup_lines), border_style="cyan", padding=(1, 2)))

+        should_init_git = False
+        if not no_git:
+            should_init_git = check_tool("git")
+            if not should_init_git:
+                console.print("[yellow]Git not found - will skip repository initialization[/yellow]")
+
        if not ignore_agent_tools:
            agent_config = AGENT_CONFIG.get(selected_ai)
            if agent_config and agent_config["requires_cli"]:
@@ -288,12 +395,15 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        for key, label in [
            ("chmod", "Ensure scripts executable"),
            ("constitution", "Constitution setup"),
+            ("git", "Install git extension"),
            ("workflow", "Install bundled workflow"),
            ("agent-context", "Install agent-context extension"),
            ("final", "Finalize"),
        ]:
            tracker.add(key, label)

+        git_default_notice = False
+
        with Live(tracker.render(), console=console, refresh_per_second=8, transient=True) as live:
            tracker.attach_refresh(lambda: live.update(tracker.render()))
            try:
@@ -304,6 +414,10 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                )

                integration_parsed_options: dict[str, Any] = {}
+                if ai_commands_dir:
+                    integration_parsed_options["commands_dir"] = ai_commands_dir
+                if ai_skills:
+                    integration_parsed_options["skills"] = True
                if integration_options:
                    extra = _parse_integration_options(resolved_integration, integration_options)
                    if extra:
@@ -346,6 +460,55 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:

                ensure_constitution_from_template(project_path, tracker=tracker)

+                if not no_git:
+                    tracker.start("git")
+                    git_messages = []
+                    git_has_error = False
+                    if is_git_repo(project_path):
+                        git_messages.append("existing repo detected")
+                    elif should_init_git:
+                        success, error_msg = init_git_repo(project_path, quiet=True)
+                        if success:
+                            git_messages.append("initialized")
+                        else:
+                            git_has_error = True
+                            if error_msg:
+                                sanitized = error_msg.replace('\n', ' ').strip()
+                                git_messages.append(f"init failed: {sanitized[:120]}")
+                            else:
+                                git_messages.append("init failed")
+                    else:
+                        git_messages.append("git not available")
+                    try:
+                        from ..extensions import ExtensionManager
+                        bundled_path = _locate_bundled_extension("git")
+                        if bundled_path:
+                            manager = ExtensionManager(project_path)
+                            if manager.registry.is_installed("git"):
+                                git_messages.append("extension already installed")
+                            else:
+                                manager.install_from_directory(
+                                    bundled_path, get_speckit_version()
+                                )
+                                git_default_notice = True
+                                git_messages.append("extension installed")
+                        else:
+                            git_has_error = True
+                            git_messages.append("bundled extension not found")
+                    except Exception as ext_err:
+                        git_has_error = True
+                        sanitized_ext = str(ext_err).replace('\n', ' ').strip()
+                        git_messages.append(
+                            f"extension install failed: {sanitized_ext[:120]}"
+                        )
+                    summary = "; ".join(git_messages)
+                    if git_has_error:
+                        tracker.error("git", summary)
+                    else:
+                        tracker.complete("git", summary)
+                else:
+                    tracker.skip("git", "--no-git flag")
+
                try:
                    bundled_wf = _locate_bundled_workflow("speckit")
                    if bundled_wf:
@@ -379,9 +542,9 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                init_opts = {
                    "ai": selected_ai,
                    "integration": resolved_integration.key,
+                    "branch_numbering": branch_numbering or "sequential",
                    "here": here,
                    "script": selected_script,
-                    "feature_numbering": "sequential",
                    "speckit_version": get_speckit_version(),
                }
                from ..integrations.base import SkillsIntegration as _SkillsPersist
@@ -512,7 +675,7 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:

        agent_config = AGENT_CONFIG.get(selected_ai)
        if agent_config:
-            agent_folder = agent_config["folder"] or integration_parsed_options.get("commands_dir")
+            agent_folder = ai_commands_dir if selected_ai == "generic" else agent_config["folder"]
            if agent_folder:
                security_notice = Panel(
                    f"Some agents may store credentials, auth tokens, or other identifying and private artifacts in the agent folder within your project.\n"
@@ -524,6 +687,28 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
                console.print()
                console.print(security_notice)

+        if ai_deprecation_warning:
+            deprecation_notice = Panel(
+                ai_deprecation_warning,
+                title="[bold red]Deprecation Warning[/bold red]",
+                border_style="red",
+                padding=(1, 2),
+            )
+            console.print()
+            console.print(deprecation_notice)
+
+        if git_default_notice:
+            default_change_notice = Panel(
+                "The git extension is currently enabled by default during [bold]specify init[/bold].\n"
+                "Starting in [bold]v0.10.0[/bold], this will require explicit opt-in.\n"
+                "Use [bold]specify extension add git[/bold] after init when needed.",
+                title="[yellow]Notice: Git Default Changing[/yellow]",
+                border_style="yellow",
+                padding=(1, 2),
+            )
+            console.print()
+            console.print(default_change_notice)
+
        steps_lines = []
        if not here:
            steps_lines.append(f"1. Go to the project folder: [cyan]cd {project_name}[/cyan]")
@@ -535,24 +720,24 @@ def register(app: typer.Typer) -> None:
        from ..integrations.base import SkillsIntegration as _SkillsInt
        _is_skills_integration = isinstance(resolved_integration, _SkillsInt) or getattr(resolved_integration, "_skills_mode", False)

-        codex_skill_mode = selected_ai == "codex" and _is_skills_integration
-        claude_skill_mode = selected_ai == "claude" and _is_skills_integration
+        codex_skill_mode = selected_ai == "codex" and (ai_skills or _is_skills_integration)
+        claude_skill_mode = selected_ai == "claude" and (ai_skills or _is_skills_integration)
        kimi_skill_mode = selected_ai == "kimi"
        agy_skill_mode = selected_ai == "agy" and _is_skills_integration
        trae_skill_mode = selected_ai == "trae"
-        cursor_agent_skill_mode = selected_ai == "cursor-agent" and _is_skills_integration
+        cursor_agent_skill_mode = selected_ai == "cursor-agent" and (ai_skills or _is_skills_integration)
        copilot_skill_mode = selected_ai == "copilot" and _is_skills_integration
        devin_skill_mode = selected_ai == "devin"
        cline_skill_mode = selected_ai == "cline"
        native_skill_mode = codex_skill_mode or claude_skill_mode or kimi_skill_mode or agy_skill_mode or trae_skill_mode or cursor_agent_skill_mode or copilot_skill_mode or devin_skill_mode

-        if codex_skill_mode:
+        if codex_skill_mode and not ai_skills:
            steps_lines.append(f"{step_num}. Start Codex in this project directory; spec-kit skills were installed to [cyan].agents/skills[/cyan]")
            step_num += 1
-        if claude_skill_mode:
+        if claude_skill_mode and not ai_skills:
            steps_lines.append(f"{step_num}. Start Claude in this project directory; spec-kit skills were installed to [cyan].claude/skills[/cyan]")
            step_num += 1
-        if cursor_agent_skill_mode:
+        if cursor_agent_skill_mode and not ai_skills:
            steps_lines.append(f"{step_num}. Start Cursor Agent in this project directory; spec-kit skills were installed to [cyan].cursor/skills[/cyan]")
            step_num += 1
        if devin_skill_mode:
@@ -41,8 +41,6 @@ _FALLBACK_CORE_COMMAND_NAMES = frozenset({
 })
 EXTENSION_COMMAND_NAME_PATTERN = re.compile(r"^speckit\.([a-z0-9-]+)\.([a-z0-9-]+)$")

-DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY = 10
-
 REINSTALL_COMMAND = "uv tool install specify-cli --force --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git"


@@ -91,21 +89,19 @@ class CompatibilityError(ExtensionError):
    pass


-def normalize_priority(value: Any, default: int = DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY) -> int:
+def normalize_priority(value: Any, default: int = 10) -> int:
    """Normalize a stored priority value for sorting and display.

-    Corrupted registry data may contain missing, non-numeric, non-positive, or
-    boolean values. In those cases, fall back to the default priority.
+    Corrupted registry data may contain missing, non-numeric, or non-positive
+    values. In those cases, fall back to the default priority.

    Args:
        value: Priority value to normalize (may be int, str, None, etc.)
-        default: Default priority to use for invalid values
+        default: Default priority to use for invalid values (default: 10)

    Returns:
        Normalized priority as positive integer (>= 1)
    """
-    if isinstance(value, bool):
-        return default
    try:
        priority = int(value)
    except (TypeError, ValueError):
@@ -113,15 +109,6 @@ def normalize_priority(value: Any, default: int = DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY) -> int:
    return priority if priority >= 1 else default


-def coerce_hook_entries(hook_config: Any) -> List[Any]:
-    """Return a hook event's config as a list of entries.
-
-    A hook event may be declared as a single mapping or a list of mappings.
-    Both shapes are normalized to a list so callers can iterate uniformly.
-    """
-    return hook_config if isinstance(hook_config, list) else [hook_config]
-
-
@dataclass
 class CatalogEntry(BaseCatalogEntry):
    """Represents a single catalog entry in the catalog stack."""
@@ -228,36 +215,17 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
                "Extension must provide at least one command or hook"
            )

-        # Validate hook values (if present).
-        # Each event is a single mapping or a list of mappings.
+        # Validate hook values (if present)
        if hooks:
            for hook_name, hook_config in hooks.items():
-                if isinstance(hook_config, list) and not hook_config:
+                if not isinstance(hook_config, dict):
                    raise ValidationError(
-                        f"Invalid hook '{hook_name}': list must contain at least one entry"
+                        f"Invalid hook '{hook_name}': expected a mapping"
+                    )
+                if not hook_config.get("command"):
+                    raise ValidationError(
+                        f"Hook '{hook_name}' missing required 'command' field"
                    )
-                for entry in coerce_hook_entries(hook_config):
-                    if not isinstance(entry, dict):
-                        raise ValidationError(
-                            f"Invalid hook '{hook_name}': "
-                            "expected a mapping or list of mappings"
-                        )
-                    if not entry.get("command"):
-                        raise ValidationError(
-                            f"Hook '{hook_name}' missing required 'command' field"
-                        )
-                    if "priority" in entry:
-                        priority = entry["priority"]
-                        if not isinstance(priority, int) or isinstance(priority, bool):
-                            raise ValidationError(
-                                f"Hook '{hook_name}' has invalid 'priority': "
-                                "must be an integer"
-                            )
-                        if priority < 1:
-                            raise ValidationError(
-                                f"Hook '{hook_name}' has invalid 'priority': "
-                                "must be >= 1"
-                            )

        # Validate commands; track renames so hook references can be rewritten.
        rename_map: Dict[str, str] = {}
@@ -307,30 +275,28 @@ class ExtensionManifest:
        # an alias-form ref (ext.cmd → speckit.ext.cmd).  Always emit a warning when
        # the reference is changed so extension authors know to update the manifest.
        for hook_name, hook_data in self.data.get("hooks", {}).items():
-            for entry in coerce_hook_entries(hook_data):
-                if not isinstance(entry, dict):
-                    raise ValidationError(
-                        f"Hook '{hook_name}' must be a mapping or list of mappings, "
-                        f"got {type(entry).__name__}"
-                    )
-                command_ref = entry.get("command")
-                if not isinstance(command_ref, str):
-                    continue
-                # Step 1: apply any rename from the auto-correction pass.
-                after_rename = rename_map.get(command_ref, command_ref)
-                # Step 2: lift alias-form '{ext_id}.cmd' to canonical 'speckit.{ext_id}.cmd'.
-                parts = after_rename.split(".")
-                if len(parts) == 2 and parts[0] == ext["id"]:
-                    final_ref = f"speckit.{ext['id']}.{parts[1]}"
-                else:
-                    final_ref = after_rename
-                if final_ref != command_ref:
-                    entry["command"] = final_ref
-                    self.warnings.append(
-                        f"Hook '{hook_name}' referenced command '{command_ref}'; "
-                        f"updated to canonical form '{final_ref}'. "
-                        f"The extension author should update the manifest."
-                    )
+            if not isinstance(hook_data, dict):
+                raise ValidationError(
+                    f"Hook '{hook_name}' must be a mapping, got {type(hook_data).__name__}"
+                )
+            command_ref = hook_data.get("command")
+            if not isinstance(command_ref, str):
+                continue
+            # Step 1: apply any rename from the auto-correction pass.
+            after_rename = rename_map.get(command_ref, command_ref)
+            # Step 2: lift alias-form '{ext_id}.cmd' to canonical 'speckit.{ext_id}.cmd'.
+            parts = after_rename.split(".")
+            if len(parts) == 2 and parts[0] == ext["id"]:
+                final_ref = f"speckit.{ext['id']}.{parts[1]}"
+            else:
+                final_ref = after_rename
+            if final_ref != command_ref:
+                hook_data["command"] = final_ref
+                self.warnings.append(
+                    f"Hook '{hook_name}' referenced command '{command_ref}'; "
+                    f"updated to canonical form '{final_ref}'. "
+                    f"The extension author should update the manifest."
+                )

    @staticmethod
    def _try_correct_command_name(name: str, ext_id: str) -> Optional[str]:
@@ -923,7 +889,7 @@ class ExtensionManager:

        For every command in the extension manifest, creates a SKILL.md
        file in the agent's skills directory following the agentskills.io
-        specification.  This is only done when skills mode was used
+        specification.  This is only done when ``--ai-skills`` was used
        during project initialisation.

        Args:
@@ -1329,7 +1295,7 @@ class ExtensionManager:
                create_missing_active_skills_dir=True,
            )

-        # Auto-register extension commands as agent skills when skills mode
+        # Auto-register extension commands as agent skills when --ai-skills
        # was used during project initialisation (feature parity).
        registered_skills = self._register_extension_skills(
            manifest, dest_dir, link_outputs=link_commands
@@ -2768,6 +2734,9 @@ class HookExecutor:
        # Always ensure the extension is in the installed list
        self.register_extension(manifest.id)

+        if not hasattr(manifest, "hooks") or not manifest.hooks:
+            return
+
        config = self.get_project_config()

        # Ensure config is a dict (defensive)
@@ -2793,68 +2762,39 @@ class HookExecutor:
                        config["hooks"][h_name] = sanitized_h_list
                        changed = True

-        # Purge this extension's entries from events the new manifest no longer
-        # declares, so dropping an event on reinstall leaves no orphans.
-        declared_events = set(manifest.hooks.keys())
-        for h_name in list(config["hooks"].keys()):
-            if h_name in declared_events:
-                continue
-            kept = [
-                h for h in config["hooks"][h_name]
-                if not (isinstance(h, dict) and h.get("extension") == manifest.id)
-            ]
-            if kept != config["hooks"][h_name]:
-                config["hooks"][h_name] = kept
-                changed = True
-
        # Register each hook
        for hook_name, hook_config in manifest.hooks.items():
            if hook_name not in config["hooks"] or not isinstance(config["hooks"][hook_name], list):
                config["hooks"][hook_name] = []
                changed = True

-            # Key by command to dedup within the manifest. Deleting before
-            # re-insert moves a duplicate to the end so "last wins" also breaks ties.
-            new_entries: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]] = {}
-            for entry in coerce_hook_entries(hook_config):
-                if not isinstance(entry, dict):
-                    continue
-                command = entry.get("command")
-                if not command:
-                    continue
-                if command in new_entries:
-                    del new_entries[command]
-                new_entries[command] = {
-                    "extension": manifest.id,
-                    "command": command,
-                    "enabled": True,
-                    "optional": entry.get("optional", True),
-                    "priority": normalize_priority(
-                        entry.get("priority"), DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY
-                    ),
-                    "prompt": entry.get("prompt", f"Execute {command}?"),
-                    "description": entry.get("description", ""),
-                    "condition": entry.get("condition"),
-                }
+            # Add hook entry
+            hook_entry = {
+                "extension": manifest.id,
+                "command": hook_config.get("command"),
+                "enabled": True,
+                "optional": hook_config.get("optional", True),
+                "prompt": hook_config.get(
+                    "prompt", f"Execute {hook_config.get('command')}?"
+                ),
+                "description": hook_config.get("description", ""),
+                "condition": hook_config.get("condition"),
+            }

-            # Purge then re-add all of this extension's entries for the event.
-            # A reinstall with a changed shape (single<->list or a shorter list)
-            # then leaves no orphaned entries behind.
+            # Deduplicate: remove all existing entries for this extension on this
+            # hook event, then append the single canonical entry. This prevents
+            # multiple hooks firing when hand-edited or older versions leave
+            # duplicate entries behind. (Feedback from review)
            original_list = config["hooks"][hook_name]
            deduped = [
                h for h in original_list
                if not (isinstance(h, dict) and h.get("extension") == manifest.id)
            ]
-            deduped.extend(new_entries.values())
+            deduped.append(hook_entry)
            if deduped != original_list:
                config["hooks"][hook_name] = deduped
                changed = True

-        non_empty = {name: hooks for name, hooks in config["hooks"].items() if hooks}
-        if non_empty != config["hooks"]:
-            config["hooks"] = non_empty
-            changed = True
-
        if changed:
            self.save_project_config(config)

@@ -2898,26 +2838,19 @@ class HookExecutor:
        self.save_project_config(config)

    def get_hooks_for_event(self, event_name: str) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        """Get all enabled hooks for a specific event, sorted by priority ascending.
-
-        Lower ``priority`` runs first. Ties keep insertion order via a stable
-        sort. Missing or corrupted on-disk priorities fall back to the default.
+        """Get all registered hooks for a specific event.

        Args:
            event_name: Name of the event (e.g., 'after_tasks')

        Returns:
-            List of enabled hook configurations sorted by priority.
+            List of hook configurations
        """
        config = self.get_project_config()
        hooks = config.get("hooks", {}).get(event_name, [])

        # Filter to enabled hooks only
-        enabled = [h for h in hooks if h.get("enabled", True)]
-        return sorted(
-            enabled,
-            key=lambda h: normalize_priority(h.get("priority"), DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY),
-        )
+        return [h for h in hooks if h.get("enabled", True)]

    def should_execute_hook(self, hook: Dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
        """Determine if a hook should be executed based on its condition.
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ class CursorAgentIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
        "folder": ".cursor/",
        "commands_subdir": "skills",
        "install_url": "https://docs.cursor.com/en/cli/overview",
-        # IDE-first integration: ``specify init --integration cursor-agent`` must
+        # IDE-first integration: ``specify init --ai cursor-agent`` must
        # work without the ``cursor-agent`` CLI installed (the IDE flow
        # uses skills directly).  Workflow dispatch additionally requires
        # the CLI on PATH, but that's enforced at dispatch time via
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ AI agent framework by Nous Research.  It stores skills in
 Usage::

    specify init my-project --integration hermes
-    specify init --here --integration hermes
+    specify init --here --ai hermes
 """

 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -1219,7 +1219,7 @@ class PresetManager:
        directory.  If so, the skill is overwritten with content derived
        from the preset's command file.  This ensures that presets that
        override commands also propagate to the agentskills.io skill
-        layer when skills mode was used during project initialisation.
+        layer when ``--ai-skills`` was used during project initialisation.

        Args:
            manifest: Preset manifest.
@@ -1559,7 +1559,7 @@ class PresetManager:
                "registered_commands": registered_commands,
            })

-            # Update corresponding skills when skills mode was previously used
+            # Update corresponding skills when --ai-skills was previously used
            # and persist that result as well.
            registered_skills = self._register_skills(manifest, dest_dir)
            self.registry.update(manifest.id, {
@@ -83,12 +83,11 @@ Given that feature description, do this:
   **Resolution order for `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY`**:
   1. If the user explicitly provided `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` (e.g., via environment variable, argument, or configuration), use it as-is
   2. Otherwise, auto-generate it under `specs/`:
-      - Check `.specify/init-options.json` for `feature_numbering` (preferred) or `branch_numbering` (deprecated, migration only — will be removed in a future release)
+      - Check `.specify/init-options.json` for `branch_numbering`
      - If `"timestamp"`: prefix is `YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS` (current timestamp)
      - If `"sequential"` or absent: prefix is `NNN` (next available 3-digit number after scanning existing directories in `specs/`)
      - Construct the directory name: `<prefix>-<short-name>` (e.g., `003-user-auth` or `20260319-143022-user-auth`)
      - Set `SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY` to `specs/<directory-name>`
-      - If `branch_numbering` was used (and `feature_numbering` was absent), emit a one-line warning: "⚠️ `branch_numbering` in init-options.json is deprecated. Rename to `feature_numbering`."

   **Create the directory and spec file**:
   - `mkdir -p SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY`
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Tests for the bundled git extension (extensions/git/).

 Validates:
 - extension.yml manifest
- Bash scripts (create-new-feature-branch.sh, initialize-repo.sh, auto-commit.sh, git-common.sh)
+- Bash scripts (create-new-feature.sh, initialize-repo.sh, auto-commit.sh, git-common.sh)
 - PowerShell scripts (where pwsh is available)
 - Config reading from git-config.yml
 - Extension install via ExtensionManager
@@ -193,11 +193,11 @@ class TestGitExtensionInstall:
        manager.install_from_directory(EXT_DIR, "0.5.0", register_commands=False)

        ext_installed = tmp_path / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git"
-        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature-branch.sh").is_file()
+        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "bash" / "initialize-repo.sh").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "bash" / "auto-commit.sh").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "bash" / "git-common.sh").is_file()
-        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature-branch.ps1").is_file()
+        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature.ps1").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "powershell" / "initialize-repo.ps1").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "powershell" / "auto-commit.ps1").is_file()
        assert (ext_installed / "scripts" / "powershell" / "git-common.ps1").is_file()
@@ -270,16 +270,16 @@ class TestInitializeRepoPowerShell:
        assert result.returncode == 0


-# ── create-new-feature-branch.sh Tests ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+# ── create-new-feature.sh Tests ──────────────────────────────────────────────


@requires_bash
 class TestCreateFeatureBash:
    def test_creates_branch_sequential(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """Extension create-new-feature-branch.sh creates sequential branch."""
+        """Extension create-new-feature.sh creates sequential branch."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path)
        result = _run_bash(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.sh", project,
+            "create-new-feature.sh", project,
            "--json", "--short-name", "user-auth", "Add user authentication",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -288,10 +288,10 @@ class TestCreateFeatureBash:
        assert data["FEATURE_NUM"] == "001"

    def test_creates_branch_timestamp(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """Extension create-new-feature-branch.sh creates timestamp branch."""
+        """Extension create-new-feature.sh creates timestamp branch."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path)
        result = _run_bash(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.sh", project,
+            "create-new-feature.sh", project,
            "--json", "--timestamp", "--short-name", "feat", "Feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -305,7 +305,7 @@ class TestCreateFeatureBash:
        (project / "specs" / "002-second").mkdir(parents=True)

        result = _run_bash(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.sh", project,
+            "create-new-feature.sh", project,
            "--json", "--short-name", "third", "Third feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -313,10 +313,10 @@ class TestCreateFeatureBash:
        assert data["FEATURE_NUM"] == "003"

    def test_no_git_graceful_degradation(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """create-new-feature-branch.sh works without git (outputs branch name, skips branch creation)."""
+        """create-new-feature.sh works without git (outputs branch name, skips branch creation)."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path, git=False)
        result = _run_bash(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.sh", project,
+            "create-new-feature.sh", project,
            "--json", "--short-name", "no-git", "No git feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ class TestCreateFeatureBash:
        """--dry-run computes branch name without creating anything."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path)
        result = _run_bash(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.sh", project,
+            "create-new-feature.sh", project,
            "--json", "--dry-run", "--short-name", "dry", "Dry run test",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -341,10 +341,10 @@ class TestCreateFeatureBash:
@pytest.mark.skipif(not HAS_PWSH, reason="pwsh not available")
 class TestCreateFeaturePowerShell:
    def test_creates_branch_sequential(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """Extension create-new-feature-branch.ps1 creates sequential branch."""
+        """Extension create-new-feature.ps1 creates sequential branch."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path)
        result = _run_pwsh(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.ps1", project,
+            "create-new-feature.ps1", project,
            "-Json", "-ShortName", "user-auth", "Add user authentication",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -352,10 +352,10 @@ class TestCreateFeaturePowerShell:
        assert data["BRANCH_NAME"] == "001-user-auth"

    def test_creates_branch_timestamp(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """Extension create-new-feature-branch.ps1 creates timestamp branch."""
+        """Extension create-new-feature.ps1 creates timestamp branch."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path)
        result = _run_pwsh(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.ps1", project,
+            "create-new-feature.ps1", project,
            "-Json", "-Timestamp", "-ShortName", "feat", "Feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -363,10 +363,10 @@ class TestCreateFeaturePowerShell:
        assert re.match(r"^\d{8}-\d{6}-feat$", data["BRANCH_NAME"])

    def test_no_git_graceful_degradation(self, tmp_path: Path):
-        """create-new-feature-branch.ps1 works without git."""
+        """create-new-feature.ps1 works without git."""
        project = _setup_project(tmp_path, git=False)
        result = _run_pwsh(
-            "create-new-feature-branch.ps1", project,
+            "create-new-feature.ps1", project,
            "-Json", "-ShortName", "no-git", "No git feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
@@ -43,6 +43,16 @@ class TestCliDiagnosticFormatting:


 class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
+    def test_integration_and_ai_mutually_exclusive(self, tmp_path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(app, [
+            "init", str(tmp_path / "test-project"), "--ai", "claude", "--integration", "copilot",
+        ])
+        assert result.exit_code != 0
+        assert "mutually exclusive" in result.output
+
    def test_unknown_integration_rejected(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app
@@ -63,7 +73,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -111,7 +121,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
        runner = CliRunner()
        project = tmp_path / "noninteractive"
        result = runner.invoke(app, [
-            "init", str(project), "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools",
+            "init", str(project), "--script", "sh", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
        ], catch_exceptions=False)

        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
@@ -121,7 +131,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
        data = json.loads((project / ".specify" / "integration.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
        assert data["integration"] == specify_cli.DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION

-    def test_integration_copilot_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_copilot_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app
        project = tmp_path / "promote-test"
@@ -131,13 +141,66 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "copilot", "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0
        assert (project / ".github" / "agents" / "speckit.plan.agent.md").exists()

+    def test_ai_emits_deprecation_warning_with_integration_replacement(self, tmp_path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        project = tmp_path / "warn-ai"
+        project.mkdir()
+        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(project)
+            runner = CliRunner()
+            result = runner.invoke(app, [
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "copilot", "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
+            ], catch_exceptions=False)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_cwd)
+
+        normalized_output = _normalize_cli_output(result.output)
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+        assert "Deprecation Warning" in normalized_output
+        assert "--ai" in normalized_output
+        assert "deprecated" in normalized_output
+        assert "no longer be available" in normalized_output
+        assert "0.10.0" in normalized_output
+        assert "--integration copilot" in normalized_output
+        assert normalized_output.index("Deprecation Warning") < normalized_output.index("Next Steps")
+        assert (project / ".github" / "agents" / "speckit.plan.agent.md").exists()
+
+    def test_ai_generic_warning_suggests_integration_options_equivalent(self, tmp_path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        project = tmp_path / "warn-generic"
+        project.mkdir()
+        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(project)
+            runner = CliRunner()
+            result = runner.invoke(app, [
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "generic", "--ai-commands-dir", ".myagent/commands",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
+            ], catch_exceptions=False)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_cwd)
+
+        normalized_output = _normalize_cli_output(result.output)
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+        assert "Deprecation Warning" in normalized_output
+        assert "--integration generic" in normalized_output
+        assert "--integration-options" in normalized_output
+        assert ".myagent/commands" in normalized_output
+        assert normalized_output.index("Deprecation Warning") < normalized_output.index("Next Steps")
+        assert (project / ".myagent" / "commands" / "speckit.plan.md").exists()
+
    def test_init_optional_preset_failure_reports_target_and_continues(
        self, tmp_path, monkeypatch
    ):
@@ -160,6 +223,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
                "copilot",
                "--script",
                "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--preset",
                "lean",
            ],
@@ -173,7 +237,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
        assert "Continuing without the optional preset" in normalized
        assert "Project ready" in normalized

-    def test_integration_claude_here_preserves_preexisting_commands(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_claude_here_preserves_preexisting_commands(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -191,7 +255,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--force", "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "init", "--here", "--force", "--ai", "claude", "--ai-skills", "--script", "sh", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -632,6 +696,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
                "init", "--here", "--force",
                "--integration", "copilot",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -661,6 +726,7 @@ class TestInitIntegrationFlag:
                "init", "--here",
                "--integration", "copilot",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
            ], input="y\n", catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -689,7 +755,7 @@ class TestForceExistingDirectory:
        runner = CliRunner()
        result = runner.invoke(app, [
            "init", str(target), "--integration", "copilot", "--force",
-            "--script", "sh",
+            "--no-git", "--script", "sh",
        ], catch_exceptions=False)

        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --force failed: {result.output}"
@@ -712,29 +778,29 @@ class TestForceExistingDirectory:
        runner = CliRunner()
        result = runner.invoke(app, [
            "init", str(target), "--integration", "copilot",
-            "--script", "sh",
+            "--no-git", "--script", "sh",
        ], catch_exceptions=False)

        assert result.exit_code == 1
        assert "already exists" in _normalize_cli_output(result.output)


-class TestGitExtensionOptIn:
-    """Tests verifying that the git extension is opt-in (not auto-installed) during specify init."""
+class TestGitExtensionAutoInstall:
+    """Tests for auto-installation of the git extension during specify init."""

-    def test_git_extension_not_auto_installed(self, tmp_path):
-        """Git extension is NOT installed automatically during init."""
+    def test_git_extension_auto_installed(self, tmp_path):
+        """Without --no-git, the git extension is installed during init."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

-        project = tmp_path / "git-opt-in"
+        project = tmp_path / "git-auto"
        project.mkdir()
        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -742,44 +808,114 @@ class TestGitExtensionOptIn:

        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"

-        # Git extension directory should NOT be present after init
+        # Check that the tracker didn't report a git error
+        assert "install failed" not in result.output, f"git extension install failed: {result.output}"
+
+        # Git extension files should be installed
        ext_dir = project / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git"
-        assert not ext_dir.exists(), "git extension should not be auto-installed"
+        assert ext_dir.exists(), "git extension directory not installed"
+        assert (ext_dir / "extension.yml").exists()
+        assert (ext_dir / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh").exists()
+        assert (ext_dir / "scripts" / "bash" / "initialize-repo.sh").exists()

-    def test_no_git_flag_is_rejected(self, tmp_path):
-        """--no-git flag has been removed; passing it should fail."""
+        # Hooks should be registered
+        extensions_yml = project / ".specify" / "extensions.yml"
+        assert extensions_yml.exists(), "extensions.yml not created"
+        hooks_data = yaml.safe_load(extensions_yml.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        assert "hooks" in hooks_data
+        assert "before_specify" in hooks_data["hooks"]
+        assert "before_constitution" in hooks_data["hooks"]
+
+    def test_no_git_skips_extension(self, tmp_path):
+        """With --no-git, the git extension is NOT installed."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

-        project = tmp_path / "no-git-rejected"
+        project = tmp_path / "no-git"
        project.mkdir()
        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh",
                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
-            ])
+            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)

-        assert result.exit_code != 0, "--no-git should be rejected as an unknown option"
-        assert "No such option" in result.output or "no such option" in result.output.lower()
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"

-    def test_git_extension_commands_not_registered_by_default(self, tmp_path):
-        """Git extension commands are NOT registered with the agent during default init."""
+        # Git extension should NOT be installed
+        ext_dir = project / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git"
+        assert not ext_dir.exists(), "git extension should not be installed with --no-git"
+
+    def test_no_git_emits_deprecation_warning(self, tmp_path):
+        """Using --no-git emits a visible deprecation warning."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

-        project = tmp_path / "git-cmds-absent"
+        project = tmp_path / "no-git-warn"
        project.mkdir()
        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
+            ], catch_exceptions=False)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_cwd)
+
+        normalized_output = _normalize_cli_output(result.output)
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+        assert "--no-git" in normalized_output
+        assert "deprecated" in normalized_output
+        assert "0.10.0" in normalized_output
+        assert "specify extension" in normalized_output
+        assert "will be removed" in normalized_output
+        assert "git extension will no longer be enabled by default" in normalized_output
+
+    def test_default_git_auto_enable_emits_notice(self, tmp_path):
+        """Default git auto-enable emits notice about the v0.10.0 opt-in change."""
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        project = tmp_path / "git-default-notice"
+        project.mkdir()
+        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(project)
+            runner = CliRunner()
+            result = runner.invoke(app, [
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh",
+                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+            ], catch_exceptions=False)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(old_cwd)
+
+        normalized_output = _normalize_cli_output(result.output)
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+        # Check for key message components (notice may have box-drawing chars)
+        assert "git extension is currently enabled by default" in normalized_output
+        assert "v0.10.0" in normalized_output
+        assert "explicit opt-in" in normalized_output
+        assert "specify extension add git" in normalized_output
+
+    def test_git_extension_commands_registered(self, tmp_path):
+        """Git extension commands are registered with the agent during init."""
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        project = tmp_path / "git-cmds"
+        project.mkdir()
+        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(project)
+            runner = CliRunner()
+            result = runner.invoke(app, [
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -787,11 +923,11 @@ class TestGitExtensionOptIn:

        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"

-        # Git extension skill commands should NOT be present
+        # Git extension commands should be registered with the agent
        claude_skills = project / ".claude" / "skills"
        assert claude_skills.exists(), "Claude skills directory was not created"
        git_skills = [f for f in claude_skills.iterdir() if f.name.startswith("speckit-git-")]
-        assert len(git_skills) == 0, "git extension commands should not be registered by default"
+        assert len(git_skills) > 0, "no git extension commands registered"


 class TestSharedInfraCommandRefs:
@@ -910,6 +1046,7 @@ class TestSharedInfraCommandRefs:
                "init", str(project),
                "--integration", "claude",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -940,6 +1077,7 @@ class TestSharedInfraCommandRefs:
                "init", str(project),
                "--integration", "copilot",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -971,6 +1109,7 @@ class TestSharedInfraCommandRefs:
                "--integration", "copilot",
                "--integration-options", "--skills",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -29,19 +29,19 @@ class TestAgyIntegration(SkillsIntegrationTests):
        assert i.config["install_url"] == "https://antigravity.google/"


-class TestAgyInitFlow:
-    """--integration agy creates expected files."""
+class TestAgyAutoPromote:
+    """--ai agy auto-promotes to integration path."""

-    def test_integration_agy_creates_skills(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration agy should create skills directory."""
+    def test_ai_agy_without_ai_skills_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+        """--ai agy should work the same as --integration agy."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

        runner = CliRunner()
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj"
-        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--integration", "agy", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"])
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--ai", "agy", "--no-git", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"])

-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration agy failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai agy failed: {result.output}"
        assert (target / ".agents" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()

    def test_agy_setup_warning(self, tmp_path):
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ class TestAgyInitFlow:
        # Click >= 8.2 separates stdout and stderr natively
        runner = CliRunner()
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj2"
-        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--integration", "agy", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"])
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--ai", "agy", "--no-git", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"])

        assert result.exit_code == 0
        assert "Warning: The .agents/ layout requires Antigravity v1.20.5 or newer" in result.stderr
@@ -179,9 +179,9 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            assert "<!-- SPECKIT END -->" not in remaining
            assert "# My Rules" in remaining

-    # -- CLI integration flag -------------------------------------------------
+    # -- CLI auto-promote -------------------------------------------------

-    def test_integration_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -192,15 +192,15 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", self.KEY, "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
        i = get_integration(self.KEY)
        cmd_dir = i.commands_dest(project)
-        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--integration {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"
+        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--ai {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"

    def test_integration_flag_creates_files(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -321,13 +321,13 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-                        for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts)
+                        for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file())
        expected = self._expected_files("sh")
        assert actual == expected, (
            f"Missing: {sorted(set(expected) - set(actual))}\n"
@@ -346,13 +346,13 @@ class MarkdownIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "ps",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-                        for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts)
+                        for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file())
        expected = self._expected_files("ps")
        assert actual == expected, (
            f"Missing: {sorted(set(expected) - set(actual))}\n"
@@ -312,9 +312,9 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
            assert "<!-- SPECKIT END -->" not in remaining
            assert "# My Rules" in remaining

-    # -- CLI integration flag -------------------------------------------------
+    # -- CLI auto-promote -------------------------------------------------

-    def test_integration_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -325,15 +325,15 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", self.KEY, "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
        i = get_integration(self.KEY)
        skills_dir = i.skills_dest(project)
-        assert skills_dir.is_dir(), f"--integration {self.KEY} did not create skills directory"
+        assert skills_dir.is_dir(), f"--ai {self.KEY} did not create skills directory"

    def test_integration_flag_creates_files(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -471,15 +471,15 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY,
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
            p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("sh")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -498,15 +498,15 @@ class SkillsIntegrationTests:
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "ps",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY,
+                "--script", "ps", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
            p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("ps")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -388,9 +388,9 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
            assert "<!-- SPECKIT END -->" not in remaining
            assert "# My Rules" in remaining

-    # -- CLI integration flag -------------------------------------------------
+    # -- CLI auto-promote -------------------------------------------------

-    def test_integration_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -405,20 +405,21 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
                [
                    "init",
                    "--here",
-                    "--integration",
+                    "--ai",
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
            )
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
        i = get_integration(self.KEY)
        cmd_dir = i.commands_dest(project)
-        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--integration {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"
+        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--ai {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"

    def test_integration_flag_creates_files(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
@@ -439,6 +440,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -467,7 +469,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -578,6 +580,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -586,7 +589,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
-            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("sh")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -613,6 +616,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "ps",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -621,7 +625,7 @@ class TomlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
-            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("ps")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -267,9 +267,9 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
            assert "<!-- SPECKIT END -->" not in remaining
            assert "# My Rules" in remaining

-    # -- CLI integration flag -------------------------------------------------
+    # -- CLI auto-promote -------------------------------------------------

-    def test_integration_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -284,20 +284,21 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
                [
                    "init",
                    "--here",
-                    "--integration",
+                    "--ai",
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
            )
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai {self.KEY} failed: {result.output}"
        i = get_integration(self.KEY)
        cmd_dir = i.commands_dest(project)
-        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--integration {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"
+        assert cmd_dir.is_dir(), f"--ai {self.KEY} did not create commands directory"

    def test_integration_flag_creates_files(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
@@ -318,6 +319,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -346,7 +348,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY, "--script", "sh",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -457,6 +459,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -465,7 +468,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
-            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("sh")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -492,6 +495,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "ps",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -500,7 +504,7 @@ class YamlIntegrationTests:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
-            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = self._expected_files("ps")
        assert actual == expected, (
@@ -458,6 +458,7 @@ class TestIntegrationListCatalog:
                "init", "--here",
                "--integration", "copilot",
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -555,6 +556,7 @@ class TestIntegrationUpgrade:
                "init", "--here",
                "--integration", integration,
                "--script", "sh",
+                "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:
        assert b"<!-- SPECKIT" not in remaining
        assert b"# CLAUDE.md" in remaining

-    def test_integration_flag_creates_skill_files_cli(self, tmp_path):
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes_and_enables_skills(self, tmp_path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -133,10 +133,11 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:
                [
                    "init",
                    "--here",
-                    "--integration",
+                    "--ai",
                    "claude",
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -174,6 +175,7 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:
                    "claude",
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -206,6 +208,7 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:
                        "--here",
                        "--script",
                        "sh",
+                        "--no-git",
                        "--ignore-agent-tools",
                    ],
                    catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -231,7 +234,7 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:
        assert init_options["integration"] == "claude"

    def test_claude_init_remains_usable_when_converter_fails(self, tmp_path):
-        """Claude init should succeed even without install_skills."""
+        """Claude init should succeed even without install_ai_skills."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -240,7 +243,7 @@ class TestClaudeIntegration:

        result = runner.invoke(
            app,
-            ["init", str(target), "--integration", "claude", "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"],
+            ["init", str(target), "--ai", "claude", "--script", "sh", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools"],
        )

        assert result.exit_code == 0
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ class TestClineIntegration(MarkdownIntegrationTests):
                    self.KEY,
                    "--script",
                    "sh",
+                    "--no-git",
                    "--ignore-agent-tools",
                ],
                catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -14,19 +14,19 @@ class TestCodexIntegration(SkillsIntegrationTests):
    CONTEXT_FILE = "AGENTS.md"


-class TestCodexInitFlow:
-    """--integration codex creates expected files."""
+class TestCodexAutoPromote:
+    """--ai codex auto-promotes to integration path."""

-    def test_integration_codex_creates_skills(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration codex should create skills in .agents/skills."""
+    def test_ai_codex_without_ai_skills_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+        """--ai codex should work the same as --integration codex."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

        runner = CliRunner()
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj"
-        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--integration", "codex", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"])
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--ai", "codex", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"])

-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration codex failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai codex failed: {result.output}"
        assert (target / ".agents" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()


@@ -186,12 +186,12 @@ class TestCopilotIntegration:
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0
-        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts)
+        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file())
        expected = sorted([
            ".github/agents/speckit.agent-context.update.agent.md",
            ".github/agents/speckit.analyze.agent.md",
@@ -256,12 +256,12 @@ class TestCopilotIntegration:
        try:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "ps",
+                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot", "--script", "ps", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0
-        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts)
+        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file())
        expected = sorted([
            ".github/agents/speckit.agent-context.update.agent.md",
            ".github/agents/speckit.analyze.agent.md",
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ class TestCopilotSkillsMode:
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot",
                "--integration-options", "--skills",
-                "--script", "sh",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -648,12 +648,12 @@ class TestCopilotSkillsMode:
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot",
                "--integration-options", "--skills",
-                "--script", "sh",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
-        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts)
+        actual = sorted(p.relative_to(project).as_posix() for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file())
        expected = sorted([
            # Skill files (core + extension-installed agent-context command)
            *[f".github/skills/speckit-{cmd}/SKILL.md" for cmd in self._SKILL_COMMANDS],
@@ -775,6 +775,7 @@ class TestCopilotSkillsMode:
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "copilot",
                "--integration-options", "--skills",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -92,19 +92,19 @@ class TestCursorMdcFrontmatter:
        assert not ctx_path.exists()


-class TestCursorAgentInitFlow:
-    """--integration cursor-agent creates expected files."""
+class TestCursorAgentAutoPromote:
+    """--ai cursor-agent auto-promotes to integration path."""

-    def test_integration_cursor_agent_creates_skills(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration cursor-agent should create skills in .cursor/skills."""
+    def test_ai_cursor_agent_without_ai_skills_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+        """--ai cursor-agent should work the same as --integration cursor-agent."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

        runner = CliRunner()
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj"
-        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--integration", "cursor-agent", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"])
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(target), "--ai", "cursor-agent", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"])

-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration cursor-agent failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai cursor-agent failed: {result.output}"
        assert (target / ".cursor" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()


@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ class TestCursorAgentCliDispatch:
    def test_requires_cli_is_false_for_ide_first_flow(self):
        """``requires_cli`` must stay False so the IDE-only flow keeps working.

-        ``specify init --integration cursor-agent`` (without ``--ignore-agent-tools``)
+        ``specify init --ai cursor-agent`` (without ``--ignore-agent-tools``)
        treats ``requires_cli=True`` as a hard precheck and fails when the
        ``cursor-agent`` CLI isn't on PATH — even though the Cursor IDE
        / skills flow can run without it.  Workflow dispatch support is
@@ -56,11 +56,11 @@ class TestDevinBuildExecArgs:
        assert args == ["devin", "-p", "hi", "--model", "claude-sonnet-4"]


-class TestDevinInitFlow:
-    """--integration devin creates expected files."""
+class TestDevinAutoPromote:
+    """--ai devin auto-promotes to integration path."""

-    def test_integration_devin_creates_skills(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration devin should create skills directory."""
+    def test_ai_devin_without_ai_skills_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path):
+        """--ai devin should work the same as --integration devin."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -68,8 +68,8 @@ class TestDevinInitFlow:
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj"
        result = runner.invoke(
            app,
-            ["init", str(target), "--integration", "devin", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"],
+            ["init", str(target), "--ai", "devin", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh"],
        )

-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration devin failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai devin failed: {result.output}"
        assert (target / ".devin" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()
@@ -245,14 +245,16 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
    # -- CLI --------------------------------------------------------------

    def test_cli_generic_without_commands_dir_fails(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration generic without --integration-options should fail."""
+        """--integration generic without --ai-commands-dir should fail."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app
        runner = CliRunner()
        result = runner.invoke(app, [
            "init", str(tmp_path / "test-generic"), "--integration", "generic",
+            "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
        ])
-        # Generic requires --commands-dir via --integration-options
+        # Generic requires --commands-dir / --ai-commands-dir
+        # The integration path validates via setup()
        assert result.exit_code != 0

    def test_init_options_includes_context_file(self, tmp_path):
@@ -268,8 +270,8 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "generic",
-                "--integration-options=--commands-dir .myagent/commands",
-                "--script", "sh",
+                "--ai-commands-dir", ".myagent/commands",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -279,7 +281,7 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
        assert ext_cfg.get("context_file") == "AGENTS.md"

    def test_complete_file_inventory_sh(self, tmp_path):
-        """Every file produced by specify init --integration generic --integration-options=--commands-dir ... --script sh."""
+        """Every file produced by specify init --integration generic --ai-commands-dir ... --script sh."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -290,15 +292,15 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "generic",
-                "--integration-options=--commands-dir .myagent/commands",
-                "--script", "sh",
+                "--ai-commands-dir", ".myagent/commands",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
            p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = sorted([
            "AGENTS.md",
@@ -343,7 +345,7 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
        )

    def test_complete_file_inventory_ps(self, tmp_path):
-        """Every file produced by specify init --integration generic --integration-options=--commands-dir ... --script ps."""
+        """Every file produced by specify init --integration generic --ai-commands-dir ... --script ps."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

@@ -354,15 +356,15 @@ class TestGenericIntegration:
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", "generic",
-                "--integration-options=--commands-dir .myagent/commands",
-                "--script", "ps",
+                "--ai-commands-dir", ".myagent/commands",
+                "--script", "ps", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init failed: {result.output}"
        actual = sorted(
            p.relative_to(project).as_posix()
-            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file() and ".git" not in p.parts
+            for p in project.rglob("*") if p.is_file()
        )
        expected = sorted([
            "AGENTS.md",
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ class TestHermesIntegration(SkillsIntegrationTests):
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY,
-                "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--script", "sh", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ class TestHermesIntegration(SkillsIntegrationTests):
            os.chdir(project)
            result = CliRunner().invoke(app, [
                "init", "--here", "--integration", self.KEY,
-                "--script", "ps", "--ignore-agent-tools",
+                "--script", "ps", "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -326,11 +326,12 @@ class TestHermesIntegration(SkillsIntegrationTests):
        )


-class TestHermesInitFlow:
-    """--integration hermes creates expected files."""
+class TestHermesAutoPromote:
+    """--ai hermes auto-promotes to integration path."""

-    def test_integration_hermes_creates_global_skills(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        """--integration hermes should create global skills and a local marker."""
+    def test_ai_hermes_without_ai_skills_auto_promotes(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        """--ai hermes should work the same as --integration hermes,
+        creating global skills and a local marker."""
        home = _fake_home(tmp_path)
        monkeypatch.setattr(Path, "home", lambda: home)

@@ -341,12 +342,13 @@ class TestHermesInitFlow:
        target = tmp_path / "test-proj"
        result = runner.invoke(app, [
            "init", str(target),
-            "--integration", "hermes",
+            "--ai", "hermes",
+            "--no-git",
            "--ignore-agent-tools",
            "--script", "sh",
        ])

-        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --integration hermes failed: {result.output}"
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, f"init --ai hermes failed: {result.output}"
        # Skills should be in global ~/.hermes/skills/
        assert (home / ".hermes" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()
        # Local marker should exist
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ class TestKimiNextSteps:
            os.chdir(project)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "kimi",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "kimi", "--no-git",
                "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
@@ -123,15 +123,15 @@ class TestKiroCliIntegration(MarkdownIntegrationTests):
        )


-class TestKiroIntegration:
-    """--integration kiro-cli creates expected files."""
+class TestKiroAlias:
+    """--ai kiro alias normalizes to kiro-cli and auto-promotes."""

-    def test_integration_kiro_cli_creates_files(self, tmp_path):
-        """--integration kiro-cli should create files in .kiro/prompts."""
+    def test_kiro_alias_normalized_to_kiro_cli(self, tmp_path):
+        """--ai kiro should normalize to canonical kiro-cli and auto-promote."""
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

-        target = tmp_path / "kiro-proj"
+        target = tmp_path / "kiro-alias-proj"
        target.mkdir()

        old_cwd = os.getcwd()
@@ -139,8 +139,8 @@ class TestKiroIntegration:
            os.chdir(target)
            runner = CliRunner()
            result = runner.invoke(app, [
-                "init", "--here", "--integration", "kiro-cli",
-                "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh",
+                "init", "--here", "--ai", "kiro",
+                "--ignore-agent-tools", "--script", "sh", "--no-git",
            ], catch_exceptions=False)
        finally:
            os.chdir(old_cwd)
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@ def _run_init(project, *flags: str) -> Result:
        os.chdir(project)
        return CliRunner().invoke(
            app,
-            ["init", "--here", *flags, "--script", "sh", "--ignore-agent-tools"],
+            ["init", "--here", *flags, "--script", "sh",
+             "--no-git", "--ignore-agent-tools"],
            catch_exceptions=False,
        )
    finally:
@@ -293,11 +294,11 @@ class TestRovodevIntegration:
        assert init_options.get("ai_skills") is True
        assert init_options.get("script") == "sh"

-    def test_integration_flag_creates_expected_files(self, tmp_path):
-        """``--integration rovodev`` should create all expected rovodev files."""
-        project = tmp_path / "rovodev-int"
+    def test_ai_flag_auto_promotes_to_integration(self, tmp_path):
+        """``--ai rovodev`` should reach the same end-state as ``--integration rovodev``."""
+        project = tmp_path / "rovodev-ai"
        project.mkdir()
-        result = _run_init(project, "--integration", "rovodev")
+        result = _run_init(project, "--ai", "rovodev")
        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
        assert (project / ".rovodev" / "skills" / "speckit-plan" / "SKILL.md").exists()
        assert (project / ".rovodev" / "prompts.yml").exists()
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ def _init_project(tmp_path, integration="copilot"):
            "init", "--here",
            "--integration", integration,
            "--script", "sh",
+            "--no-git",
            "--ignore-agent-tools",
        ], catch_exceptions=False)
    finally:
@@ -960,7 +961,7 @@ class TestIntegrationSwitch:
    def test_switch_refreshes_managed_shared_script_refs(self, tmp_path):
        """Switching refreshes managed shared scripts to the target command style."""
        project = _init_project(tmp_path, "claude")
-        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"
+        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "common.sh"
        assert shared_script.exists()
        shared_content = shared_script.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
        assert "/speckit-plan" in shared_content
@@ -986,7 +987,7 @@ class TestIntegrationSwitch:
        import hashlib

        project = _init_project(tmp_path, "claude")
-        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"
+        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "common.sh"
        assert "/speckit-plan" in shared_script.read_text(encoding="utf-8")

        # Simulate a stale vendored script: write truncated content as bytes
@@ -998,7 +999,7 @@ class TestIntegrationSwitch:

        manifest_path = project / ".specify" / "integrations" / "speckit.manifest.json"
        manifest_data = json.loads(manifest_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
-        manifest_data["files"][".specify/scripts/bash/setup-tasks.sh"] = (
+        manifest_data["files"][".specify/scripts/bash/common.sh"] = (
            hashlib.sha256(stale_bytes).hexdigest()
        )
        manifest_path.write_text(json.dumps(manifest_data), encoding="utf-8")
@@ -1047,7 +1048,7 @@ class TestIntegrationSwitch:
    def test_switch_refresh_shared_infra_overwrites_customizations(self, tmp_path):
        """--refresh-shared-infra explicitly overwrites user customizations on switch."""
        project = _init_project(tmp_path, "claude")
-        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"
+        shared_script = project / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "common.sh"
        assert "/speckit-plan" in shared_script.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
        rendered_bytes = shared_script.read_bytes()

@@ -254,6 +254,7 @@ class TestMultiInstallSafeContracts:
                        initial,
                        "--script",
                        "sh",
+                        "--no-git",
                        "--ignore-agent-tools",
                    ],
                    catch_exceptions=False,
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@

 from pathlib import Path

-from specify_cli import AGENT_CONFIG
+from specify_cli import AGENT_CONFIG, AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES, AI_ASSISTANT_HELP
 from specify_cli.extensions import CommandRegistrar

 REPO_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
@@ -39,6 +39,13 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert AGENT_CONFIG["codex"]["folder"] == ".agents/"
        assert AGENT_CONFIG["codex"]["commands_subdir"] == "skills"

+    def test_init_ai_help_includes_roo_and_kiro_alias(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should stay in sync with agent config and alias guidance."""
+        assert "roo" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP
+        for alias, target in AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES.items():
+            assert alias in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP
+            assert target in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP
+
    def test_devcontainer_kiro_installer_uses_pinned_checksum(self):
        """Devcontainer installer should always verify Kiro installer via pinned SHA256."""
        post_create_text = (REPO_ROOT / ".devcontainer" / "post-create.sh").read_text(
@@ -73,9 +80,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert cfg["args"] == "{{args}}"
        assert cfg["extension"] == ".toml"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_tabnine(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include tabnine."""
-        assert "tabnine" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_tabnine(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include tabnine."""
+        assert "tabnine" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- Kimi Code CLI consistency checks ---

@@ -95,9 +102,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert kimi_cfg["dir"] == ".kimi/skills"
        assert kimi_cfg["extension"] == "/SKILL.md"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_kimi(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include kimi."""
-        assert "kimi" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_kimi(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include kimi."""
+        assert "kimi" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- Trae IDE consistency checks ---

@@ -119,9 +126,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert trae_cfg["args"] == "$ARGUMENTS"
        assert trae_cfg["extension"] == "/SKILL.md"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_trae(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include trae."""
-        assert "trae" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_trae(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include trae."""
+        assert "trae" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- Pi Coding Agent consistency checks ---

@@ -144,9 +151,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert pi_cfg["args"] == "$ARGUMENTS"
        assert pi_cfg["extension"] == ".md"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_pi(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include pi."""
-        assert "pi" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_pi(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include pi."""
+        assert "pi" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- iFlow CLI consistency checks ---

@@ -166,9 +173,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert cfg["iflow"]["format"] == "markdown"
        assert cfg["iflow"]["args"] == "$ARGUMENTS"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_iflow(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include iflow."""
-        assert "iflow" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_iflow(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include iflow."""
+        assert "iflow" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- Goose consistency checks ---

@@ -188,9 +195,9 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert cfg["goose"]["format"] == "yaml"
        assert cfg["goose"]["args"] == "{{args}}"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_goose(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include goose."""
-        assert "goose" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_goose(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include goose."""
+        assert "goose" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP

    # --- invoke_separator propagation checks ---

@@ -297,6 +304,6 @@ class TestAgentConfigConsistency:
        assert rovodev_cfg["args"] == "$ARGUMENTS"
        assert rovodev_cfg["extension"] == "/SKILL.md"

-    def test_agent_config_includes_rovodev(self):
-        """AGENT_CONFIG should include rovodev."""
-        assert "rovodev" in AGENT_CONFIG
+    def test_ai_help_includes_rovodev(self):
+        """CLI help text for --ai should include rovodev."""
+        assert "rovodev" in AI_ASSISTANT_HELP
@@ -1,24 +1,74 @@
 """
-Unit tests verifying --branch-numbering removal (v0.10.0).
+Unit tests for branch numbering options (sequential vs timestamp).

-Branch numbering is now managed entirely by the git extension's config.
-The --branch-numbering flag was removed from `specify init`.
+Tests cover:
+- Persisting branch_numbering in init-options.json
+- Default value when branch_numbering is None
+- Validation of branch_numbering values
 """

+import json
 from pathlib import Path

+from specify_cli import save_init_options

-class TestBranchNumberingFlagRemoved:
-    """--branch-numbering flag was removed in v0.10.0."""

-    def test_branch_numbering_flag_is_rejected(self, tmp_path: Path):
+class TestSaveBranchNumbering:
+    """Tests for save_init_options with branch_numbering."""
+
+    def test_save_branch_numbering_timestamp(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        opts = {"branch_numbering": "timestamp", "ai": "claude"}
+        save_init_options(tmp_path, opts)
+
+        saved = json.loads((tmp_path / ".specify/init-options.json").read_text())
+        assert saved["branch_numbering"] == "timestamp"
+
+    def test_save_branch_numbering_sequential(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        opts = {"branch_numbering": "sequential", "ai": "claude"}
+        save_init_options(tmp_path, opts)
+
+        saved = json.loads((tmp_path / ".specify/init-options.json").read_text())
+        assert saved["branch_numbering"] == "sequential"
+
+    def test_branch_numbering_defaults_to_sequential(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        project_dir = tmp_path / "proj"
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(project_dir), "--ai", "claude", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--no-git", "--script", "sh"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+
+        saved = json.loads((project_dir / ".specify/init-options.json").read_text())
+        assert saved["branch_numbering"] == "sequential"
+
+
+class TestBranchNumberingValidation:
+    """Tests for branch_numbering CLI validation via CliRunner."""
+
+    def test_invalid_branch_numbering_rejected(self, tmp_path: Path):
        from typer.testing import CliRunner
        from specify_cli import app

        runner = CliRunner()
-        result = runner.invoke(app, [
-            "init", str(tmp_path / "proj"), "--integration", "claude",
-            "--branch-numbering", "sequential", "--ignore-agent-tools",
-        ])
-        assert result.exit_code != 0, "--branch-numbering should be rejected"
-        assert "No such option" in result.output or "no such option" in result.output.lower()
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(tmp_path / "proj"), "--ai", "claude", "--branch-numbering", "foobar", "--ignore-agent-tools"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 1
+        assert "Invalid --branch-numbering" in result.output
+
+    def test_valid_branch_numbering_sequential(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(tmp_path / "proj"), "--ai", "claude", "--branch-numbering", "sequential", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--no-git", "--script", "sh"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "Invalid --branch-numbering" not in (result.output or "")
+
+    def test_valid_branch_numbering_timestamp(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        result = runner.invoke(app, ["init", str(tmp_path / "proj"), "--ai", "claude", "--branch-numbering", "timestamp", "--ignore-agent-tools", "--no-git", "--script", "sh"])
+        assert result.exit_code == 0
+        assert "Invalid --branch-numbering" not in (result.output or "")
@@ -34,15 +34,6 @@ def _install_ps_scripts(repo: Path) -> None:
    shutil.copy(CHECK_PREREQS_PS, d / "check-prerequisites.ps1")


-def _write_feature_json(
-    repo: Path, feature_directory: str = "specs/001-my-feature"
-) -> None:
-    (repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
-        json.dumps({"feature_directory": feature_directory}),
-        encoding="utf-8",
-    )
-
-
 def _clean_env() -> dict[str, str]:
    env = os.environ.copy()
    for key in list(env):
@@ -78,10 +69,7 @@ def prereq_repo(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:

@requires_bash
 def test_paths_only_succeeds_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """--paths-only must return paths when feature.json pins the feature dir."""
-    feat = prereq_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
-    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    _write_feature_json(prereq_repo)
+    """--paths-only must return paths without branch validation (main branch)."""
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "check-prerequisites.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script), "--json", "--paths-only"],
@@ -100,20 +88,20 @@ def test_paths_only_succeeds_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@requires_bash
 def test_paths_only_succeeds_on_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """--paths-only must also work when feature.json and SPECIFY_FEATURE agree."""
-    feat = prereq_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
-    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    _write_feature_json(prereq_repo)
+    """--paths-only must also work on a properly named spec branch."""
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "001-my-feature"],
+        cwd=prereq_repo,
+        check=True,
+    )
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "check-prerequisites.sh"
-    env = _clean_env()
-    env["SPECIFY_FEATURE"] = "001-my-feature"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script), "--json", "--paths-only"],
        cwd=prereq_repo,
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=False,
-        env=env,
+        env=_clean_env(),
    )
    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
    data = json.loads(result.stdout)
@@ -123,10 +111,7 @@ def test_paths_only_succeeds_on_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@requires_bash
 def test_paths_only_text_mode_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """--paths-only without --json must return text paths from feature.json."""
-    feat = prereq_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
-    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    _write_feature_json(prereq_repo)
+    """--paths-only without --json must return text paths on a non-spec branch."""
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "check-prerequisites.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script), "--paths-only"],
@@ -143,7 +128,7 @@ def test_paths_only_text_mode_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@requires_bash
 def test_normal_mode_still_validates_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """Without --paths-only, feature directory validation must still fail on main."""
+    """Without --paths-only, branch validation must still fail on main."""
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "check-prerequisites.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script), "--json"],
@@ -154,7 +139,7 @@ def test_normal_mode_still_validates_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
        env=_clean_env(),
    )
    assert result.returncode != 0
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in result.stderr
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr


 # ── PowerShell tests ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -162,10 +147,7 @@ def test_normal_mode_still_validates_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@pytest.mark.skipif(not (HAS_PWSH or _POWERSHELL), reason="no PowerShell available")
 def test_ps_paths_only_succeeds_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """-PathsOnly must return paths when feature.json pins the feature dir."""
-    feat = prereq_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
-    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    _write_feature_json(prereq_repo)
+    """-PathsOnly must return paths without branch validation (main branch)."""
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "check-prerequisites.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
    result = subprocess.run(
@@ -185,26 +167,21 @@ def test_ps_paths_only_succeeds_on_non_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@pytest.mark.skipif(not (HAS_PWSH or _POWERSHELL), reason="no PowerShell available")
 def test_ps_paths_only_succeeds_on_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """-PathsOnly must also work when feature.json and SPECIFY_FEATURE agree."""
+    """-PathsOnly must also work on a properly named spec branch."""
    subprocess.run(
        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "001-my-feature"],
        cwd=prereq_repo,
        check=True,
    )
-    feat = prereq_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
-    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    _write_feature_json(prereq_repo)
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "check-prerequisites.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
-    env = _clean_env()
-    env["SPECIFY_FEATURE"] = "001-my-feature"
    result = subprocess.run(
        [exe, "-NoProfile", "-File", str(script), "-Json", "-PathsOnly"],
        cwd=prereq_repo,
        capture_output=True,
        text=True,
        check=False,
-        env=env,
+        env=_clean_env(),
    )
    assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
    data = json.loads(result.stdout)
@@ -213,7 +190,7 @@ def test_ps_paths_only_succeeds_on_spec_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:

@pytest.mark.skipif(not (HAS_PWSH or _POWERSHELL), reason="no PowerShell available")
 def test_ps_normal_mode_still_validates_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """Without -PathsOnly, feature directory validation must still fail on main."""
+    """Without -PathsOnly, branch validation must still fail on main."""
    script = prereq_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "check-prerequisites.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
    result = subprocess.run(
@@ -225,5 +202,4 @@ def test_ps_normal_mode_still_validates_branch(prereq_repo: Path) -> None:
        env=_clean_env(),
    )
    assert result.returncode != 0
-    combined = result.stdout + result.stderr
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in combined
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr
@@ -16,10 +16,14 @@ def test_commands_init_importable():
 def test_agent_config_importable():
    from specify_cli._agent_config import (
        AGENT_CONFIG,
+        AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES,
+        AI_ASSISTANT_HELP,
        DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION,
        SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES,
    )
    assert isinstance(AGENT_CONFIG, dict)
+    assert isinstance(AI_ASSISTANT_ALIASES, dict)
+    assert isinstance(AI_ASSISTANT_HELP, str)
    assert DEFAULT_INIT_INTEGRATION == "copilot"
    assert "sh" in SCRIPT_TYPE_CHOICES

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 Unit tests for extension skill auto-registration.

 Tests cover:
- SKILL.md generation when skills mode was used during init
+- SKILL.md generation when --ai-skills was used during init
 - No skills created when ai_skills not active
 - SKILL.md content correctness
 - Existing user-modified skills not overwritten
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ def extension_dir(temp_dir):

@pytest.fixture
 def skills_project(project_dir):
-    """Create a project with skills mode enabled and skills directory."""
+    """Create a project with --ai-skills enabled and skills directory."""
    _create_init_options(project_dir, ai="claude", ai_skills=True)
    skills_dir = _create_skills_dir(project_dir, ai="claude")
    return project_dir, skills_dir
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def skills_project(project_dir):

@pytest.fixture
 def no_skills_project(project_dir):
-    """Create a project without skills mode."""
+    """Create a project without --ai-skills."""
    _create_init_options(project_dir, ai="claude", ai_skills=False)
    return project_dir

@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ from tests.conftest import strip_ansi
 from specify_cli.extensions import (
    CatalogEntry,
    CORE_COMMAND_NAMES,
-    DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY,
    ExtensionManifest,
    ExtensionRegistry,
    ExtensionManager,
@@ -191,12 +190,6 @@ class TestNormalizePriority:
        assert normalize_priority(None, default=20) == 20
        assert normalize_priority("invalid", default=1) == 1

-    def test_boolean_returns_default(self):
-        """Booleans fall back to the default rather than acting as int 0/1."""
-        assert normalize_priority(True) == 10
-        assert normalize_priority(False) == 10
-        assert normalize_priority(True, default=5) == 5
-

 # ===== ExtensionManifest Tests =====

@@ -465,137 +458,6 @@ class TestExtensionManifest:
        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="Invalid hook 'after_tasks'"):
            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)

-    def test_hook_single_mapping_still_accepted(self, extension_dir):
-        """Existing single-mapping hook manifests parse unchanged (regression)."""
-        manifest_path = extension_dir / "extension.yml"
-        manifest = ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        assert "after_tasks" in manifest.hooks
-        assert isinstance(manifest.hooks["after_tasks"], dict)
-        assert manifest.hooks["after_tasks"]["command"] == "speckit.test-ext.hello"
-
-    def test_hook_list_of_mappings_accepted(self, temp_dir, valid_manifest_data):
-        """A hook event may be configured as a list of mappings."""
-        import yaml
-
-        valid_manifest_data["provides"]["commands"].append({
-            "name": "speckit.test-ext.bye",
-            "file": "commands/bye.md",
-            "description": "Second test command",
-        })
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"] = [
-            {"command": "speckit.test-ext.hello", "description": "first"},
-            {"command": "speckit.test-ext.bye", "description": "second"},
-        ]
-
-        manifest_path = temp_dir / "extension.yml"
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-
-        manifest = ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        entries = manifest.hooks["after_tasks"]
-        assert isinstance(entries, list)
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == [
-            "speckit.test-ext.hello",
-            "speckit.test-ext.bye",
-        ]
-
-    def test_hook_list_with_non_mapping_entry_rejected(self, temp_dir, valid_manifest_data):
-        """A list entry that is not a mapping must raise ValidationError."""
-        import yaml
-
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"] = [
-            {"command": "speckit.test-ext.hello"},
-            "not-a-mapping",
-        ]
-
-        manifest_path = temp_dir / "extension.yml"
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-
-        with pytest.raises(
-            ValidationError,
-            match="Invalid hook 'after_tasks': expected a mapping or list of mappings",
-        ):
-            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-    def test_hook_list_command_refs_normalized(self, temp_dir, valid_manifest_data):
-        """Alias-form command refs are lifted to canonical form for every entry
-        in a list hook, each emitting a warning."""
-        import yaml
-
-        valid_manifest_data["provides"]["commands"].append({
-            "name": "speckit.test-ext.bye",
-            "file": "commands/bye.md",
-            "description": "Second test command",
-        })
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"] = [
-            {"command": "test-ext.hello"},
-            {"command": "test-ext.bye"},
-        ]
-
-        manifest_path = temp_dir / "extension.yml"
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-
-        manifest = ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        assert [e["command"] for e in manifest.hooks["after_tasks"]] == [
-            "speckit.test-ext.hello",
-            "speckit.test-ext.bye",
-        ]
-        lifted = [w for w in manifest.warnings if "updated to canonical form" in w]
-        assert len(lifted) == 2
-
-    def test_hook_empty_list_rejected(self, temp_dir, valid_manifest_data):
-        """An empty list for a hook event is rejected rather than silently
-        registering nothing."""
-        import yaml
-
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"] = []
-
-        manifest_path = temp_dir / "extension.yml"
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-
-        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="must contain at least one entry"):
-            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-    def test_hook_priority_field_validation(self, temp_dir, valid_manifest_data):
-        """Hook entry ``priority`` must be a positive integer when provided."""
-        import yaml
-
-        manifest_path = temp_dir / "extension.yml"
-
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"] = {
-            "command": "speckit.test-ext.hello",
-            "priority": "high",
-        }
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="invalid 'priority'.*integer"):
-            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"]["priority"] = 0
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="invalid 'priority'.*>= 1"):
-            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        # bool is a subclass of int, so it must be rejected explicitly.
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"]["priority"] = True
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-        with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="invalid 'priority'.*integer"):
-            ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-
-        valid_manifest_data["hooks"]["after_tasks"]["priority"] = 5
-        with open(manifest_path, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
-            yaml.dump(valid_manifest_data, f)
-        manifest = ExtensionManifest(manifest_path)
-        assert manifest.hooks["after_tasks"]["priority"] == 5
-
    def test_manifest_hash(self, extension_dir):
        """Test manifest hash calculation."""
        manifest_path = extension_dir / "extension.yml"
@@ -5044,405 +4906,6 @@ class TestExtensionPriorityBackwardsCompatibility:
        assert result[2][0] == "ext-low-priority"


-class _StubManifest(ExtensionManifest):
-    """ExtensionManifest stub for HookExecutor tests.
-
-    Subclasses the real manifest so it satisfies ``register_hooks``'s type
-    while bypassing the file-based parsing/validation pipeline. The inherited
-    ``id`` and ``hooks`` properties read from ``data``, so populating ``data``
-    is enough.
-    """
-
-    def __init__(self, ext_id: str, hooks: dict):
-        self.data = {"extension": {"id": ext_id}, "hooks": hooks}
-
-
-class TestHookExecutorRegistration:
-    """Tests for HookExecutor.register_hooks / get_hooks_for_event with
-    multi-entry hook events and per-entry priority ordering."""
-
-    def test_register_hooks_single_mapping_back_compat(self, project_dir):
-        """Single-mapping form continues to register exactly one entry with
-        default priority."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}})
-        )
-
-        config = executor.get_project_config()
-        entries = config["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert len(entries) == 1
-        assert entries[0]["extension"] == "ext-a"
-        assert entries[0]["command"] == "speckit.ext-a.go"
-        assert entries[0]["priority"] == DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY
-
-    def test_register_hooks_multiple_entries_same_event(self, project_dir):
-        """A list of mappings registers each entry under the same event."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first", "description": "1st"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.second", "description": "2nd"},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert len(entries) == 2
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == [
-            "speckit.ext-a.first",
-            "speckit.ext-a.second",
-        ]
-        assert all(e["extension"] == "ext-a" for e in entries)
-
-    def test_register_hooks_dedup_on_extension_and_command(self, project_dir):
-        """Re-registering the same (extension, command) updates in place
-        rather than appending a duplicate entry."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        manifest = _StubManifest(
-            "ext-a",
-            {
-                "after_tasks": [
-                    {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first", "description": "v1"},
-                    {"command": "speckit.ext-a.second", "description": "v1"},
-                ]
-            },
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(manifest)
-
-        manifest.hooks["after_tasks"][0]["description"] = "v2"
-        executor.register_hooks(manifest)
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert len(entries) == 2
-        first = next(e for e in entries if e["command"] == "speckit.ext-a.first")
-        assert first["description"] == "v2"
-
-    def test_register_hooks_shape_change_removes_orphans(self, project_dir):
-        """Reinstalling with a shorter hook shape (list → single mapping, or a
-        shrunk list) purges the dropped commands instead of leaving orphans."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.second"},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first"}})
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == ["speckit.ext-a.first"]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_single_to_list_reinstall_adds_entries(self, project_dir):
-        """Reinstalling a single-mapping hook as a list adds the new entries."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first"}})
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.second"},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == [
-            "speckit.ext-a.first",
-            "speckit.ext-a.second",
-        ]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_skips_entry_without_command(self, project_dir):
-        """An entry lacking a command is skipped (defensive; validated
-        manifests never reach this state)."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"},
-                        {"optional": True},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == ["speckit.ext-a.go"]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_skips_non_dict_entry(self, project_dir):
-        """A non-dict entry in a hook list is skipped rather than crashing
-        (defensive; validated manifests never reach this state)."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {"after_tasks": [{"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}, "not-a-mapping"]},
-            )
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == ["speckit.ext-a.go"]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_purges_dropped_event_orphans(self, project_dir):
-        """Re-registering without an event it previously declared purges this
-        extension's entries from that event, scoped to this extension."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.tasks"},
-                    "after_plan": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.plan"},
-                    "after_implement": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.impl"},
-                },
-            )
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-b", {"after_plan": {"command": "speckit.ext-b.plan"}})
-        )
-
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.tasks"}})
-        )
-
-        hooks = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in hooks["after_tasks"]] == ["speckit.ext-a.tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in hooks["after_plan"]] == ["speckit.ext-b.plan"]
-        assert "after_implement" not in hooks
-
-    def test_register_hooks_dropping_all_hooks_purges_orphans(self, project_dir):
-        """Reinstalling with an empty hooks mapping still purges this
-        extension's entries, scoped to this extension."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}})
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-b", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-b.go"}})
-        )
-
-        executor.register_hooks(_StubManifest("ext-a", {}))
-
-        hooks = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in hooks["after_tasks"]] == ["speckit.ext-b.go"]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_empty_hooks_purge_survives_corrupt_entry(self, project_dir):
-        """A corrupt non-dict entry already on disk does not break the
-        empty-hooks orphan purge; it is dropped and valid entries survive."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}})
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-b", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-b.go"}})
-        )
-        config = executor.get_project_config()
-        config["hooks"]["after_tasks"].append("corrupt-non-dict-entry")
-        executor.save_project_config(config)
-
-        executor.register_hooks(_StubManifest("ext-a", {}))
-
-        hooks = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in hooks["after_tasks"]] == ["speckit.ext-b.go"]
-
-    def test_register_hooks_duplicate_command_moves_to_end(self, project_dir):
-        """A command repeated in one manifest keeps the last value and the last
-        insertion position, so equal-priority tie order is 'last wins'."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.dup", "description": "first"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.other"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.dup", "description": "last"},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert [e["command"] for e in entries] == [
-            "speckit.ext-a.other",
-            "speckit.ext-a.dup",
-        ]
-        assert entries[-1]["description"] == "last"
-
-    def test_register_hooks_preserves_other_extensions(self, project_dir):
-        """Re-registering one extension must not disturb another extension's
-        entries on the same event."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}})
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-b", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-b.go"}})
-        )
-
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-a", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-a.go"}})
-        )
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"]["after_tasks"]
-        assert sorted(e["extension"] for e in entries) == ["ext-a", "ext-b"]
-
-    def test_get_hooks_for_event_sorts_by_priority(self, project_dir):
-        """Returned entries are sorted by priority ascending; equal priorities
-        preserve insertion order via stable sort."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.mid", "priority": 10},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first", "priority": 1},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.late", "priority": 20},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.mid-tied", "priority": 10},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-
-        ordered = executor.get_hooks_for_event("after_tasks")
-        assert [e["command"] for e in ordered] == [
-            "speckit.ext-a.first",
-            "speckit.ext-a.mid",
-            "speckit.ext-a.mid-tied",
-            "speckit.ext-a.late",
-        ]
-
-    def test_get_hooks_for_event_orders_across_extensions(self, project_dir):
-        """Priority controls execution order across extensions regardless of
-        install order (Issue #2378 use case)."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-report",
-                {"after_plan": {"command": "speckit.ext-report.run", "priority": 20}},
-            )
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-verify",
-                {"after_plan": {"command": "speckit.ext-verify.run", "priority": 5}},
-            )
-        )
-
-        ordered = executor.get_hooks_for_event("after_plan")
-        assert [e["command"] for e in ordered] == [
-            "speckit.ext-verify.run",
-            "speckit.ext-report.run",
-        ]
-
-    def test_get_hooks_for_event_treats_missing_priority_as_default(self, project_dir):
-        """Entries persisted before priority was introduced should be sorted
-        as if their priority equaled DEFAULT_HOOK_PRIORITY."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        # Legacy on-disk entry with no priority key.
-        # register_hooks now always sets one, so write this state directly.
-        executor.save_project_config({
-            "installed": [],
-            "settings": {"auto_execute_hooks": True},
-            "hooks": {
-                "after_tasks": [
-                    {
-                        "extension": "legacy",
-                        "command": "speckit.legacy.go",
-                        "enabled": True,
-                    },
-                    {
-                        "extension": "newer",
-                        "command": "speckit.newer.first",
-                        "enabled": True,
-                        "priority": 1,
-                    },
-                ]
-            },
-        })
-
-        ordered = executor.get_hooks_for_event("after_tasks")
-        assert [e["command"] for e in ordered] == [
-            "speckit.newer.first",
-            "speckit.legacy.go",
-        ]
-
-    def test_get_hooks_for_event_tolerates_corrupted_priority(self, project_dir):
-        """A corrupted on-disk ``priority`` (non-numeric, None, or < 1) is
-        normalized to the default instead of raising during sort."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.save_project_config({
-            "installed": [],
-            "settings": {"auto_execute_hooks": True},
-            "hooks": {
-                "after_tasks": [
-                    {
-                        "extension": "corrupt",
-                        "command": "speckit.corrupt.go",
-                        "enabled": True,
-                        "priority": "not-a-number",
-                    },
-                    {
-                        "extension": "early",
-                        "command": "speckit.early.go",
-                        "enabled": True,
-                        "priority": 1,
-                    },
-                ]
-            },
-        })
-
-        ordered = executor.get_hooks_for_event("after_tasks")
-        assert [e["command"] for e in ordered] == [
-            "speckit.early.go",
-            "speckit.corrupt.go",
-        ]
-
-    def test_unregister_hooks_removes_all_extension_entries(self, project_dir):
-        """unregister_hooks removes every entry for the extension regardless
-        of how many were registered to a given event."""
-        executor = HookExecutor(project_dir)
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest(
-                "ext-a",
-                {
-                    "after_tasks": [
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.first"},
-                        {"command": "speckit.ext-a.second"},
-                    ]
-                },
-            )
-        )
-        executor.register_hooks(
-            _StubManifest("ext-b", {"after_tasks": {"command": "speckit.ext-b.solo"}})
-        )
-
-        executor.unregister_hooks("ext-a")
-
-        entries = executor.get_project_config()["hooks"].get("after_tasks", [])
-        assert [e["extension"] for e in entries] == ["ext-b"]
-
-
 class TestHookInvocationRendering:
    """Test hook invocation formatting for different agent modes."""

@@ -5469,7 +4932,7 @@ class TestHookInvocationRendering:
        assert "EXECUTE_COMMAND_INVOCATION: /skill:speckit-plan" in message

    def test_codex_hooks_render_dollar_skill_invocation(self, project_dir):
-        """Codex projects with skills mode should render $speckit-* invocations."""
+        """Codex projects with --ai-skills should render $speckit-* invocations."""
        init_options = project_dir / ".specify" / "init-options.json"
        init_options.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
        init_options.write_text(json.dumps({"ai": "codex", "ai_skills": True}))
@@ -2557,8 +2557,8 @@ class TestPresetSkills:
        return preset_dir

    def test_skill_overridden_on_preset_install(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
-        """When skills mode was used, a preset command override should update the skill."""
-        # Simulate skills mode having been used: write init-options + create skill
+        """When --ai-skills was used, a preset command override should update the skill."""
+        # Simulate --ai-skills having been used: write init-options + create skill
        self._write_init_options(project_dir, ai="claude")
        skills_dir = project_dir / ".claude" / "skills"
        self._create_skill(skills_dir, "speckit-specify")
@@ -2843,7 +2843,7 @@ class TestPresetSkills:
        assert "override taskstoissues body" in content

    def test_skill_not_updated_when_ai_skills_disabled(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
-        """When skills mode was NOT used, preset install should not touch skills."""
+        """When --ai-skills was NOT used, preset install should not touch skills."""
        self._write_init_options(project_dir, ai="qwen", ai_skills=False)
        skills_dir = project_dir / ".qwen" / "skills"
        self._create_skill(skills_dir, "speckit-specify", body="untouched")
@@ -2962,7 +2962,7 @@ class TestPresetSkills:
    def test_no_skills_registered_when_no_skill_dir_exists(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
        """Skills should not be created when no existing skill dir is found."""
        self._write_init_options(project_dir, ai="claude")
-        # Don't create skills dir — simulate skills mode never created them
+        # Don't create skills dir — simulate --ai-skills never created them

        manager = PresetManager(project_dir)
        install_self_test_preset(manager)
@@ -4123,7 +4123,7 @@ class TestWrapStrategy:
            "---\ndescription: core wrap-test\n---\n\n# Core Wrap-Test Body\n"
        )

-        # Set up skills dir (simulating --integration claude)
+        # Set up skills dir (simulating --ai claude)
        skills_dir = project_dir / ".claude" / "skills"
        skills_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
        skill_subdir = skills_dir / "speckit-wrap-test"
@@ -41,13 +41,6 @@ def _minimal_templates(repo: Path) -> None:
    shutil.copy(PLAN_TEMPLATE, tdir / "plan-template.md")


-def _write_feature_json(repo: Path, feature_directory: str) -> None:
-    (repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
-        json.dumps({"feature_directory": feature_directory}),
-        encoding="utf-8",
-    )
-
-
 def _clean_env() -> dict[str, str]:
    """Return a copy of the current environment with any SPECIFY_* vars removed.

@@ -96,7 +89,10 @@ def test_setup_plan_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(plan_repo: Path
    feat = plan_repo / "specs" / "001-tiny-notes-app"
    feat.mkdir(parents=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(plan_repo, "specs/001-tiny-notes-app")
+    (plan_repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"feature_directory": "specs/001-tiny-notes-app"}),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
    script = plan_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-plan.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script)],
@@ -111,8 +107,12 @@ def test_setup_plan_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(plan_repo: Path


@requires_bash
-def test_setup_plan_errors_without_feature_context(plan_repo: Path) -> None:
-    """Without feature.json or SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY, setup-plan must error."""
+def test_setup_plan_fails_custom_branch_without_feature_json(plan_repo: Path) -> None:
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "feature/my-feature-branch"],
+        cwd=plan_repo,
+        check=True,
+    )
    script = plan_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-plan.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script)],
@@ -123,14 +123,13 @@ def test_setup_plan_errors_without_feature_context(plan_repo: Path) -> None:
        env=_clean_env(),
    )
    assert result.returncode != 0
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in result.stderr
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr


@requires_bash
-def test_setup_plan_numbered_branch_works_with_feature_json(
+def test_setup_plan_numbered_branch_unchanged_without_feature_json(
    plan_repo: Path,
 ) -> None:
-    """A numbered branch still works when feature.json explicitly pins the spec dir."""
    subprocess.run(
        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "001-tiny-notes-app"],
        cwd=plan_repo,
@@ -139,7 +138,6 @@ def test_setup_plan_numbered_branch_works_with_feature_json(
    feat = plan_repo / "specs" / "001-tiny-notes-app"
    feat.mkdir(parents=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(plan_repo, "specs/001-tiny-notes-app")
    script = plan_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-plan.sh"
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script)],
@@ -163,7 +161,10 @@ def test_setup_plan_ps_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(plan_repo: P
    feat = plan_repo / "specs" / "001-tiny-notes-app"
    feat.mkdir(parents=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(plan_repo, "specs/001-tiny-notes-app")
+    (plan_repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"feature_directory": "specs/001-tiny-notes-app"}),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
    script = plan_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "setup-plan.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
    result = subprocess.run(
@@ -179,9 +180,14 @@ def test_setup_plan_ps_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(plan_repo: P


@pytest.mark.skipif(not (HAS_PWSH or _POWERSHELL), reason="no PowerShell available")
-def test_setup_plan_ps_errors_without_feature_context(
+def test_setup_plan_ps_fails_custom_branch_without_feature_json(
    plan_repo: Path,
 ) -> None:
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "feature/my-feature-branch"],
+        cwd=plan_repo,
+        check=True,
+    )
    script = plan_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "setup-plan.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
    result = subprocess.run(
@@ -192,6 +198,5 @@ def test_setup_plan_ps_errors_without_feature_context(
        check=False,
        env=_clean_env(),
    )
-    combined = result.stderr + result.stdout
    assert result.returncode != 0
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in combined
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr
@@ -41,15 +41,6 @@ def _minimal_templates(repo: Path) -> None:
    shutil.copy(PLAN_TEMPLATE, tdir / "plan-template.md")


-def _write_feature_json(
-    repo: Path, feature_directory: str = "specs/001-my-feature"
-) -> None:
-    (repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
-        json.dumps({"feature_directory": feature_directory}),
-        encoding="utf-8",
-    )
-
-
 def _clean_env() -> dict[str, str]:
    env = os.environ.copy()
    for key in list(env):
@@ -83,7 +74,6 @@ def plan_repo(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
    _minimal_templates(repo)
    _install_bash_scripts(repo)
    _install_ps_scripts(repo)
-    _write_feature_json(repo)
    return repo


@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-"""Tests for setup-tasks.{sh,ps1} template resolution and feature resolution."""
+"""Tests for setup-tasks.{sh,ps1} template resolution and branch validation."""
 
 import json
 import os
@@ -50,15 +50,6 @@ def _install_core_tasks_template(repo: Path) -> None:
    shutil.copy(TASKS_TEMPLATE, tdir / "tasks-template.md")
 
 
-def _write_feature_json(
-    repo: Path, feature_directory: str = "specs/001-my-feature"
-) -> None:
-    (repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
-        json.dumps({"feature_directory": feature_directory}),
-        encoding="utf-8",
-    )
-
-
 def _minimal_feature(repo: Path) -> Path:
    """
    Create a numbered branch-style feature directory with spec.md and plan.md
@@ -69,7 +60,6 @@ def _minimal_feature(repo: Path) -> Path:
    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
    (feat / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(repo)
    return feat


@@ -95,7 +85,7 @@ def _write_integration_state(repo: Path, integration: str = "claude", separator:
 def _clean_env() -> dict[str, str]:
    """
    Return os.environ with all SPECIFY_* variables stripped so the scripts
-    rely purely on feature.json and on-disk feature directories set up by each fixture.
+    rely purely on git branch + feature.json state set up by each fixture.
    """
    env = os.environ.copy()
    for key in list(env):
@@ -163,8 +153,7 @@ def tasks_repo(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
    repo.mkdir()
    _git_init(repo)
 
-    # Keep a numbered branch name in this repo fixture; setup-tasks now resolves
-    # feature directories from repository state rather than validating git branches.
+    # Switch to a numbered branch so branch validation passes without feature.json
    subprocess.run(
        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "001-my-feature"],
        cwd=repo,
@@ -503,7 +492,6 @@ def test_setup_tasks_bash_uses_invoke_separator_in_plan_hint(tasks_repo: Path) -
    feat = tasks_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(tasks_repo)

    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"

@@ -562,7 +550,11 @@ def test_setup_tasks_bash_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(
    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
    (feat / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(tasks_repo)
+ 
+    (tasks_repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"feature_directory": "specs/001-my-feature"}),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
 
    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"
 
@@ -579,17 +571,21 @@ def test_setup_tasks_bash_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(
 
 
@requires_bash
-def test_setup_tasks_bash_errors_without_feature_context(
+def test_setup_tasks_bash_fails_custom_branch_without_feature_json(
    tasks_repo: Path,
 ) -> None:
-    """Without feature.json or SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY, setup-tasks.sh must error."""
-    main_feat = tasks_repo / "specs" / "main"
-    main_feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    (main_feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    (main_feat / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
-
+    """
+    On a non-standard branch with no feature.json, setup-tasks.sh must fail
+    and report that we are not on a feature branch.
+    """
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "feature/custom-branch"],
+        cwd=tasks_repo,
+        check=True,
+    )
+ 
    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "bash" / "setup-tasks.sh"
-
+ 
    result = subprocess.run(
        ["bash", str(script), "--json"],
        cwd=tasks_repo,
@@ -600,7 +596,7 @@ def test_setup_tasks_bash_errors_without_feature_context(
    )

    assert result.returncode != 0
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in result.stderr
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr
 
 # ===========================================================================
 # POWERSHELL TESTS
@@ -735,7 +731,6 @@ def test_setup_tasks_ps_uses_invoke_separator_in_plan_hint(tasks_repo: Path) ->
    feat = tasks_repo / "specs" / "001-my-feature"
    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(tasks_repo)

    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "setup-tasks.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
@@ -798,7 +793,11 @@ def test_setup_tasks_ps_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(
    feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
    (feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
    (feat / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    _write_feature_json(tasks_repo)
+ 
+    (tasks_repo / ".specify" / "feature.json").write_text(
+        json.dumps({"feature_directory": "specs/001-my-feature"}),
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
 
    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "setup-tasks.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
@@ -816,18 +815,22 @@ def test_setup_tasks_ps_passes_custom_branch_when_feature_json_valid(
 
 
@pytest.mark.skipif(not (HAS_PWSH or _POWERSHELL), reason="no PowerShell available")
-def test_setup_tasks_ps_errors_without_feature_context(
+def test_setup_tasks_ps_fails_custom_branch_without_feature_json(
    tasks_repo: Path,
 ) -> None:
-    """Without feature.json or SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY, setup-tasks.ps1 must error."""
-    main_feat = tasks_repo / "specs" / "main"
-    main_feat.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    (main_feat / "spec.md").write_text("# spec\n", encoding="utf-8")
-    (main_feat / "plan.md").write_text("# plan\n", encoding="utf-8")
-
+    """
+    On a non-standard branch with no feature.json, setup-tasks.ps1 must fail
+    and report that we are not on a feature branch.
+    """
+    subprocess.run(
+        ["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "feature/custom-branch"],
+        cwd=tasks_repo,
+        check=True,
+    )
+ 
    script = tasks_repo / ".specify" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "setup-tasks.ps1"
    exe = "pwsh" if HAS_PWSH else _POWERSHELL
-
+ 
    result = subprocess.run(
        [exe, "-NoProfile", "-File", str(script), "-Json"],
        cwd=tasks_repo,
@@ -836,7 +839,6 @@ def test_setup_tasks_ps_errors_without_feature_context(
        check=False,
        env=_clean_env(),
    )
-
-    output = result.stderr + result.stdout
+ 
    assert result.returncode != 0
-    assert "Feature directory not found" in output
+    assert "Not on a feature branch" in result.stderr
@@ -19,12 +19,14 @@ PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 CREATE_FEATURE = PROJECT_ROOT / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh"
 CREATE_FEATURE_PS = PROJECT_ROOT / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature.ps1"
 EXT_CREATE_FEATURE = (
-    PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature-branch.sh"
+    PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh"
 )
 EXT_CREATE_FEATURE_PS = (
-    PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature-branch.ps1"
+    PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature.ps1"
 )
 COMMON_SH = PROJECT_ROOT / "scripts" / "bash" / "common.sh"
+EXT_CREATE_FEATURE = PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh"
+EXT_CREATE_FEATURE_PS = PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature.ps1"

 HAS_PWSH = shutil.which("pwsh") is not None

@@ -75,7 +77,7 @@ def ext_git_repo(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
    # Copy extension script
    ext_dir = tmp_path / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash"
    ext_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
-    shutil.copy(EXT_CREATE_FEATURE, ext_dir / "create-new-feature-branch.sh")
+    shutil.copy(EXT_CREATE_FEATURE, ext_dir / "create-new-feature.sh")
    # Also copy git-common.sh if it exists
    git_common = PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "git-common.sh"
    if git_common.exists():
@@ -104,7 +106,7 @@ def ext_ps_git_repo(tmp_path: Path) -> Path:
    # Copy extension script
    ext_ps = tmp_path / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell"
    ext_ps.mkdir(parents=True)
-    shutil.copy(EXT_CREATE_FEATURE_PS, ext_ps / "create-new-feature-branch.ps1")
+    shutil.copy(EXT_CREATE_FEATURE_PS, ext_ps / "create-new-feature.ps1")
    git_common_ps = PROJECT_ROOT / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "git-common.ps1"
    if git_common_ps.exists():
        shutil.copy(git_common_ps, ext_ps / "git-common.ps1")
@@ -277,13 +279,64 @@ class TestSequentialBranchPowerShell:


@requires_bash
-class TestCoreCommonRemovesGitHelpers:
-    def test_check_feature_branch_removed(self):
-        result = source_and_call('declare -F check_feature_branch >/dev/null')
+class TestCheckFeatureBranch:
+    def test_accepts_timestamp_branch(self):
+        """Test 6: check_feature_branch accepts timestamp branch."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "20260319-143022-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+
+    def test_accepts_sequential_branch(self):
+        """Test 7: check_feature_branch accepts sequential branch."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "004-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+
+    def test_rejects_main(self):
+        """Test 8: check_feature_branch rejects main."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "main" "true"')
        assert result.returncode != 0

-    def test_has_git_removed(self):
-        result = source_and_call('declare -F has_git >/dev/null')
+    def test_accepts_four_digit_sequential_branch(self):
+        """check_feature_branch accepts 4+ digit sequential branch."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "1234-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+
+    def test_rejects_partial_timestamp(self):
+        """Test 9: check_feature_branch rejects 7-digit date."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "2026031-143022-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_rejects_timestamp_without_slug(self):
+        """check_feature_branch rejects timestamp-like branch missing trailing slug."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "20260319-143022" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_rejects_7digit_timestamp_without_slug(self):
+        """check_feature_branch rejects 7-digit date + 6-digit time without slug."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "2026031-143022" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_accepts_single_prefix_sequential(self):
+        """Optional gitflow-style prefix: one segment + sequential feature name."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "feat/004-my-feature" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+
+    def test_accepts_single_prefix_timestamp(self):
+        """Optional prefix + timestamp-style feature name."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "release/20260319-143022-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+
+    def test_rejects_invalid_suffix_with_single_prefix(self):
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "feat/main" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+        assert "feat/main" in result.stderr
+
+    def test_rejects_two_level_prefix_before_feature(self):
+        """More than one slash: no stripping; whole name must match (fails)."""
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "feat/fix/004-feat" "true"')
+        assert result.returncode != 0
+
+    def test_rejects_malformed_timestamp_with_prefix(self):
+        result = source_and_call('check_feature_branch "feat/2026031-143022-feat" "true"')
        assert result.returncode != 0


@@ -291,11 +344,50 @@ class TestCoreCommonRemovesGitHelpers:


@requires_bash
-class TestFindFeatureDirByPrefixRemoved:
-    def test_find_feature_dir_by_prefix_removed(self):
-        """Directory scanning helper is removed from core common.sh."""
-        result = source_and_call('declare -F find_feature_dir_by_prefix >/dev/null')
-        assert result.returncode != 0
+class TestFindFeatureDirByPrefix:
+    def test_timestamp_branch(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        """Test 10: find_feature_dir_by_prefix with timestamp branch."""
+        (tmp_path / "specs" / "20260319-143022-user-auth").mkdir(parents=True)
+        result = source_and_call(
+            f'find_feature_dir_by_prefix "{tmp_path}" "20260319-143022-user-auth"'
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == f"{tmp_path}/specs/20260319-143022-user-auth"
+
+    def test_cross_branch_prefix(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        """Test 11: find_feature_dir_by_prefix cross-branch (different suffix, same timestamp)."""
+        (tmp_path / "specs" / "20260319-143022-original-feat").mkdir(parents=True)
+        result = source_and_call(
+            f'find_feature_dir_by_prefix "{tmp_path}" "20260319-143022-different-name"'
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == f"{tmp_path}/specs/20260319-143022-original-feat"
+
+    def test_four_digit_sequential_prefix(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        """find_feature_dir_by_prefix resolves 4+ digit sequential prefix."""
+        (tmp_path / "specs" / "1000-original-feat").mkdir(parents=True)
+        result = source_and_call(
+            f'find_feature_dir_by_prefix "{tmp_path}" "1000-different-name"'
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == f"{tmp_path}/specs/1000-original-feat"
+
+    def test_sequential_with_single_path_prefix(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        """Strip one optional prefix segment before prefix directory lookup."""
+        (tmp_path / "specs" / "004-only-dir").mkdir(parents=True)
+        result = source_and_call(
+            f'find_feature_dir_by_prefix "{tmp_path}" "feat/004-other-suffix"'
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == f"{tmp_path}/specs/004-only-dir"
+
+    def test_timestamp_with_single_path_prefix_cross_branch(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        (tmp_path / "specs" / "20260319-143022-canonical").mkdir(parents=True)
+        result = source_and_call(
+            f'find_feature_dir_by_prefix "{tmp_path}" "hotfix/20260319-143022-alias"'
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == f"{tmp_path}/specs/20260319-143022-canonical"


 # ── get_feature_paths + single-prefix integration ───────────────────────────
@@ -303,29 +395,26 @@ class TestFindFeatureDirByPrefixRemoved:

 class TestGetFeaturePathsSinglePrefix:
    @requires_bash
-    def test_bash_specify_feature_prefixed_requires_explicit_feature_context(
-        self, tmp_path: Path
-    ):
-        """SPECIFY_FEATURE alone no longer triggers path lookup in bash."""
+    def test_bash_specify_feature_prefixed_resolves_by_prefix(self, tmp_path: Path):
+        """get_feature_paths: SPECIFY_FEATURE with one optional prefix uses effective name for lookup."""
        (tmp_path / ".specify").mkdir()
        (tmp_path / "specs" / "001-target-spec").mkdir(parents=True)
        cmd = (
            f'cd "{tmp_path}" && export SPECIFY_FEATURE="feat/001-other" && '
-            f'source "{COMMON_SH}" && get_feature_paths'
+            f'source "{COMMON_SH}" && eval "$(get_feature_paths)" && printf "%s" "$FEATURE_DIR"'
        )
        result = subprocess.run(
            ["bash", "-c", cmd],
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
        )
-        assert result.returncode != 0
-        assert "Feature directory not found" in result.stderr
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+        assert result.stdout.strip() == str(tmp_path / "specs" / "001-target-spec")
+

    @pytest.mark.skipif(not _has_pwsh(), reason="pwsh not installed")
-    def test_ps_specify_feature_prefixed_requires_explicit_feature_context(
-        self, git_repo: Path
-    ):
-        """PowerShell also requires feature.json or SPECIFY_FEATURE_DIRECTORY."""
+    def test_ps_specify_feature_prefixed_resolves_by_prefix(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """PowerShell Get-FeaturePathsEnv: same prefix stripping as bash."""
        common_ps = PROJECT_ROOT / "scripts" / "powershell" / "common.ps1"
        spec_dir = git_repo / "specs" / "001-ps-prefix-spec"
        spec_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
@@ -337,8 +426,14 @@ class TestGetFeaturePathsSinglePrefix:
            text=True,
            env={**os.environ, "SPECIFY_FEATURE": "feat/001-other"},
        )
-        assert result.returncode != 0
-        assert "Feature directory not found" in (result.stderr + result.stdout)
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+        for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
+            if line.startswith("FEATURE_DIR="):
+                val = line.split("=", 1)[1].strip()
+                assert val == str(spec_dir)
+                break
+        else:
+            pytest.fail("FEATURE_DIR not found in PowerShell output")


 # ── get_current_branch Tests ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -358,11 +453,12 @@ class TestGetCurrentBranch:
@requires_bash
 class TestNoGitTimestamp:
    def test_no_git_timestamp(self, no_git_dir: Path):
-        """Test 13: Timestamp mode works without git and creates a spec dir."""
+        """Test 13: No-git repo + timestamp creates spec dir with warning."""
        result = run_script(no_git_dir, "--timestamp", "--short-name", "no-git-feat", "No git feature")
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
        spec_dirs = list((no_git_dir / "specs").iterdir()) if (no_git_dir / "specs").exists() else []
        assert len(spec_dirs) > 0, "spec dir not created"
+        assert "git" in result.stderr.lower() or "warning" in result.stderr.lower()


 # ── E2E Flow Tests ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -371,65 +467,32 @@ class TestNoGitTimestamp:
@requires_bash
 class TestE2EFlow:
    def test_e2e_timestamp(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """Test 14: E2E timestamp flow creates only a feature directory."""
-        before = subprocess.run(
+        """Test 14: E2E timestamp flow — branch, dir, validation."""
+        run_script(git_repo, "--timestamp", "--short-name", "e2e-ts", "E2E timestamp test")
+        branch = subprocess.run(
            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
            cwd=git_repo,
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
-            check=True,
        ).stdout.strip()
-        result = run_script(git_repo, "--timestamp", "--short-name", "e2e-ts", "E2E timestamp test")
-        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-
-        branch_name = None
-        for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
-            if line.startswith("BRANCH_NAME:"):
-                branch_name = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
-                break
-
-        assert branch_name is not None
-        assert re.match(r"^\d{8}-\d{6}-e2e-ts$", branch_name), f"branch: {branch_name}"
-        assert (git_repo / "specs" / branch_name).is_dir()
-
-        after = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
-        assert after == before
+        assert re.match(r"^\d{8}-\d{6}-e2e-ts$", branch), f"branch: {branch}"
+        assert (git_repo / "specs" / branch).is_dir()
+        val = source_and_call(f'check_feature_branch "{branch}" "true"')
+        assert val.returncode == 0

    def test_e2e_sequential(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """Test 15: E2E sequential flow creates only a feature directory."""
-        before = subprocess.run(
+        """Test 15: E2E sequential flow (regression guard)."""
+        run_script(git_repo, "--short-name", "seq-feat", "Sequential feature")
+        branch = subprocess.run(
            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
            cwd=git_repo,
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
-            check=True,
        ).stdout.strip()
-        result = run_script(git_repo, "--short-name", "seq-feat", "Sequential feature")
-        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-
-        branch_name = None
-        for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
-            if line.startswith("BRANCH_NAME:"):
-                branch_name = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
-                break
-
-        assert branch_name == "001-seq-feat"
-        assert (git_repo / "specs" / branch_name).is_dir()
-
-        after = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
-        assert after == before
+        assert re.match(r"^\d{3,}-seq-feat$", branch), f"branch: {branch}"
+        assert (git_repo / "specs" / branch).is_dir()
+        val = source_and_call(f'check_feature_branch "{branch}" "true"')
+        assert val.returncode == 0


 # ── Allow Existing Branch Tests ──────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -437,22 +500,67 @@ class TestE2EFlow:

@requires_bash
 class TestAllowExistingBranch:
-    def test_allow_existing_reuses_existing_feature_dir(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """T006: Existing feature directory can be reused when the flag is set."""
-        feature_dir = git_repo / "specs" / "004-pre-exist"
-        feature_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
-
+    def test_allow_existing_switches_to_branch(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """T006: Pre-create branch, verify script switches to it."""
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "004-pre-exist"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "pre-exist",
            "--number", "4", "Pre-existing feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-        assert feature_dir.is_dir()
-        assert (feature_dir / "spec.md").exists()
+        current = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
+            cwd=git_repo, capture_output=True, text=True,
+        ).stdout.strip()
+        assert current == "004-pre-exist", f"expected 004-pre-exist, got {current}"
+
+    def test_allow_existing_already_on_branch(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """T007: Verify success when already on the target branch."""
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "005-already-on"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        result = run_script(
+            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "already-on",
+            "--number", "5", "Already on branch",
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+
+    def test_allow_existing_creates_spec_dir(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """T008: Verify spec directory created on existing branch."""
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "006-spec-dir"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        result = run_script(
+            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "spec-dir",
+            "--number", "6", "Spec dir feature",
+        )
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+        assert (git_repo / "specs" / "006-spec-dir").is_dir()
+        assert (git_repo / "specs" / "006-spec-dir" / "spec.md").exists()

    def test_without_flag_still_errors(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """T009: Existing feature directories still fail without the flag."""
-        (git_repo / "specs" / "007-no-flag").mkdir(parents=True)
+        """T009: Verify backwards compatibility (error without flag)."""
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "007-no-flag"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--short-name", "no-flag", "--number", "7", "No flag feature",
        )
@@ -461,11 +569,18 @@ class TestAllowExistingBranch:

    def test_allow_existing_no_overwrite_spec(self, git_repo: Path):
        """T010: Pre-create spec.md with content, verify it is preserved."""
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "008-no-overwrite"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
        spec_dir = git_repo / "specs" / "008-no-overwrite"
        spec_dir.mkdir(parents=True)
        spec_file = spec_dir / "spec.md"
        spec_file.write_text("# My custom spec content\n")
-
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "no-overwrite",
            "--number", "8", "No overwrite feature",
@@ -473,20 +588,31 @@ class TestAllowExistingBranch:
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
        assert spec_file.read_text() == "# My custom spec content\n"

-    def test_allow_existing_creates_feature_dir_when_missing(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """T011: Verify normal directory creation when the feature dir does not exist."""
+    def test_allow_existing_creates_branch_if_not_exists(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """T011: Verify normal creation when branch doesn't exist."""
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "new-branch",
            "New branch feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-        assert (git_repo / "specs" / "001-new-branch").is_dir()
+        current = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
+            cwd=git_repo, capture_output=True, text=True,
+        ).stdout.strip()
+        assert "new-branch" in current

    def test_allow_existing_with_json(self, git_repo: Path):
        """T012: Verify JSON output is correct."""
        import json

-        (git_repo / "specs" / "009-json-test").mkdir(parents=True)
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "009-json-test"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--json", "--short-name", "json-test",
            "--number", "9", "JSON test",
@@ -496,26 +622,64 @@ class TestAllowExistingBranch:
        assert data["BRANCH_NAME"] == "009-json-test"

    def test_allow_existing_no_git(self, no_git_dir: Path):
-        """T013: Verify flag also works in non-git repos."""
+        """T013: Verify flag is silently ignored in non-git repos."""
        result = run_script(
            no_git_dir, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "no-git",
            "No git feature",
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr

+    def test_allow_existing_surfaces_checkout_error(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """Checkout failures on an existing branch should include Git's stderr."""
+        shared_file = git_repo / "shared.txt"
+        shared_file.write_text("base\n")
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "add", "shared.txt"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "commit", "-m", "add shared file", "-q"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "010-checkout-failure"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        shared_file.write_text("branch version\n")
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "commit", "-am", "branch change", "-q"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
+            cwd=git_repo, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        shared_file.write_text("uncommitted main change\n")
+
+        result = run_script(
+            git_repo, "--allow-existing-branch", "--short-name", "checkout-failure",
+            "--number", "10", "Checkout failure",
+        )
+
+        assert result.returncode != 0, "checkout should fail with conflicting local changes"
+        assert "Failed to switch to existing branch '010-checkout-failure'" in result.stderr
+        assert "would be overwritten by checkout" in result.stderr
+        assert "shared.txt" in result.stderr
+

 class TestAllowExistingBranchPowerShell:
    def test_powershell_supports_allow_existing_branch_flag(self):
        """Static guard: PS script exposes and uses -AllowExistingBranch."""
        contents = CREATE_FEATURE_PS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
        assert "-AllowExistingBranch" in contents
+        # Ensure the flag is referenced in script logic, not just declared
        assert "AllowExistingBranch" in contents.replace("-AllowExistingBranch", "")

-    def test_powershell_reuses_existing_feature_dir(self):
-        """Static guard: PS script handles existing feature directories without git."""
+    def test_powershell_surfaces_checkout_errors(self):
+        """Static guard: PS script preserves checkout stderr on existing-branch failures."""
        contents = CREATE_FEATURE_PS.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
-        assert "Feature directory '$featureDir' already exists" in contents
-        assert "-not $AllowExistingBranch" in contents
+        assert "$switchBranchError = git checkout -q $branchName 2>&1 | Out-String" in contents
+        assert "exists but could not be checked out.`n$($switchBranchError.Trim())" in contents

    @pytest.mark.skipif(not _has_pwsh(), reason="pwsh not installed")
    @pytest.mark.skipif(
@@ -590,27 +754,20 @@ class TestDryRun:
                branch = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
        assert branch == "003-new-feat", f"expected 003-new-feat, got: {branch}"

-    def test_dry_run_does_not_change_git_branch(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """T010: Dry-run leaves the current git branch untouched."""
-        before = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
+    def test_dry_run_no_branch_created(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """T010: Dry-run does not create a git branch."""
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--dry-run", "--short-name", "no-branch", "No branch feature"
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-        after = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
+        branches = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "branch", "--list", "*no-branch*"],
            cwd=git_repo,
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
-        assert after == before
+        )
+        assert branches.returncode == 0, f"'git branch --list' failed: {branches.stderr}"
+        assert branches.stdout.strip() == "", "branch should not exist after dry-run"

    def test_dry_run_no_spec_dir_created(self, git_repo: Path):
        """T011: Dry-run does not create any directories (including root specs/)."""
@@ -675,22 +832,50 @@ class TestDryRun:
                real_branch = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
        assert dry_branch == real_branch, f"dry={dry_branch} != real={real_branch}"

-    def test_dry_run_ignores_git_branches(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """Dry-run uses only spec directories for numbering."""
+    def test_dry_run_accounts_for_remote_branches(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """Dry-run queries remote refs via ls-remote (no fetch) for accurate numbering."""
        (git_repo / "specs" / "001-existing").mkdir(parents=True)
+
+        # Set up a bare remote and push (use subdirs of git_repo for isolation)
+        remote_dir = git_repo / "test-remote.git"
        subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "005-git-only"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            check=True,
-            capture_output=True,
+            ["git", "init", "--bare", str(remote_dir)],
+            check=True, capture_output=True,
        )
        subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "checkout", "-"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            check=True,
-            capture_output=True,
+            ["git", "remote", "add", "origin", str(remote_dir)],
+            check=True, cwd=git_repo, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "push", "-u", "origin", "HEAD"],
+            check=True, cwd=git_repo, capture_output=True,
        )

+        # Clone into a second copy, create a higher-numbered branch, push it
+        second_clone = git_repo / "test-second-clone"
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "clone", str(remote_dir), str(second_clone)],
+            check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "config", "user.email", "test@example.com"],
+            cwd=second_clone, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "config", "user.name", "Test User"],
+            cwd=second_clone, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        # Create branch 005 on the remote (higher than local 001)
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "checkout", "-b", "005-remote-only"],
+            cwd=second_clone, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+        subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "push", "origin", "005-remote-only"],
+            cwd=second_clone, check=True, capture_output=True,
+        )
+
+        # Primary repo: dry-run should see 005 via ls-remote and return 006
        dry_result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--dry-run", "--short-name", "remote-test", "Remote test"
        )
@@ -699,7 +884,7 @@ class TestDryRun:
        for line in dry_result.stdout.splitlines():
            if line.startswith("BRANCH_NAME:"):
                dry_branch = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
-        assert dry_branch == "002-remote-test", f"expected 002-remote-test, got: {dry_branch}"
+        assert dry_branch == "006-remote-test", f"expected 006-remote-test, got: {dry_branch}"

    def test_dry_run_json_includes_field(self, git_repo: Path):
        """T015: JSON output includes DRY_RUN field when --dry-run is active."""
@@ -725,14 +910,7 @@ class TestDryRun:
        assert "DRY_RUN" not in data, f"DRY_RUN should not be in normal JSON: {data}"

    def test_dry_run_with_timestamp(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """T017: Dry-run works with --timestamp flag without mutating git state."""
-        before = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
-            cwd=git_repo,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
+        """T017: Dry-run works with --timestamp flag."""
        result = run_script(
            git_repo, "--dry-run", "--timestamp", "--short-name", "ts-feat", "Timestamp feature"
        )
@@ -743,14 +921,15 @@ class TestDryRun:
                branch = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
        assert branch is not None, "no BRANCH_NAME in output"
        assert re.match(r"^\d{8}-\d{6}-ts-feat$", branch), f"unexpected: {branch}"
-        after = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
+        # Verify no side effects
+        branches = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "branch", "--list", "*ts-feat*"],
            cwd=git_repo,
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
-        assert after == before
+        )
+        assert branches.returncode == 0, f"'git branch --list' failed: {branches.stderr}"
+        assert branches.stdout.strip() == ""

    def test_dry_run_with_number(self, git_repo: Path):
        """T018: Dry-run works with --number flag."""
@@ -810,27 +989,20 @@ class TestPowerShellDryRun:
                branch = line.split(":", 1)[1].strip()
        assert branch == "002-ps-feat", f"expected 002-ps-feat, got: {branch}"

-    def test_ps_dry_run_does_not_change_git_branch(self, ps_git_repo: Path):
-        """PowerShell -DryRun leaves the current git branch untouched."""
-        before = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
-            cwd=ps_git_repo,
-            capture_output=True,
-            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
+    def test_ps_dry_run_no_branch_created(self, ps_git_repo: Path):
+        """PowerShell -DryRun does not create a git branch."""
        result = run_ps_script(
            ps_git_repo, "-DryRun", "-ShortName", "no-ps-branch", "No branch"
        )
        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
-        after = subprocess.run(
-            ["git", "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "HEAD"],
+        branches = subprocess.run(
+            ["git", "branch", "--list", "*no-ps-branch*"],
            cwd=ps_git_repo,
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
-            check=True,
-        ).stdout.strip()
-        assert after == before
+        )
+        assert branches.returncode == 0, f"'git branch --list' failed: {branches.stderr}"
+        assert branches.stdout.strip() == "", "branch should not exist after dry-run"

    def test_ps_dry_run_no_spec_dir_created(self, ps_git_repo: Path):
        """PowerShell -DryRun does not create specs/ directory."""
@@ -874,10 +1046,10 @@ class TestPowerShellDryRun:

@requires_bash
 class TestGitBranchNameOverrideBash:
-    """Tests for GIT_BRANCH_NAME env var override in extension create-new-feature-branch.sh."""
+    """Tests for GIT_BRANCH_NAME env var override in extension create-new-feature.sh."""

    def _run_ext(self, ext_git_repo: Path, env_extras: dict, *extra_args: str):
-        script = ext_git_repo / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature-branch.sh"
+        script = ext_git_repo / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "bash" / "create-new-feature.sh"
        cmd = ["bash", str(script), "--json", *extra_args, "ignored"]
        return subprocess.run(cmd, cwd=ext_git_repo, capture_output=True, text=True,
                              env={**os.environ, **env_extras})
@@ -929,10 +1101,10 @@ class TestGitBranchNameOverrideBash:

@pytest.mark.skipif(not _has_pwsh(), reason="pwsh not installed")
 class TestGitBranchNameOverridePowerShell:
-    """Tests for GIT_BRANCH_NAME env var override in extension create-new-feature-branch.ps1."""
+    """Tests for GIT_BRANCH_NAME env var override in extension create-new-feature.ps1."""

    def _run_ext(self, ext_ps_git_repo: Path, env_extras: dict):
-        script = ext_ps_git_repo / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature-branch.ps1"
+        script = ext_ps_git_repo / ".specify" / "extensions" / "git" / "scripts" / "powershell" / "create-new-feature.ps1"
        return subprocess.run(
            ["pwsh", "-NoProfile", "-File", str(script), "-Json", "ignored"],
            cwd=ext_ps_git_repo, capture_output=True, text=True,
@@ -1058,8 +1230,9 @@ class TestFeatureDirectoryResolution:
            pytest.fail("FEATURE_DIR not found in output")

    @requires_bash
-    def test_errors_without_env_var_or_feature_json(self, git_repo: Path):
-        """Without env var or feature.json, get_feature_paths now errors."""
+    def test_fallback_to_branch_lookup(self, git_repo: Path):
+        """Without env var or feature.json, falls back to branch-based lookup."""
+        subprocess.run(["git", "checkout", "-q", "-b", "001-test-feat"], cwd=git_repo, check=True)
        spec_dir = git_repo / "specs" / "001-test-feat"
        spec_dir.mkdir(parents=True)

@@ -1069,8 +1242,14 @@ class TestFeatureDirectoryResolution:
            capture_output=True,
            text=True,
        )
-        assert result.returncode != 0
-        assert "Feature directory not found" in result.stderr
+        assert result.returncode == 0, result.stderr
+        for line in result.stdout.splitlines():
+            if line.startswith("FEATURE_DIR="):
+                val = line.split("=", 1)[1].strip("'\"")
+                assert val == str(spec_dir)
+                break
+        else:
+            pytest.fail("FEATURE_DIR not found in output")

    @pytest.mark.skipif(not _has_pwsh(), reason="pwsh not installed")
    def test_ps_env_var_overrides_branch_lookup(self, git_repo: Path):
@@ -1164,7 +1343,7 @@ class TestDescriptionQuoting:
        ids=["apostrophe", "double-quotes", "backslashes", "mixed"],
    )
    def test_ext_script_handles_special_chars(self, ext_git_repo: Path, description: str):
-        """Extension create-new-feature-branch.sh succeeds with special characters in description."""
+        """Extension create-new-feature.sh succeeds with special characters in description."""
        script = (
            ext_git_repo
            / ".specify"
@@ -1172,7 +1351,7 @@ class TestDescriptionQuoting:
            / "git"
            / "scripts"
            / "bash"
-            / "create-new-feature-branch.sh"
+            / "create-new-feature.sh"
        )
        result = subprocess.run(
            ["bash", str(script), "--dry-run", "--short-name", "feat", description],
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 """Regression guard: utility and asset symbols importable from specify_cli."""
 from specify_cli import (
-    check_tool, merge_json_files,
+    check_tool, is_git_repo, merge_json_files,
    get_speckit_version,
    CLAUDE_LOCAL_PATH, CLAUDE_NPM_LOCAL_PATH,
 )
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 def test_utils_symbols_importable():
    assert callable(check_tool)
    assert callable(merge_json_files)
+    assert callable(is_git_repo)

 def test_get_speckit_version_returns_string():
    version = get_speckit_version()
@@ -658,47 +658,6 @@ class TestCommandStep:
        # Claude is a SkillsIntegration so uses /speckit-specify
        assert "/speckit-specify login" in call_args[0][0][2]

-    def test_dispatch_uses_executable_override_for_fallback_preflight(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        """Command preflight falls back to build_exec_args() argv[0]."""
-        from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
-        from specify_cli.workflows.steps.command import CommandStep
-        from specify_cli.workflows.base import StepContext, StepStatus
-
-        monkeypatch.setenv("SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_CLAUDE_EXECUTABLE", "/opt/claude")
-        seen_which: list[str] = []
-
-        def fake_which(name: str) -> str | None:
-            seen_which.append(name)
-            return name if name == "/opt/claude" else None
-
-        step = CommandStep()
-        ctx = StepContext(
-            inputs={"name": "login"},
-            default_integration="claude",
-            project_root=str(tmp_path),
-        )
-        config = {
-            "id": "test",
-            "command": "speckit.specify",
-            "input": {"args": "{{ inputs.name }}"},
-        }
-
-        mock_result = MagicMock()
-        mock_result.returncode = 0
-        mock_result.stdout = '{"result": "done"}'
-        mock_result.stderr = ""
-
-        with patch("specify_cli.workflows.steps.command.shutil.which", side_effect=fake_which), \
-             patch("subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result) as mock_run:
-            result = step.execute(config, ctx)
-
-        assert result.status == StepStatus.COMPLETED
-        assert result.output["dispatched"] is True
-        assert seen_which[:2] == ["claude", "/opt/claude"]
-        call_args = mock_run.call_args
-        assert call_args[0][0][0] == "/opt/claude"
-        assert "/speckit-specify login" in call_args[0][0][2]
-
    def test_dispatch_failure_returns_failed_status(self, tmp_path):
        """When the CLI exits non-zero, the step should fail."""
        from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
@@ -851,46 +810,6 @@ class TestPromptStep:
        assert result.output["dispatched"] is True
        assert result.output["exit_code"] == 0

-    def test_dispatch_uses_executable_override_for_fallback_preflight(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
-        """Prompt preflight falls back to build_exec_args() argv[0]."""
-        from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
-        from specify_cli.workflows.steps.prompt import PromptStep
-        from specify_cli.workflows.base import StepContext, StepStatus
-
-        monkeypatch.setenv("SPECKIT_INTEGRATION_CLAUDE_EXECUTABLE", "/opt/claude")
-        seen_which: list[str] = []
-
-        def fake_which(name: str) -> str | None:
-            seen_which.append(name)
-            return name if name == "/opt/claude" else None
-
-        step = PromptStep()
-        ctx = StepContext(
-            default_integration="claude",
-            project_root=str(tmp_path),
-        )
-        config = {
-            "id": "ask",
-            "type": "prompt",
-            "prompt": "Explain this code",
-        }
-
-        mock_result = MagicMock()
-        mock_result.returncode = 0
-        mock_result.stdout = "Here is the explanation"
-        mock_result.stderr = ""
-
-        with patch("specify_cli.workflows.steps.prompt.shutil.which", side_effect=fake_which), \
-             patch("subprocess.run", return_value=mock_result) as mock_run:
-            result = step.execute(config, ctx)
-
-        assert result.status == StepStatus.COMPLETED
-        assert result.output["dispatched"] is True
-        assert seen_which[:2] == ["claude", "/opt/claude"]
-        call_args = mock_run.call_args
-        assert call_args[0][0][0] == "/opt/claude"
-        assert call_args[0][0][2] == "Explain this code"
-
    def test_validate_missing_prompt(self):
        from specify_cli.workflows.steps.prompt import PromptStep