Package Speckit Spec2cloud Plugin

Package spec-kit as a VS Code agent plugin

This skill mirrors the Spec2Cloud spec-kit (the preset at spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/ and the extension at spec-kit/extensions/spec2cloud/) into a VS Code agent plugin at plugins/speckit-spec2cloud. Each spec-kit command becomes a skill folder; each referenced template is copied into that skill's assets/ directory; cross-references are rewritten to use the plugin skill names.

The plugin format follows the VS Code agent-plugins documentation: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/customization/agent-plugins.

Inputs

• spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/preset.yml — preset manifest. The provides array lists templates and commands.
• spec-kit/extensions/spec2cloud/extension.yml — extension manifest. The provides.commands array lists deploy / verify commands.
• All command source files referenced by those manifests under spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/commands/ and spec-kit/extensions/spec2cloud/commands/.
• All template source files under spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/templates/.

Output layout

plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/
├── .github/plugin/plugin.json     # Plugin manifest
├── README.md                # Plugin overview + skill index
└── skills/
    ├── constitution/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    ├── specify/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    ├── plan/
    │   ├── SKILL.md
    │   └── assets/
    │       ├── plan-template.md
    │       └── azure-template.md
    ├── tasks/
    │   ├── SKILL.md
    │   └── assets/
    │       └── tasks-template.md
    ├── implement/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    ├── analyze/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    ├── checklist/
    │   ├── SKILL.md
    │   └── assets/
    │       └── checklist-template.md
    ├── clarify/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    ├── deploy/        # extension command — `spec2cloud` segment dropped
    │   └── SKILL.md
    └── verify/        # extension command — `spec2cloud` segment dropped
        └── SKILL.md

Naming rules

Skill names must be plain kebab-case — lowercase letters, numbers, hyphens — per the plugin docs. The skill folder name MUST equal the name value in its SKILL.md frontmatter.

Steps

Run these in order. Each step is idempotent — re-running the skill produces the same output.

1. Read and parse the manifests

Parse spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/preset.yml and spec-kit/extensions/spec2cloud/extension.yml. Build an in-memory list of commands; for each entry capture:

• Source command file path (file field).
• Source name (e.g. speckit.constitution, speckit.spec2cloud.deploy).
• description (verbatim from the YAML).
• Computed plugin skill name (apply the naming rules above).

2. Build a slash-command rewrite table

Compute it once from the command list. Used in step 4 to rewrite cross-references inside every SKILL.md body:

• /speckit.spec2cloud.deploy → /deploy
• /speckit.spec2cloud.verify → /verify
• /speckit-spec2cloud-deploy → /deploy
• /speckit-spec2cloud-verify → /verify
• /speckit.<x> → /<x> (for every preset command)

Apply the table in order of decreasing source-string length so longer matches replace before shorter ones.

3. Create the plugin skeleton

Create (or refresh) these directories:

• plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/
• plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/skills/
• plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/skills/<skill-name>/ for every command
• plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/skills/<skill-name>/assets/ only when the command references one or more templates (see step 5)

Do not delete unrelated files. If plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/ already exists with extra content, ASK the user whether to clean it before regenerating.

4. Generate each SKILL.md

For every command, write plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md:

1. Read the source command file.

2. Strip the existing YAML frontmatter (everything between the first --- line and the next --- line, inclusive).

3. Prepend new frontmatter using exactly two fields, name and description, sourced from the YAML manifest entry:

   ---
   name: <plugin skill name>
   description: <description from preset.yml or extension.yml>
   ---
   

4. In the body, apply the slash-command rewrite table from step 2.

5. In the body, rewrite every template path of the form .specify/presets/spec2cloud/templates/<file>.md (and any equivalent relative path like templates/<file>.md) to assets/<file>.md. Only rewrite paths to templates that this skill actually uses (see step 5 for the per-command list).

5. Copy referenced templates to assets/

For each command, copy its referenced template files into the skill's assets/ folder. Use this mapping (verify by grepping the source command body for templates/ references — re-derive if a future change adds or removes one):

Source for every template: spec-kit/presets/spec2cloud/templates/<filename>. Copy verbatim — do not modify template contents.

6. Update the skills

• Update command references:
  • speckit-constitution → /speckit:constitution
  • speckit-specify → /speckit:specify
  • speckit-plan → /speckit:plan
  • speckit-tasks → /speckit:tasks
  • speckit-checklist → /speckit:checklist
  • speckit-implement → /speckit:implement
  • speckit-analyze → /speckit:analyze
  • speckit-clarify → /speckit:clarify
  • /speckit-spec2cloud-deploy → /speckit:deploy
  • /speckit-spec2cloud-verify → /speckit:verify
• Update file references:
  • .specify/memory/constitution.md → specs/constitution.md
  • .specify/feature.json → specs/feature.json

7. Generate plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/.github/plugin/plugin.json

Write the manifest with the fields VS Code recognizes (per the docs):

{
  "name": "speckit-spec2cloud",
  "description": "Spec-driven workflow for shipping to Azure: constitution → specify → clarify → plan → tasks → implement → verify → deploy.",
  "version": "<combined version>",
  "author": { "name": "Azure Samples" },
  "skills": [
    "./skills/constitution"
    ...
  ]
}

• name MUST be plain kebab-case (speckit-spec2cloud is valid). Do not use namespace prefixes.
• version: use the higher of preset.preset.version and extension.extension.version from the source manifests.
• description: derive from preset.preset.description; cap at 1024 chars.

7. Generate plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/README.md

Produce a short README that:

• Names the plugin and its source (the spec-kit at spec-kit/).
• States that this folder is generated by the package-speckit-plugin skill — manual edits will be overwritten on next run.
• Lists every skill in a table: Skill | Source command | Description. Pull descriptions from the manifests.
• Links to the VS Code agent-plugins docs.

8. Validate the output

After writing all files, verify:

1. Every plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/skills/<dir>/SKILL.md has frontmatter with name matching <dir> and a non-empty description.
2. Every template referenced inside any SKILL.md body resolves to a file under that skill's assets/.
3. No SKILL.md body contains an un-rewritten /speckit.<x> or /speckit-<x> or /speckit.spec2cloud.<x> or /speckit-spec2cloud-<x> slash command.
4. plugin.json parses as JSON; name is kebab-case; version is semver.

If any check fails, report the offending file + line and stop — do not silently produce a broken plugin.

9. Report

Print a short summary:

• Plugin path, version, skill count.
• Per skill: source command, template count copied to assets/.
• Any warnings (e.g. extra files in plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/ left intact).
• Suggested next step: register the plugin via chat.pluginLocations or publish through a marketplace.

Notes & guardrails

• Idempotent: regenerating must produce the same byte-for-byte output for unchanged sources. Never inject timestamps or random IDs.
• No silent overwrites of unrelated files: only touch files inside plugins/speckit-spec2cloud/.
• Follow source naming literally: if a future spec-kit command introduces a new naming pattern, fall back to the rule "lowercase, replace dots with hyphens, drop a leading spec2cloud segment for extension commands".
• Plugin format: stick to the Copilot-format layout (plugin.json at the root). Do not generate Claude-format .claude-plugin/ paths unless the user explicitly asks.
• Cross-tool compatibility: skill names must not contain slashes or namespace prefixes — VS Code silently drops invalid skills.