# Shell completion implementation plan

Status: Stages 1–7 complete. Stage 8 is next.

Implement the [shell completion roadmap](completion.md) from baseline
`2301872`. Follow the stages in order in one sprint. Intermediate stages may
leave unfinished wiring or a noncompiling tree; validate the assembled result
before calling the sprint complete. Use the existing ownership boundaries in
[ADR 0013](../adr/0013-application-alias-routing.md),
[ADR 0014](../adr/0014-invocation-reporting.md), and the
[architecture policy](../policy/architecture.md). Apply the
[testing policy](../policy/testing.md) to integration assertions. Keep protocol
names, candidate ordering, and backend mechanics private.

## Stage 1: Prove the shell transport

Status: complete.

1. Use the Cobra version pinned in the root module. In a disposable prototype,
   generate scripts with `GenBashCompletionV2(w, true)`,
   `GenZshCompletion(w)`, and `GenFishCompletion(w, true)`. Give the generator
   a minimal root whose name is the installed executable basename. Do not
   install Cobra's completion command or execute its completion parser.
2. Supply a fixture executable that handles the generated scripts' hidden
   request (`__complete` with these generator settings). Verify the actual
   arguments and replies using each script in its shell. The request carries
   the words through the cursor, including the partial word as its last
   argument; preserve an explicitly empty last argument. Check what each
   script does with the prefix of an attached value before deciding how to
   encode its replacement. Cover `--config=./par`, separated path values,
   spaces, an empty no-file reply, directory-only completion, and a partial
   short cluster. Verify the edited line, not only the printed candidate list.
3. Use Cobra's line protocol: candidate lines with optional tab-separated
   descriptions, followed by the colon-prefixed directive integer and newline.
   Use the adapter's Cobra directive constants, not hardcoded numbers in core.
   Map command/flag/static choices and no candidates to NoFileComp, file hints
   to native file completion, and directory hints to FilterDirs. If a generated
   script cannot express the selected behavior as emitted, make the smallest
   adapter-owned script adjustment that preserves it and add a shell regression.
   In particular, verify attached-value prefix reconstruction and Fish's
   filesystem handling. Do not narrow the supported contexts to fit a script.
4. Record the observed argument and replacement conventions in the sprint
   evidence. Carry forward only the adapter and fixtures needed for the final
   implementation; do not commit disposable prototype machinery.

Completion: generated scripts using Cobra v1.10.1 and exercised them through
interactive Bash 5.3.9, Zsh 5.9, and Fish 4.2.1 with a fixture that records the
query and the executed edited line. In the tested attached-value cases the
query includes the entered flag and value; a static candidate contains the value
alone, and the shell script preserves the flag prefix. Explicit empty words,
quoted prior arguments, short clusters, file and directory hints, and no-file
replies were exercised. Zsh's generated word splitting lost the attached flag
context when a path contained an escaped space. Fish split quoted prior words,
passed escapes in current words, and treated directory-only replies as ordinary
file completion. The adapter adjusts those scripts and preserves the first `=`
as the flag/value separator. The opt-in `TestCompletionShells` regression checks
actual edited lines for these cases. Run it with Bash, Zsh, Fish, Python pexpect,
and Bash completion installed using `COMMANDKIT_COMPLETION_SHELLS=1
GOWORK=off GOTOOLCHAIN=local go test -count=1 -run '^TestCompletionShells$'
./internal/cobra`. Zsh and Fish were extracted into a disposable directory for
this run; the focused adapter suite and the full interactive matrix pass.

## Stage 2: Capture completion hints

Status: complete.

1. Add the following public API in the root package. Add
   `Completion CompletionHint` to both `FlagMeta` and `ArgumentMeta`;
   existing binding constructors and their signatures stay in place.

   ```go
   type CompletionChoice struct {
       Value       string
       Description string
   }

   type CompletionHint struct { /* private representation */ }

   func CompleteChoices(choices ...CompletionChoice) CompletionHint
   func CompleteFiles() CompletionHint
   func CompleteDirectories() CompletionHint
   func NoCompletion() CompletionHint
   ```

2. Represent the four strategies as a private discriminator and choice list.
   The zero hint and `NoCompletion()` are equivalent. Copy choice slices
   when constructing the hint. Capture the hint through ordinary bindings,
   repeatable bindings, and `CaptureFlags`; bridge it through
   `bridgeFlags` and `bridgeArguments` to neutral metadata. Use neutral
   strategy and choice types in `internal/commandmeta`; backend types do not
   cross the adapter boundary.
3. Keep hints independent of binding identity, requiredness, defaults,
   repetition, and converters. Static choices are literal prefix matches and
   do not constrain accepted values. Empty choices mean no suggestions, not
   file fallback. Use ordinary boolean literals `true` and `false` for
   the built-in boolean assignment case; an application boolean binding
   without a hint has no value suggestions.
4. Verify caller mutation of the original choice slice cannot change captured
   suggestions, repeated/captured bindings keep hints, and values absent from
   a suggestion list still reach the existing converter.

Completion: added the public choice and hint constructors, carried hints through
flag and operand bindings into neutral metadata, and supplied explicit boolean
choices for built-in help and reporting flags. Focused tests cover copied
choices, repeated and captured bindings, the empty-choice strategy, independent
bridge copies, and execution of values outside the suggested choices. Root,
internal adapter, and neutral metadata package tests pass with `GOWORK=off` and
`GOTOOLCHAIN=local`.

## Stage 3: Install completion as an ordinary declaration

Status: complete.

1. Add `func Completion(executable string) Command`. The parameter is the
   executable basename the operator types, independent of the human-readable
   `Identity.Name`. Use a root-only `completion` group with three runnable
   children, `bash`, `zsh`, and `fish`. Use the existing declaration and
   registration API (`New(..., Completion("app"))` or
   `app.Register(Completion("app"))`). Keep script-specific name handling
   inside completion; do not change validation of ordinary application identity.
2. Carry a private completion-installation marker with the declaration and
   derive query availability from the committed routing snapshot. Use the
   existing registration candidate to validate collisions in either order,
   including aliases and same-batch declarations. Reserve the query's first
   token only while installed: a canonical command or alias beginning with
   that token would be shadowed by raw query dispatch. Reuse existing
   command/alias collision rules for `completion`. Do not represent the
   query as a canonical node, alias target, or public help entry.
3. Generate scripts in the internal adapter using the transport established
   in Stage 1. Surface generator errors through ordinary presentation.
   Use `Reporter.RenderOutput` for script generation and delivery, so
   `app completion bash --quiet` follows normal reporting. Document the
   basename expected by the generated scripts; handle unsupported generator
   names at the completion boundary.
4. Verify opt-in behavior, root-only placement, help visibility, batch
   rollback, late installation, and absence of new reserved names for an app
   that does not install completion.

Completion: added the root-only completion declaration and three script
commands, with generator output delivered through the invocation reporter.
Registration validates hidden-query collisions in either order, and the routing
snapshot reflects committed installation. Tests cover help, quiet output,
delivery failure, invalid basenames, opt-in behavior, collisions, rollback,
nesting, and late installation. Fish variable names are adjusted to support
dotted executable basenames; interactive checks of those names pass in Bash,
Zsh, and Fish. Root and adapter package tests pass with `GOWORK=off` and
`GOTOOLCHAIN=local`.

## Stage 4: Resolve the entered command context

Status: complete.

1. Add a private core completion request that separates completed words from
   the current word. Call `resolveEnteredRoute` on completed words only;
   use the snapshot's canonical metadata, resolved flag-alias context, and
   discovery context. Keep entered words unchanged. For canonical routes
   with a runnable operand owner, use the existing canonical prefix length
   to distinguish its trailing operands/options from command words.
2. Suggest canonical child names matching the partial word while the input
   is still in command-path position. At a node with both children and
   operands, matching children take precedence; if there are no matching
   children, use the operand context when available. Check insertion against
   normal routing: resolve completed entered words plus the candidate and
   retain it only if it reaches the intended canonical child. Do not treat a
   partial alias as already entered. After a flag or operand has ended the
   command path, do not suggest children.
3. An alias-only discovery prefix provides no command continuations, but can
   supply applicable canonical flags using discovery metadata and alias
   mappings. Unknown routes with no valid context yield no candidates.
   At root, use the installed visible commands, including built-ins and
   integrations. Exclude the protocol endpoint everywhere.
4. Add context tests for root/group/runnable paths, a partial canonical
   child, a complete alias and alias chain, an alias-only prefix, a canonical
   child shadowed in the entered route, and flags beginning before the
   complete command path. Use existing routing rules as the oracle.

Completion: added private request context resolution using completed words and
the committed routing snapshot. Canonical child candidates are checked by
resolving the entered route with the candidate inserted; discovery-only and
unknown contexts do not invent command continuations. Tests cover canonical
and aliased routes, chains, scoped and discovery flag aliases, shadowed
children, runnable operand metadata, and paths ended by flags or operands.
The root package suite passes with `GOWORK=off` and `GOTOOLCHAIN=local`.

## Stage 5: Interpret flags and locate value positions

Status: complete.

1. Walk the completed tail using the same canonical and alias spellings and
   flag token rules as normal parsing. Factor shared token classification
   from `internal/cobra/flags.go` into neutral helpers where needed; keep
   backend parsing and failure wording at their current owner. The completion
   walk records supplied canonical flags, consumed operands, whether options
   ended, and any pending value flag. It does not run Cobra dispatch,
   converters, required checks, input factories, or providers.
2. A pending value takes precedence even if the current word starts with
   a dash. For long equals forms, explicit boolean assignments, and short
   value flags in clusters, separate the value prefix from the entered
   spelling and separator. Preserve that spelling, including an alias.
   For a partially typed short cluster still accepting flag members, use its
   canonical short spellings for continuations; do not rewrite earlier members.
   A standalone `--` ends flags unless consumed as a value. After it,
   dash-looking words are operands. An unknown completed option that makes
   further interpretation ambiguous yields no suggestions.
3. For flag-name suggestions, match canonical spellings and suppress already
   supplied singletons by canonical identity, including occurrences through
   aliases. Keep repeatable flags and the four reporting flags eligible.
   When a repeated singleton is typed anyway, still complete its value.
4. For an operand, use the same cardinality allocation as `allocateOperands`
   in `binding.go` without required validation: include the current word
   as a placeholder, determine which binding receives that final position,
   and use its hint. Extract the cardinality calculation if necessary to avoid
   a second allocation policy. Excess operands receive no suggestions.
   When both operand and flag positions are available, an empty word uses
   the operand hint and an option-looking partial word requests flags.
5. Test pending/attached/empty values, short clusters, scoped aliases and
   unavailable targets, repeats, booleans, option-looking values, interspersed
   operands, terminators, and optional/repeated operands before a required
   suffix. Keep existing normal execution tests green at the sprint boundary.

Completion: shared neutral token classification and flag lookup with normal
parsing, and extracted operand count allocation for execution and completion.
The completion walk records consumed flags and operands, locates pending or
attached values, preserves entered prefixes, and filters canonical flag names
by supplied identity. Tests cover aliases, short clusters, repeated flags,
boolean assignments, option-looking values, terminators, interspersed operands,
and operand cardinality. Root, adapter, and neutral metadata package tests pass
with `GOWORK=off` and `GOTOOLCHAIN=local`.

## Stage 6: Assemble candidates and deliver query replies

Status: complete.

1. Produce a neutral result of candidate replacements, optional descriptions,
   or a filesystem strategy with value context. Keep prefix preservation
   distinct from matching; the adapter translates the neutral replacement
   according to the shell conventions verified in Stage 1. Do not interpret
   choice values as shell source. Normalize description line breaks and omit
   candidates the line protocol cannot represent rather than changing what
   an inserted value means. Do not add execution-time validation for these
   presentation limitations.
2. In `Execute`, after normal receiver/context checks and before ordinary
   routing, recognize the exact raw query token only on an installed snapshot.
   Treat all following tokens as data. Split off the final word; a missing
   current-word argument is a malformed transport request, distinct from an
   empty string. Use the current snapshot on each query, including after
   later registration. Do not enter normal parsing, reporting selection,
   input preparation, or handler execution for this path.
3. Write the adapter response only to normalized `Streams.Out`, with
   managed output delivery in ordinary mode. A valid query with no inferable
   context returns success and a NoFileComp reply. For a malformed request
   or query construction failure, return an operational outcome and, if the
   output is still usable, emit an error directive with no candidates.
   Explanations go to diagnostics, never into the reply. Preserve write
   failure evidence through normal presentation bookkeeping; do not retry
   a broken output stream. No generated script should consume ordinary
   usage guidance or debug output as a candidate.
4. Test query dispatch via `App.Execute`, including explicit empty last word,
   no-context reply, malformed request, writer failure, hidden discovery,
   later registration, and target words containing `--quiet` and `--debug`.
   Use counter fixtures to prove target handlers, converters, factories,
   and providers are untouched. Verify no special dispatch without installation.

Completion: connected the installed query before normal routing and reporting
selection, assembled neutral candidates and filesystem strategies, and routed
protocol output through managed reporting. Invalid transport requests return an
error directive and a separate diagnostic; write failures remain presentation
evidence. The adapter preserves short attached prefixes through a private cue
consumed by the generated scripts, while retaining literal choice values and
normalizing descriptions. Query tests cover empty and malformed requests,
aliases and discovery, later registration, callback isolation, reporting flags
as data, and writer failure. Root and adapter package suites and the full
interactive Bash, Zsh, and Fish transport matrix pass.

## Stage 7: Annotate maintained commands and examples

Status: complete.

1. Annotate static format/scope flags where their choices already come from
   fixed command metadata or literals. Use the same values as the existing
   version, config, and PromptKit command implementations; omit scope hints
   that would advertise values not supported by that installed declaration.
   Mark existing config/overlay filename flags as files where the binding
   takes a filename. Leave prompt IDs, dynamic selectors, and composite
   assignments unannotated. Do not infer domain semantics or load providers.
2. Add explicit installation to the maintained core and composed examples.
   Demonstrate a static choice, a path hint, and an already-entered alias
   with no new runtime dependency. Include an integration-level check
   that installed hints reach completion without acquisition.
3. Update GoDoc, the CLI reference, and consumer/example instructions with
   actual syntax, basename selection, manual script loading for each shell,
   and examples of hints. Keep the wire protocol private. Once delivered,
   update the feature status and keep alias discovery and dynamic discovery
   in deferred work.

Completion: annotated built-in version, configuration, and PromptKit formats,
supported configuration scopes, and filename selections. The core and composed
examples install completion and demonstrate choices, paths, and entered
aliases. Integration tests verify scope availability and completion without
input, state, acquisition, comparison, engine, or client callbacks. GoDoc, CLI,
consumer, example, and roadmap documentation now describe the delivered scope;
alias and dynamic discovery remain deferred. Root and both integration package
tests pass in the local workspace, and changed Markdown links and whitespace
checks pass.

## Stage 8: Validate the assembled sprint

1. Exercise the generated scripts in Bash, Zsh, and Fish using a built fixture
   executable, a disposable directory with filenames and directories containing
   spaces, and isolated shell configuration. Verify actual completion output
   and replacement behavior. Cover canonical commands, an entered alias,
   static choices and descriptions, no fallback, file/directory hints in
   separated and attached values, and the empty operand/leading-dash rule.
   Use a PTY or a shell's native completion test interface where appropriate.
   Syntax checking alone is insufficient. Record shell versions and the
   commands or harness used so the evidence is reproducible.
2. Run the root and both optional module suites under the local workspace
   procedure in [development.md](../development.md), plus the root suite
   with `GOWORK=off`. Keep shell-dependent checks outside the default Go
   suite unless the existing environment provides those shells; an absent
   shell is missing acceptance evidence, not a passing check.
3. Verify no backend types in public declarations, no reverse optional-module
   dependency, and no changes to ordinary routing, flag acceptance, or report
   behavior outside the selected completion scope. Review documentation links,
   formatting, and the final diff. Record the actual validation results.