fix: write Codex dev skills as files (#2988)

* fix: write Codex dev skills as files

* fix: route codex dev symlink policy through metadata

* fix: replace codex dev symlinks on refresh

* fix: migrate codex dev skill symlinks

* fix: avoid inactive shared skill dev symlinks

* fix: preserve unrelated dev skill symlinks

Author: sjh9714

src/specify_cli/agents.py

@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ def _build_agent_configs() -> dict[str, Any]:
             # when register_commands() resolves __SPECKIT_COMMAND_*__ tokens.
             if "invoke_separator" not in config:
                 config["invoke_separator"] = integration.invoke_separator
+            if integration.dev_no_symlink:
+                config["dev_no_symlink"] = True
             configs[key] = config
     return configs
 
@@ -714,6 +716,7 @@ def register_commands(
                 output_name,
                 agent_config["extension"],
                 link_outputs,
+                agent_config,
             )
 
             if agent_name == "copilot":
@@ -788,6 +791,7 @@ def register_commands(
                     alias_output_name,
                     agent_config["extension"],
                     link_outputs,
+                    agent_config,
                 )
                 if agent_name == "copilot":
                     self.write_copilot_prompt(project_root, alias)
@@ -804,9 +808,12 @@ def _write_registered_output(
         output_name: str,
         extension: str,
         link_outputs: bool,
+        agent_config: dict[str, Any] | None = None,
     ) -> None:
         """Write a rendered agent artifact, optionally as a dev-mode symlink."""
-        if not link_outputs:
+        if not link_outputs or (agent_config or {}).get("dev_no_symlink"):
+            if dest_file.is_symlink():
+                dest_file.unlink()
             dest_file.write_text(content, encoding="utf-8")
             return
 
@@ -927,6 +934,16 @@ def register_commands_for_all_agents(
             self._active_skills_agent(project_root)
             if create_missing_active_skills_dir else None
         )
+        active_skills_dir: Optional[Path] = None
+        if active_skills_agent:
+            active_skills_config = self.AGENT_CONFIGS.get(active_skills_agent)
+            if (
+                active_skills_config
+                and active_skills_config.get("extension") == "/SKILL.md"
+            ):
+                active_skills_dir = self._resolve_agent_dir(
+                    active_skills_agent, active_skills_config, project_root,
+                )
         active_created_skills_dir: Optional[Path] = None
         for agent_name, agent_config in self.AGENT_CONFIGS.items():
             active_skills_output = (
@@ -958,6 +975,14 @@ def register_commands_for_all_agents(
             agent_dir = self._resolve_agent_dir(
                 agent_name, agent_config, project_root,
             )
+            shares_active_skills_dir = (
+                active_skills_dir is not None
+                and agent_name != active_skills_agent
+                and agent_config.get("extension") == "/SKILL.md"
+                and self._same_lexical_path(agent_dir, active_skills_dir)
+            )
+            if shares_active_skills_dir:
+                continue
 
             agent_dir_existed = agent_dir.is_dir()
             register_missing_active_skills_agent = (

src/specify_cli/extensions/__init__.py

@@ -997,6 +997,7 @@ def _register_extension_skills(
         if not isinstance(selected_ai, str) or not selected_ai:
             return []
         registrar = CommandRegistrar()
+        agent_config = registrar.AGENT_CONFIGS.get(selected_ai, {})
         integration = get_integration(selected_ai)
 
         for cmd_info in manifest.commands:
@@ -1030,15 +1031,16 @@ def _register_extension_skills(
             skill_file = skill_subdir / "SKILL.md"
             cache_root = extension_dir / ".specify-dev" / "extension-skills"
             cache_file = cache_root / skill_name / "SKILL.md"
+            use_dev_symlink = link_outputs and not agent_config.get("dev_no_symlink")
             CommandRegistrar._ensure_inside(cache_file, cache_root)
             if skill_file.exists() or skill_file.is_symlink():
+                is_expected_dev_symlink = self._is_expected_dev_symlink(
+                    skill_file, cache_file
+                )
                 # Do not overwrite user-customized skills, but allow dev-mode
                 # symlinks that point back to this extension's generated cache
                 # to be refreshed on a subsequent dev install.
-                if not (
-                    link_outputs
-                    and self._is_expected_dev_symlink(skill_file, cache_file)
-                ):
+                if not is_expected_dev_symlink:
                     continue
 
             # Create skill directory; track whether we created it so we can clean
@@ -1093,7 +1095,7 @@ def _register_extension_skills(
             ):
                 skill_content = integration.post_process_skill_content(skill_content)
 
-            if link_outputs:
+            if use_dev_symlink:
                 try:
                     cache_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
                     cache_file.write_text(skill_content, encoding="utf-8")
@@ -1106,6 +1108,8 @@ def _register_extension_skills(
                         skill_file.unlink()
                     skill_file.write_text(skill_content, encoding="utf-8")
             else:
+                if skill_file.is_symlink():
+                    skill_file.unlink()
                 skill_file.write_text(skill_content, encoding="utf-8")
             written.append(skill_name)
 

src/specify_cli/integrations/base.py

@@ -119,6 +119,9 @@ class IntegrationBase(ABC):
     invoke_separator: str = "."
     """Separator used in slash-command invocations (``"."`` → ``/speckit.plan``)."""
 
+    dev_no_symlink: bool = False
+    """Whether dev-mode registration should write files instead of symlinks."""
+
     multi_install_safe: bool = False
     """Whether this integration is declared safe to install alongside others.
 

src/specify_cli/integrations/codex/__init__.py

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ class CodexIntegration(SkillsIntegration):
         "extension": "/SKILL.md",
     }
     context_file = "AGENTS.md"
+    dev_no_symlink = True
     multi_install_safe = True
 
     def build_exec_args(

tests/test_agent_config_consistency.py

@@ -360,6 +360,12 @@ def test_skills_agents_have_hyphen_invoke_separator_in_agent_configs(self):
                 "expected '-' (propagated from SkillsIntegration.invoke_separator)"
             )
 
+    def test_codex_dev_no_symlink_policy_in_agent_config(self):
+        """Codex dev installs must expose the no-symlink policy as metadata."""
+        cfg = CommandRegistrar.AGENT_CONFIGS
+
+        assert cfg["codex"].get("dev_no_symlink") is True
+
     def test_skills_agent_command_token_resolves_with_hyphen(self, tmp_path):
         """__SPECKIT_COMMAND_*__ tokens in extension commands resolve to /speckit-<cmd>
         when registered for a skills-based agent (e.g. claude).

tests/test_extension_skills.py

@@ -573,6 +573,84 @@ def test_dev_skill_symlink_refreshes_existing_cache(
         assert "speckit-test-ext-hello" in written
         assert "Run this updated hello." in skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
+    def test_codex_dev_skill_registration_replaces_existing_dev_symlink(
+        self, project_dir, extension_dir, temp_dir
+    ):
+        """Codex dev skill registration should migrate prior dev symlinks to files."""
+        if not _can_create_symlink(temp_dir):
+            pytest.skip("Current platform/user cannot create symlinks")
+
+        _create_init_options(project_dir, ai="codex", ai_skills=True)
+        skills_dir = _create_skills_dir(project_dir, ai="codex")
+        manager = ExtensionManager(project_dir)
+        manifest = ExtensionManifest(extension_dir / "extension.yml")
+
+        skill_file = skills_dir / "speckit-test-ext-hello" / "SKILL.md"
+        skill_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        cache_file = (
+            extension_dir
+            / ".specify-dev"
+            / "extension-skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        cache_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        cache_file.write_text("old linked content", encoding="utf-8")
+        os.symlink(os.path.relpath(cache_file, skill_file.parent), skill_file)
+
+        written = manager._register_extension_skills(
+            manifest,
+            extension_dir,
+            link_outputs=True,
+        )
+
+        assert "speckit-test-ext-hello" in written
+        assert skill_file.exists()
+        assert not skill_file.is_symlink()
+        assert "Run this to say hello." in skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert cache_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "old linked content"
+
+    def test_codex_dev_skill_registration_preserves_unrelated_symlink(
+        self, project_dir, extension_dir, temp_dir
+    ):
+        """Codex dev registration should not overwrite user-owned symlinks."""
+        if not _can_create_symlink(temp_dir):
+            pytest.skip("Current platform/user cannot create symlinks")
+
+        _create_init_options(project_dir, ai="codex", ai_skills=True)
+        skills_dir = _create_skills_dir(project_dir, ai="codex")
+        manager = ExtensionManager(project_dir)
+        manifest = ExtensionManifest(extension_dir / "extension.yml")
+
+        skill_file = skills_dir / "speckit-test-ext-hello" / "SKILL.md"
+        skill_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        unrelated_cache_file = (
+            temp_dir
+            / "other-extension"
+            / ".specify-dev"
+            / "extension-skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        unrelated_cache_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        unrelated_cache_file.write_text("user-owned linked content", encoding="utf-8")
+        os.symlink(
+            os.path.relpath(unrelated_cache_file, skill_file.parent), skill_file
+        )
+
+        written = manager._register_extension_skills(
+            manifest,
+            extension_dir,
+            link_outputs=True,
+        )
+
+        assert "speckit-test-ext-hello" not in written
+        assert skill_file.is_symlink()
+        assert skill_file.resolve(strict=True) == unrelated_cache_file.resolve()
+        assert unrelated_cache_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8") == (
+            "user-owned linked content"
+        )
+
     def test_dev_skill_registration_falls_back_to_copy_when_symlink_fails(
         self, skills_project, extension_dir, monkeypatch
     ):

tests/test_extensions.py

@@ -2248,6 +2248,50 @@ def test_dev_register_commands_symlinks_rendered_copilot_agent(
         assert target.is_file()
         assert "Extension: test-ext" in cmd_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
 
+    def test_dev_register_commands_replaces_codex_dev_symlink(
+        self, extension_dir, project_dir, temp_dir
+    ):
+        """Codex dev registration should replace prior symlinks with real files."""
+        if not can_create_symlink(temp_dir):
+            pytest.skip("Current platform/user cannot create symlinks")
+
+        skill_file = (
+            project_dir
+            / ".agents"
+            / "skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        skill_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        cache_file = (
+            extension_dir
+            / ".specify-dev"
+            / "agent-commands"
+            / "codex"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        cache_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        cache_file.write_text("old linked content", encoding="utf-8")
+        os.symlink(os.path.relpath(cache_file, skill_file.parent), skill_file)
+
+        manifest = ExtensionManifest(extension_dir / "extension.yml")
+        registrar = CommandRegistrar()
+        registrar.register_commands_for_agent(
+            "codex",
+            manifest,
+            extension_dir,
+            project_dir,
+            link_outputs=True,
+        )
+
+        assert skill_file.exists()
+        assert not skill_file.is_symlink()
+        assert "name: speckit-test-ext-hello" in skill_file.read_text(
+            encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+        assert cache_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "old linked content"
+
     def test_dev_register_commands_falls_back_to_copy_when_symlink_fails(
         self, extension_dir, project_dir, monkeypatch
     ):
@@ -4874,6 +4918,93 @@ def test_add_dev_links_copilot_agent_when_supported(
         else:
             assert not agent_file.is_symlink()
 
+    def test_add_dev_writes_codex_skills_as_files(self, extension_dir, project_dir):
+        """Codex dev skills should be written as files so Codex can load them."""
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        init_options = project_dir / ".specify" / "init-options.json"
+        init_options.write_text(
+            json.dumps({"ai": "codex", "ai_skills": True}), encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        with patch.object(Path, "cwd", return_value=project_dir):
+            result = runner.invoke(
+                app,
+                ["extension", "add", str(extension_dir), "--dev"],
+                catch_exceptions=True,
+            )
+
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+
+        skill_file = (
+            project_dir
+            / ".agents"
+            / "skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        assert skill_file.exists()
+        assert not skill_file.is_symlink()
+
+        content = skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "name: speckit-test-ext-hello" in content
+        assert "metadata:" in content
+        assert "source: test-ext:commands/hello.md" in content
+
+    def test_add_dev_replaces_existing_codex_skill_symlink(
+        self, extension_dir, project_dir, temp_dir
+    ):
+        """Codex dev installs should migrate expected dev symlinks to files."""
+        if not can_create_symlink(temp_dir):
+            pytest.skip("Current platform/user cannot create symlinks")
+
+        from typer.testing import CliRunner
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+        from specify_cli import app
+
+        init_options = project_dir / ".specify" / "init-options.json"
+        init_options.write_text(
+            json.dumps({"ai": "codex", "ai_skills": True}), encoding="utf-8"
+        )
+
+        skill_file = (
+            project_dir
+            / ".agents"
+            / "skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        skill_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        cache_file = (
+            extension_dir
+            / ".specify-dev"
+            / "extension-skills"
+            / "speckit-test-ext-hello"
+            / "SKILL.md"
+        )
+        cache_file.parent.mkdir(parents=True)
+        cache_file.write_text("old linked content", encoding="utf-8")
+        os.symlink(os.path.relpath(cache_file, skill_file.parent), skill_file)
+
+        runner = CliRunner()
+        with patch.object(Path, "cwd", return_value=project_dir):
+            result = runner.invoke(
+                app,
+                ["extension", "add", str(extension_dir), "--dev"],
+                catch_exceptions=True,
+            )
+
+        assert result.exit_code == 0, result.output
+        assert skill_file.exists()
+        assert not skill_file.is_symlink()
+        content = skill_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        assert "name: speckit-test-ext-hello" in content
+        assert "source: test-ext:commands/hello.md" in content
+        assert cache_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8") == "old linked content"
+
     def test_add_dev_falls_back_to_copy_when_windows_symlinks_unavailable(
         self, extension_dir, project_dir, monkeypatch
     ):