Safely Update GitHub SpecKit Installations

Safely updates GitHub SpecKit installations - applying template, command, and script updates while preserving user customizations via normalized file hashing. Invoked via /speckit-updater, it runs an orchestrator script in conversational mode, then branches on which marker the output contains: [PROMPT_FOR_APPROVAL] for an existing installation being updated, or [PROMPT_FOR_INSTALL] for a fresh install with no .specify/ directory yet.

Use it when you need to update or install SpecKit templates while preserving project customizations, want a safe approval flow around update, rollback, or version-specific operations, or want to operate the updater conversationally rather than running raw PowerShell commands blindly. Before installing via any marketplace or manual clone in the first place, the skill requires inspecting the exact plugin revision and every bundled file or script for network or filesystem behavior and getting explicit user approval - and never installing a moving branch directly into an active agent directory.

Entry point:

pwsh -NoProfile -File "<skill_path>/scripts/update-wrapper.ps1"

which delegates to update-orchestrator.ps1 for the main logic. For updates, present the Markdown summary (current vs. available version, files to update/add/remove, conflicts, preserved customizations, backup location, custom commands) and wait for approval before re-running with -Proceed. For fresh installs, offer naturally ("Would you like me to install SpecKit?") without mentioning the -Proceed flag, then re-run with it once approved. Other flags: -CheckOnly (dry run), -Rollback (restore from backup), -Version v0.0.72 (target a specific version), -Force (overwrite SpecKit files but never custom commands); -Auto is deprecated and now maps to -Proceed with a warning. The full process spans ten steps: validate prerequisites, load or create the .specify/manifest.json manifest, fetch the target version from GitHub's Releases API, compare file hashes to detect customizations, create a timestamped backup, apply selective updates, resolve conflicts one at a time via a VSCode merge editor, auto-invoke /speckit.constitution for constitution updates, update the manifest, and manage backup retention (keeps the last 5).

Requires Git installed and in PATH, an internet connection to GitHub's unauthenticated Releases API (60 requests/hour), and write access to .specify/ and the skill's own directory in a clean or staged Git working tree. Internally built from six modules: HashUtils (normalized hashing tolerant of line endings, trailing whitespace, and BOM), VSCodeIntegration (diff/merge editor), GitHubApiClient, ManifestManager, BackupManager, and ConflictDetector. Exit codes distinguish success (0) from prerequisites not met (2), network/API errors (3), Git errors (4), user cancellation (5), and automatic rollback (6).

Teams maintaining SpecKit-based projects who need template and command updates applied safely - without silently clobbering their own customizations - through a conversational approval flow rather than manual file surgery.