Manifest Automation Skill

Automate the creation and updating of manifest files for AI coding tools using advanced browser automation, web search, and intelligent field-level retry logic.

Overview

This skill extends beyond the existing manifest-creator by adding:

• •Dual Mode Operation: CREATE new manifests or UPDATE existing ones with smart merge
• •Advanced Web Automation: Playwright MCP for dynamic content, pricing calculators, and marketplace navigation
• •Intelligent Retry Logic: 3-attempt strategy per field with graceful degradation to TODO comments
• •Smart Merge: UPDATE mode preserves user-curated data while refreshing auto-discoverable fields
• •Type-Optimized Workflows: Dedicated extraction strategies for each manifest type

Supported Manifest Types

1. •CLI - Command-line tools with platform-specific install commands
2. •Extension - IDE extensions with marketplace URLs and install URIs
3. •IDE - Integrated development environments with GUI installers
4. •Model - AI models with technical specs and token pricing
5. •Provider - Model providers (foundation or service)
6. •Vendor - Companies and organizations

Usage

CREATE Mode

Create a new manifest from scratch:

# CLI tool
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create cli cursor-cli https://cursor.com/cli

# Extension
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create extension copilot https://github.com/features/copilot

# Model
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create model claude-opus https://anthropic.com/claude

# Provider
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create provider openrouter https://openrouter.ai

# IDE
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create ide cursor https://cursor.com

# Vendor
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs create vendor anthropic https://anthropic.com

UPDATE Mode

Update an existing manifest with fresh data:

# Update existing CLI manifest
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs update cli cursor-cli https://cursor.com/cli

# Update extension (URL optional if already in manifest)
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/automate.mjs update extension copilot

How It Works

CREATE Mode Workflow

1. •

   Load Schema & Workflow

   • •Read JSON schema for manifest type
   • •Load type-specific workflow instructions
   • •Initialize field tracker for retry logic
2. •

   Extract Information

   • •Use Playwright MCP to navigate websites
   • •Use WebSearch to discover GitHub repos, marketplaces, social media
   • •Extract data following type-specific workflow
   • •Track attempts per field (max 3)
3. •

   Handle Failures Gracefully

   • •After 3 failed attempts per field: add TODO comment
   • •Continue with partial data (save as draft)
   • •Generate completion report
4. •

   Validate & Save

   • •Write manifest JSON to appropriate path
   • •For IDE/CLI/Extension: check vendor manifest exists, create if missing
   • •Update data/github-stars.json
   • •Run npm run generate to regenerate TypeScript data files
   • •Run schema validation
   • •Report success/failures to user

UPDATE Mode Workflow

1. •

   Load Existing Manifest

   • •Read current manifest from disk
   • •Parse and validate structure
2. •

   Extract Fresh Data

   • •Follow same extraction workflow as CREATE
   • •Use Playwright and WebSearch for current data
3. •

   Smart Merge

   • •AUTO_UPDATE: Replace with new values (versions, descriptions, pricing, specs)
   • •PRESERVE: Keep existing (id, name, verified, i18n, relatedProducts)
   • •MERGE_ADDITIVE: Add new items to arrays/objects (communityUrls, platforms)
   • •CONDITIONAL: Present both for manual review (license)
4. •

   Generate Change Report

   • •Show what was updated, added, preserved
   • •Flag fields needing manual review
   • •Validate and save merged manifest

Field Extraction Strategies

CLI Workflow Focus

• •Platform-specific install commands (brew, npm, apt, winget)
• •Launch commands and installation paths
• •GitHub releases for version tracking
• •Cross-platform support detection

Extension Workflow Focus

• •IDE marketplace URLs (VS Code, JetBrains, Open VSX)
• •Install URIs (vscode:extension/, cursor:extension/)
• •Supported IDE detection and compatibility
• •Publisher and extension ID extraction

Model Workflow Focus

• •Technical specifications (parameter size, context window, max output)
• •Token pricing ($/M tokens for input/output/cache)
• •Platform URLs (HuggingFace, Artificial Analysis, OpenRouter)
• •Model card information extraction

Provider Workflow Focus

• •Provider type detection (foundation vs service)
• •API key application URLs
• •Platform integration discovery
• •Developer documentation

IDE Workflow Focus

• •GUI installation (DMG, EXE, DEB installers)
• •Download page navigation
• •App Store distributions
• •GUI-based installation steps

Vendor Workflow Focus

• •Company mission and description
• •Official social media accounts
• •Community links and presence
• •Organization-level information

Tool Integration

When to Use Each Tool

Playwright MCP (mcp__playwright__browser_*):

• •Dynamic JavaScript-rendered content
• •Multi-step navigation (tabs, dropdowns, modals)
• •IDE marketplace pages
• •Pricing calculators and forms
• •Interactive website elements
• •LinkedIn company pages (verification and metadata)

WebSearch:

• •Discovering GitHub repositories
• •Finding marketplace URLs
• •Locating social media profiles
• •Platform-specific pages (HuggingFace, npm, PyPI)
• •Validation and alternatives
• •Wikipedia for cross-referencing company information
• •LinkedIn company pages for authoritative metadata

WebFetch (fallback):

• •Static documentation pages
• •Simple content fetching
• •Direct URL access for known pages

Reference-Only Sources

Wikipedia:

• •Use for verifying company descriptions and basic facts
• •Cross-reference founding dates, headquarters, official names
• •Validate social media links listed in Wikipedia infobox
• •NEVER store Wikipedia URLs in manifests - use only for verification

LinkedIn Company Pages:

• •Primary authoritative source for company metadata
• •Verify company size, industry, official description
• •Store the LinkedIn URL in communityUrls.linkedin
• •Use company description to validate website description accuracy

Playwright Patterns

Pattern 1: Navigate → Snapshot → Extract

1. mcp__playwright__browser_navigate(url)
2. mcp__playwright__browser_snapshot()
3. Extract data from snapshot elements

Pattern 2: Interactive Navigation

1. Take initial snapshot
2. mcp__playwright__browser_click(element)
3. mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for(text)
4. Take new snapshot and extract

Pattern 3: Form Interaction

1. mcp__playwright__browser_fill_form(fields)
2. Click submit button
3. Extract results from response

Retry Logic

3-Attempt Strategy

Each field gets up to 3 extraction attempts before falling back to TODO comment:

Attempt 1: Direct extraction from primary source

• •Official website, documentation, or main page
• •Most authoritative source

Attempt 2: Alternative sources or search

• •WebSearch for the information
• •Alternative URL patterns
• •Related pages or sections

Attempt 3: Final fallback sources

• •Third-party platforms
• •Package manager websites
• •Community resources

After 3 failures: Add TODO comment with reason

Retry Examples

Installation Commands:

1. •Official installation docs page
2. •WebSearch for package manager (brew, npm, PyPI)
3. •GitHub README or package manager sites
4. •TODO if still not found

Pricing:

1. •Official pricing page
2. •Footer/header navigation links
3. •Documentation pricing mentions
4. •TODO if behind "Contact Sales"

Community URLs:

1. •Website footer social links
2. •WebSearch "<product> official <platform>"
3. •Common URL patterns validation
4. •Set to null if not found

TODO Comment Format

{
  "communityUrls": {
    "discord": null, // TODO: Could not auto-discover after 3 attempts. Not found in footer or search results.
    "twitter": "https://x.com/product"
  }
}

Smart Merge Field Categories

AUTO_UPDATE Fields

Always replaced with freshly discovered values:

• •latestVersion - Always fetch latest
• •description - From official source
• •websiteUrl - Official URL
• •docsUrl - Documentation URL
• •tokenPricing - Model pricing (changes frequently)
• •size, contextWindow, maxOutput - Model specs

PRESERVE Fields

Never updated (user-curated):

• •id - Core identifier
• •name - Display name
• •verified - Manual verification status
• •i18n - User translations
• •relatedProducts - Manually curated relationships

MERGE_ADDITIVE Fields

Add new items, keep existing:

• •communityUrls - Add newly discovered social links
• •platformUrls - Add new platform integrations
• •supportedIdes - Add new IDE support
• •platforms - Add new OS support
• •pricing - Add new tiers, preserve existing

CONDITIONAL Fields

Require manual review:

• •license - Only update if from authoritative source (GitHub)
• •vendor - Review name changes carefully

Error Handling

Graceful Degradation

1. •Field-Level Failures: Track each field independently
2. •Partial Manifests: Save draft even with missing fields
3. •TODO Comments: Mark failed fields with reason
4. •Completion Reports: Show what succeeded/failed

Completion Report Format

📊 Manifest Automation Report
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Status: DRAFT (3 fields incomplete)

✅ Successfully Extracted (42 fields)
❌ Failed Extraction (3 fields):
   1. communityUrls.discord (3 attempts)
      Reason: Not found in website footer or WebSearch
   2. pricing[2].value (3 attempts)
      Reason: Enterprise pricing behind contact form
   3. platforms[1].installCommand (3 attempts)
      Reason: Windows installation docs incomplete

⚠️  Cross-Reference Validation:
   ✓ Wikipedia: Company description verified
   ✓ LinkedIn: Company metadata matches
   ⚠️ Description length mismatch: Website (180 chars) vs LinkedIn (220 chars)

🌐 i18n Consistency Warnings (UPDATE mode only):
   ⚠️ English description updated - review i18n translations
   ⚠️ i18n.zh-Hans may be outdated (last updated: previous description)
   ⚠️ i18n.de may be outdated (last updated: previous description)
   → Add TODO comments to i18n fields requiring manual review

📝 Next Steps:
1. Review manifest file: manifests/clis/cursor-cli.json
2. Manually fill TODO-marked fields if information available
3. Add i18n translations (zh-Hans, de, ko)
4. Update verified field once data confirmed accurate
5. Run validation: npm run test:validate

Note: Vendor manifest, github-stars.json, and TypeScript files already updated.

Comparison with manifest-creator

Best Practices

Accuracy

• •Never generate or guess data - always extract from authoritative sources
• •Validate URLs exist and are official
• •Verify version numbers from releases, not estimates
• •Check social media accounts are official (verification badges, content)
• •Use Wikipedia for cross-referencing company facts, model specs, and historical data
• •Use LinkedIn as authoritative source for company metadata and descriptions

Completeness

• •Follow type-specific workflow completely
• •Don't skip optional fields - attempt extraction
• •Use full 3-attempt retry strategy before TODO
• •Generate comprehensive completion reports
• •Cross-reference with Wikipedia and LinkedIn to ensure no critical information is missed
• •Validate i18n translations match English default content

Validation

• •Always run schema validation after manifest creation
• •Fix validation errors before marking complete
• •Verify enum values (os, ideId, pricing categories)
• •Check URL formats (https://, proper domains)
• •Verify company information against Wikipedia and LinkedIn
• •Ensure i18n consistency - all languages must reflect the same content

Smart Merge

• •In UPDATE mode, trust the merge categories
• •Review CONDITIONAL fields manually
• •Don't blindly replace PRESERVE fields
• •Validate MERGE_ADDITIVE doesn't create duplicates
• •Flag i18n fields for review when English content changes
• •Include i18n drift warnings in completion reports

Cross-Referencing Strategy

1. •Primary source: Official website and documentation
2. •Verification source 1: LinkedIn company page (for vendors/companies)
3. •Verification source 2: Wikipedia (for well-known entities)
4. •Conflict resolution: Official website > LinkedIn > Wikipedia
5. •Never store reference URLs: Wikipedia and verification sources are for validation only

Troubleshooting

Playwright Navigation Fails

• •Wait 2 seconds, retry navigation
• •Check for redirects or authentication walls
• •Try alternative URLs or WebSearch fallback

Element Not Found in Snapshot

• •Take screenshot for debugging
• •Search page text directly (not by element ref)
• •Try WebSearch as alternative approach

Dynamic Content Doesn't Load

• •Use mcp__playwright__browser_wait_for with specific text
• •Scroll page to trigger lazy loading
• •Click "Load More" or "Show All" buttons
• •Fallback to WebSearch

Rate Limiting or Blocking

• •Add delays between requests
• •Use WebSearch as alternative data source
• •Mark field as TODO if consistently blocked

Files Created

After running this skill, expect:

1. •Manifest file: manifests/<type>s/<name>.json
2. •With TODO comments: For failed field extractions
3. •Valid against schema: manifests/$schemas/<type>.schema.json
4. •Ready for validation: Run npm run test:validate

GitHub Stars Update

After creating or updating a manifest, you MUST update the data/github-stars.json file:

Why Update github-stars.json?

The github-stars.json file tracks GitHub star counts for all manifests. When you create or update a manifest:

• •A new entry must be added for tracking
• •The entry is initialized with null (stars not yet fetched)
• •A scheduled job will automatically fetch the actual star count later

How to Update

Use the updateGithubStarsEntry() function from github-stars-updater.mjs:

import { updateGithubStarsEntry } from './lib/github-stars-updater.mjs'

// After creating a new manifest
const result = updateGithubStarsEntry('cli', 'cursor-cli', { isNew: true })

// After updating an existing manifest
const result = updateGithubStarsEntry('extension', 'claude-code', { isNew: false })

CLI Usage

You can also use the CLI directly:

# Add new entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs add cli cursor-cli

# Update existing entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs update extension claude-code

# Remove entry
node .claude/skills/manifest-automation/scripts/lib/github-stars-updater.mjs remove ide windsurf

What It Does

The updater will:

1. •Load the current github-stars.json file
2. •Add or update the entry: <category>["<id>"] = null
3. •Sort entries alphabetically within the category
4. •Save the updated file back to disk

Example Result

For a new CLI manifest cursor-cli:

{
  "clis": {
    "claude-code-cli": 43.5,
    "cursor-cli": null,  // ← newly added
    "kode": 3.6
  }
}

Integration with Workflow

The automate.mjs script exports the necessary information for you to call the updater:

// After workflow completes and manifest is saved:
import {
  updateGithubStarsEntry,
  manifestType,
  manifestName,
  operationMode
} from './automate.mjs'

updateGithubStarsEntry(manifestType, manifestName, { isNew: operationMode === 'create' })

Next Steps After Creation

1. •Review manifest: Check all extracted values for accuracy
2. •Fill TODOs: Manually add fields that couldn't be auto-discovered
3. •Add translations: Populate i18n object with localized content (zh-Hans, de, ko)
4. •Set verified: Change verified to true if data is confirmed accurate
5. •Add related products: Manually curate relatedProducts array
6. •Run validation: Ensure schema compliance with npm run test:validate
7. •Commit changes: Add manifest to git repository

Note: Vendor manifest and github-stars.json are automatically handled during creation.

i18n Consistency Requirements

IMPORTANT: When creating or updating manifests with i18n content:

1. •

   Default Language (English):

   • •All English content should be in top-level fields (e.g., description, name)
   • •English should NEVER appear in the i18n object
2. •

   Multi-Language Support:

   • •Support at least 3 languages: English (default), Simplified Chinese (zh-Hans), German (de)
   • •NEVER hardcode only 'en' | 'zh-Hans' - always include de and support extensibility
3. •

   Content Synchronization:

   • •All i18n translations must reflect the SAME content as the English default
   • •When updating default English fields, flag i18n fields for manual review
   • •Never auto-translate - mark translations as TODO if not manually provided
4. •

   Validation Checks:

   • •After UPDATE mode, verify i18n content hasn't become stale
   • •Flag i18n fields that may need updating when English content changes
   • •Include i18n consistency warnings in completion reports
5. •

   Structure Example:

{
  "name": "Example Product",
  "description": "This is the default English description",
  "i18n": {
    "zh-Hans": {
      "name": "示例产品",
      "description": "这是默认的英文描述"
    },
    "de": {
      "name": "Beispielprodukt",
      "description": "Dies ist die englische Standardbeschreibung"
    }
  }
}

In UPDATE mode:

• •If default English fields change, add comment: // TODO: Update i18n translations to match new English content
• •Report i18n drift in completion report
• •Preserve existing i18n content (PRESERVE category) but flag for review