fix(presets): compose constitution-template when seeding memory

Take on review feedback from Copilot and gglachant:
- constitution seeding previously copied the top layer file path verbatim
  even when the winning layer used a composing strategy
  (prepend/append/wrap), which could leave {CORE_TEMPLATE} unresolved.
- both seeding paths now inspect resolver layers and only copy verbatim for
  replace; non-replace strategies materialize composed content via
  PresetResolver.resolve_content().
- add regression tests for wrap strategy composition in both
  PresetManager seeding and ensure_constitution_from_template.
- add a drift-guard test pinning _CONSTITUTION_PLACEHOLDER_TOKENS to the
  placeholders in templates/constitution-template.md.

Assisted-by: GitHub Copilot (model: GPT-5.3-Codex, autonomous)
Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

src/specify_cli/commands/init.py

@@ -33,20 +33,19 @@ def _stdin_is_interactive() -> bool:
 def ensure_constitution_from_template(
     project_path: Path, tracker: StepTracker | None = None
 ) -> None:
-    """Copy the resolved constitution template to memory if it doesn't exist.
+    """Materialize the resolved constitution template to memory if missing.
 
     Resolution walks the full priority stack (project overrides → installed
     presets → extensions → core) via :class:`PresetResolver`, so a preset that
     ships a ``constitution-template`` (e.g. ``strategy: replace`` with a ratified
-    constitution) seeds the memory file verbatim. When nothing overrides it, the
+    constitution) can seed the memory file. When nothing overrides it, the
-    resolver falls through to the core template, preserving legacy behavior.
+    resolver falls through to the core template.
     """
     from ..presets import PresetResolver
 
     memory_constitution = project_path / ".specify" / "memory" / "constitution.md"
-    template_constitution = PresetResolver(project_path).resolve(
+    resolver = PresetResolver(project_path)
-        "constitution-template", "template"
+    layers = resolver.collect_all_layers("constitution-template", "template")
-    )
 
     if memory_constitution.exists():
         if tracker:
@@ -54,7 +53,7 @@ def ensure_constitution_from_template(
             tracker.skip("constitution", "existing file preserved")
         return
 
-    if template_constitution is None or not template_constitution.exists():
+    if not layers:
         if tracker:
             tracker.add("constitution", "Constitution setup")
             tracker.error("constitution", "template not found")
@@ -62,7 +61,16 @@ def ensure_constitution_from_template(
 
     try:
         memory_constitution.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        shutil.copy2(template_constitution, memory_constitution)
+        top_layer = layers[0]
+        if top_layer["strategy"] == "replace":
+            shutil.copy2(top_layer["path"], memory_constitution)
+        else:
+            composed_content = resolver.resolve_content(
+                "constitution-template", "template"
+            )
+            if composed_content is None:
+                raise FileNotFoundError("constitution template not found")
+            memory_constitution.write_text(composed_content, encoding="utf-8")
         if tracker:
             tracker.add("constitution", "Constitution setup")
             tracker.complete("constitution", "copied from template")

src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py

@@ -1664,15 +1664,23 @@ class PresetManager:
                 # Legitimately authored constitution; leave it untouched.
                 return
 
-        resolved = PresetResolver(self.project_root).resolve(
+        resolver = PresetResolver(self.project_root)
-            "constitution-template", "template"
+        layers = resolver.collect_all_layers("constitution-template", "template")
-        )
+        if not layers:
-        if resolved is None or not resolved.exists():
             return
 
         try:
             memory_constitution.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-            shutil.copy2(resolved, memory_constitution)
+            top_layer = layers[0]
+            if top_layer["strategy"] == "replace":
+                shutil.copy2(top_layer["path"], memory_constitution)
+            else:
+                composed_content = resolver.resolve_content(
+                    "constitution-template", "template"
+                )
+                if composed_content is None:
+                    return
+                memory_constitution.write_text(composed_content, encoding="utf-8")
         except OSError as exc:
             import warnings
 

tests/test_presets.py

@@ -2827,6 +2827,66 @@ class TestSelfTestPreset:
         assert result is not None
         assert "preset:self-test" in result.read_text()
 
+    def test_constitution_seed_composes_wrap_strategy(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
+        """Seeding memory composes wrap constitution-template layers."""
+        templates_dir = project_dir / ".specify" / "templates"
+        templates_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        (templates_dir / "constitution-template.md").write_text(
+            "# Core Constitution\n\n## Core Principle\n"
+        )
+
+        preset_dir = temp_dir / "constitution-wrap"
+        (preset_dir / "templates").mkdir(parents=True)
+        (preset_dir / "templates" / "constitution-template.md").write_text(
+            "# Wrapper Constitution\n\n{CORE_TEMPLATE}\n\n## Wrapper Footer\n"
+        )
+        (preset_dir / "preset.yml").write_text(
+            yaml.dump(
+                {
+                    "schema_version": "1.0",
+                    "preset": {
+                        "id": "constitution-wrap",
+                        "name": "Constitution Wrap",
+                        "version": "1.0.0",
+                        "description": "Wrap constitution template for testing",
+                    },
+                    "requires": {"speckit_version": ">=0.1.0"},
+                    "provides": {
+                        "templates": [
+                            {
+                                "type": "template",
+                                "name": "constitution-template",
+                                "file": "templates/constitution-template.md",
+                                "strategy": "wrap",
+                                "description": "Wrapped constitution template",
+                            }
+                        ]
+                    },
+                }
+            )
+        )
+
+        manager = PresetManager(project_dir)
+        manager.install_from_directory(preset_dir, "0.1.5")
+
+        memory = project_dir / ".specify" / "memory" / "constitution.md"
+        content = memory.read_text()
+        assert "{CORE_TEMPLATE}" not in content
+        assert "# Wrapper Constitution" in content
+        assert "## Core Principle" in content
+
+    def test_constitution_placeholder_tokens_are_pinned_to_core_template(self):
+        """Guard placeholder token drift between code and core template."""
+        from specify_cli.presets import _CONSTITUTION_PLACEHOLDER_TOKENS
+
+        expected_tokens = {"[PROJECT_NAME]", "[PRINCIPLE_1_NAME]"}
+        assert set(_CONSTITUTION_PLACEHOLDER_TOKENS) == expected_tokens
+
+        core_template = Path(__file__).parent.parent / "templates" / "constitution-template.md"
+        content = core_template.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+        for token in expected_tokens:
+            assert token in content
+
     def test_extension_command_skipped_when_extension_missing(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
         """Test that extension command overrides are skipped if the extension isn't installed."""
         claude_dir = project_dir / ".claude" / "skills"
@@ -6219,6 +6279,39 @@ class TestEnsureConstitutionResolverAware:
             "# [PROJECT_NAME] Constitution\n\n### [PRINCIPLE_1_NAME]\n"
         )
 
+    def _wrap_constitution_preset(self, temp_dir):
+        preset_dir = temp_dir / "ensure-wrap-preset"
+        (preset_dir / "templates").mkdir(parents=True)
+        (preset_dir / "templates" / "constitution-template.md").write_text(
+            "# Ensure Wrapper\n\n{CORE_TEMPLATE}\n\n## Tail\n"
+        )
+        (preset_dir / "preset.yml").write_text(
+            yaml.dump(
+                {
+                    "schema_version": "1.0",
+                    "preset": {
+                        "id": "ensure-wrap",
+                        "name": "Ensure Wrap",
+                        "version": "1.0.0",
+                        "description": "Wrap strategy for ensure() coverage",
+                    },
+                    "requires": {"speckit_version": ">=0.1.0"},
+                    "provides": {
+                        "templates": [
+                            {
+                                "type": "template",
+                                "name": "constitution-template",
+                                "file": "templates/constitution-template.md",
+                                "strategy": "wrap",
+                                "description": "Wrapped constitution",
+                            }
+                        ]
+                    },
+                }
+            )
+        )
+        return preset_dir
+
     def test_seeds_from_core_when_no_preset(self, project_dir):
         from specify_cli.commands.init import ensure_constitution_from_template
 
@@ -6260,3 +6353,20 @@ class TestEnsureConstitutionResolverAware:
         ensure_constitution_from_template(project_dir)
 
         assert memory.read_text() == authored
+
+    def test_composes_wrap_strategy_when_ensuring(self, project_dir, temp_dir):
+        from specify_cli.commands.init import ensure_constitution_from_template
+
+        self._core_constitution(project_dir)
+        manager = PresetManager(project_dir)
+        manager.install_from_directory(self._wrap_constitution_preset(temp_dir), "0.1.5")
+
+        # Ensure we validate ensure() behavior directly.
+        memory = project_dir / ".specify" / "memory" / "constitution.md"
+        memory.unlink()
+        ensure_constitution_from_template(project_dir)
+
+        content = memory.read_text()
+        assert "{CORE_TEMPLATE}" not in content
+        assert "# Ensure Wrapper" in content
+        assert "[PROJECT_NAME]" in content