@phcdevworks/spectre-shell

@phcdevworks/spectre-shell is the app bootstrap shell package of the Spectre system. It wires a root element to route definitions, starts the router, imports shared shell styles, and exposes a small readiness signal for Spectre apps.

Maintained by PHCDevworks. It is the app-layer integration point that composes spectre-shell-router and spectre-shell-signals with spectre-tokens and spectre-ui from project-design, without owning router, signals, or styling internals itself.

Repository Snapshot

Field	Value
Project team	project-shell
Repository role	Spectre app bootstrap shell
Package/artifact	@phcdevworks/spectre-shell
Current version/status	1.7.0

Standard Workflow

1. Read AGENTS.md, then the agent-specific guide for the task.
2. Check TODO.md and ROADMAP.md for current scope.
3. Make the smallest repo-local change that satisfies the task.
4. Run npm run check when validation is required or practical.
5. Update docs and CHANGELOG.md only when behavior, public contracts, or release-relevant metadata changed.

Documentation Map

Guide	Path
Agent rules	AGENTS.md
Claude Code	CLAUDE.md
Codex	CODEX.md
Copilot	COPILOT.md
Jules	JULES.md
Roadmap	ROADMAP.md
Todo	TODO.md
Changelog	CHANGELOG.md
Security	SECURITY.md

Thin application bootstrap shell for Spectre apps. It wires a root element to route definitions, starts the router, imports shared shell styles, and exposes a small readiness signal.

Part of the PHCDevworks Spectre shell ecosystem — composable packages for client-side shell applications.

Contributing | Changelog | Roadmap | Security Policy

When To Use This Package

• You are wiring a Spectre app into a DOM root and need bootstrap lifecycle management.
• You want optional beforeMount / afterMount callbacks and a bootReady signal without writing the plumbing yourself.
• You are composing @phcdevworks/spectre-shell-router and @phcdevworks/spectre-shell-signals into a working shell.

When Not To Use This Package

• You need a full application framework — this package handles startup only.
• You need server-side rendering, SSR hydration, or meta-framework integration.
• You need application state, domain logic, or component rendering — those belong downstream.

Capabilities

• Bootstraps a Spectre app into a provided root element.
• Accepts route factories compatible with @phcdevworks/spectre-shell-router.
• Runs optional beforeMount and afterMount lifecycle callbacks.
• Installs optional shell plugins before route registration.
• Returns the router instance for programmatic navigation and subscriptions.
• Exposes bootReady as a reactive signal.
• Loads package-level shell styles through ./styles.js.

Installation

npm install @phcdevworks/spectre-shell

Quick Start

import { bootstrapApp } from '@phcdevworks/spectre-shell'

const root = document.querySelector<HTMLElement>('#app')

if (!root) {
  throw new Error('Missing #app root element.')
}

bootstrapApp({
  root,
  routes: () => [
    {
      path: '/',
      loader: async () => ({
        render({ root }) {
          root.textContent = 'Ready'
        },
      }),
    },
  ],
})

Bootstrap Sequence

When bootstrapApp() is called, the shell runs the following steps in order:

1. bootReady.value = false — resets readiness for this bootstrap attempt.
2. beforeMount() — optional callback fires before plugin setup and route registration.
3. plugins[].install({ bootReady }) — optional plugins run in declaration order.
4. routes() — the route factory is called and routes are collected.
5. new Router(routes, root, routerOptions) — routing control is handed to @phcdevworks/spectre-shell-router.
6. bootReady.value = true — synchronous shell startup has succeeded.
7. afterMount() — optional callback fires after router construction and the readiness update.

Steps 1–6 are wrapped in an error boundary. Synchronous failures throw [spectre-shell] Bootstrap failed: <message> with the original error preserved as cause. afterMount runs outside that boundary; an error in it leaves bootReady true.

Initial route loading and rendering are asynchronous. Neither bootReady nor afterMount waits for page content. Use routerOptions.afterNavigate for work that requires a rendered route, and routerOptions.onError for navigation or loader failures. Those failures belong to the router and do not reset shell readiness.

bootReady is shared across this module's bootstrap calls and describes the latest attempt, not each individual router. Destroy the previous router before restarting the shell. A failed restart leaves readiness false; destroying a router alone does not update this signal. Hooks and plugin installation are synchronous; bootstrap does not await returned promises.

API

• bootstrapApp(options) runs the shell bootstrap flow and returns the Router instance created from options.routes(), giving consumers direct access to router.navigate(), router.back()/forward(), and router.subscribe().
• bootReady resets to false at the start of each bootstrap attempt and becomes true after synchronous router construction succeeds.
• BootstrapOptions defines root, routes, beforeMount, afterMount, plugins, and optional routerOptions. routerOptions is forwarded unchanged to the router constructor, enabling router lifecycle hooks such as afterNavigate, onNavigationStart, and onNavigationEnd.
• ShellPlugin defines a named install(context) callback. The context exposes bootReady for read/write signal access during plugin setup.

import { effect } from '@phcdevworks/spectre-shell-signals'
import { bootstrapApp, bootReady, type ShellPlugin } from '@phcdevworks/spectre-shell'

const analyticsPlugin: ShellPlugin = {
  name: 'analytics',
  install({ bootReady }) {
    console.debug('Shell ready before routes:', bootReady.value)
  },
}

effect(() => {
  console.debug('Shell ready:', bootReady.value)
})

const router = bootstrapApp({
  root,
  routes: () => [...],
  plugins: [analyticsPlugin],
  beforeMount() {
    console.debug('Preparing routes')
  },
  afterMount() {
    console.debug('Shell startup complete')
  },
})

router.navigate('/about')

Ecosystem

spectre-shell is the SPA entry point of the Spectre stack. Each package owns a distinct layer:

Package	Role
spectre-shell	SPA bootstrap — wires root, router, styles, and bootReady signal
spectre-shell-router	Client-side routing — path matching, lazy loaders, guards, named routes
spectre-shell-signals	Reactive primitives — signal, computed, effect, batch
spectre-tokens	Design token contract — CSS variables, JS values, Tailwind preset
spectre-ui	Styling layer — class recipes, CSS bundles, Tailwind integration
spectre-ui-astro	Astro component adapter — SpButton, SpCard, SpInput, and more

Two deployment paths exist in the Spectre ecosystem:

• SPA path — spectre-shell bootstraps a vanilla TypeScript app into a DOM root via bootstrapApp(). Use this when building a client-side application without a meta-framework.
• Astro path — spectre-ui-astro delivers Spectre components as Astro islands. The shell is not used in this path; Astro owns the lifecycle.

Boundaries

This package owns the bootstrap surface between an app root and Spectre routing primitives. It does not own route matching internals, general-purpose state management, component rendering, persistence, design tokens, or framework adapters.

Server-Side Rendering

This package does not support SSR. bootstrapApp() assumes a live DOM environment: it calls new Router(routes, root) against a real element and sets a signal value synchronously. There is no hydration path, no server-entry point, and no framework adapter.

SSR support will be evaluated only if a concrete integration requirement from a WordPress or Astro context is identified. Until then, the SSR stance is: not supported, not planned.

Development

npm install
npm run check

Useful scripts:

• npm run typecheck validates TypeScript without emitting files.
• npm run lint runs ESLint.
• npm run test runs the Vitest suite once.
• npm run build emits declarations and JavaScript to dist.
• npm run typecheck:tools checks tests, public API type assertions, scripts, and configuration after npm run build has generated declarations.
• npm run check:package installs a packed tarball into a temporary consumer, checks public imports/types, and builds with shell-provided CSS. It requires registry access and removes its temporary files when finished.
• npm run check runs the full verification flow, including both checks above.
• npm run check:dependencies reports npm updates and workflow action releases; it requires registry access and an authenticated gh CLI.

A weekly dependency-report workflow records available updates in its run summary. It has read-only permissions and does not create pull requests. For maintenance, review the report and release notes, update the intended manifests and lockfile, run npm run check plus the example typecheck/build, then commit with the configured human identity and push directly to main. Dependency changes that affect consumers also require a changelog entry. The workflow can also be started manually from the repository's Actions page.

AI-agent coordination starts in AGENTS.md, with companion guidance in CLAUDE.md, CODEX.md, COPILOT.md, JULES.md, and .github/copilot-instructions.md.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
npm run check fails on typecheck	Type error in source or tests	Run npm run typecheck to isolate
Tests fail in CI but pass locally	Node version mismatch	CI runs Node 22 and 24; match locally
dist/ is missing after clone	Build output is gitignored	Run npm run build
bootReady stays false	Bootstrap threw before setting signal	Check for errors in beforeMount or routes()
Styles not applied	styles.js side-effect not imported	bootstrapApp handles this; verify sideEffects in bundler config

AI And Automation Boundaries

Claude Code (claude-sonnet-4-6) is the primary development agent for this repository. Codex handles releases, including cutting tagged releases and GitHub Releases, and production stabilization. Jules handles small automated fixes and dependency updates. GitHub Copilot provides development support.

Codex, Copilot, and Jules have commit, push, and tag authority in this repository. Claude Code has no git access and hands validated changes to Codex or Bradley Potts. Authorized git work goes directly to main. Publishing to npm remains Bradley Potts's sole authority. See AGENTS.md for the full commit-policy and release-authority grant.

Protected from automated change: the bootstrap-only scope (no routing logic, state management, persistence, or rendering added locally). See AGENTS.md for full agent governance and boundary rules.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. The full gate is npm run check, including test/tooling types and the packed-consumer check. Do not add routing logic, state management, or rendering to this package; see AGENTS.md for boundaries.

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.