generate-ppmplugin-manifest

# /generate-ppmplugin-manifest

Stages the `manifest.json` that goes inside a `.ppmplugin` bundle — the small descriptor the wrap runtime and upload service read to identify the plugin and route calls into it. In the normal flow the **committed `./manifest.json` already exists** (authored by [`/generate-native-extension`](../generate-native-extension/SKILL.md) next to the code it describes); this stage's job is to **validate it, reconcile its `entrypoints` to the shipped target(s), and write the staged build copy** `ppmplugin/staging/manifest.json`. It is the "get the strings right" gate: it runs instantly, needs no build tools, and catches common upload failures before any Android build. If the repo has no `./manifest.json` (a hand-authored native module that skipped the scaffold), this stage **authors it from source** as a fallback — see Step 2.

Read [`shared/ppmplugin-format.md`](../../shared/ppmplugin-format.md) — it is the source of truth for the schema, the derivation table, and the validation rules this skill enforces.

**Two manifests, one contract.** `./manifest.json` (repo root, **committed**) is the source-of-truth contract — it declares *every platform the module supports*. `ppmplugin/staging/manifest.json` (gitignored) is the **build copy** this stage produces — same contract, but `entrypoints` trimmed to the platform(s) actually being shipped. The build/assemble skills only ever read the staged copy; the committed root file is what the PCF and humans read.

## What this skill does NOT do
- Does not compile anything — no Gradle, no DEX. That's [`/build-android-binary`](../build-android-binary/SKILL.md).
- Does not zip the bundle — that's [`/assemble-ppmplugin`](../assemble-ppmplugin/SKILL.md).
- Does not verify a declared platform's binary actually exists — it stages the *intended* `entrypoints`; [`/assemble-ppmplugin`](../assemble-ppmplugin/SKILL.md) reconciles them against the binaries actually staged and gates on any mismatch.
- Does not rewrite the committed `./manifest.json` on the normal path — it reads it. It only *writes* `./manifest.json` in the fallback case (no committed manifest existed). It never touches `src/`, `ios/`, `android/`, PRD, or `package.json` beyond reading them.

---

## Step 1 — Read shared docs + prereq block

1. Read [`shared/shared-instructions.md`](../../shared/shared-instructions.md), [`shared/naming-conventions.md`](../../shared/naming-conventions.md), and [`shared/ppmplugin-format.md`](../../shared/ppmplugin-format.md).
2. This skill does no installs / auth / network. Print the zero-prereq block (per shared-instructions §9.2):

```
Prereq check — /generate-ppmplugin-manifest: skipped (skill does no installs / auth / network — failures surface at validation).
```

3. Confirm the working directory is a third-party-control repo: a `package.json` (the **dev-only, private, plain `<kebab>-control`** name — NOT a published `@powerapps/extension-*` scope; this track ships a binary, not an npm package — see [`repo-layout.md`](../../shared/repo-layout.md)) **and** an `android/` and/or `ios/` native module exist. If not, STOP with `NEEDS_CONTEXT: not a third-party-control repo (no package.json / native module)`.
4. Read `.extension-state.md` — if it carries a `## ppmplugin (third-party controls)` block, note the last **target** choice and last manifest write (the re-run mode below uses them).

---

## Step 1.5 — Locate the source manifest (which mode are we in?)

This stage has two modes, decided by whether the committed `./manifest.json` exists:

- **Validate-and-stage mode (the normal flow).** `./manifest.json` exists at the repo root (authored by `/generate-native-extension`). This is the source of truth — **do not re-author it**. Read it, validate it (Step 3), reconcile its `entrypoints` to the chosen target (Step 2 → *Target* only), and write the staged copy (Step 4). Step 2's field-derivation is **skipped** — the contract is already authored; you're verifying and staging it, not regenerating it. (Optionally re-derive `methods` from the Android module source and, if they've drifted from `./manifest.json` — e.g. a `@ReactMethod` was added by hand after scaffold — surface the diff and offer to update the committed file; never silently rewrite it.)

- **Author-from-source mode (fallback).** No `./manifest.json` exists — a hand-authored native module that skipped the scaffold. Derive every field mechanically from source (Step 2 in full), then write **both** the committed `./manifest.json` and the staged copy (Step 4).

**Re-run within a build session.** If the *staged* copy `ppmplugin/staging/manifest.json` already exists from a prior run, don't blindly overwrite — diff the target/entrypoints against the committed source and ask via `AskUserQuestion`: **Update** (re-stage from the current `./manifest.json` + target) / **Keep as-is** (report and stop). Default the target to the prior choice in `.extension-state.md`; don't re-ask an answered question.

---

## Step 2 — Determine target(s); derive fields only in author-from-source mode

The structure preflight + target selection below run in **both** modes (you always need to know which platforms are viable and which to ship). The **field-derivation** sub-section (items 1–6 + the compute block) runs **only in author-from-source mode** (Step 1.5) — in the normal validate-and-stage mode the fields already live in `./manifest.json`; read them from there and skip derivation, keeping only the *target* choice.

**First, run a structure preflight.** The ppmplugin path expects the canonical PAM-extension layout — the shape `/generate-native-extension` produces (see [`shared/repo-layout.md`](../../shared/repo-layout.md)). A hand-rolled, foreign, or drifted repo may be missing pieces; flag exactly *what*, here and now, rather than failing later with a cryptic Gradle/Xcode error or a silently-wrong manifest. Print a visible ✓/✗ block:

- **Common:** `package.json` (dev-only `<kebab>-control` name — there is **no*