test: stop hardcoding the version literal in tests; enforce lockstep (#29)

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -18,6 +18,16 @@ and could stop an installed copy from updating.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Changed
+
+- Bumping the suite version no longer breaks the test suite. The per-plugin
+  smoke and stacks tests no longer hardcode the version string — they assert it
+  is well-formed semver — and a new `test_marketplace.py` check enforces
+  lockstep (all six plugins report the same version) without naming a value.
+  A release now edits only the twelve files that genuinely carry the version;
+  the fifteen meaningless release-time failures are gone, and lockstep — a
+  stated property of the suite — is enforced for the first time (#29).
+
 ## [0.7.0] - 2026-07-22
 
 ### Added

docs/superpowers/plans/2026-07-22-version-literal-delitteralization.md

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# Kill the version-literal release tax (#29) — Implementation Plan
+
+> Small, mechanical, fully specified by issue #29. Executed inline (not subagent-driven).
+
+**Goal:** A version bump edits only the 12 files that genuinely carry the version (6 `plugin.json` + 6 `__init__.py`). No test file names the version; the suite verifies the version *property* (exists, semver, all six agree) instead of restating the value.
+
+**Principle:** `assert bosun.__version__ == "0.7.0"` cannot catch anything — it fails on every legitimate release and passes on every wrong-but-consistent one. Replace value-restatement with property checks, and add the one real guarantee nothing enforces today: lockstep (all six equal).
+
+## Global Constraints
+- No test file contains a version literal after this change.
+- Self-contained per plugin: each smoke test keeps its own small semver check (no cross-plugin import); the cross-plugin lockstep check lives in `tests/test_marketplace.py`, which already owns repo-level guards.
+- Semver shape for this suite is `MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH` → `^\d+\.\d+\.\d+$`.
+- Behaviour-only refactor of tests; no engine/config/rendered-artifact change.
+
+## Changes
+
+### 1. Five per-plugin `test_smoke.py` (hull, bosun, stow, rigging, ballast)
+Each has, in `test_package_imports`, `assert <pkg>.__version__ == "0.7.0"`, and in `test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_<pkg>`, `assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"`. Replace both with property checks. Add `import re` where absent (rigging's smoke has no `re` import).
+
+- `test_package_imports`:
+  ```python
+      import <pkg>
+      assert isinstance(<pkg>.__version__, str)
+      assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", <pkg>.__version__), <pkg>.__version__
+  ```
+- plugin.json test: replace `assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"` with
+  ```python
+      assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
+  ```
+  (Agreement between plugin.json and `__init__.py` is already owned by
+  `test_marketplace.py::test_plugin_json_version_matches_the_package_version`, so the
+  local check only needs to assert the value is a well-formed version.)
+
+### 2. keel `test_smoke.py`
+Remove the `VERSION = "0.7.0"` module constant. Change the two `== VERSION` assertions (in `test_package_imports` and `test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_keel`) to the same property checks as above. keel's smoke already imports nothing for regex — add `import re`.
+
+### 3. Three `test_stacks.py` version tests (rigging, ballast, stow)
+`test_rigging_version` / `test_ballast_version` / `test_stow_version` each assert `x.__version__ == "0.7.0"` — an exact duplicate of the smoke check. **Delete these three functions.** (The property is covered once, in each plugin's smoke test.)
+
+### 4. `tests/test_marketplace.py` — the one new guarantee
+Add a lockstep test that names no version:
+```python
+def test_all_plugins_report_the_same_version():
+    """Lockstep is a stated property of this suite (see the changelog preamble)
+    and nothing enforced it. Reads every plugin's __init__ version and asserts
+    they are all equal, naming no literal -- so it passes at every consistent
+    release and fails only on a genuine desync."""
+    import re
+
+    versions = {}
+    for name in PLUGIN_DIRS:
+        init = (REPO / "plugins" / name / name / "__init__.py").read_text()
+        match = re.search(r'__version__\s*=\s*["\']([^"\']+)["\']', init)
+        assert match, f"{name}: no __version__ in {name}/__init__.py"
+        versions[name] = match.group(1)
+    distinct = set(versions.values())
+    assert len(distinct) == 1, f"plugins are not in lockstep: {versions}"
+```
+
+## Verification
+1. Full suite green after the edits.
+2. `grep -rn '\d\.\d\.\d' plugins/*/tests/ tests/` returns no version literal in any test.
+3. **Teeth check (not committed):** temporarily change one plugin's `__init__.py` version to a different value → confirm `test_all_plugins_report_the_same_version` AND `test_plugin_json_version_matches_the_package_version` go red → revert.
+4. **Release-proof check (not committed):** temporarily bump ALL 12 carriers consistently to a fake version (e.g. 9.9.9) → confirm the whole suite stays green with zero test edits → revert. This is the property the change exists to deliver.

plugins/ballast/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import ballast
 
-    assert ballast.__version__ == "0.7.0"
+    assert isinstance(ballast.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", ballast.__version__), ballast.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_ballast():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "ballast"
-    assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_ballast():

plugins/ballast/tests/test_stacks.py

@@ -4,11 +4,6 @@
 from ballast.stacks import REGISTRY, STACK_IDS, StackSpec
 
 
-def test_ballast_version():
-    import ballast
-    assert ballast.__version__ == "0.7.0"
-
-
 def test_registry_keys():
     assert tuple(REGISTRY) == ("python",)
 

plugins/bosun/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import bosun
 
-    assert bosun.__version__ == "0.7.0"
+    assert isinstance(bosun.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", bosun.__version__), bosun.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_bosun():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "bosun"
-    assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_bosun():

plugins/hull/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import hull
 
-    assert hull.__version__ == "0.7.0"
+    assert isinstance(hull.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", hull.__version__), hull.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_hull():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "hull"
-    assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_hull():

plugins/keel/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -13,12 +13,12 @@
 import importlib
 import importlib.util
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
 PLUGIN_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
 
-VERSION = "0.7.0"
 
 #: Every skill keel ships. Listed explicitly rather than globbed so that
 #: deleting a skill fails here instead of silently shrinking what's
@@ -33,13 +33,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import keel
 
-    assert keel.__version__ == VERSION
+    assert isinstance(keel.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", keel.__version__), keel.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_keel():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "keel"
-    assert plugin["version"] == VERSION
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_keel():

plugins/rigging/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import rigging
 
-    assert rigging.__version__ == "0.7.0"
+    assert isinstance(rigging.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", rigging.__version__), rigging.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_rigging():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "rigging"
-    assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_rigging():

plugins/rigging/tests/test_stacks.py

@@ -5,11 +5,6 @@
 from rigging.stacks import REGISTRY, STACK_IDS, Step, StackSpec
 
 
-def test_rigging_version():
-    import rigging
-    assert rigging.__version__ == "0.7.0"
-
-
 def test_registry_keys():
     assert tuple(REGISTRY) == ("python", "node")
 

plugins/stow/tests/test_smoke.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
+import re
 from pathlib import Path
 
 REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[3]
@@ -13,13 +14,14 @@
 def test_package_imports():
     import stow
 
-    assert stow.__version__ == "0.7.0"
+    assert isinstance(stow.__version__, str)
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", stow.__version__), stow.__version__
 
 
 def test_plugin_json_parses_and_names_stow():
     plugin = json.loads((PLUGIN_ROOT / ".claude-plugin" / "plugin.json").read_text())
     assert plugin["name"] == "stow"
-    assert plugin["version"] == "0.7.0"
+    assert re.fullmatch(r"\d+\.\d+\.\d+", plugin["version"]), plugin["version"]
 
 
 def test_marketplace_lists_stow():

plugins/stow/tests/test_stacks.py

@@ -6,12 +6,6 @@
 from stow.stacks import BASE, REGISTRY, STACK_IDS, StackSpec
 
 
-def test_stow_version():
-    import stow
-
-    assert stow.__version__ == "0.7.0"
-
-
 def test_registry_keys():
     assert tuple(REGISTRY) == ("python", "node")
 

tests/test_marketplace.py

@@ -56,6 +56,26 @@ def test_plugin_json_version_matches_the_package_version():
         )
 
 
+def test_all_plugins_report_the_same_version():
+    """Lockstep is a stated property of this suite (see the changelog preamble)
+    and nothing enforced it -- the nine hardcoded version literals the smoke
+    tests used to carry were reaching for this check without ever making it.
+    Reads every plugin's __init__ version and asserts they are all equal,
+    naming no literal, so it passes at every consistent release and fails only
+    on a genuine desync.
+    """
+    import re
+
+    versions = {}
+    for name in PLUGIN_DIRS:
+        init = (REPO / "plugins" / name / name / "__init__.py").read_text()
+        match = re.search(r'__version__\s*=\s*["\']([^"\']+)["\']', init)
+        assert match, f"{name}: no __version__ in {name}/__init__.py"
+        versions[name] = match.group(1)
+    distinct = set(versions.values())
+    assert len(distinct) == 1, f"plugins are not in lockstep: {versions}"
+
+
 def test_every_plugin_ships_at_least_one_skill():
     for name in PLUGIN_DIRS:
         skills = sorted((REPO / "plugins" / name / "skills").glob("*/SKILL.md"))