feat(list): propose priority and author change metadata

[arutsh]

Summary

• Adds an OpenSpec change proposal (no implementation) for optional priority (low/medium/high) and author fields on change metadata (.openspec.yaml).
• openspec new change would auto-populate author from git config user.name when not explicitly provided.
• openspec list would surface both as extra columns in the table and as --json fields, only when a change actually sets them — changes that set neither render exactly as they do today.
• Modified capabilities: change-creation, cli-list.

Closes #1899

Why

openspec list shows every in-flight change with no way to tell which one matters most or who owns it. With several parallel changes, triaging what to pick up next means opening every proposal.md.

Scope

Per CONTRIBUTING.md, this PR contains only openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/ (proposal + spec deltas) — no implementation code. I've prototyped the implementation locally against these specs to validate the design (schema changes, git-config auto-population, list rendering with a header row, tests) and it works as described; happy to open the implementation PR once this proposal is aligned on.

Testing

• openspec validate add-priority-author-metadata --strict passes.

AI disclosure

This proposal was drafted with Claude (Claude Sonnet 5, via Claude Code) based on my requirements and back-and-forth review; I've read and confirmed it reflects what I want built.

Note

Replaces #1914, which was opened from this fork's main branch instead of a dedicated branch. A later merge into main (for prototyping the implementation) ended up changing that PR's diff to include implementation code alongside the proposal. This PR is opened from a dedicated branch (feat/add-priority-author-metadata) so it stays proposal-only as intended.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Documentation
  • Documented optional priority and author metadata for changes.
  • Documented author entry through the command line, including automatic detection from Git when available.
  • Documented conditional Priority and Author columns in change listings.
  • Documented inclusion of configured metadata in JSON output while preserving the existing format when fields are unset.

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ℹ️ Recent review info

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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between df4b5a4 and 7de6b79.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/cli-list/spec.md

🚧 Files skipped from review as they are similar to previous changes (1)

• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/cli-list/spec.md

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This change adds specifications for optional priority and author metadata. It defines Git-based author defaults during change creation and conditional priority and author fields in openspec list table and JSON output.

Changes

Priority and author metadata

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Metadata and change creation openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/...	The specifications define optional priority and author metadata. priority accepts low, medium, or high. author can be supplied during creation or populated from git config user.name.
List output openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/cli-list/spec.md	The specification defines conditional table columns and JSON fields for priority and author. Unset fields remain omitted or blank as specified.

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Estimated code review effort: 1 (Trivial) | ~5 minutes

Change: Other

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Linked Issues check	⚠️ Warning	Issue #1899 requires implemented and tested support for optional priority and author metadata, Git-based author population with manual override, metadata loading, conditional table columns, and …	Implement and test ChangeMetadataSchema support, openspec new change author handling and --author override, per-change metadata loading, conditional openspec list columns, and conditional --json fields.

✅ Passed checks (4 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly identifies the proposed priority and author metadata changes for the list feature. It matches the proposal and specification-only scope.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The changed files contain proposal and specification deltas for change creation and cli-list. These files directly define the priority and author behavior requested by issue #1899. No unrelated chan…
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 0 functions across 0…

Full details: Linked Issues check

Explanation

Issue #1899 requires implemented and tested support for optional priority and author metadata, Git-based author population with manual override, metadata loading, conditional table columns, and JSON output. The pull request adds only proposal and specification files. It adds no runtime implementation or automated tests. The requirements are therefore not delivered.

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✨ Finishing Touches

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Actionable comments posted: 1

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• 🪄 Fix CodeRabbit comments on this PR

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Inline comments:
In `@openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/cli-list/spec.md`:
- Line 26: Update the no-metadata scenario in the CLI list specification so the
legacy table layout explicitly includes Change name, Task progress, and relative
modification time columns. Preserve the unchanged-output guarantee when neither
metadata field is present.

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ℹ️ Review info

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Configuration used: Repository: Fission-AI/OpenSpec/.coderabbit.yaml

Review profile: CHILL

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Run ID: 382ff34d-8e3f-4518-806e-c7565158cbd6

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between bae58cf and df4b5a4.

📒 Files selected for processing (4)

• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/.openspec.yaml
• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/proposal.md
• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/change-creation/spec.md
• openspec/changes/add-priority-author-metadata/specs/cli-list/spec.md

Included review availability: Your plan provides up to 10 included reviews per hour; 9 remain after this review.