chore: remove the dev build target

.gitignore

@@ -4,9 +4,8 @@
 # Dependencies
 node_modules/
 
-# Build output (prod, dev, and self targets each emit to their own directory)
+# Build output (the prod and self targets each emit to their own directory)
 **/dist/
-**/dist-dev/
 **/dist-self/
 *.tsbuildinfo
 .turbo/

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -70,7 +70,11 @@ without building the repository yourself.
 
 **A nightly is also how you use this CLI from another repository.** To exercise
 unreleased behavior somewhere other than this checkout, merge it to `main` and
-install the nightly that follows.
+install the nightly that follows. No build target emits an artifact runnable
+outside this checkout: `pnpm build:self` bakes in a repo-root-relative path and
+only works from here. That is deliberate, and it is the reason a nightly is the
+answer rather than a workaround. Unmerged work is exercised in this repository
+or not at all.
 
 ```bash
 npx @taskless/cli-nightly@latest --version

README.md

@@ -41,27 +41,27 @@ npx @taskless/cli@latest info
 ## Local development
 
 The CLI bakes its own invocation string into the skill, command, and recipe
-content it installs. Three build targets pick that string, all driven by the
+content it installs. Build targets pick that string, all driven by the
 `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET` env var via Vite `define` (same source files, no edits):
 
-Each target also emits to its own directory so the three never overwrite one
-another. Prod → `dist/`, dev → `dist-dev/`, self → `dist-self/` (all
-gitignored):
+Each target also emits to its own directory so they never overwrite one another.
+Prod → `dist/`, self → `dist-self/` (both gitignored):
 
-| Command           | Output dir   | Baked invocation                            | Use for                                                                              |
-| ----------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
-| `pnpm build`      | `dist/`      | `npx @taskless/cli`                         | Production / published builds (default).                                             |
-| `pnpm build:dev`  | `dist-dev/`  | `node <abs>/packages/cli/dist-dev/index.js` | Validating this build from **another** repo (absolute path resolves anywhere).       |
-| `pnpm build:self` | `dist-self/` | `node packages/cli/dist-self/index.js`      | Dogfooding **in this repo** (path is repo-root-relative; run the CLI from the root). |
+| Command           | Output dir   | Baked invocation                       | Use for                                                                              |
+| ----------------- | ------------ | -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `pnpm build`      | `dist/`      | `npx @taskless/cli`                    | Production / published builds (default).                                             |
+| `pnpm build:self` | `dist-self/` | `node packages/cli/dist-self/index.js` | Dogfooding **in this repo** (path is repo-root-relative; run the CLI from the root). |
 
 `pnpm build:self` builds the CLI with the relative invocation and then runs
 `taskless init --no-interactive` to install into this repo, so `.claude` gets
 real reference stubs that delegate to the canonical `.taskless/` content, exactly
 like any other install. (This replaces the former raw-symlink `link-skills`
 step, so local dogfooding always matches a true install.)
 
-> The `dev`/`self` invocations are local paths and must never be published:
-> only `pnpm build` (or `pnpm package`) produces a release artifact.
+> The `self` invocation is a local path and must never be published: only
+> `pnpm build` (or `pnpm package`) produces a release artifact. It is also
+> relative to this repo root, so no build target here yields a CLI you can run
+> from another repository. That case is served by a published nightly.
 
 ### Running the local build
 

eslint.config.js

@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ export default tseslint.config(
     ignores: [
       "node_modules/",
       "**/dist/",
-      "**/dist-dev/",
       "**/dist-self/",
       "**/*.config.js",
       "**/*.config.ts",

openspec/changes/archive/2026-08-29-remove-dev-build-target/proposal.md

@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+## Why
+
+The `dev` build target exists for exactly one job: emit a CLI whose baked
+invocation is an absolute path (`node /abs/path/packages/cli/dist-dev/index.js`)
+so that an unmerged build in this checkout can be exercised from **another**
+repository. Nothing else distinguishes it from `self`, which does the same
+dogfooding inside this repository with a repo-relative path.
+
+That job now has a better answer. Other repositories consume
+`@taskless/cli-nightly`, a published, version-pinned artifact that resolves on
+any machine and that the `nightly` target already emits correctly. An absolute
+path baked into shipped skill and recipe content is the weaker mechanism: it is
+machine-specific, it names a path that may not exist, and it needs a build
+notice banner to explain itself.
+
+Keeping `dev` costs a fourth branch in every place the target set is spelled
+out: the resolver, the output directories, the invocation switch, the notice
+builder, two package manifests, the turbo cache, the eslint ignores, two
+tsconfigs, the README table, and the specified build-output contract.
+
+## What Changes
+
+- **The `dev` target is removed.** `build:dev` in both manifests, `OUT_DIRS.dev`,
+  the `dev` branches of `resolveCliInvocation` and `resolveCliNotice`, and every
+  mention of `dist-dev` in tooling configuration.
+- **`TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=dev` is rejected, not ignored.** An unknown target
+  still falls back to `prod`. A stale `dev` does not: it names a retired target
+  and gets an error saying so. Falling back would hand the caller a prod build
+  in `dist/` while they went looking for `dist-dev/index.js`, which is a
+  confusing failure at a path nobody will grep for.
+- **`self`, `prod`, and `nightly` are untouched.** Their output directories,
+  invocations, notices, and version handling are unchanged.
+- **The accepted trade is documented.** `CONTRIBUTING.md` states plainly that no
+  build target emits an artifact runnable outside this checkout, and that this
+  is deliberate.
+
+The trade: unmerged work can no longer be exercised from another repository.
+Inside this repository `build:self` still covers it; elsewhere the work merges
+to `main` and the nightly that follows carries it. This is intended.
+
+**Delivery is a single PR.** The target is one concept spelled out in a dozen
+places, and removing half of them leaves a build that does not run. Spec,
+implementation, and archive land together.
+
+## Capabilities
+
+### Modified Capabilities
+
+- `infrastructure`: the set of cached build outputs no longer includes
+  `dist-dev/**`, because no build emits it.
+
+## Impact
+
+- **Modified**: `package.json`, `packages/cli/package.json`,
+  `packages/cli/scripts/build-target.ts`,
+  `packages/cli/test/build-target.test.ts`, `turbo.json`, `eslint.config.js`,
+  `.gitignore`, `tsconfig.json`, `packages/cli/tsconfig.json`,
+  `packages/cli/tsconfig.prompts.json`, `packages/cli/vite.config.ts`,
+  `packages/cli/src/util/invocation.ts`, `README.md`, `CONTRIBUTING.md`.
+- **Unchanged**: every code path for `prod`, `self`, and `nightly`; the
+  published package's behavior; `openspec/changes/archive/**`, whose references
+  to `build:dev` record what was true when they landed.

openspec/changes/archive/2026-08-29-remove-dev-build-target/specs/infrastructure/spec.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+## MODIFIED Requirements
+
+### Requirement: Build pipeline runs across all packages
+
+The root `pnpm build` command SHALL invoke `turbo run build`, which runs the `build` script in every workspace package that defines one. Build outputs (`dist/**`, `dist-self/**`) SHALL be cached.
+
+The cached output set SHALL name only directories a build target emits. `dist-dev/**` is no longer among them: the `dev` build target has been removed, and no build writes that directory.
+
+#### Scenario: Root build command runs CLI build
+
+- **WHEN** `pnpm build` is run at the repo root
+- **THEN** Turborepo SHALL execute `build` in `@taskless/cli`
+- **AND** the CLI `dist/` output SHALL be produced
+
+#### Scenario: Cached build skips re-execution
+
+- **WHEN** `pnpm build` is run twice without source changes
+- **THEN** the second run SHALL be a cache hit and complete near-instantly
+
+#### Scenario: No cached output is declared for a removed target
+
+- **WHEN** `turbo.json` is inspected
+- **THEN** the `build` task outputs SHALL NOT include `dist-dev/**`
+
+## ADDED Requirements
+
+### Requirement: The CLI has three build targets
+
+The CLI SHALL support exactly three build targets, selected by `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET`: `prod` (the default, emitting `dist/` with the published `npx @taskless/cli` invocation), `self` (emitting `dist-self/` with a repo-root-relative path, for dogfooding inside this repository), and `nightly` (emitting `dist/` with `npx @taskless/cli-nightly@<version>`).
+
+There SHALL NOT be a build target that emits an invocation runnable from outside this repository's checkout. Exercising unreleased behavior elsewhere is served by a published nightly, which resolves on any machine and is pinned to the build whose instructions it carries, rather than by an absolute filesystem path baked into shipped content.
+
+An unset or unrecognized `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET` SHALL resolve to `prod`. The retired value `dev` SHALL be an exception: it SHALL fail the build with an error naming the target as removed, because a caller who sets it is looking for an output directory that will not be written, and a silent fall back to `prod` would surface only as a missing file at a path nothing else mentions.
+
+#### Scenario: The self target stays repo-relative
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=self`
+- **THEN** the output SHALL be written to `dist-self/`
+- **AND** the baked invocation SHALL be a path relative to the repo root
+
+#### Scenario: A retired target fails loudly
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=dev`
+- **THEN** the build SHALL fail with an error stating the target has been removed
+- **AND** SHALL NOT fall back to the `prod` target
+
+#### Scenario: An unknown target still defaults to prod
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET` unset or set to an unrecognized value other than `dev`
+- **THEN** the build SHALL resolve to the `prod` target

openspec/changes/archive/2026-08-29-remove-dev-build-target/tasks.md

@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+Delivery shape: **single PR**. One build target spelled out across a dozen files; a partial removal leaves a build that does not run. Spec, implementation, and archive land together.
+
+## 1. Build machinery
+
+- [x] 1.1 Drop `OUT_DIRS.dev` and the `dev` case from `resolveCliInvocation`
+- [x] 1.2 Reject `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=dev` in `resolveBuildTarget` rather than falling back to prod
+- [x] 1.3 Drop the `dev` branch of `resolveCliNotice`
+- [x] 1.4 Remove `build:dev` from `package.json` and `packages/cli/package.json`
+
+## 2. Tooling configuration
+
+- [x] 2.1 Remove `dist-dev/**` from `turbo.json` outputs
+- [x] 2.2 Remove `**/dist-dev/` from `eslint.config.js` and `.gitignore`
+- [x] 2.3 Remove `dist-dev` from the root and CLI `tsconfig.json` excludes
+
+## 3. Prose
+
+- [x] 3.1 Update comments in `vite.config.ts`, `tsconfig.prompts.json`, and `src/util/invocation.ts`
+- [x] 3.2 Update the README build-target table and surrounding text
+- [x] 3.3 Strengthen the `CONTRIBUTING.md` nightlies paragraph to state the trade plainly
+
+## 4. Tests
+
+- [x] 4.1 Replace the dev-target assertions with a rejection test
+- [x] 4.2 Narrow the per-target parameterised lists to prod/self/nightly
+
+## 5. Verification
+
+- [x] 5.1 `pnpm build`, `pnpm build:self`, `pnpm typecheck`, `pnpm lint`, `pnpm test`
+- [x] 5.2 `pnpm openspec validate --all --strict`
+- [x] 5.3 `pnpm cli check` shows no new Vale findings
+- [x] 5.4 No changeset: a development build target is removed and the published package's behavior does not change

openspec/specs/infrastructure/spec.md

@@ -106,7 +106,9 @@ The repository SHALL have `turbo` as a root devDependency and a `turbo.json` con
 
 ### Requirement: Build pipeline runs across all packages
 
-The root `pnpm build` command SHALL invoke `turbo run build`, which runs the `build` script in every workspace package that defines one. Build outputs (`dist/**`, `dist-dev/**`, `dist-self/**`) SHALL be cached.
+The root `pnpm build` command SHALL invoke `turbo run build`, which runs the `build` script in every workspace package that defines one. Build outputs (`dist/**`, `dist-self/**`) SHALL be cached.
+
+The cached output set SHALL name only directories a build target emits. `dist-dev/**` is no longer among them: the `dev` build target has been removed, and no build writes that directory.
 
 #### Scenario: Root build command runs CLI build
 
@@ -119,6 +121,11 @@ The root `pnpm build` command SHALL invoke `turbo run build`, which runs the `bu
 - **WHEN** `pnpm build` is run twice without source changes
 - **THEN** the second run SHALL be a cache hit and complete near-instantly
 
+#### Scenario: No cached output is declared for a removed target
+
+- **WHEN** `turbo.json` is inspected
+- **THEN** the `build` task outputs SHALL NOT include `dist-dev/**`
+
 ### Requirement: Test pipeline runs across all packages
 
 The root `pnpm test` command SHALL invoke `turbo run test`, which runs the `test` script in every workspace package that defines one. The test pipeline SHALL depend on the build pipeline so that built artifacts are available.
@@ -431,3 +438,28 @@ Publishing workflows SHALL NOT be serialized merely because they publish. Where
 
 - **WHEN** two runs of a publishing flow evaluate the same commit or version
 - **THEN** at most one artifact SHALL be published, and the other run SHALL neither fail nor publish a duplicate
+
+### Requirement: The CLI has three build targets
+
+The CLI SHALL support exactly three build targets, selected by `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET`: `prod` (the default, emitting `dist/` with the published `npx @taskless/cli` invocation), `self` (emitting `dist-self/` with a repo-root-relative path, for dogfooding inside this repository), and `nightly` (emitting `dist/` with `npx @taskless/cli-nightly@<version>`).
+
+There SHALL NOT be a build target that emits an invocation runnable from outside this repository's checkout. Exercising unreleased behavior elsewhere is served by a published nightly, which resolves on any machine and is pinned to the build whose instructions it carries, rather than by an absolute filesystem path baked into shipped content.
+
+An unset or unrecognized `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET` SHALL resolve to `prod`. The retired value `dev` SHALL be an exception: it SHALL fail the build with an error naming the target as removed, because a caller who sets it is looking for an output directory that will not be written, and a silent fall back to `prod` would surface only as a missing file at a path nothing else mentions.
+
+#### Scenario: The self target stays repo-relative
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=self`
+- **THEN** the output SHALL be written to `dist-self/`
+- **AND** the baked invocation SHALL be a path relative to the repo root
+
+#### Scenario: A retired target fails loudly
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=dev`
+- **THEN** the build SHALL fail with an error stating the target has been removed
+- **AND** SHALL NOT fall back to the `prod` target
+
+#### Scenario: An unknown target still defaults to prod
+
+- **WHEN** a build runs with `TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET` unset or set to an unrecognized value other than `dev`
+- **THEN** the build SHALL resolve to the `prod` target

package.json

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm build:compile",
     "build:compile": "turbo run build",
-    "build:dev": "pnpm --filter @taskless/cli build:dev",
     "build:nightly": "pnpm --filter @taskless/cli build:nightly",
     "build:self": "run-s build:self:compile build:self:install",
     "build:self:compile": "pnpm --filter @taskless/cli build:self",

packages/cli/package.json

@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
   },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "vite build && tsc -p tsconfig.prompts.json",
-    "build:dev": "TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=dev vite build",
     "build:nightly": "TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=nightly vite build && tsc -p tsconfig.prompts.json",
     "build:self": "TASKLESS_BUILD_TARGET=self vite build",
     "generate:api": "openapi-typescript https://app.taskless.io/cli/api/__schema -o src/generated/api.d.ts",