docs(spec): correct appium-service premise + pull the direction question forward

[goosewobbler]

Follow-up to the mobile-service convergence spec (merged in #507). Investigation into whether shifting features upstream to @wdio/appium-service could negate the mobile-service found:

• The spec's premise was stale: @wdio/appium-service v9.27 is no longer strictly server-lifecycle — it ships a worker-side SelectorPerformanceService (selector-perf telemetry via overwriteCommand). Still zero feature overlap with the mobile-service (verified: 0 hits for driver-install / device-mgmt / deeplink / logs / doctor / contexts), but the "it can't grow into our space" assumption is gone.
• The real risk is narrow: the convergence refactor (RN/Flutter onto the native-mobile-core base) is safe regardless — a library concern. Only the standalone @wdio/mobile-service publish is at risk: if setup-automation upstreams (and core already ships the raw mobile commands), its unique surface thins.
• Fix: bring the appium-service direction question forward — settle it with the maintainer before committing to the standalone publish (gate Sequencing step 3 on it), while keeping the implementation in native-mobile-core meanwhile.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

This PR corrects the @wdio/appium-service description in the convergence spec (v9.27 ships a SelectorPerformanceService worker, so the "strictly server-lifecycle" premise was stale) and restructures the sequencing so the upstream direction question is settled before the standalone @wdio/mobile-service publish is committed to — rather than after.

• Appium-service premise corrected: Background updated to document the v9.27 selector-perf worker and conclude zero feature overlap today while explicitly retiring the "architecturally can't grow into our space" assumption.
• Direction question moved forward: Relationship section and Sequencing step 3 now gate the standalone publish on a Wim/maintainer coordination call; the convergence refactor (RN/Flutter onto the native-mobile-core base) is explicitly safe regardless of that outcome.
• Downstream steps updated: Goal, Scope, Step 4 skill-update guidance, and Open Questions all branched on the two outcomes; status line updated with today's change description.

Confidence Score: 5/5

Documentation-only change to a spec file — safe to merge.

The change is a spec update with no code execution impact. The corrected appium-service description, the conditional publish framing, and the updated sequencing are internally consistent across Goal, Scope, Relationship, Sequencing, and Open Questions. Two minor inconsistencies were introduced: the architecture diagram still names @wdio/mobile-service as a definite package layer, and one Scope phrase still says "retargeted onto @wdio/mobile-service" rather than "the MobileService base" — neither affects the plan's correctness.

The Architecture diagram block (lines 105–111) and the In-Scope "retargeted" phrase (line 86) in spec.md use the package name unconditionally and are worth a quick pass before this is treated as a finalised spec.

Important Files Changed

Filename	Overview
agent-os/specs/20260618-mobile-service-convergence/spec.md	Spec updated to correct the appium-service v9.27 description (selector-perf worker) and re-gate the upstream direction question before the standalone publish; Goal, Scope, Sequencing, and Open Questions all updated consistently — Architecture diagram and one Scope phrase still name @wdio/mobile-service unconditionally, creating minor inconsistencies with the new conditional framing.

Flowchart

%%{init: {'theme': 'neutral'}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[Step 1: Setup-automation lands\nin native-mobile-core] --> B
    B[Step 2: Extract MobileService base\nConverge RN + Flutter onto it\nConvergence ships EITHER WAY] --> C
    C{Step 3: Settle appium-service\ndirection question with Wim}
    C -->|stays narrow| D[Publish standalone\n@wdio/mobile-service]
    C -->|wants it upstream| E[Skip standalone publish\nUpstream setup-automation\nto @wdio/appium-service]
    D --> F[Step 4: Update add-native-service skill\nExtension target = @wdio/mobile-service]
    E --> G[Step 4: Update add-native-service skill\nExtension target = @wdio/native-mobile-core]
    style B fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745
    style C fill:#fff3cd,stroke:#ffc107
    style D fill:#cce5ff,stroke:#004085
    style E fill:#f8d7da,stroke:#721c24

Loading

%%{init: {'theme': 'base', 'themeVariables': {"darkMode": true, "background": "#0d1117", "primaryColor": "#21262d", "primaryTextColor": "#e6edf3", "primaryBorderColor": "#8b949e", "lineColor": "#8b949e", "textColor": "#e6edf3", "edgeLabelBackground": "#161b22", "actorBkg": "#21262d", "actorBorder": "#8b949e", "actorTextColor": "#e6edf3", "actorLineColor": "#8b949e", "signalColor": "#8b949e", "signalTextColor": "#e6edf3", "noteBkgColor": "#373320", "noteBorderColor": "#d4a72c", "noteTextColor": "#f0e6c0", "labelBoxBkgColor": "#21262d", "labelBoxBorderColor": "#8b949e", "labelTextColor": "#e6edf3", "loopTextColor": "#e6edf3", "activationBkgColor": "#30363d", "activationBorderColor": "#8b949e"}}}%%
flowchart TD
    A[Step 1: Setup-automation lands\nin native-mobile-core] --> B
    B[Step 2: Extract MobileService base\nConverge RN + Flutter onto it\nConvergence ships EITHER WAY] --> C
    C{Step 3: Settle appium-service\ndirection question with Wim}
    C -->|stays narrow| D[Publish standalone\n@wdio/mobile-service]
    C -->|wants it upstream| E[Skip standalone publish\nUpstream setup-automation\nto @wdio/appium-service]
    D --> F[Step 4: Update add-native-service skill\nExtension target = @wdio/mobile-service]
    E --> G[Step 4: Update add-native-service skill\nExtension target = @wdio/native-mobile-core]
    style B fill:#d4edda,stroke:#28a745
    style C fill:#fff3cd,stroke:#ffc107
    style D fill:#cce5ff,stroke:#004085
    style E fill:#f8d7da,stroke:#721c24

Loading

_{Reviews (8): Last reviewed commit: "docs(spec): carry the conditional-publis..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

[github-actions]

Standing release PR: #456 · 14 packages queued · open 208h 14m · ✅ ready to merge

Release Preview — 16 packages

Note: Labels on this PR are advisory in standing-pr mode. Bumps come from conventional commits in the standing PR; override by editing labels on the standing PR itself. Add release:immediate to bypass the standing PR and release this PR directly.

These changes will be added to the release PR (#456) when merged:

Changelog

@wdio/dioxus-bridge 1.0.0-next.3 → 1.0.0-next.4

Changed

• Update version to 1.0.0-next.4

@wdio/dioxus-service 1.0.0-next.3 → 1.0.0-next.4

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

wdio-dioxus-driver 1.0.0-next.3 → 1.0.0-next.4

Changed

• Update version to 1.0.0-next.4

wdio-dioxus-embedded-driver 1.0.0-next.3 → 1.0.0-next.4

Changed

• Update version to 1.0.0-next.4

@wdio/tauri-service 1.2.0 → 1.3.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

tauri-plugin-wdio-webdriver 1.2.0 → 1.3.0

Changed

• Update version to 1.3.0

@wdio/flutter-service 1.0.0-next.1 → 1.0.0-next.2

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

wdio_flutter N/A → 0.2.0

Changed

• Update version to 0.2.0

@wdio/electrobun-service 0.1.0 → 0.2.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

@wdio/electron-service 10.1.0 → 10.2.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

@wdio/native-cdp-bridge 1.0.0 → 1.1.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

@wdio/native-core 1.0.0 → 1.1.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)
• DevServerProcess + startManagedDevServer for browser mode (#417) (native-core) (PR #503)

@wdio/native-mobile-core 1.0.0 → 1.1.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

@wdio/native-spy 1.1.0 → 1.2.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

@wdio/native-types 2.4.0 → 2.5.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)
• DevServerProcess + startManagedDevServer for browser mode (#417) (native-core) (PR #503)

@wdio/native-utils 2.5.0 → 2.6.0

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

Fixed

• don't false-flag Windows binaries as non-executable (native-utils) (PR #514 · closes #513)

@wdio/react-native-service 1.0.0-next.0 → 1.0.0-next.1

Added

• wire devServer auto-start into the four launchers (#417) (browser-mode) (PR #505)

After merge — predicted release

No version escalation — this PR's changes will be included in the queued release without affecting the projected versions.

Package	Standing PR	This PR	After merge
@wdio/dioxus-bridge	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4
@wdio/dioxus-service	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4
@wdio/electrobun-service	0.2.0	0.2.0	0.2.0
@wdio/electron-service	10.2.0	10.2.0	10.2.0
@wdio/native-cdp-bridge	1.1.0	1.1.0	1.1.0
@wdio/native-core	1.1.0	1.1.0	1.1.0
@wdio/native-spy	1.2.0	1.2.0	1.2.0
@wdio/native-types	2.5.0	2.5.0	2.5.0
@wdio/native-utils	2.6.0	2.6.0	2.6.0
@wdio/tauri-service	1.3.0	1.3.0	1.3.0
tauri-plugin-wdio-webdriver	1.3.0	1.3.0	1.3.0
wdio_flutter	0.2.0	0.2.0	0.2.0
wdio-dioxus-driver	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4
wdio-dioxus-embedded-driver	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4	1.0.0-next.4

---

Updated automatically by ReleaseKit