fix: honor non-interactive template defaults and Windows paths

docs/internal/session-state.md

@@ -1,6 +1,22 @@
 # Session State
 
-Last updated: 2026-01-03
+Last updated: 2026-10-30
+
+## Native CI qualification fixes (2026-10-30)
+
+Local native CI exposed three defects: `--no-prompt` omitted declared defaults,
+unknown templates still entered interactive selection, and Windows backslashes
+escaped Velocity path variables. Defaults now apply with validated explicit
+overrides; unknown templates return NOT_FOUND without reading stdin; path
+separators are normalized before interpolation. Interactive fallback remains
+covered separately.
+
+Four non-interactive regressions and a Windows-path regression failed before the
+fixes. On macOS27.2 ARM64/GraalVM21.0.12, full Maven verification, native packaging
+and verification with the built binary passed235 tests across26 reports with
+zero failures/errors/skips. Native tests must run after building the binary;
+the earlier build-before-test arrangement silently skipped10 native E2E cases.
+Exact-commit Gitea macOS/Windows verification and normal PR review remain pending.
 
 ## Current Status
 

qctl-integration-tests/src/test/java/io/qrun/qctl/e2e/InitCommandE2ETest.java

@@ -298,6 +298,82 @@ void testInit_skipHooks_noHooksExecuted()
 
 
 
+   /***************************************************************************
+    * Non-interactive generation applies defaults without consuming stdin.
+    *
+    * @throws IOException if the generated file cannot be read
+    * @since 0.2.1
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void testInit_noPrompt_usesDefaults() throws IOException
+   {
+      Path outputDir = tempDir.resolve("default-values");
+      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "test-with-prompts", "--no-prompt",
+         "-o", outputDir.toString());
+
+      assertThat(harness.getExitCode()).as(harness.getStderr()).isEqualTo(ExitCodes.SUCCESS);
+      assertThat(Files.readString(outputDir.resolve("README.md")))
+         .contains("my-project", "com.example");
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    * Explicit variables override defaults while omitted variables retain them.
+    *
+    * @throws IOException if the generated file cannot be read
+    * @since 0.2.1
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void testInit_noPrompt_overridesOneDefault() throws IOException
+   {
+      Path outputDir = tempDir.resolve("override-default");
+      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "test-with-prompts", "--no-prompt",
+         "--var", "projectName=custom-project", "-o", outputDir.toString());
+
+      assertThat(harness.getExitCode()).as(harness.getStderr()).isEqualTo(ExitCodes.SUCCESS);
+      assertThat(Files.readString(outputDir.resolve("README.md")))
+         .contains("custom-project", "com.example");
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    * An unknown template must not fall back to an interactive selection.
+    *
+    * @since 0.2.1
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void testInit_noPrompt_unknownTemplateReturnsNotFound()
+   {
+      Path outputDir = tempDir.resolve("unknown-template");
+      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "missing-template", "--no-prompt",
+         "-o", outputDir.toString());
+
+      assertThat(harness.getExitCode()).isEqualTo(ExitCodes.NOT_FOUND);
+      assertThat(outputDir).doesNotExist();
+   }
+
+
+
+   /***************************************************************************
+    * Invalid required overrides must fail instead of prompting or using defaults.
+    *
+    * @since 0.2.1
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void testInit_noPrompt_rejectsEmptyRequiredOverride()
+   {
+      Path outputDir = tempDir.resolve("invalid-override");
+      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "test-with-prompts", "--no-prompt",
+         "--var", "projectName=", "-o", outputDir.toString());
+
+      assertThat(harness.getExitCode()).isEqualTo(ExitCodes.VALIDATION);
+      assertThat(outputDir).doesNotExist();
+   }
+
+
+
    /***************************************************************************
     * Test combined flags work together.
     *

qctl-integration-tests/src/test/java/io/qrun/qctl/e2e/InitCommandFullE2ETest.java

@@ -613,20 +613,19 @@ void testInit_generatedPom_isValidXml() throws Exception
    /***************************************************************************
     * Test behavior when requesting a template that doesn't exist.
     *
-    * With TestTemplateRegistry, non-existent templates cause the system
-    * to fall back to the first available template in --no-prompt mode.
+    * Interactive selection can accept the first available fallback template.
     *
     * @since 0.2.0
     ***************************************************************************/
    @Test
-   void testInit_unknownTemplate_fallsBackToFirst() throws IOException
+   void testInit_unknownTemplate_interactiveFallbackToFirst() throws IOException
    {
       Path outputDir = tempDir.resolve("unknown-template-test");
 
       //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-      // With --no-prompt, requesting unknown template uses first available   //
+      // The empty input accepts the first interactive selection.            //
       //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "non-existent-template", "--no-prompt",
+      harness.execute("qqq", "init", "non-existent-template",
          "-o", outputDir.toString());
 
       //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

qctl-qqq/src/main/java/io/qrun/qctl/qqq/InitCommand.java

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.MergeOptions;
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.PostGenHookRunner;
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.PromptRunner;
+import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.PromptValidator;
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.TemplateEngine;
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.TemplateManifest;
 import io.qrun.qctl.qqq.template.TemplateRenderException;
@@ -172,6 +173,21 @@ public Integer call()
 
          // Step 4: Collect variables (prompts + CLI overrides)
          Map<String, String> allVars = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+         if(noPrompt && manifest.prompts() != null)
+         {
+            PromptValidator validator = new PromptValidator();
+            for(TemplateManifest.Prompt prompt : manifest.prompts())
+            {
+               String value = variables.getOrDefault(prompt.name(), prompt.defaultValue());
+               PromptValidator.ValidationResult result = validator.validate(prompt, value);
+               if(!result.valid())
+               {
+                  ui.error(result.errorMessage());
+                  return ExitCodes.VALIDATION;
+               }
+               allVars.put(prompt.name(), value);
+            }
+         }
          if(!noPrompt && manifest.prompts() != null && !manifest.prompts().isEmpty())
          {
             PromptRunner promptRunner = new PromptRunner();
@@ -318,6 +334,12 @@ private TemplateInfo selectTemplate(TemplateRegistry registry, ConsoleUI ui) thr
       List<String> templateIds = templates.stream().map(TemplateInfo::id).toList();
       SuggestionEngine suggestionEngine = new SuggestionEngine();
       List<String> suggestions = suggestionEngine.findSimilar(templateName, templateIds);
+      if(noPrompt)
+      {
+         throw new TemplateError(TemplateError.ErrorCategory.TEMPLATE_NOT_FOUND,
+            "Template '" + templateName + "' not found.", suggestions,
+            "Use 'qctl qqq list' to list available templates");
+      }
 
       ui.error("Template '" + templateName + "' not found.");
       if(!suggestions.isEmpty())

qctl-qqq/src/main/java/io/qrun/qctl/qqq/template/TemplateEngine.java

@@ -409,7 +409,9 @@ public String renderPath(String path, Map<String, String> variables)
       // This allows templates to use __VARNAME__ in paths, which is safer   //
       // for shells and build tools that might interpret $ as a variable.    //
       /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
-      String normalizedPath = path.replaceAll("__([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*)__", "\\$$1");
+      // Windows separators otherwise escape the following Velocity variable.
+      String normalizedPath = path.replace('\\', '/')
+         .replaceAll("__([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9]*)__", "\\$$1");
       return renderContent(normalizedPath, variables);
    }
 

qctl-qqq/src/main/java/io/qrun/qctl/qqq/template/TemplateResolver.java

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.InvalidPathException;
 import java.nio.file.Path;
 
 
@@ -44,11 +45,19 @@ public class TemplateResolver
    public Path resolve(String source, String version) throws IOException
    {
       // Local path
-      Path localPath = Path.of(source);
-      if(Files.isDirectory(localPath))
+      try
+      {
+         Path localPath = Path.of(source);
+         if(Files.isDirectory(localPath))
+         {
+            System.out.println("Using local template: " + localPath.toAbsolutePath());
+            return localPath.toAbsolutePath();
+         }
+      }
+      catch(InvalidPathException e)
       {
-         System.out.println("Using local template: " + localPath.toAbsolutePath());
-         return localPath.toAbsolutePath();
+         // Remote URLs are not valid filesystem paths on Windows.
+         // Validate them below using the supported Git URL formats.
       }
 
       // Git URL or GitHub shorthand

qctl-qqq/src/test/java/io/qrun/qctl/qqq/template/TemplateEngineTest.java

@@ -303,6 +303,24 @@ void testRenderDirectoryWithPathVariables() throws IOException, TemplateRenderEx
 
 
 
+   /***************************************************************************
+    * Windows separators must not escape path placeholders in Velocity.
+    *
+    * @throws TemplateRenderException if rendering fails
+    * @since 0.2.1
+    ***************************************************************************/
+   @Test
+   void testRenderWindowsPathVariables() throws TemplateRenderException
+   {
+      Map<String, String> variables = Map.of("packagePath", "com/acme/orders");
+      assertThat(engine.renderPath("src\\main\\java\\$packagePath\\App.java", variables))
+         .isEqualTo("src/main/java/com/acme/orders/App.java");
+      assertThat(engine.renderPath("src\\main\\java\\__packagePath__\\App.java", variables))
+         .isEqualTo("src/main/java/com/acme/orders/App.java");
+   }
+
+
+
    /***************************************************************************
     * Test binary files are copied without modification.
     ***************************************************************************/