feat(cli): use upstream @dfinity/pic, deprecate pocket-ic below 9.0.0

.agents/skills/mops-cli/SKILL.md

@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ mops generate candid backend -o <path>   # single canister, ad-hoc path
 mops toolchain use moc 1.7.0         # pin specific version
 mops toolchain use moc latest        # pin latest version (non-interactive)
 mops toolchain use lintoko 0.10.0    # pin specific version
-mops toolchain use pocket-ic 12.0.0  # pin for replica tests / benchmarks (pin a specific version; `latest` may resolve to one the bundled pic-js client doesn't support)
+mops toolchain use pocket-ic 12.0.0  # pin for replica tests / benchmarks (pin a specific version; `latest` may resolve to one the vendored `@dfinity/pic` client doesn't support)
 mops toolchain use wasm-opt 131      # Binaryen for [optimize] (or `latest`)
 mops toolchain update moc            # update to latest (requires existing [toolchain] entry)
 mops toolchain update                # update all tools to latest
@@ -162,6 +162,8 @@ mops toolchain info <tool> --versions --all # full stable history (cache warming
 mops toolchain bin moc               # print path to binary
 ```
 
+**`pocket-ic` versions**: `9.0.0` and newer run on the vendored `@dfinity/pic` client. Pins below `9.0.0` still work on the legacy `pic-ic` client but print a deprecation warning and are removed in mops v3 — pin `9.0.0` or newer.
+
 **Agent note**: `toolchain use <tool>` without a version opens an interactive picker — do not use in scripts or agents. Always pass a version or `latest`. `toolchain update` only works when the tool already has a `[toolchain]` entry. `toolchain info <tool> --versions` works without `mops.toml` (first GitHub page by default; pass `--all` for full history).
 
 ### Enhanced migrations

TODO.md

@@ -10,14 +10,15 @@ Refs: GH = `caffeinelabs/mops`, LIN = Linear ticket title.
 
 **Trust / lockfile / registry**
 - `mops verify` as an explicit on-disk integrity command. The breaking half (removing the implicit re-hash from `install`) waits for v3. (GH #517)
-- `mops ci` (or `--frozen`) with strict-lockfile semantics. Old `mops install` unchanged. The breaking half (dropping `CI` env-var auto-detection in `cli/integrity.ts:40`) waits for v3. (GH #516)
+- `--locked` with strict-lockfile semantics (fail if `mops.lock` is missing or would change; never write it), on `install` and every implicitly-resolving command. Old `mops install` unchanged. Decided 2026-07 against a separate `mops ci` command — cargo/pnpm/yarn all use a flag; see `NEXT-MAJOR.md`. The breaking half (dropping `CI` env-var auto-detection in `cli/integrity.ts:50-59`, dropping `--lock`) waits for v3. (GH #516)
 - Resolve dependency tree on the backend — additive query method. (GH #19)
 - `yank` / `deprecate` / `unpublish`. (GH #291)
 - Downloadable package index (cargo/purescript style), additive endpoint. (GH #291)
 
 **Bundling / runtime**
 - `MOPS_PASSWORD` / `--password` for non-interactive identity (today `getIdentity()` blocks on stdin for encrypted PEMs — `cli/mops.ts:59-82`).
 - Standalone binary distribution alongside npm — additive third channel. (LIN: standalone binary)
+- Narrow `files` in `cli/package.json` (currently `["*"]` with a few exclusions). The published npm tarball ships **both** distributions: the unbundled `dist/` tree that `bin` actually points at *and* the 5.9 MB bun `bundle/cli.js` that only the `cli.mops.one` installer uses (that installer downloads `bundle/cli.tgz` from the releases canister instead — `cli-releases/install.sh` → `cli/release-cli.ts:33-41`). Excluding `bundle/` would roughly halve the npm download. Pre-existing; found while investigating the `@dfinity/pic` postinstall (see `NEXT-MAJOR.md`).
 
 **Backend additions**
 - File blobs in stable memory (storage canisters). Invisible to clients. (GH #18)

cli/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 - `mops publish --dry-run` runs the same local publish steps as a real publish (packaging checks, docs, changelog, tests, benchmarks) and prints the final file list, without contacting the registry or uploading. Honors `--no-docs` / `--no-test` / `--no-bench`. Does not run canister config validation or prove registry acceptance.
 - Fix `mops publish` exiting 0 on keyword-length and invalid `package.files` path errors (now exit 1, same as other preflight failures).
+- The PocketIC client used by `mops test --mode replica`, `mops bench`, and `mops watch` for `pocket-ic` `9.0.0` and newer is now upstream `@dfinity/pic` (`0.23.0`) instead of the `pic-js-mops` fork. The two patches mops needed — passing an explicit binary path and a server `--ttl` — landed upstream, so the fork no longer has a reason to exist and mops tracks PocketIC releases directly. No behavior change: the same toolchain-managed binary is started with the same `--ttl`. `@dfinity/pic` is a devDependency pre-bundled into the published CLI, because its postinstall downloads a ~94 MB pocket-ic binary and fails without network, and mops manages that binary itself via `[toolchain] pocket-ic`. That bundle carries pic's own `@icp-sdk/core` (`5.x`), so mops itself stays on `4.0.2`: `5.x` drops the IC HTTP API `v2` endpoints, which are the only ones the `dfx` and `dfx-pocket-ic` replicas serve, and projects with no `pocket-ic` pin still use those.
+- Deprecated `[toolchain] pocket-ic` pins below `9.0.0`. They still work — the legacy `pic-ic` client is unchanged and still handles them — but now print a warning, and support will be removed in mops v3. Run `mops toolchain use pocket-ic 12.0.0` to move to a supported version.
 
 ## 2.19.2