Migrate local pipeline + non-release CI from dfx to icp-cli

[Kamirus]

What changes for users

Mops contributors:

• npm run replica, npm run deploy-local and npm start now use icp-cli + pocket-ic instead of dfx. Local dev requires npm install -g @icp-sdk/icp-cli @icp-sdk/ic-wasm (Node-based install, see icp-cli quickstart).
• ci.yml installs icp-cli alongside dfx and exercises the new local pipeline end-to-end.

What stays on dfx:

• Production deploys: release.yml, npm run deploy-staging, npm run deploy-ic.
• npm run decl:cli (dfx generate) — switching to icp-bindgen would generate a noisy churn diff in cli/declarations/; deferred.
• mops-test.yml and setup-mops.yml matrices: they test against mops@1.0.0, which only supports pocket-ic 4.0.0 and so can't pick up a newer [toolchain].pocket-ic from this repo's mops.toml.
• dfx.json is kept so the production paths and external mops users are unaffected.

End users of the ic-mops CLI itself: no change.

Why

Reduce internal coupling to dfx ahead of broader migration (LANG-1311). Picks the safe, low-blast-radius targets first (local dev + ci.yml) and leaves mainnet-touching paths and old-CLI matrices alone.

How it was validated

Locally exercised the full chain on macOS:

npm run replica         # icp network start, port 4943
npm run deploy-local    # icp deploy -y -e local main → .icp/cache/mappings/local.ids.json
npm run decl            # dfx generate main && dfx generate bench
npm run build-frontend  # vite build using new ids file

vite.config.ts reads the new flat icp ids map ({ name: id }) for local, with a fallback to .dfx/local/canister_ids.json so anyone still on the dfx pipeline locally is unaffected during the transition.

Notes

• icp.yaml mirrors dfx.json; cli and play-frontend use raw build/sync steps because the asset-canister recipe template only supports a single dir.
• An earlier attempt to also drop dfx from mops-test.yml via [toolchain].pocket-ic = "12.0.0" in root mops.toml failed CI: the matrix tests mops@1.0.0, which errors with "Current Mops CLI only supports pocket-ic 4.0.0". Reverted in a follow-up commit on this PR.

[github-actions]

Cursor AI review

👍 APPROVE — looks safe to merge

Category	Assessment	Details
Summary	✅	Migrates contributor local dev and ci.yml from dfx to icp-cli for replica/deploy; keeps dfx for production deploys and dfx generate.
Code Quality	✅	icp.yaml mirrors dfx.json with documented exceptions; vite reads icp IDs with dfx fallback; .gitignore and AGENTS.md updated.
Consistency	✅	Production paths (release.yml, deploy-staging, deploy-ic, decl:cli) unchanged; scoped to stated low-blast-radius targets.
Security	✅	ci.yml permissions/triggers unchanged; no new secrets or pull_request_target broadening.
Tests	✅	ci.yml exercises replica → deploy-local → decl → build end-to-end; no CLI surface changes for end users.
Maintainability	✅	Dual pipeline is documented in AGENTS.md and PR notes; transitional dfx fallback in vite limits breakage for contributors still on dfx locally.

Verdict

Decision: APPROVE
Risk: Low
Reason: This is an internal contributor/CI migration with production deploy and registry paths untouched, a backward-compatible vite canister-ID fallback, and no user-facing CLI changes. The diff is coherent and low blast radius; no correctness or regression issues were found relative to base.

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Generated for commit 5180ff4

[caffeine-ci-bot]

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[ggreif]

There are CI failures: https://github.com/caffeinelabs/mops/actions/runs/28434607718/job/84257379064?pr=550#step:12:15

And also the CI uses prerequisites that are woefully outdated...