Release v0.7.1

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,24 @@ All notable changes to this project are documented in this file. This changelog
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.7.1] - 2026-03-21
+
+### Added
+
+- Added regression coverage for extraction CLI runtime validation and lightweight import boundaries across `exstruct`, `exstruct.engine`, `exstruct.cli.main`, and `exstruct.cli.edit`.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Changed the extraction CLI so `--auto-page-breaks-dir` is always listed in help output and validated only when the flag is requested at runtime.
+- Changed CLI and package import behavior so `exstruct --help`, `exstruct ops list`, `import exstruct`, and `import exstruct.engine` defer heavy extraction, edit, and rendering imports until needed.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- Fixed parser and help startup side effects by removing COM availability probing during extraction CLI parser construction.
+- Fixed lazy-export follow-ups so public runtime type hints resolve correctly while keeping exported symbol names stable.
+- Fixed edit CLI routing so non-edit argv and lightweight edit paths avoid unnecessary imports such as `exstruct.cli.edit` and `pydantic`.
+- Fixed the `validate` subcommand error boundary so `RuntimeError` is no longer converted into handled CLI stderr output.
+
 ## [0.7.0] - 2026-03-19
 
 ### Added

docs/release-notes/v0.7.1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# v0.7.1 Release Notes
+
+This patch release publishes the CLI and package import startup optimization work
+completed under issues `#107`, `#108`, and `#109`.
+
+## Highlights
+
+- The extraction CLI now always shows `--auto-page-breaks-dir` in help output
+  and validates support only when the option is actually used at runtime.
+- Lightweight CLI paths now avoid unnecessary heavy imports:
+  - `exstruct --help`
+  - extraction-style argv that do not route to edit commands
+  - `exstruct ops list`
+- Public package imports are lighter:
+  - `import exstruct`
+  - `import exstruct.engine`
+  - exported names from `exstruct` and `exstruct.edit` remain compatible while
+    loading implementation modules lazily
+- Regression coverage now locks the startup boundary and validates that
+  lightweight import paths do not eagerly load extraction, edit, MCP, render,
+  or `pydantic` dependencies.
+
+## Startup impact
+
+Compared with `v0.7.0`, local median startup timings on the same Python
+environment improved by approximately:
+
+- `python -m exstruct.cli.main --help`: `2195 ms -> 64 ms` (`34.4x` faster)
+- `import exstruct`: `1039 ms -> 55 ms` (`19.0x` faster)
+- `python -m exstruct.cli.main ops list`: `1143 ms -> 207 ms` (`5.5x` faster)
+- `import exstruct.engine`: `1005 ms -> 223 ms` (`4.5x` faster)
+
+These measurements were taken locally against `v0.7.0` and the current
+`v0.7.1` code using the same virtual environment and direct source imports, so
+exact numbers will vary by machine and startup conditions.
+
+## Notes
+
+- No new CLI commands were added in `v0.7.1`.
+- MCP tool names and payload shapes remain compatible in `v0.7.1`.
+- Backend selection policy remains `auto` / `com` / `openpyxl`.
+- The edit CLI `validate` subcommand once again propagates `RuntimeError`
+  instead of converting it into handled CLI error output.

mkdocs.yml

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ nav:
   - MCP Server: mcp.md
   - Concept / Why ExStruct?: concept.md
   - Release Notes:
+      - v0.7.1: release-notes/v0.7.1.md
       - v0.7.0: release-notes/v0.7.0.md
       - v0.6.1: release-notes/v0.6.1.md
       - v0.6.0: release-notes/v0.6.0.md

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "exstruct"
-version = "0.7.0"
+version = "0.7.1"
 description = "Excel to structured JSON (tables, shapes, charts) for LLM/RAG pipelines"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = { file = "LICENSE" }