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README
<img src="https://github.com/github/spec-kit/raw/v0.12.4/media/logo_large.webp" alt="Spec Kit Logo" width="200" height="200"/>
<h1>🌱 Spec Kit</h1>
<h3><em>Build high-quality software faster.</em></h3>







<strong>An open source toolkit that allows you to focus on product scenarios and predictable outcomes instead of vibe coding every piece from scratch.</strong>







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Table of Contents

🤔 What is Spec-Driven Development?

Spec-Driven Development flips the script on traditional software development. For decades, code has been king — specifications were just scaffolding we built and discarded once the "real work" of coding began. Spec-Driven Development changes this: specifications become executable, directly generating working implementations rather than just guiding them.

⚡ Get Started

1. Install Specify CLI

Requires uv (install uv). Replace vX.Y.Z with the latest tag from Releases:

uv tool install specify-cli --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git@vX.Y.Z

See the Installation Guide for alternative methods, verification, upgrade, and troubleshooting.

2. Initialize a project

specify init my-project --integration copilot
cd my-project

To check for updates or upgrade the installed CLI, use the self-management commands. See the Upgrade Guide for detailed scenarios and customization options.

# Check whether a newer release is available (read-only — does not modify anything)
specify self check

# Preview what would run, without actually upgrading
specify self upgrade --dry-run

# Upgrade in place to the latest stable release (auto-detects uv tool vs pipx install)
specify self upgrade

# Or pin a specific release tag (replace vX.Y.Z[suffix] with your desired release tag)
specify self upgrade --tag vX.Y.Z[suffix]

Bare specify self upgrade executes immediately, matching the no-prompt behavior of commands like pip install -U and npm update. For uv tool installs, it runs uv tool install specify-cli --force --from <git ref> under the hood so pinned release tags work, including dev, alpha/beta/rc, or build metadata suffixes. uvx (ephemeral) runs and source checkouts are detected and produce path-specific guidance instead of running an installer. Set SPECIFY_UPGRADE_TIMEOUT_SECS to cap how long the installer subprocess may run (default: no timeout — interrupt with Ctrl+C if needed).

3. Establish project principles

Launch your coding agent in the project directory. Most agents expose spec-kit as /speckit.* slash commands; Codex CLI in skills mode uses $speckit-* instead; GitHub Copilot CLI uses /agents to select the agent or address it directly in a prompt.

Use the /speckit.constitution command to create your project's governing principles and development guidelines that will guide all subsequent development.

/speckit.constitution Create principles focused on code quality, testing standards, user experience consistency, and performance requirements

4. Create the spec

Use the /speckit.specify command to describe what you want to build. Focus on the what and why, not the tech stack.

/speckit.specify Build an application that can help me organize my photos in separate photo albums. Albums are grouped by date and can be re-organized by dragging and dropping on the main page. Albums are never in other nested albums. Within each album, photos are previewed in a tile-like interface.

5. Create a technical implementation plan

Use the /speckit.plan command to provide your tech stack and architecture choices.

/speckit.plan The application uses Vite with minimal number of libraries. Use vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript as much as possible. Images are not uploaded anywhere and metadata is stored in a local SQLite database.

6. Break down into tasks

Use /speckit.tasks to create an actionable task list from your implementation plan.

/speckit.tasks

7. Execute implementation

Use /speckit.implement to execute all tasks and build your feature according to the plan.

/speckit.implement

For detailed step-by-step instructions, see our comprehensive guide.

📽️ Video Overview

Want to see Spec Kit in action? Watch our video overview!

Spec Kit video header

🌍 Community

Explore community-contributed resources on the Spec Kit docs site:

  • Extensions — commands, hooks, and capabilities
  • Presets — template and terminology overrides
  • Bundles — role and team stacks composed from existing components
  • Walkthroughs — end-to-end SDD scenarios
  • Friends — projects that extend or build on Spec Kit

[!NOTE] Community contributions are independently created and maintained by their respective authors. Review source code before installation and use at your own discretion.

Want to contribute? See the Extension Publishing Guide, the Presets Publishing Guide, or the Community Bundles guide.

🤖 Supported AI Coding Agent Integrations

Spec Kit works with 30+ AI coding agents — both CLI tools and IDE-based assistants. See the full list with notes and usage details in the Supported AI Coding Agent Integrations guide.

Run specify integration list to see all available integrations in your installed version.

Available Slash Commands

After running specify init, your AI coding agent will have access to these slash commands for structured development. For integrations that support skills mode, passing --integration <agent> --integration-options="--skills" installs agent skills instead of slash-command prompt files.

Core Commands

Essential commands for the Spec-Driven Development workflow:

Command Agent Skill Description
/speckit.constitution speckit-constitution Create or update project governing principles and development guidelines
/speckit.specify speckit-specify Define what you want to build (requirements and user stories)
/speckit.plan speckit-plan Create technical implementation plans with your chosen tech stack
/speckit.tasks speckit-tasks Generate actionable task lists for implementation
/speckit.taskstoissues speckit-taskstoissues Convert generated task lists into GitHub issues for tracking and execution
/speckit.implement speckit-implement Execute all tasks to build the feature according to the plan
/speckit.converge speckit-converge Assess the codebase against spec/plan/tasks and append remaining work as new tasks

Optional Commands

Additional commands for enhanced quality and validation:

Command Agent Skill Description
/speckit.clarify speckit-clarify Clarify underspecified areas (recommended before /speckit.plan; formerly /quizme)
/speckit.analyze speckit-analyze Cross-artifact consistency & coverage analysis (run after /speckit.tasks, before /speckit.implement)
/speckit.checklist speckit-checklist Generate custom quality checklists that validate requirements completeness, clarity, and consistency (like "unit tests for English")

🔧 Specify CLI Reference

For full command details, options, and examples, see the CLI Reference.

🧩 Making Spec Kit Your Own: Extensions & Presets

Spec Kit can be tailored to your needs through two complementary systems — extensions and presets — plus project-local overrides for one-off adjustments:

Priority Component Type Location
⬆ 1 Project-Local Overrides .specify/templates/overrides/
2 Presets — Customize core & extensions .specify/presets/templates/
3 Extensions — Add new capabilities .specify/extensions/templates/
⬇ 4 Spec Kit Core — Built-in SDD commands & templates .specify/templates/
  • Templates are resolved at runtime — Spec Kit walks the stack top-down and uses the first match.
  • Project-local overrides (.specify/templates/overrides/) let you make one-off adjustments for a single project without creating a full preset.
  • Extension/preset commands are applied at install time — when you run specify extension add or specify preset add, command files are written into agent directories (e.g., .claude/commands/).
  • If multiple presets or extensions provide the same command, the highest-priority version wins. On removal, the next-highest-priority version is restored automatically.
  • If no overrides or customizations exist, Spec Kit uses its core defaults.

Extensions — Add New Capabilities

Use extensions when you need functionality that goes beyond Spec Kit's core. Extensions introduce new commands and templates — for example, adding domain-specific workflows that are not covered by the built-in SDD commands, integrating with external tools, or adding entirely new development phases. They expand what Spec Kit can do.

# Search available extensions
specify extension search

# Install an extension
specify extension add <extension-name>

For example, extensions could add Jira integration, post-implementation code review, V-Model test traceability, or project health diagnostics.

See the Extensions reference for the full command guide. Browse the community extensions for what's available.

Presets — Customize Existing Workflows

Use presets when you want to change how Spec Kit works without adding new capabilities. Presets override the templates and commands that ship with the core and with installed extensions — for example, enforcing a compliance-oriented spec format, using domain-specific terminology, or applying organizational standards to plans and tasks. They customize the artifacts and instructions that Spec Kit and its extensions produce.

# Search available presets
specify preset search

# Install a preset
specify preset add <preset-name>

For example, presets could restructure spec templates to require regulatory traceability, adapt the workflow to fit the methodology you use (e.g., Agile, Kanban, Waterfall, jobs-to-be-done, or domain-driven design), add mandatory security review gates to plans, enforce test-first task ordering, or localize the entire workflow to a different language. The pirate-speak demo shows just how deep the customization can go. Multiple presets can be stacked with priority ordering.

See the [Presets reference](https://github.github.io/spec-kit/ref

Core symbols most depended-on inside this repo

get
called by 766
src/specify_cli/workflows/catalog.py
get_integration
called by 243
src/specify_cli/integrations/__init__.py
get
called by 226
src/specify_cli/extensions/__init__.py
resolve
called by 207
src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py
get
called by 152
src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py
install_from_directory
called by 107
src/specify_cli/extensions/__init__.py
evaluate_expression
called by 80
src/specify_cli/workflows/expressions.py
install_from_directory
called by 72
src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py

Shape

Method 3,025
Function 1,016
Class 494
Route 3

Languages

Python100%

Modules by API surface

tests/test_workflows.py428 symbols
tests/test_extensions.py349 symbols
tests/test_presets.py345 symbols
tests/integrations/test_integration_subcommand.py145 symbols
tests/test_authentication.py117 symbols
src/specify_cli/extensions/__init__.py116 symbols
tests/integrations/test_integration_catalog.py115 symbols
tests/integrations/test_cli.py107 symbols
tests/test_timestamp_branches.py106 symbols
src/specify_cli/presets/__init__.py91 symbols
tests/test_extension_skills.py78 symbols
tests/extensions/git/test_git_extension.py76 symbols

Dependencies from manifests, versioned

click8.2.1 · 1×
json50.13.0 · 1×
packaging23.0 · 1×
pathspec0.12.0 · 1×
platformdirs
pyyaml6.0 · 1×
readchar
rich
typer0.24.0 · 1×

For agents

$ claude mcp add spec-kit \
  -- python -m otcore.mcp_server <graph>

⬇ download graph artifact