speckit.specify

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description: Create or update the feature specification from a natural language feature description. handoffs:

• label: Build Technical Plan agent: speckit.plan prompt: Create a plan for the spec. I am building with...
• label: Clarify Spec Requirements agent: speckit.clarify prompt: Clarify specification requirements send: true

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User Input

$ARGUMENTS

You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty).

Outline

The text the user typed after /speckit.specify in the triggering message is the feature description. Assume you always have it available in this conversation even if {{args}} appears literally below. Do not ask the user to repeat it unless they provided an empty command.

Given that feature description, do this:

1. Generate a concise short name (2-4 words) for the branch:

   • Analyze the feature description and extract the most meaningful keywords
   • Create a 2-4 word short name that captures the essence of the feature
   • Use action-noun format when possible (e.g., "add-user-auth", "fix-payment-bug")
   • Preserve technical terms and acronyms (OAuth2, API, JWT, etc.)
   • Keep it concise but descriptive enough to understand the feature at a glance
   • Examples:
     • "I want to add user authentication" → "user-auth"
     • "Implement OAuth2 integration for the API" → "oauth2-api-integration"
     • "Create a dashboard for analytics" → "analytics-dashboard"
     • "Fix payment processing timeout bug" → "fix-payment-timeout"

2. Check for existing branches before creating new one:

   a. First, fetch all remote branches to ensure we have the latest information:

   git fetch --all --prune
   

   b. Find the highest feature number across all sources for the short-name:

   • Remote branches: git ls-remote --heads origin | grep -E 'refs/heads/[0-9]+-<short-name>$'
   • Local branches: git branch | grep -E '^[* ]*[0-9]+-<short-name>$'
   • Specs directories: Check for directories matching specs/[0-9]+-<short-name>

   c. Determine the next available number:

   • Extract all numbers from all three sources
   • Find the highest number N
   • Use N+1 for the new branch number

   d. Run the script pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .specify/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 -Json "{{args}}" with the calculated number and short-name:

   • Pass --number N+1 and --short-name "your-short-name" along with the feature description
   • Bash example: .specify/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 -Json "{{args}}" --json --number 5 --short-name "user-auth" "Add user authentication"
   • PowerShell example: pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .specify/scripts/powershell/create-new-feature.ps1 -Json "{{args}}" -Json -Number 5 -ShortName "user-auth" "Add user authentication"

   IMPORTANT:

   • Check all three sources (remote branches, local branches, specs directories) to find the highest number
   • Only match branches/directories with the exact short-name pattern
   • If no existing branches/directories found with this short-name, start with number 1
   • You must only ever run this script once per feature
   • The JSON is provided in the terminal as output - always refer to it to get the actual content you're looking for
   • The JSON output will contain BRANCH_NAME and SPEC_FILE paths
   • For single quotes in args like "I'm Groot", use escape syntax: e.g 'I'''m Groot' (or double-quote if possible: "I'm Groot")

3. Load .specify/templates/spec-template.md to understand required sections.

4. Follow this execution flow:

   1. Parse user description from Input If empty: ERROR "No feature description provided"
   2. Extract key concepts from description Identify: actors, actions, data, constraints
   3. For unclear aspects:
      • Make informed guesses based on context and industry standards
      • Only mark with [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: specific question] if:
        • The choice significantly impacts feature scope or user experience
        • Multiple reasonable interpretations exist with different implications
        • No reasonable default exists
      • LIMIT: Maximum 3 [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers total
      • Prioritize clarifications by impact: scope > security/privacy > user experience > technical details
   4. Fill User Scenarios & Testing section If no clear user flow: ERROR "Cannot determine user scenarios"
   5. Generate Functional Requirements Each requirement must be testable Use reasonable defaults for unspecified details (document assumptions in Assumptions section)
   6. Define Success Criteria Create measurable, technology-agnostic outcomes Include both quantitative metrics (time, performance, volume) and qualitative measures (user satisfaction, task completion) Each criterion must be verifiable without implementation details
   7. Identify Key Entities (if data involved)
   8. Return: SUCCESS (spec ready for planning)

5. Write the specification to SPEC_FILE using the template structure, replacing placeholders with concrete details derived from the feature description (arguments) while preserving section order and headings.

6. Specification Quality Validation: After writing the initial spec, validate it against quality criteria:

   a. Create Spec Quality Checklist: Generate a checklist file at FEATURE_DIR/checklists/requirements.md using the checklist template structure with these validation items:

   # Specification Quality Checklist: [FEATURE NAME]
   
   **Purpose**: Validate specification completeness and quality before proceeding to planning
   **Created**: [DATE]
   **Feature**: [Link to spec.md]
   
   ## Content Quality
   
   - [ ] No implementation details (languages, frameworks, APIs)
   - [ ] Focused on user value and business needs
   - [ ] Written for non-technical stakeholders
   - [ ] All mandatory sections completed
   
   ## Requirement Completeness
   
   - [ ] No [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers remain
   - [ ] Requirements are testable and unambiguous
   - [ ] Success criteria are measurable
   - [ ] Success criteria are technology-agnostic (no implementation details)
   - [ ] All acceptance scenarios are defined
   - [ ] Edge cases are identified
   - [ ] Scope is clearly bounded
   - [ ] Dependencies and assumptions identified
   
   ## Feature Readiness
   
   - [ ] All functional requirements have clear acceptance criteria
   - [ ] User scenarios cover primary flows
   - [ ] Feature meets measurable outcomes defined in Success Criteria
   - [ ] No implementation details leak into specification
   
   ## Notes
   
   - Items marked incomplete require spec updates before `/speckit.clarify` or `/speckit.plan`
   

   b. Run Validation Check: Review the spec against each checklist item:

   • For each item, determine if it passes or fails
   • Document specific issues found (quote relevant spec sections)

   c. Handle Validation Results:

   • If all items pass: Mark checklist complete and proceed to step 7

   • If items fail (excluding [NEEDS CLARIFICATION]):

     1. List the failing items and specific issues
     2. Update the spec to address each issue
     3. Re-run validation until all items pass (max 3 iterations)
     4. If still failing after 3 iterations, document remaining issues in checklist notes and warn user

   • If [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers remain:

     1. Extract all [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: ...] markers from the spec

     2. LIMIT CHECK: If more than 3 markers exist, keep only the 3 most critical (by scope/security/UX impact) and make informed guesses for the rest

     3. For each clarification needed (max 3), present options to user in this format:

        ## Question [N]: [Topic]
        
        **Context**: [Quote relevant spec section]
        
        **What we need to know**: [Specific question from NEEDS CLARIFICATION marker]
        
        **Suggested Answers**:
        
        | Option | Answer | Implications |
        |--------|--------|--------------|
        | A      | [First suggested answer] | [What this means for the feature] |
        | B      | [Second suggested answer] | [What this means for the feature] |
        | C      | [Third suggested answer] | [What this means for the feature] |
        | Custom | Provide your own answer | [Explain how to provide custom input] |
        
        **Your choice**: _[Wait for user response]_
        

     4. CRITICAL - Table Formatting: Ensure markdown tables are properly formatted:

        • Use consistent spacing with pipes aligned
        • Each cell should have spaces around content: | Content | not |Content|
        • Header separator must have at least 3 dashes: |--------|
        • Test that the table renders correctly in markdown preview

     5. Number questions sequentially (Q1, Q2, Q3 - max 3 total)

     6. Present all questions together before waiting for responses

     7. Wait for user to respond with their choices for all questions (e.g., "Q1: A, Q2: Custom - [details], Q3: B")

     8. Update the spec by replacing each [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] marker with the user's selected or provided answer

     9. Re-run validation after all clarifications are resolved

   d. Update Checklist: After each validation iteration, update the checklist file with current pass/fail status

7. Report completion with branch name, spec file path, checklist results, and readiness for the next phase (/speckit.clarify or /speckit.plan).

NOTE: The script creates and checks out the new branch and initializes the spec file before writing.

Patterns: Best Practices for Specification Creation

Pattern 1: Informed Inference Over Premature Clarification

Objective: Produce complete, actionable specifications efficiently by leveraging domain knowledge and industry standards rather than deferring to users for routine decisions.

Context of application: Apply during specification generation (Step 4) when encountering unspecified details that have reasonable defaults or can be inferred from context.

Key characteristics:

• Maximum 3 [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers per specification
• Clarifications reserved for scope-critical, security-sensitive, or user-experience-defining decisions
• Assumptions documented explicitly in Assumptions section
• Defaults based on industry standards for the domain

Operational guidance:

1. When encountering unspecified detail, first check: Does this have an industry-standard default? (e.g., session-based auth, RESTful APIs, standard performance expectations)
2. If yes, apply the default and document assumption in spec's Assumptions section
3. If no clear default exists, evaluate impact: Does this significantly affect scope, security, or core UX?
4. Only if high-impact AND multiple conflicting interpretations exist, add [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] marker
5. Track clarification count; if approaching 3, convert lower-priority clarifications to documented assumptions
6. Prioritize by: scope boundaries > security/compliance > user experience > technical preferences

Pattern 2: Multi-Source Branch Number Reconciliation

Objective: Prevent branch number collisions and specification conflicts by checking all sources of truth before assigning new feature numbers.

Context of application: Apply during branch creation (Step 2) before running the create-new-feature script.

Key characteristics:

• Checks remote branches, local branches, and specs directories
• Fetches latest remote state before analysis
• Uses exact pattern matching for short-name
• Increments fr