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to-spec

Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the project issue tracker: no interview, just synthesis of what you've already discussed.

Install / Use

npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill to-spec

Installs into whichever agent you are using.

About this skill
📄

SKILL.md

Installable skill definition

Quality Score

89/100

Supported Platforms

Universal

Tags

Our assessment of to-spec

to-spec scores 89/100 on our quality scale, 1608th of 4,599 Development & Engineering skills we index (top 35%).

Its SKILL.md is 3.0 KB long, well organised into 8 sections and no code examples: a solid amount of guidance for an agent.

With 268,790 GitHub stars, it is one of the more widely adopted skills in the catalogue.

Substance
26/30
Structure
13/20
Description
15/15
Adoption
20/20
Freshness
15/15

Maintenance, license and trust

  • The repository was last updated 19 days ago, so to-spec is actively maintained.
  • Our last check on 2026-10-08 found the source still online.
  • It is released under the MIT license, a permissive license that allows use, modification and commercial use with attribution.
  • Its trust signals score 100/100, with no cautions. These come from repository metadata, not a code audit — read the skill file before letting an agent act on it.

Safety scan

No issues found

Our scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful.

AI review by kimi-k2.7-code on 2026-09-25. Automated pattern scan on 2026-09-24. It catches known dangerous patterns, not every risk — read a skill before letting an agent act on it.

to-spec compared with similar skills

All 4 of these similar skills score higher than to-spec; compare them before choosing.

SkillScoreStarsUpdatedFormat
to-spec (this skill)by mattpocock89268.8k19d agoSKILL.md
ai-job-searchby MadsLorentzen10046.4k4d agoCLAUDE.md
claude-howtoby luongnv8910041.8k2d agoCLAUDE.md
algorithmic-artby anthropics100177.9k20d agoSKILL.md
pptxby anthropics100177.9k20d agoSKILL.md

Frequently asked questions

How do I install to-spec?
Run npx skills add mattpocock/skills --skill to-spec. The install tabs above show the steps for each supported agent.
Which AI agents does to-spec work with?
It is written for Universal, as a SKILL.md file. Other agents that read the same format can often use it too.
Is to-spec safe to use?
Our scan of the whole file found no instruction hijacking, hidden characters, credential access, data exfiltration or destructive commands. An AI review of the same text found nothing harmful. It is MIT-licensed and scores 100/100 on trust signals. Skills are instructions an agent will follow, so read the file before installing it and do not approve commands you do not understand.
Is to-spec still maintained?
The repository was last updated 19 days ago, so to-spec is actively maintained.

name: to-spec description: "Turn the current conversation into a spec and publish it to the project issue tracker: no interview, just synthesis of what you've already discussed." disable-model-invocation: true

This skill takes the current conversation context and codebase understanding and produces a spec. Do NOT interview the user; just synthesize what you already know.

The issue tracker and triage label vocabulary should have been provided to you. If not, tell the user to run /setup-matt-pocock-skills.

Process

  1. Explore the repo to understand the current state of the codebase, if you haven't already. Use the project's domain glossary vocabulary throughout the spec, and respect any ADRs in the area you're touching.

  2. Sketch out the seams at which you're going to test the feature. Existing seams should be preferred to new ones. Use the highest seam possible. If new seams are needed, propose them at the highest point you can. The fewer seams across the codebase, the better - the ideal number is one.

Check with the user that these seams match their expectations.

  1. Write the spec using the template below, then publish it to the project issue tracker. Apply the ready-for-agent triage label - no need for additional triage.
<spec-template>

Problem Statement

The problem that the user is facing, from the user's perspective.

Solution

The solution to the problem, from the user's perspective.

User Stories

A LONG, numbered list of user stories. Each user story should be in the format of:

  1. As an <actor>, I want a <feature>, so that <benefit>
<user-story-example> 1. As a mobile bank customer, I want to see balance on my accounts, so that I can make better informed decisions about my spending </user-story-example>

This list of user stories should be extremely extensive and cover all aspects of the feature.

Implementation Decisions

A list of implementation decisions that were made. This can include:

  • The modules that will be built/modified
  • The interfaces of those modules that will be modified
  • Technical clarifications from the developer
  • Architectural decisions
  • Schema changes
  • API contracts
  • Specific interactions

Do NOT include specific file paths or code snippets. They may end up being outdated very quickly.

Exception: if a prototype produced a snippet that encodes a decision more precisely than prose can (state machine, reducer, schema, type shape), inline it within the relevant decision and note briefly that it came from a prototype. Trim to the decision-rich parts, not a working demo, just the important bits.

Testing Decisions

A list of testing decisions that were made. Include:

  • A description of what makes a good test (only test external behavior, not implementation details)
  • Which modules will be tested
  • Prior art for the tests (i.e. similar types of tests in the codebase)

Out of Scope

A description of the things that are out of scope for this spec.

Further Notes

Any further notes about the feature.

</spec-template>

Related Skills

View on GitHub
GitHub Stars268.8k
CategoryDevelopment
Updated19d ago
Forks22.7k

Languages

Shell

Trust signals

100/100

From repository metadata: license, adoption, age and documentation. Not a code audit — see the Safety scan above for what the skill file itself contains.

No cautions