spec-kitty-specify

name	spec-kitty.specify
description	Create a mission specification
user-invocable	true

/spec-kitty.specify - Create Mission Specification

Version: 0.11.0+

📍 WORKING DIRECTORY: Stay in the repository root checkout

IMPORTANT: Specify works in the repository root checkout. NO worktrees are created.

# Run from the repository root checkout:
cd /path/to/project/root  # Your repository root checkout

# All planning artifacts are created in the project root and committed:
# - kitty-specs/<mission_slug>/spec.md → Created in project root
#   (use the mission_slug returned by `mission create`; the numeric NNN- prefix
#    is display-only and is assigned at merge time)
# - Committed to target branch (from create JSON: target_branch/base_branch)
# - NO worktrees created

Worktrees are created later during /spec-kitty.implement, after task finalization computes execution lanes.

Mission Handle Rule

Before mission create, there is no mission handle yet.

• Do not pass --mission to spec-kitty agent mission branch-context.
• Do not pass --mission to spec-kitty agent mission create.
• After create succeeds, use --mission <handle> for commands that operate on the created mission.
• <handle> can be the mission's mission_id (ULID), mid8 (first 8 chars of the ULID), or mission_slug.
• The resolver disambiguates by mission_id and returns a structured MISSION_AMBIGUOUS_SELECTOR error on ambiguity — there is no silent fallback.

User Input

The content of the user's message that invoked this skill (everything after the skill invocation token, e.g. after /spec-kitty.<command> or $spec-kitty.<command>) is the User Input referenced elsewhere in these instructions.

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

Primary Invariant: What Are We Building?

This workflow answers "What are we building?" before it creates artifacts. The raw invocation text is only a starting point for discovery, not the final truth.

Before mission create, before writing spec.md, and before committing anything, you MUST have one of these:

• A completed discovery interview with an acknowledged Intent Summary.
• A brief-intake summary and extracted requirement set explicitly confirmed by the user.
• An explicit user instruction to minimize or skip discovery; even then, record the minimal confirmed scenario and assumptions in the Intent Summary.

For non-trivial work, the confirmed Intent Summary must cover the primary actor, trigger, desired outcome, one rule or invariant, and any canonical domain term or boundary that materially affects the work.

Branch Strategy Confirmation (MANDATORY)

Before discovery, resolve branch intent through the Python helper, not by probing git directly:

spec-kitty agent mission branch-context --json

If the user already told you the intended landing branch, pass it explicitly:

spec-kitty agent mission branch-context --json --target-branch <intended-branch>

Parse the JSON and, in your next reply, explicitly tell the user:

• Current branch at workflow start: current_branch
• Default planning/base branch if you create the mission right now: planning_base_branch
• Final merge target for completed changes: merge_target_branch
• Whether branch_matches_target is true or false
• If that is not the intended landing branch, stop and ask which branch should receive this feature before you run create

Never talk generically about main or "the default branch". Name the actual branch values from the helper JSON. Do not shell out to git for this prompt.

Commit Boundary (issue #846)

spec-kitty agent mission create no longer auto-commits spec.md. The empty template is written to disk untracked at create time; you are responsible for committing it after writing substantive content.

"Substantive content" for spec.md means at least one Functional Requirements row (FR-###) whose description is real (not a template placeholder like [NEEDS CLARIFICATION …], [e.g., …], or a bare user-story scaffold). Section presence is the only signal — adding 300 bytes of arbitrary prose without an FR row does not count as substantive.

Workflow:

1. Run spec-kitty agent mission create …. Note that spec.md is left untracked.
2. Populate spec.md with real Functional / Non-Functional / Constraint rows.
3. Commit spec.md yourself: spec-kitty safe-commit --message "Add spec for <slug>" <feature_dir>/spec.md.
4. Only then will spec-kitty agent mission setup-plan accept the spec phase as complete; otherwise it returns phase_complete=false with a blocked_reason mentioning "committed AND substantive".

Reference: kitty-specs/charter-e2e-827-followups-01KQAJA0/contracts/specify-plan-commit-boundary.md.

DO NOT

• Do not mix functional, non-functional, and constraint requirements in one list.
• Do not emit requirements without stable IDs (FR-###, NFR-###, C-###).
• Do not leave requirement status fields empty.
• Do not write non-functional requirements without measurable thresholds.
• Do not proceed to planning with unresolved requirement quality checklist failures.

Charter Context Bootstrap (required)

Before discovery questions, load charter context for this action:

spec-kitty charter context --action specify --json

• If JSON mode is bootstrap, treat JSON text as the initial governance context and consult referenced docs as needed.
• If JSON mode is compact, proceed with concise governance context.
• If no charter exists yet, note that and continue. Missing charter is not a blocker for /spec-kitty.specify.

Brief Context Detection (check before discovery)

Before starting discovery, check for a pre-existing mission brief:

ls .kittify/mission-brief.md 2>/dev/null && echo "MISSION_BRIEF_FOUND"
ls .kittify/ticket-context.md 2>/dev/null && echo "TICKET_CONTEXT_FOUND"

Check in priority order:

1. .kittify/mission-brief.md — general plan intake (written by spec-kitty intake)
2. .kittify/ticket-context.md — tracker ticket (written by mission create --from-ticket)

If a brief file is found → Enter Brief-Intake Mode

BRIEF DETECTED: .kittify/<filename> (source: <source_file>)

1. Read the full brief. Do not skim.

2. Summarise for the user. Present a single paragraph: what the brief says the goal is, who it is for, and what the key constraints are. Example: "I found a plan document from Claude Code plan mode. Here's what I understand the goal to be: [summary]. I'll extract the spec from this brief rather than running a full discovery interview."

3. Extract requirements directly. Map the brief's content to FR-###, NFR-###, and C-### IDs. Do not ask questions the brief already answers. Specifically extract:

   • Objective → Functional Requirements
   • Constraints and non-goals → Non-Functional Requirements and Constraints
   • Acceptance criteria → FR status and Definition of Done markers
   • Risks and open questions → Assumptions or [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: <text>] <!-- decision_id: <id> --> markers (max 3; use decision defer before writing each marker)

4. Ask gap-filling questions only. Scale to brief quality:

   Brief quality	Discovery questions
   Comprehensive (objective + constraints + approach + ACs)	0–1 gap-filling questions
   Good (objective + constraints, no ACs)	2–3 questions
   Partial (goal statement only)	4–5 questions
   Empty / missing	Proceed to normal Discovery Gate below

5. Show the extracted requirement set. Present the full FR/NFR/C table to the user: "I extracted X functional requirements and Y non-functional requirements. Does this look right?" Wait for one round of confirmation. This confirmation is the discovery gate for brief-intake mode; do not write or commit spec.md before it happens unless the user explicitly asks to minimize or skip discovery. The user may correct or supplement before you write the spec.

6. Write spec.md normally. Apply the same quality checklist and readiness gate as standard specify. Brief-intake mode does NOT lower the quality bar — spec.md must still pass all validation items.

7. After spec.md is committed, delete all brief files (each only if present):

   rm -f .kittify/mission-brief.md
   rm -f .kittify/brief-source.yaml
   rm -f .kittify/ticket-context.md
   rm -f .kittify/pending-origin.yaml
   

What brief-intake mode does NOT do:

• Does not copy brief prose verbatim into spec.md — it extracts and structures requirements
• Does not skip the quality checklist
• Does not skip the readiness gate
• Does not require the brief to be in any particular format — Markdown prose is fine

If no brief file is found → Proceed with normal Discovery Gate

No change to current behaviour. Continue to the Discovery Gate section below.

Decision Moment Protocol

Before asking any interview question during this command, you MUST:

1. Run spec-kitty agent decision open to mint a decision_id:

   spec-kitty agent decision open \
     --mission <mission-slug> \
     --flow specify \
     --slot-key specify.<section>.<question-slug> \
     --input-key <snake_case_key> \
     --question "<question text>" \
     [--options '["option1","option2","Other"]']
   

   Capture the returned decision_id from the JSON output.

2. Ask the question to the user in chat.

3. After the user answers, run exactly one of:

   • Resolved answer: spec-kitty agent decision resolve <decision_id> --mission <slug> --final-answer "<answer>" [--other-answer]
   • Deferred / skip: spec-kitty agent decision defer <decision_id> --mission <slug> --rationale "<reason>"
   • Not applicable / cancel: spec-kitty agent decision cancel <decision_id> --mission <slug> --rationale "<reason>"

4. When deferring, write the inline marker into spec.md immediately after the relevant section:

   [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: <brief description of what needs answering>] <!-- decision_id: <decision_id> -->
   

5. Before declaring the interview phase complete, run: spec-kitty agent decision verify --mission <slug> Address any findings (DEFERRED_WITHOUT_MARKER, MARKER_WITHOUT_DECISION, STALE_MARKER) before proceeding.

Important constraints:

• --slot-key format: specify.<section>.<question-slug> (e.g., specify.auth.strategy).
• --input-key is the snake_case programmatic key (e.g., auth_strategy).
• The decision_id on the wire is a plain ULID (26 chars). The DM- prefix appears only in artifact filenames, not in CLI arguments.
• Widening is represented by the CLI/SaaS widen flow; if that flow returns canonical thread metadata, it must be recorded as DecisionPointWidened.
• SaaS sync is not required; all operations are local-only.

Discovery Gate (mandatory)

Before running mission create, writing spec.md, committing, or otherwise creating planning artifacts, you must conduct or verify a structured discovery interview.

• Scope proportionality (CRITICAL): FIRST, gauge the inherent complexity of the request:

  • Trivial/Test Features (hello world, simple pages, proof-of-concept): Ask 1-2 questions maximum, then proceed. Examples: "a simple hello world page", "tic-tac-toe game", "basic contact form"
  • Simple Features (small UI additions, minor enhancements): Ask 2-3 questions covering purpose and basic constraints
  • Complex Features (new subsystems, integrations): Ask 3-5 questions covering goals, users, constraints, risks
  • Platform/Critical Features (authentication, payments, infrastructure): Full discovery with 5+ questions

• Scenario-first discovery: For any non-trivial feature, prefer concrete workflow questions over abstract opinion prompts. Ask for the primary actor, trigger, happy-path outcome, and the most common exception or branch.

• Terminology discipline: If the request introduces business or domain terms that may drift, ask which term is canonical and which synonyms should be avoided. When relevant, carry those choices into the optional Domain Language section of the spec instead of leaving them implicit.

• Rule probing: For workflows with approvals, validations, state changes, or compliance implications, ask what must always be true and which transitions or checks cannot be skipped.

• User signals to reduce questioning: If the user says "just testing", "quick prototype", "skip to next phase", "stop asking questions" - recognize this as a signal to minimize discovery and proceed with reasonable defaults.

• First response rule:

  • For TRIVIAL features (hello world, simple test): Ask ONE clarifying question, then if the answer confirms it's simple, proceed directly to spec generation
  • For other features: Ask a single focused discovery question anchored in the primary user scenario and end with WAITING_FOR_DISCOVERY_INPUT

• If the user provides no initial description (empty command), stay in Interactive Interview Mode: keep probing with one question at a time.

• Conversational cadence: After each user reply, decide if you have ENOUGH context for this feature's complexity level. For trivial features, 1-2 questions is sufficient. Only continue asking if truly necessary for the scope.

Discovery requirements (scale to feature complexity):

1. Maintain a Discovery Questions table internally covering questions appropriate to the feature's complexity (1-2 for trivial, up to 5+ for complex). Track columns #, Question, Why it matters, and Current insight. Do not render this table to the user.
2. For trivial features, reasonable defaults are acceptable. Only probe if truly ambiguous.
3. When you have sufficient context for the feature's scope, paraphrase into an Intent Summary and confirm. For trivial features, this can be very brief. For non-trivial features, include the primary actor, trigger/success outcome, key constraint, and any explicit assumptions or deferred decisions.
4. Before leaving the interview loop, do a short playback of the primary scenario, the main exception or edge case, and any rule that must always hold.
5. If user explicitly asks to skip questions or says "just testing", acknowledge and proceed with minimal discovery.

Bulk-Edit Detection (mandatory check)

Before finalizing the Intent Summary, ask yourself one question:

Does fulfilling this request require changing the same existing string (identifier, path, key, label, or term) in more than one file?

Typical shapes: "rename X to Y", "the Blue feature is now the Red feature", "change the terminology from X to Y", "move package A to package B", "replace ACME with GlobalCorp everywhere in docs and UI".

If yes or uncertain: load the spec-kitty-bulk-edit-classification skill and follow it. You will set change_mode: bulk_edit in meta.json after mission create and produce an occurrence_map.yaml during plan. The user does not need to know these field names — the skill teaches you the workflow.

If clearly no (a new feature with new identifiers, a bug fix that doesn't rename anything, a refactor inside one file): proceed normally.

When in doubt, treat as bulk edit. The false-positive cost is drafting one map the user approves in a pass; the false-negative cost is the silent cross-file breakage that DIRECTIVE_035 exists to prevent.

Mission Selection

After completing discovery and confirming the Intent Summary, determine the appropriate mission type for this mission run.

Available Missions

• software-dev: For building software features, APIs, CLI tools, applications

  • Phases: research → design → implement → test → review
  • Best for: code changes, new features, bug fixes, refactoring

• research: For investigations, literature reviews, technical analysis

  • Phases: question → methodology → gather → analyze → synthesize → publish
  • Best for: feasibility studies, market research, technology evaluation

Mission Inference

1. Analyze the feature description to identify the primary goal:

   • Building, coding, implementing, creating software → software-dev
   • Researching, investigating, analyzing, evaluating → research

2. Check for explicit mission requests in the user's description:

   • If user mentions "research project", "investigation", "analysis" → use research
   • If user mentions "build", "implement", "create feature" → use software-dev

3. Confirm with user (unless explicit):

   "Based on your description, this sounds like a [software-dev/research] project. I'll use the [mission name] mission. Does that work for you?"

4. Handle user response:

   • If confirmed: proceed with selected mission
   • If user wants different mission: use their choice

5. Handle --mission flag: If the user provides --mission <key> in their command, skip inference and use the specified mission directly.

Store the final mission selection in your notes and include it in the spec output. Do not pass a --mission-type flag to mission creation unless the user explicitly overrides the default.

Workflow (0.11.0+)

Planning happens in the repository root checkout - NO worktree created!

1. Creates kitty-specs/<mission_slug>/spec.md directly in project root (the optional NNN- prefix is display-only metadata assigned at merge time)
2. Automatically commits to target branch
3. No worktree created during specify

Worktrees created later: After /spec-kitty.tasks finishes, run: spec-kitty next --agent <agent> --mission <handle>. The --mission handle can be the mission's mission_id (ULID), mid8 (first 8 chars), or mission_slug; the resolver disambiguates by mission_id and returns a structured error on ambiguity (no silent fallback). Your agent will call spec-kitty agent action implement WP## --agent <name> for each WP. Each lane gets exactly one worktree, for example .worktrees/<human-slug>-<mid8>-lane-a/ (e.g. .worktrees/my-feature-01J6XW9K-lane-a/).

Location

• Work in: Repository root checkout (not a worktree)
• Creates: kitty-specs/<mission_slug>/spec.md (the NNN- prefix is display-only and assigned at merge time)
• Commits to: target branch (from create --json → target_branch)

Outline

0. Generate a Friendly Feature Title

• Summarize the agreed intent into a short, descriptive title (aim for ≤7 words; avoid filler like "feature" or "thing").
• Read that title back during the Intent Summary and revise it if the user requests changes.
• Use the confirmed title to derive the kebab-case feature slug for the create command.

The text the user typed after /spec-kitty.specify in the triggering message is the initial feature description. Capture it verbatim, but treat it only as a starting point for discovery—not the final truth. Your job is to interrogate the request, surface gaps, and co-create a complete specification with the user.

Given that feature description, do this:

• Generation Mode (arguments provided): Use the provided text as a starting point, validate it through discovery, and fill gaps with explicit questions or clearly documented assumptions (limit [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: …] <!-- decision_id: <id> --> to at most three critical decisions the user has postponed; call decision defer before writing each such marker).
• Interactive Interview Mode (no arguments): Use the discovery interview to elicit all necessary context, synthesize the working feature description, and confirm it with the user before you generate any specification artifacts.

1. Check discovery status:

   • If this is your first message or discovery questions remain unanswered, stay in the one-question loop, capture the user's response, update your internal table, and end with WAITING_FOR_DISCOVERY_INPUT. Do not surface the table; keep it internal. Do not call the creation command yet.
   • Only proceed once every discovery question has an explicit answer and the user has acknowledged the Intent Summary.
   • Empty invocation rule: stay in interview mode until you can restate the agreed-upon feature description. Do not call the creation command while the description is missing or provisional.

2. When discovery is complete and the intent summary, title, purpose TLDR, purpose context paragraph, and mission type are confirmed, run the mission creation command from repo root:

   spec-kitty agent mission create "<slug>" \
     --friendly-name "<title>" \
     --purpose-tldr "<purpose_tldr>" \
     --purpose-context "<purpose_context>" \
     --json
   

   Where <slug> is a kebab-case version of the friendly title (e.g., "Checkout Upsell Flow" → "checkout-upsell-flow").

   The command returns JSON with:

   • result: "success" or error message
   • mission_id: Canonical ULID machine identity (e.g., 01J6XW9KQT7M0YB3N4R5CQZ2EX). Immutable.
   • mission_slug: Human-readable mission slug (e.g., checkout-upsell-flow)
   • mission_number: Display-only numeric prefix, null pre-merge. Assigned at merge time. Never use this as a selector or identity.
   • mission_type: Mission type key (for example software-dev)
   • slug: Unnumbered mission slug (e.g., checkout-upsell-flow)
   • friendly_name: Confirmed mission title
   • purpose_tldr: One-line stakeholder-facing mission summary
   • purpose_context: Short stakeholder-facing context paragraph
   • feature_dir: Absolute path to the feature directory inside the repository root checkout
   • current_branch: the branch you started from

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

General Guidelines

Quick Guidelines

• Focus on WHAT users need and WHY.
• Avoid HOW to implement (no tech stack, APIs, code structure).
• Written for business stakeholders, not developers.
• DO NOT create any checklists that are embedded in the spec. That will be a separate command.

Section Requirements

• Mandatory sections: Must be completed for every feature
• Optional sections: Include only when relevant to the feature
• When a section doesn't apply, remove it entirely (don't leave as "N/A")

For AI Generation

When creating this spec from a user prompt:

1. Make informed guesses: Use context, industry standards, and common patterns to fill gaps
2. Document assumptions: Record reasonable defaults in the Assumptions section
3. Limit clarifications: Maximum 3 [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers - use only for critical decisions that:
   • Significantly impact feature scope or user experience
   • Have multiple reasonable interpretations with different implications
   • Lack any reasonable default
4. Prioritize clarifications: scope > security/privacy > user experience > technical details
5. Think like a tester: Every vague requirement should fail the "testable and unambiguous" checklist item
6. Common areas needing clarification (only if no reasonable default exists):
   • Feature scope and boundaries (include/exclude specific use cases)
   • User types and permissions (if multiple conflicting interpretations possible)
   • Security/compliance requirements (when legally/financially significant)

Examples of reasonable defaults (don't ask about these):

• Data retention: Industry-standard practices for the domain
• Performance targets: Standard web/mobile app expectations unless specified
• Error handling: User-friendly messages with appropriate fallbacks
• Authentication method: Standard session-based or OAuth2 for web apps
• Integration patterns: RESTful APIs unless specified otherwise

Success Criteria Guidelines

Success criteria must be:

1. Measurable: Include specific metrics (time, percentage, count, rate)
2. Technology-agnostic: No mention of frameworks, languages, databases, or tools
3. User-focused: Describe outcomes from user/business perspective, not system internals
4. Verifiable: Can be tested/validated without knowing implementation details

Good examples:

• "Users can complete checkout in under 3 minutes"
• "System supports 10,000 concurrent users"
• "95% of searches return results in under 1 second"
• "Task completion rate improves by 40%"

Bad examples (implementation-focused):

• "API response time is under 200ms" (too technical, use "Users see results instantly")
• "Database can handle 1000 TPS" (implementation detail, use user-facing metric)
• "React components render efficiently" (framework-specific)
• "Redis cache hit rate above 80%" (technology-specific)