| name | spx-specify |
| description | Lean feature-specification workflow for advanced coding models. Use when a new capability or supplied feature PRD needs planning-ready requirements, acceptance, scope, and constraints. |
SPX Specify
Read references/project-learning.md and apply its consume-capture policy.
Read references/workflow-runtime.md and let its CLI own phase state.
Read references/project-cognition.md, using cognition intent plan.
Read references/requirements-contract.md. Read
references/discussion-handoff.md when consuming a ready discussion and
references/ui-and-handoffs.md plus references/ui-quality-gate.md for any
UI-bearing feature, with or without supplied references. Read
references/consequence-gate.md only on its triggers.
Inspect project rules, relevant live behavior, a supplied feature PRD, and any
confirmed discussion context. Clarify only decisions that materially change scope, behavior,
interfaces, risk, or acceptance; make safe assumptions explicit. Preserve every
confirmed capability and do not silently reduce the request to an MVP.
For new feature state, run the installed
.specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh or PowerShell equivalent. Render
the authoritative spec-contract.json from the canonical machine template
.specify/templates/spec-contract-template.json. For a new project-facing
view, use this Skill's compact assets/spec.md; preserve existing semantic work
when revising an established spec. Render assets/ui-brief.md for substantive
UI work; a narrow existing-pattern adjustment may instead record why a separate
brief adds no decision value.
After the feature directory exists, enter or resume specify through the
workflow runtime before substantive artifact work. Keep specification truth in
the contract rather than reconstructing phase state. Create or resume rich
workflow-state.md from the installed template for specification evidence,
resume details, and Learning; it does not own phase order or runtime revision.
Run
{{specify-subcmd:specify-runtime hook validate-state --command specify --feature-dir <feature-dir> --autofix --format json}}
and stop if the repaired state remains invalid.
Create only specification-stage outputs here: spec-contract.json, spec.md,
a triggered ui-brief.md, and specification evidence or workflow-owned rich state.
Do not create plan-contract.json, plan.md, research.md, data-model.md,
contracts/, quickstart.md, tasks.md, or task-index.json; $spx-plan and
$spx-tasks own those downstream artifacts.
An existing PRD used as input to one feature compiles into the ordinary spec
contract with source traceability. Route project-wide principles to
$spx-constitution, exploratory ideas to $spx-discussion, existing-spec gaps
to $spx-clarify, and repository reconstruction to $spx-prd-scan.
Make requirements and acceptance observable. Populate acceptance_coverage
with unique canonical JSON Pointer pairs from every scope.in and
capability_operations requirement to acceptance_criteria; every requirement
must be covered and every criterion must map exactly once, never serving as the
closure proof for multiple independent requirements. Resolve contradictions and
planning-blocking unknowns; ask only the smallest decision batch needed. Run the installed artifact validator when
available and preserve canonical /sp.* transition values required by the
runtime.
Before reporting planning-ready, run
{{specify-subcmd:specify-runtime hook validate-artifacts --command specify --feature-dir <feature-dir> --format json}};
fail closed on any blocked result and repair the owning artifact or upstream
handoff.
Do not implement or edit production code, tests, migrations, or runtime
configuration. This invocation authorizes only this workflow stage. Stop after
reporting the specification result and recommend exactly one next workflow. Do
not invoke $spx-plan, $spx-clarify, $spx-deep-research, or any other next
workflow in this run; a handoff is not authorization to execute it.
