speckit-specify

name	speckit-specify
description	Create or update the feature specification from a natural language feature description.
compatibility	Requires spec-kit project structure with .specify/ directory
metadata	{"author":"github-spec-kit","source":"templates/commands/specify.md"}

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

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

Pre-Execution Checks

Check for extension hooks (before specification):

• Check if .specify/extensions.yml exists in the project root.
• If it exists, read it and look for entries under the hooks.before_specify key
• If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue normally
• Filter out hooks where enabled is explicitly false. Treat hooks without an enabled field as enabled by default.
• For each remaining hook, do not attempt to interpret or evaluate hook condition expressions:
  • If the hook has no condition field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable
  • If the hook defines a non-empty condition, skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation
• For each executable hook, output the following based on its optional flag:
  • Optional hook (optional: true):

    ## Extension Hooks
    
    **Optional Pre-Hook**: {extension}
    Command: `/{command}`
    Description: {description}
    
    Prompt: {prompt}
    To execute: `/{command}`
    

  • Mandatory hook (optional: false):

    ## Extension Hooks
    
    **Automatic Pre-Hook**: {extension}
    Executing: `/{command}`
    EXECUTE_COMMAND: {command}
    
    Wait for the result of the hook command before proceeding to the Outline.
    

• If no hooks are registered or .specify/extensions.yml does not exist, skip silently

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 $ARGUMENTS 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. Create the feature branch by running the script with --short-name (and --json). In sequential mode, do NOT pass --number — the script auto-detects the next available number. In timestamp mode, the script generates a YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS prefix automatically:

   Branch numbering mode: Before running the script, check if .specify/init-options.json exists and read the branch_numbering value.

   • If "timestamp", add --timestamp (Bash) or -Timestamp (PowerShell) to the script invocation

   • If "sequential" or absent, do not add any extra flag (default behavior)

   • Bash example: .specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh "$ARGUMENTS" --json --short-name "user-auth" "Add user authentication"

   • Bash (timestamp): .specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh "$ARGUMENTS" --json --timestamp --short-name "user-auth" "Add user authentication"

   • PowerShell example: .specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh "$ARGUMENTS" -Json -ShortName "user-auth" "Add user authentication"

   • PowerShell (timestamp): .specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh "$ARGUMENTS" -Json -Timestamp -ShortName "user-auth" "Add user authentication"

   IMPORTANT:

   • Do NOT pass --number — the script determines the correct next number automatically
   • Always include the JSON flag ( for Bash, for PowerShell) so the output can be parsed reliably

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

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: Use project-appropriate patterns (REST/GraphQL for web services, function calls for libraries, CLI args for tools, etc.)

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)