speckit-init

# Spec Kit — init Initialize a spec-driven development project for **GitHub Copilot** with the **Specify CLI** (`specify`). This skill exposes the `specify init` command. You (the agent) run the CLI on the user's behalf via the shell; the CLI does the scaffolding. Because this is the Copilot plugin, **always** scaffold Copilot in **skills mode**: ``` --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" ``` This installs spec-kit commands (and any extensions added later) as Copilot **Agent Skills** — `.github/skills/speckit-<cmd>/SKILL.md` — rather than the default `.github/agents/*.agent.md` layout. Skills are what Copilot CLI discovers as `SKILL.md`, so this keeps the project consistent with how this plugin works. Do not omit `--integration-options="--skills"`. ## Prerequisite This skill needs the `specify` CLI. Confirm it is available: ```bash specify --version ``` If it is missing (`command not found`), use the **speckit-cli-setup** skill to install it first, then continue. ## When to use - The user wants to start a **new** spec-kit project. - The user wants to add spec-driven development to the **current** directory. ## How to invoke `specify init` scaffolds templates, scripts, the spec-kit workflow, shared infrastructure, and the Copilot command files. It runs offline from assets bundled in the installed CLI. Common forms (always Copilot + skills mode). Pick the `--script` flavor for the user's OS — `sh` on **macOS/Linux**, `ps` on **Windows** (the examples below use `sh`; swap in `--script ps` on Windows): ```bash # New project directory specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh # Initialize in the current directory specify init . --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh specify init --here --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh # Current directory is non-empty: skip the confirmation prompt specify init --here --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh --force # Install a preset at init time specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script sh --preset healthcare-compliance ``` On Windows, use `--script ps` instead: ```powershell specify init <project-name> --integration copilot --integration-options="--skills" --script ps ``` ### Key options - `--integration copilot` — always use this in the Copilot plugin. - `--integration-options="--skills"` — **required**; scaffolds spec-kit commands as Copilot Agent Skills (`SKILL.md`) instead of `.agent.md` files. - `--script <sh|ps|py>` — choose the helper script flavor. **Always pass this when running `specify init` for the user.** When stdin is a TTY — which the agent shell allocates — omitting `--script` opens an interactive "Choose script type" chooser that blocks the command. (With genuinely non-interactive stdin, e.g. a closed pipe, the CLI instead auto-selects the OS default, but you can't rely on that from a PTY-backed agent session.) Use `sh` on **macOS/Linux**, `ps` on **Windows**; `py` is a cross-platform Python fallback. - `--ignore-agent-tools` — skip checks for the agent's CLI tools. **Recommended** for the Copilot plugin so init doesn't fail on missing external agent CLIs. - `--here` / `.` — initialize in the current directory instead of creating a new one. - `--force` — skip the confirmation when `--here` targets a non-empty directory. - `--preset <id>` — install a preset during initialization. ## Notes - Prefer non-interactive flags so the command does not block on prompts. - **Always pass `--script`** (`sh` on macOS/Linux, `ps` on Windows, `py` anywhere). When `specify init` runs with a TTY on stdin — as it does in a PTY-backed agent session — omitting `--script` opens an interactive "Choose script type" chooser that blocks. (`--integration copilot` already suppresses the *integration* chooser, but the *script-type* chooser still appears.) The CLI only auto-selects the OS default when stdin is genuinely non-interactive (e.g. a closed pipe), which you can't count on here, so this is the most common cause of `specify init` appearing to freeze. - Always pass both `--integration copilot` and `--integration-options="--skills"`; the skills layout is what makes spec-kit commands (and later-added extensions) show up as `SKILL.md` for Copilot. - After init, point the user at the generated skills under `.github/skills/` and the `.specify/` directory. Newly generated skills are picked up in the current Copilot session with **`/skills reload`**, and automatically on the next session start. Suggest `specify check` to verify their environment.