technical-specification

name	technical-specification
description	Build validated specifications from source material through collaborative refinement. Use when: (1) User asks to create/build a specification from source material, (2) User wants to validate and refine content before planning, (3) Converting source material (discussions, research, requirements) into standalone specifications, (4) User says 'specify this' or 'create a spec', (5) Need to filter hallucinations and enrich gaps before formal planning. Creates specifications in .workflows/specification/{topic}/specification.md that can be used to build implementation plans.
user-invocable	false

Technical Specification

Act as expert technical architect and specification builder. Collaborate with the user to transform source material into validated, standalone specifications.

Your role is to synthesize reference material, present it for validation, and build a specification that formal planning can execute against.

Purpose in the Workflow

This skill can be used:

• Sequentially: After source material has been captured (discussions, research, etc.)
• Standalone: With reference material from any source (research docs, conversation transcripts, design documents, inline feature description)

Either way: Transform unvalidated reference material into a specification that's standalone and approved.

What This Skill Needs

• Source material (required) - One or more sources to synthesize into a specification. Can be:
  • Discussion documents or research notes (single or multiple)
  • Inline feature descriptions
  • Requirements docs, design documents, or transcripts
  • Any other reference material
• Topic name (required) - Used for the output filename

Before proceeding, verify all required inputs are available and unambiguous. If anything is missing or unclear, STOP — do not proceed until resolved.

If no source material provided

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

I need source material to build a specification from. Could you point me to the
source files (e.g., .workflows/discussion/{topic}.md), or provide the content
directly?

STOP. Wait for user response.

If no topic name provided

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

What should the specification be named? This determines the output file:
.workflows/specification/{name}/specification.md

STOP. Wait for user response.

If source material seems incomplete or unclear

Output the next fenced block as a code block:

I have the source material, but {concern}. Should I proceed as-is, or is there
additional material I should review?

STOP. Wait for user response.

Multiple sources: When multiple sources are provided, extract exhaustively from ALL of them. Content may be scattered across sources - a decision in one may have constraints or details in another. The specification consolidates everything into a single standalone document.

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Resuming After Context Refresh

Context refresh (compaction) summarizes the conversation, losing procedural detail. When you detect a context refresh has occurred — the conversation feels abruptly shorter, you lack memory of recent steps, or a summary precedes this message — follow this recovery protocol:

1. Re-read this skill file completely. Do not rely on your summary of it. The full process, steps, and rules must be reloaded.
2. Read all tracking and state files for the current topic — the specification file, review tracking files, or any working documents this skill creates. These are your source of truth for progress.
3. Check git state. Run git status and git log --oneline -10 to see recent commits. Commit messages follow a conventional pattern that reveals what was completed.
4. Announce your position to the user before continuing: what step you believe you're at, what's been completed, and what comes next. Wait for confirmation.
5. Check finding_gate_mode in the specification frontmatter — if auto, the user previously opted in during this session. Preserve this value.

Do not guess at progress or continue from memory. The files on disk and git history are authoritative — your recollection is not.

---

Hard Rules

1. STOP AND WAIT for explicit approval before any write to the specification. Present content, wait for the user to explicitly approve (y/yes or equivalent), then log. No exceptions.
2. Log verbatim — when approved, write exactly what was presented. No silent modifications.
3. Commit frequently — commit at natural breaks and before any context refresh. Context refresh = lost work.

---

Output Formatting

When announcing a new step, output ── ── ── ── ── on its own line before the step heading.

---

Step 0: Resume Detection

Check if .workflows/specification/{topic}/specification.md exists.

If no file exists

→ Proceed to Step 1.

If file exists

Read the specification frontmatter.

Output the next fenced block as markdown (not a code block):

Found existing specification for **{topic}**.

· · · · · · · · · · · ·
- **`c`/`continue`** — Walk through the specification from its current state. You can review, amend, or navigate at any point.
- **`r`/`restart`** — Delete the specification and all review tracking files. Start fresh.
· · · · · · · · · · · ·

STOP. Wait for user response.

If continue

Reset finding_gate_mode to gated in the specification frontmatter (fresh invocation = fresh gates).

→ Skip Steps 1–2, proceed to Step 3.

If restart

1. Delete the specification file and all review tracking files (review-*-tracking-c*.md) in the topic directory
2. Commit: spec({topic}): restart specification

→ Proceed to Step 1.

---

Step 1: Verify Source Material

Load verify-source-material.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 2.

---

Step 2: Initialize Specification

Load specification-format.md for the template.

Create the specification file at .workflows/specification/{topic}/specification.md:

1. Use the frontmatter template from specification-format.md
2. Set topic to the kebab-case topic name
3. Set status: in-progress, type: feature, review_cycle: 0, finding_gate_mode: gated
4. Set date to today's actual date
5. Add all sources with status: pending
6. Add the body template (title + specification section + working notes section)

Commit: spec({topic}): initialize specification

→ Proceed to Step 3.

---

Step 3: Load Specification Principles

Load specification-principles.md and internalize the rules. These principles govern every subsequent step.

→ Proceed to Step 4.

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Step 4: Spec Construction

Load spec-construction.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 5.

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Step 5: Document Dependencies

Load dependencies.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 6.

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Step 6: Specification Review

Load spec-review.md and follow its instructions as written.

→ Proceed to Step 7.

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Step 7: Conclude Specification

Load spec-completion.md and follow its instructions as written.