| name | spec |
| description | Define requirements before planning. Use when starting a new feature, when requirements are ambiguous, or when the user says 'write a spec' or 'define requirements'. |
Write a specification for: $ARGUMENTS
Follow this workflow:
-
Discovery: ask the user clarifying questions before writing anything. Cover:
- Who - who is the user/audience for this feature?
- What - what exactly should it do? What is the expected behavior?
- Why - what problem does it solve? What is the success metric?
- Constraints - what technical, time, or scope constraints exist?
- Boundaries - what is explicitly out of scope?
- Ask one question at a time, waiting for the answer before asking the next. The list above is the topic checklist to cover across the discovery phase, not a batch to dump in one turn. See
rules/communication.md.
-
Draft the spec: based on the answers, write a specification with these sections:
# Spec: <title>
## Problem Statement
<What problem does this solve and for whom?>
## User Stories
- As a <role>, I want <capability> so that <benefit>
## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] <Specific, testable criterion>
- [ ] <Specific, testable criterion>
## Non-Functional Requirements
- Performance: <latency, throughput targets>
- Security: <auth, data handling requirements>
- Accessibility: <WCAG level, specific requirements>
## Technical Constraints
- <Stack, infrastructure, API compatibility requirements>
## Out of Scope
- <Explicitly excluded from this work>
## Open Questions
**why-not-mechanizable:** skill workflow guidance; each step requires understanding the surrounding context (repo, task shape, prior state).
- <Anything unresolved that needs a decision>
- Save: save the spec to
.claude/state/specs/YYYY-MM-DD-spec-<topic>.md (review-time: see section note)
- Review: present the spec to the user. Wait for approval before proceeding to /plan.
(review-time: see section note)
- Iterate: if the user has feedback, update the spec and re-present. Repeat until approved.
(review-time: see section note)
Do NOT proceed to planning or implementation until the spec is explicitly approved.