specify

name	specify
description	Create spec.md from a feature description.

User Input

$ARGUMENTS

Outline

$ARGUMENTS is the feature description from the triggering message — assume it's available even if the placeholder appears literally above. Don't ask the user to repeat it unless they provided an empty command.

1. Load context. Read specs/constitution.md (principles, non-negotiables, out-of-scope) and run /speckit:constitution without specific principles automatically first, if the file is missing.

2. Create <feature_directory> under specs/, named <NNN>-<short-name>:

   • <NNN> — 3-digit zero-padded sequence, one greater than the highest existing prefix in specs/ (start at 001 if none).
   • <short-name> — 2–4 words, lowercase, hyphen-separated, derived from the feature description.

3. Write specs/feature.json with the feature directory path:

   { "feature_directory": "<feature_directory>" }
   

4. Create the spec based on assets/spec-template.md, stored in <feature_directory>/spec.md with these sections:

   • Overview — what the feature is and why it matters.
   • User scenarios — primary flows and edge cases.
   • Functional requirements — numbered, each independently testable.
   • Success criteria — observable, measurable outcomes.

   Guidelines: make informed defaults for unspecified details, marking genuine unknowns as [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: <question>]; focus on what and why — implementation details belong in plan.md; do not write code, choose a tech stack, or start implementation here.

5. Report the path to <feature_directory>/spec.md and a one-line summary.