Spec-Kit: Constitution-Based Spec-Driven Development

Official GitHub Spec-Kit integration providing a 7-phase constitution-driven workflow for feature development.

Quick Start

This skill works with the GitHub Spec-Kit CLI to guide you through structured feature development:

Constitution → Establish governing principles
Specify → Define functional requirements
Clarify → Resolve ambiguities
Plan → Create technical strategy
Tasks → Generate actionable breakdown
Analyze → Validate consistency
Implement → Execute implementation

Storage: Creates files in .specify/specs/NNN-feature-name/ directory with numbered features

When to Use

Setting up spec-kit in a project
Creating constitution-based feature specifications
Working with .specify/ directory
Following GitHub spec-kit workflow
Constitution-driven development

Prerequisites & Setup

Check CLI Installation

First, verify if spec-kit CLI is installed:

command -v specify || echo "Not installed"

Installation

If not installed:

# Persistent installation (recommended)
uv tool install specify-cli --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git

# One-time usage
uvx --from git+https://github.com/github/spec-kit.git specify init <PROJECT_NAME>

Requirements:

Python 3.11+
Git
uv package manager (install uv)

Project Initialization

If CLI is installed but project not initialized:

# Initialize in current directory
specify init . --ai claude

# Initialize new project
specify init <project-name> --ai claude

# Options:
# --force: Overwrite non-empty directories
# --script ps: Generate PowerShell scripts (Windows)
# --no-git: Skip Git initialization

🔍 Phase Detection Logic

Detecting Project State

Before proceeding, always detect the current state:

1. CLI Installed?

if command -v specify &> /dev/null || [ -x "$HOME/.local/bin/specify" ]; then
  echo "CLI installed"
else
  echo "CLI not installed - guide user through installation"
fi

2. Project Initialized?

if [ -d ".specify" ] && [ -f ".specify/memory/constitution.md" ]; then
  echo "Project initialized"
else
  echo "Project not initialized - guide user through 'specify init'"
fi

3. Current Feature

# Get latest feature directory
LATEST=$(ls -d .specify/specs/[0-9]* 2>/dev/null | sort -V | tail -1)
echo "Latest feature: $LATEST"

4. Current Phase

Detect phase by checking file existence in latest feature:

FEATURE_DIR=".specify/specs/001-feature-name"

if [ ! -f ".specify/memory/constitution.md" ]; then
  echo "Phase: constitution"
elif [ ! -d "$FEATURE_DIR" ]; then
  echo "Phase: specify"
elif [ -f "$FEATURE_DIR/spec.md" ] && ! grep -q "## Clarifications" "$FEATURE_DIR/spec.md"; then
  echo "Phase: clarify"
elif [ ! -f "$FEATURE_DIR/plan.md" ]; then
  echo "Phase: plan"
elif [ ! -f "$FEATURE_DIR/tasks.md" ]; then
  echo "Phase: tasks"
elif [ -f "$FEATURE_DIR/tasks.md" ] && grep -q "\\- \\[ \\]" "$FEATURE_DIR/tasks.md"; then
  echo "Phase: implement"
else
  echo "Phase: complete"
fi

📜 Phase 1: Constitution

Constitution Phase

Establish foundational principles that govern all development decisions.

Purpose

Create .specify/memory/constitution.md with:

Project values and principles
Technical standards
Decision-making frameworks
Code quality expectations
Architecture guidelines

Process

Gather Context
- Understand project domain
- Identify key stakeholders
- Review existing standards (if any)
Draft Constitution
- Core values and principles
- Technical standards
- Quality expectations
- Decision criteria
Structure

# Project Constitution

## Core Values

1. **[Value Name]**: [Description and implications]
2. **[Value Name]**: [Description and implications]

## Technical Principles

### Architecture
- [Principle with rationale]

### Code Quality
- [Standards and expectations]

### Performance
- [Performance criteria]

## Decision Framework

When making technical decisions, consider:
1. [Criterion with priority]
2. [Criterion with priority]

Versioning
- Constitution can evolve
- Track changes for governance
- Review periodically

Example Content

# Project Constitution

## Core Values

1. **Simplicity Over Cleverness**: Favor straightforward solutions that are easy to understand and maintain over clever optimizations.

2. **User Experience First**: Every technical decision should improve or maintain user experience.

## Technical Principles

### Architecture
- Prefer composition over inheritance
- Keep components loosely coupled
- Design for testability

### Code Quality
- Code reviews required for all changes
- Unit test coverage > 80%
- Documentat

...

spec-kit-skill

SKILL.md