Specture System

Specture is a spec-driven development system. Durable design records live in

SPEC.md

files under the

specs/

tree. Disposable agent handoffs live in optional

PLAN.md

files beside or beneath specs.

Use the CLI for deterministic file creation, querying, and validation. Use this skill for workflow decisions and file edits.

Start Here

Designing or refining a spec: read references/design-workflow.md.
Splitting an existing spec into parent and child specs: read references/split-workflow.md.
Implementing a spec: read references/implementation-workflow.md before changing code, and include any relevant
```
PLAN.md
```
as execution context.
Validating spec or plan edits: read references/validation-workflow.md.
Bootstrapping or migrating a specs tree: read references/migration-workflow.md.
Creating or editing a
```
SPEC.md
```
: read references/spec-format.md.
Creating or editing a
```
PLAN.md
```
: read references/plan-format.md.
Configuring tracked spec files: read references/specs-gitignore-format.md.

Core Rules

Use
```
specture list
```
to find specs; do not manually scan the specs tree when the CLI can answer the question.
Use
```
specture list --assignee "Name"
```
to find specs assigned to a person. Pass comma-separated complete names to query several assignees; matching is case-insensitive.
Read the relevant
```
SPEC.md
```
before implementation work.
Before implementing any spec, read
```
references/implementation-workflow.md
```
; do not treat a
```
PLAN.md
```
alone as sufficient workflow guidance.
During implementation, commit each focused, verified chunk before starting the next chunk.
Do not batch multiple planned PR chunks into one uncommitted working tree unless the user explicitly asks.
Keep implementation progress out of
```
SPEC.md
```
; use
```
PLAN.md
```
for execution handoffs and task breakdowns.
Add only design content the user explicitly discussed or confirmed; do not invent missing goals, requirements, or decisions.
When the user asks to split an existing spec, established content from that spec may be redistributed into child specs without reconfirmation; follow
```
references/split-workflow.md
```
.
Never infer child boundaries when splitting a spec; discuss the proposed children with the user and get explicit confirmation before creating them.
Parent specs contain a simple description, goals, and linked child-spec index; design decisions belong in child specs.
Do not edit spec design decisions or descriptions without explicit user permission.
Use plain-language markdown headings; do not number headings.
Cross-spec mentions must use inline repo-root-relative markdown links to the target
```
SPEC.md
```
.
Run
```
specture validate
```
after spec migrations or edits to
```
SPEC.md
```
/
```
PLAN.md
```
files.

CLI Quick Reference

bash

specture list
specture list -p 1.4
specture list -p 1.4 -d 1
specture list -d all
specture list --status draft,approved
specture list --assignee "Alice Example"
specture list --assignee "Alice Example,Bob Builder"
specture list -f json
specture validate
specture validate --spec 11
specture new --title "Feature name"
specture new --title "Child feature" --parent 11

```
specture list -p/--parent
```
scopes output to a parent spec's children.
```
specture list -d/--depth
```
controls recursion depth. The default is
```
all
```
(full tree). Use
```
-d 1
```
for immediate children only, or
```
-d 0
```
/
```
-d all
```
for unlimited depth.
```
specture list --assignee
```
matches complete assignee names case-insensitively after trimming whitespace; it does not perform partial-name matching. Combine it with
```
--status all
```
when completed assignments must be included.
Text output shows
```
ASSIGNEE
```
only when at least one displayed spec is assigned. JSON output always includes an
```
assignee
```
string, using
```
""
```
for unassigned specs.
```
specture new --parent
```
creates the next child spec under a parent. It does not have a short
```
-p
```
flag.

When you need to discover Specture behavior or available flags, run

specture help

or command-specific

--help

first. Do not fall back to raw shell directory listing such as

ls specs/

until the CLI cannot answer the question.

specture

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Specture System

Start Here

Core Rules

CLI Quick Reference