Create or update the feature specification from a natural language feature description.

User Input You MUST consider the user input before proceeding (if not empty). Pre Execution Checks Check for extension hooks (before specification) : Check if .specify/extensions.yml exists in the project root. If it exists, read it and look for entries under the hooks.before specify key If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue normally Filter out hooks where enabled is explicitly false . Treat hooks without an enabled field as enabled by default. For each remaining hook, do not attempt to interpret or evaluate hook condition expressions: If the hook has no condition field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable If the hook defines a non empty condition , skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation When constructing command invocations from hook command names, replace dots ( . ) with hyphens ( ). For example, speckit.git.commit → /speckit git commit . For each executable hook, output the following based on its optional flag: Optional hook ( optional: true ): Mandatory hook ( optional: false ): After emitting the block above you MUST actually invoke the hook and wait for it to finish before continuing. Run it the same way you would run the command yourself in this agent/session (the invocation may differ from the literal {command} id shown above, e.g. a skills mode agent runs it as /skill:speckit ... or $speckit ... ). Emitting the block alone does not run the hook. If no hooks are registered or .specify/extensions.yml does not exist, skip silently Outline The text the user typed after /speckit specify in the triggering message is the feature description. Assume you always have it available in this conversation even if $ARGUMENTS appears literally below. Do not ask the user to repeat it unless they provided an empty command. Given that feature description, do this: 1. Generate a concise short name (2 4 words) for the feature: Analyze the feature description and extract the most meaningful keywords Create a 2 4 word short name that captures the essence of the feature Use action noun format when possible (e.g., "add user auth", "fix payment bug") Preserve technical terms and acronyms (OAuth2, API, JWT, etc.) Keep it concise but descriptive enough to understand the feature at a glance Examples: "I want to add user authentication" → "user auth" "Implement OAuth2 integration for the API" → "oauth2 api integration" "Create a dashboard for analytics" → "analytics dashboard" "Fix payment processing timeout bug" → "fix payment timeout" 2. Branch creation (optional, via hook): If a before specify hook ran successfully in the Pre Execution Checks above, it will have created/switched to a git branch and output JSON containing BRANCH NAME and FEATURE NUM . Note these values for reference, but the branch name does not dictate the spec directory name. If the user explicitly provided GIT BRANCH NAME , pass it through to the hook so the branch script uses the exact value as the branch name (bypassing all prefix/suffix generation). 3. Create the spec feature directory : Specs live under the default specs/ directory unless the user explicitly provides SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY . Resolution order for SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY : 1. If the user explicitly provided SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY (e.g., via environment variable, argument, or configuration), use it as is 2. Otherwise, auto generate it under specs/ : Check .specify/init options.json for feature numbering (preferred) or branch numbering (deprecated, migration only — will be removed in a future release) If "timestamp" : prefix is YYYYMMDD HHMMSS (current timestamp) If "sequential" or absent: prefix is NNN (next available 3 digit number after scanning existing directories in specs/ ) Construct the directory name: <prefix <short name (e.g., 003 user auth or 20260319 143022 user auth ) Set SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY to specs/<directory name If branch numbering was used (and feature numbering was absent), emit a one line warning: "⚠️ branch numbering in init options.json is deprecated. Rename to feature numbering ." Create the directory and spec file : mkdir p SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY Resolve the active spec template through the Spec Kit preset/template resolution stack (equivalent to specify preset resolve spec template ) Copy the resolved spec template file to SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY/spec.md as the starting point Set SPEC FILE to SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY/spec.md Persist the resolved path to .specify/feature.json : Write the actual resolved directory path value (for example, specs/003 user auth ), not the literal string SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY . This allows downstream commands ( /speckit plan , /speckit tasks , etc.) to locate the feature directory without relying on git branch name conventions. IMPORTANT : You must only create one feature per /speckit specify invocation The spec directory name and the git branch name are independent — they may be the same but that is the user's choice The spec directory and file are always created by this command, never by the hook 4. Load the resolved active spec template file to understand required sections. 5. IF EXISTS : Load .specify/memory/constitution.md for project principles and governance constraints. 6. Follow this execution flow: 1. Parse user description from arguments If empty: ERROR "No feature description provided" 2. Extract key concepts from description Identify: actors, actions, data, constraints 3. For unclear aspects: Make informed guesses based on context and industry standards Only mark with [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: specific question] if: The choice significantly impacts feature scope or user experience Multiple reasonable interpretations exist with different implications No reasonable default exists LIMIT: Maximum 3 [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers total Prioritize clarifications by impact: scope security/privacy user experience technical details 4. Fill User Scenarios & Testing section If no clear user flow: ERROR "Cannot determine user scenarios" 5. Generate Functional Requirements Each requirement must be testable Use reasonable defaults for unspecified details (document assumptions in Assumptions section) 6. Define Success Criteria Create measurable, technology agnostic outcomes Include both quantitative metrics (time, performance, volume) and qualitative measures (user satisfaction, task completion) Each criterion must be verifiable without implementation details 7. Identify Key Entities (if data involved) 8. Return: SUCCESS (spec ready for planning) 7. Write the specification to SPEC FILE using the template structure, replacing placeholders with concrete details derived from the feature description (arguments) while preserving section order and headings. 8. Specification Quality Validation : After writing the initial spec, validate it against quality criteria: a. Create Spec Quality Checklist : Generate a checklist file at SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY/checklists/requirements.md using the checklist template structure with these validation items: b. Run Validation Check : Review the spec against each checklist item: For each item, determine if it passes or fails Document specific issues found (quote relevant spec sections) c. Handle Validation Results : If all items pass : Mark checklist complete and proceed to the Mandatory Post Execution Hooks section If items fail (excluding [NEEDS CLARIFICATION]) : 1. List the failing items and specific issues 2. Update the spec to address each issue 3. Re run validation until all items pass (max 3 iterations) 4. If still failing after 3 iterations, document remaining issues in checklist notes and warn user If [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] markers remain : 1. Extract all [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: ...] markers from the spec 2. LIMIT CHECK : If more than 3 markers exist, keep only the 3 most critical (by scope/security/UX impact) and make informed guesses for the rest 3. For each clarification needed (max 3), present options to user in this format: 4. CRITICAL Table Formatting : Ensure markdown tables are properly formatted: Use consistent spacing with pipes aligned Each cell should have spaces around content: Content not Content Header separator must have at least 3 dashes: Test that the table renders correctly in markdown preview 5. Number questions sequentially (Q1, Q2, Q3 max 3 total) 6. Present all questions together before waiting for responses 7. Wait for user to respond with their choices for all questions (e.g., "Q1: A, Q2: Custom [details], Q3: B") 8. Update the spec by replacing each [NEEDS CLARIFICATION] marker with the user's selected or provided answer 9. Re run validation after all clarifications are resolved d. Update Checklist : After each validation iteration, update the checklist file with current pass/fail status Mandatory Post Execution Hooks You MUST complete this section before reporting completion to the user. Check if .specify/extensions.yml exists in the project root. If it does not exist, or no hooks are registered under hooks.after specify , skip to the Completion Report. If it exists, read it and look for entries under the hooks.after specify key. If the YAML cannot be parsed or is invalid, skip hook checking silently and continue to the Completion Report. Filter out hooks where enabled is explicitly false . Treat hooks without an enabled field as enabled by default. For each remaining hook, do not attempt to interpret or evaluate hook condition expressions: If the hook has no condition field, or it is null/empty, treat the hook as executable If the hook defines a non empty condition , skip the hook and leave condition evaluation to the HookExecutor implementation When constructing command invocations from hook command names, replace dots ( . ) with hyphens ( ). For example, speckit.git.commit → /speckit git commit . For each executable hook, output the following based on its optional flag: Mandatory hook ( optional: false ) — You MUST emit EXECUTE COMMAND: for each mandatory hook : After emitting the block above you MUST actually invoke the hook and wait for it to finish before continuing. Run it the same way you would run the command yourself in this agent/session (the invocation may differ from the literal {command} id shown above, e.g. a skills mode agent runs it as /skill:speckit ... or $speckit ... ). Emitting the block alone does not run the hook. Optional hook ( optional: true ): Completion Report Report completion to the user with: SPECIFY FEATURE DIRECTORY — the feature directory path SPEC FILE — the spec file path Checklist results summary Readiness for the next phase ( /speckit clarify or /speckit plan ) NOTE: Branch creation is handled by the before specify hook (git extension). Spec directory and file creation are always handled by this core command. Quick Guidelines Focus on WHAT users need and WHY . Avoid HOW to implement (no tech stack, APIs, code structure). Written for business stakeholders, not developers. DO NOT create any checklists that are embedded in the spec. That will be a separate command. Section Requirements Mandatory sections : Must be completed for every feature

speckit-specify