Build with a spec, fix a bug, or assess an idea — with your coding agent.
Spec Kit gives your coding agent structured processes that keep intent and evidence ahead of implementation. Start with Spec-Driven Development (SDD), bug fixing, or idea assessment. Run a process step by step, automate it, or shape one of your own — including processes beyond software development.
| What you need | Start here | What you get | Command reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build a feature or application | Spec-Driven Development | A specification carried through planning, implementation, and convergence | Agentic SDD |
| Diagnose and repair broken behavior | Bug fixing | An assessed cause, scoped fix, and recorded verification | Agentic Bug Fix |
| Decide whether an idea deserves investment | Idea assessment | An evidence-backed go, clarify, or stop decision | Agentic Idea Assessment |
These are independent entry points, not mandatory phases. SDD ships in core. Bug fixing and assessment are bundled, opt-in extensions. Assessment can stand alone; a decision to proceed does not automatically start implementation.
See how the Spec Kit project runs its agentic SDLC and where it uses Spec Kit itself.
Adding Spec Kit to an established codebase? Start with the existing-project guide.
The Specify CLI (specify) initializes projects and manages integrations,
extensions, presets, workflows, and bundles. Process commands such as
/speckit.specify run inside your coding agent, not in the terminal; see
command invocation for your agent's
syntax and the command references above for arguments, artifacts, and quality
gates.
| Shared capability | Reference |
|---|---|
| Initialize projects, check installed tools, and inspect version and system information | Core Commands |
| Expose supported Specify operations to MCP clients through an experimental local stdio server | MCP Server |
| Inspect visible commands, templates, scripts, and hooks, including winning and hidden composition layers | Artifacts |
| Discover components through built-in, community, or private catalogs and understand source priority and trust | Catalogs |
The core SDD process ships ready to use: Specify → Plan → Tasks → Implement → Converge.
Define what to build before building it. Rich templates, quality checklists, and cross-artifact analysis come out of the box. Each phase produces a Markdown artifact that feeds the next — giving your AI coding agent structured context instead of ad-hoc prompts.
38 integrations — Copilot, Gemini, Codex, Kilo Code, Zed, Claude, Forge, Kiro, and more. Switch freely between agents with a single command. No lock-in.
Run specify init with your agent of choice and Spec Kit sets up the right command files and directory structures automatically. If your agent isn't listed, the generic integration is an escape hatch for any tool.
157 community extensions (90+ authors), 33 presets, and growing. Tune the core process with presets, extend it with extensions, orchestrate it with workflows, and package it all up as bundles you can share — or replace the process entirely. The process itself lives in these building blocks, so you're never locked to SDD, or even to software.
Including entirely different processes:
- AIDE — 7-step AI-driven engineering lifecycle
- Canon — baseline-driven workflows (spec-first, code-first, spec-drift)
- Product Forge — product-management-oriented SDD
- FX→.NET — end-to-end .NET Framework migration across 7 phases
- MAQA — multi-agent orchestration with quality assurance gates
- Fiction Book Writing — novels and long-form fiction, from story bible to submission
Works offline, behind firewalls, and on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Host your own catalogs to curate what integrations, extensions, presets, workflows, and bundles your organization discovers and recommends.
Community extensions like CI Guard and Architecture Guard add compliance gates and governance that fit the way your team already works.
270+ contributors power the Spec Kit ecosystem — from core integrations to entirely new processes. Anyone can create and publish an extension, preset, or workflow.
uv tool install specify-cli
specify init my-project --integration copilotReady to start? Choose your process.
Each component has its own guide and management reference:
| Component | Guide | CLI reference |
|---|---|---|
| Integrations | Agent setup and delivery | Integration management |
| Extensions | Add capabilities, commands, and hooks | Extension management |
| Presets | Customize templates, commands, and scripts | Preset management |
| Workflows | Automate repeatable, resumable processes | Workflow management |
| Bundles | Install a versioned setup of existing components | Bundle management |
For private catalogs, downloads, and release checks, see Configure authentication. To choose which building blocks fit your needs, see Adapt Spec Kit to your process.
Last updated: September 28, 2026