Is there a good solution for refine proposal now?

[Guolianxing]

such as this PR: #372
This is my problem: #1188
is there an official solution?

[starkmarkus]

From what I can see, there does not seem to be an official merged /openspec-refine solution yet.

PR #372 proposed almost exactly this workflow: refine the proposal/design/tasks after feedback, require re-approval, and then run apply again. But that PR was closed without merge because there was already discussion about a better approach.

So for now, I think the safest workaround is still to be very explicit with the agent:

• only update the OpenSpec change artifacts
• update proposal.md, design.md, and tasks.md as needed
• do not modify implementation/code files
• do not expand scope beyond the requested feedback
• after the proposal is refined, validate/review it again before applying

Something like:

Refine the current OpenSpec change only.
Update proposal.md, design.md, and tasks.md to address the feedback.
Do not edit application/source code.
Do not implement anything yet.
After updating the spec artifacts, stop and wait for review/approval.

That said, I agree this would be much better as an official command. The important guardrail is that “refine” should modify only the proposal artifacts, while “apply” remains the step that changes code. Otherwise agents can easily mix the two phases and update both the proposal and implementation at the same time.

So my read is: #372 shows that this workflow was already considered, but there is no official solution yet. A dedicated refine command or equivalent workflow would still be useful.

[Guolianxing]

thanks for reply, it's more convenient to use a commnd than prompt. It has been six months ! Sometimes, the agent update a finished task, but not update the status to undone, so I have to add "If necessary, clear the finished task status".

[starkmarkus]

Yes, I agree, a command would be much better than relying on prompt wording every time.

The risky part with a manual prompt-based refine step is exactly what you mentioned: the agent may update an already finished task, but forget to reset its status. That can make the change look complete even though the proposal/tasks were actually changed again.

So the current workaround prompt should probably include that explicitly:

Refine the current OpenSpec change only.
Update proposal.md, design.md, and tasks.md to address the feedback.
Do not edit application/source code.
Do not implement anything yet.
Do not expand the scope beyond the requested feedback.
If a completed task is changed, reopened, or made inaccurate by the refinement, clear its finished status and mark it as not done again.
After updating the OpenSpec artifacts, stop and wait for review/approval.

But I agree this is not ideal as a long-term workflow. An official refine command could enforce the phase boundary much more reliably, for example:

• only allow edits to OpenSpec change artifacts;
• prevent application/source code changes;
• update task status consistently;
• require review/re-approval before apply;
• keep “refine proposal” and “apply implementation” as separate steps.

So my current understanding is still: there does not seem to be an official command for this yet, and the safest workaround is a strict prompt. But the “clear finished task status if the task changes” rule is important and should probably be part of any future official refine workflow.