Migrating from copilot spec driven template

Migrating from copilot-spec-driven-template

FeatherSpec is the successor to copilot-spec-driven-template, which was Copilot-only. If you have a project on the old template, this page is what changed and how to move.

What changed

• Data moved out of .github/ to top-level .specs/ and .memory-bank/. Those folders are your project's content, not GitHub plumbing, and they are now tool-neutral.
• The constitution moved to AGENTS.md — tool-neutral, and read natively by both Copilot and (via a one-line CLAUDE.md import) Claude Code.
• Commands got the sdd- prefix and identical names in both tools.
• .github/instructions/ is gone. A single .claude/rules/ file now serves both tools. .github/prompts/ survives as one-line loaders, because Copilot has no other way to expose a slash command.
• Plans became files. The old template planned in chat; FeatherSpec writes NNNN-slug.plan.md next to its spec, with baby steps, resumable state and a traceability table. See Specs and Plans.
• /sdd-specify became an interview. Instead of filling a fixed template, it runs an adaptive product-owner interview — one question per message, budget scaled to complexity.

Command mapping

Old	New
/setupSpecs	/sdd-setup
/specify	/sdd-specify
/plan	/sdd-plan
/compile	/sdd-compile
/spec-lifecycle	/sdd-lifecycle
—	/sdd-overview (new)
—	/sdd-architecture-update (new)
—	/sdd-style-update (new)

Moving an existing project

1. Copy the new scaffolding in: AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .claude/, .github/prompts/, .github/agents/, .vscode/settings.json.

2. Move your data:

   git mv .github/memory-bank .memory-bank
   git mv .github/specs .specs

   Adjust the source paths to whatever your old layout used.

3. Merge your constitution. Whatever lived in .github/copilot-instructions.md — your DocLanguage, your architecture snapshot, your style preferences — goes into the corresponding sections of AGENTS.md. Then delete the old file. Keep exactly one copy; duplication is the drift this design exists to prevent.

4. Delete .github/instructions/. Anything craft-related in there becomes a .claude/rules/<topic>.md file with a paths: list. Anything policy-related belongs in AGENTS.md.

5. Check your specs' status lines. FeatherSpec uses **Status:** Draft | In Progress | Implemented | Deprecated for specs and a separate vocabulary for plans.

6. Run /sdd-architecture-update to reconcile the snapshot with the new layout, and /sdd-overview to confirm everything is discovered.

Existing specs need no rewriting — they are Markdown, and FeatherSpec reads them as they are. They simply gain a plan file the next time you run /sdd-plan.

Do I have to switch tools?

No. FeatherSpec works in Copilot exactly as the predecessor did — the Claude Code support is additive. If you never open Claude Code, the only thing you gain is a slightly different folder for rules and the fact that your commands are now single files instead of two copies.