specify-cli

AI-powered Specification-Driven Development (SDD) CLI for enhanced productivity

• Usage
• Commands

What is Specify CLI?

Specify CLI is an AI-powered command-line tool that implements Specification-Driven Development (SDD) methodology. It helps developers and teams enhance productivity by:

• 🤖 AI-powered specification generation - Create detailed PRDs and technical specifications
• 📋 Task breakdown and estimation - Automatically decompose requirements into actionable tasks
• 🔍 Research and knowledge management - AI-assisted research and documentation
• ✅ Specification validation - Ensure completeness and consistency of requirements
• 🏢 Team collaboration - Workspace management with version control integration

Key Features

• Authentication System: Secure API key management with profile support
• Workspace Management: Initialize and manage project workspaces with templates
• AI Document Generation: Create PRDs, technical specs, and task breakdowns
• Research Assistant: AI-powered research queries with structured output
• Validation Tools: Automated specification quality checking
• AWS CLI Style Interface: Familiar command structure for developers

Usage

$ npm install -g specify-cli
$ spec COMMAND
running command...
$ spec (--version)
specify-cli/0.1.0 darwin-arm64 node-v22.11.0
$ spec --help [COMMAND]
USAGE
  $ spec COMMAND
...

Quick Start

1. Authenticate with Specify.app

   spec auth login

2. Initialize a new workspace

   spec workspace init

3. Generate a Product Requirements Document

   spec generate prd

4. Break down specifications into tasks

   spec generate tasks

5. Validate your specifications

   spec validate spec

Commands

• spec auth login
• spec auth logout
• spec auth status
• spec generate prd
• spec generate tasks
• spec help [COMMAND]
• spec plugins
• spec plugins add PLUGIN
• spec plugins:inspect PLUGIN...
• spec plugins install PLUGIN
• spec plugins link PATH
• spec plugins remove [PLUGIN]
• spec plugins reset
• spec plugins uninstall [PLUGIN]
• spec plugins unlink [PLUGIN]
• spec plugins update
• spec research query [QUERY]
• spec validate spec
• spec workspace init
• spec workspace status

spec auth login

Authenticate with Specify.app and configure API key

USAGE
  $ spec auth login [-k <value>] [-p <value>]

FLAGS
  -k, --api-key=<value>  API key for authentication
  -p, --profile=<value>  [default: default] Profile name for multiple configurations

DESCRIPTION
  Authenticate with Specify.app and configure API key

EXAMPLES
  $ spec auth login

  $ spec auth login --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

See code: src/commands/auth/login.ts

spec auth logout

Remove authentication credentials

USAGE
  $ spec auth logout [-p <value>] [-a]

FLAGS
  -a, --all              Logout from all profiles
  -p, --profile=<value>  [default: default] Profile name to logout from

DESCRIPTION
  Remove authentication credentials

EXAMPLES
  $ spec auth logout

  $ spec auth logout --profile production

See code: src/commands/auth/logout.ts

spec auth status

Show current authentication status

USAGE
  $ spec auth status [-p <value>]

FLAGS
  -p, --profile=<value>  [default: default] Profile name to check

DESCRIPTION
  Show current authentication status

EXAMPLES
  $ spec auth status

  $ spec auth status --profile production

See code: src/commands/auth/status.ts

spec generate prd

Generate Product Requirements Document (PRD) using AI

USAGE
  $ spec generate prd [-i <value>] [-o <value>] [--interactive] [-t standard|agile|lean|enterprise]

FLAGS
  -i, --input=<value>      [default: specs/project.md] Input specification file
  -o, --output=<value>     [default: docs/prd.md] Output PRD file
  -t, --template=<option>  [default: standard] PRD template to use
                           <options: standard|agile|lean|enterprise>
      --interactive        Interactive mode with AI chat

DESCRIPTION
  Generate Product Requirements Document (PRD) using AI

EXAMPLES
  $ spec generate prd

  $ spec generate prd --input specs/project.md --output docs/prd.md

See code: src/commands/generate/prd.ts

spec generate tasks

Break down specifications into actionable tasks

USAGE
  $ spec generate tasks [-i <value>] [-o <value>] [-f markdown|json|csv] [-p high|medium|low] [--estimate]

FLAGS
  -f, --format=<option>    [default: markdown] Output format
                           <options: markdown|json|csv>
  -i, --input=<value>      [default: docs/prd.md] Input specification or PRD file
  -o, --output=<value>     [default: docs/tasks.md] Output tasks file
  -p, --priority=<option>  Filter by priority level
                           <options: high|medium|low>
      --estimate           Include effort estimates

DESCRIPTION
  Break down specifications into actionable tasks

EXAMPLES
  $ spec generate tasks

  $ spec generate tasks --input docs/prd.md --format json

See code: src/commands/generate/tasks.ts

spec help [COMMAND]

Display help for spec.

USAGE
  $ spec help [COMMAND...] [-n]

ARGUMENTS
  COMMAND...  Command to show help for.

FLAGS
  -n, --nested-commands  Include all nested commands in the output.

DESCRIPTION
  Display help for spec.

See code: @oclif/plugin-help

spec plugins

List installed plugins.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins [--json] [--core]

FLAGS
  --core  Show core plugins.

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  List installed plugins.

EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins add PLUGIN

Installs a plugin into spec.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins add PLUGIN... [--json] [-f] [-h] [-s | -v]

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  Plugin to install.

FLAGS
  -f, --force    Force npm to fetch remote resources even if a local copy exists on disk.
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -s, --silent   Silences npm output.
  -v, --verbose  Show verbose npm output.

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  Installs a plugin into spec.

  Uses npm to install plugins.

  Installation of a user-installed plugin will override a core plugin.

  Use the SPEC_NPM_LOG_LEVEL environment variable to set the npm loglevel.
  Use the SPEC_NPM_REGISTRY environment variable to set the npm registry.

ALIASES
  $ spec plugins add

EXAMPLES
  Install a plugin from npm registry.

    $ spec plugins add myplugin

  Install a plugin from a github url.

    $ spec plugins add https://github.com/someuser/someplugin

  Install a plugin from a github slug.

    $ spec plugins add someuser/someplugin

spec plugins:inspect PLUGIN...

Displays installation properties of a plugin.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins inspect PLUGIN...

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  [default: .] Plugin to inspect.

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  Displays installation properties of a plugin.

EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins inspect myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins install PLUGIN

Installs a plugin into spec.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins install PLUGIN... [--json] [-f] [-h] [-s | -v]

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  Plugin to install.

FLAGS
  -f, --force    Force npm to fetch remote resources even if a local copy exists on disk.
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -s, --silent   Silences npm output.
  -v, --verbose  Show verbose npm output.

GLOBAL FLAGS
  --json  Format output as json.

DESCRIPTION
  Installs a plugin into spec.

  Uses npm to install plugins.

  Installation of a user-installed plugin will override a core plugin.

  Use the SPEC_NPM_LOG_LEVEL environment variable to set the npm loglevel.
  Use the SPEC_NPM_REGISTRY environment variable to set the npm registry.

ALIASES
  $ spec plugins add

EXAMPLES
  Install a plugin from npm registry.

    $ spec plugins install myplugin

  Install a plugin from a github url.

    $ spec plugins install https://github.com/someuser/someplugin

  Install a plugin from a github slug.

    $ spec plugins install someuser/someplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins link PATH

Links a plugin into the CLI for development.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins link PATH [-h] [--install] [-v]

ARGUMENTS
  PATH  [default: .] path to plugin

FLAGS
  -h, --help          Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose
      --[no-]install  Install dependencies after linking the plugin.

DESCRIPTION
  Links a plugin into the CLI for development.

  Installation of a linked plugin will override a user-installed or core plugin.

  e.g. If you have a user-installed or core plugin that has a 'hello' command, installing a linked plugin with a 'hello'
  command will override the user-installed or core plugin implementation. This is useful for development work.


EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins link myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins remove [PLUGIN]

Removes a plugin from the CLI.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins remove [PLUGIN...] [-h] [-v]

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  plugin to uninstall

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Removes a plugin from the CLI.

ALIASES
  $ spec plugins unlink
  $ spec plugins remove

EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins remove myplugin

spec plugins reset

Remove all user-installed and linked plugins.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins reset [--hard] [--reinstall]

FLAGS
  --hard       Delete node_modules and package manager related files in addition to uninstalling plugins.
  --reinstall  Reinstall all plugins after uninstalling.

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins uninstall [PLUGIN]

Removes a plugin from the CLI.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins uninstall [PLUGIN...] [-h] [-v]

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  plugin to uninstall

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Removes a plugin from the CLI.

ALIASES
  $ spec plugins unlink
  $ spec plugins remove

EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins uninstall myplugin

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec plugins unlink [PLUGIN]

Removes a plugin from the CLI.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins unlink [PLUGIN...] [-h] [-v]

ARGUMENTS
  PLUGIN...  plugin to uninstall

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Removes a plugin from the CLI.

ALIASES
  $ spec plugins unlink
  $ spec plugins remove

EXAMPLES
  $ spec plugins unlink myplugin

spec plugins update

Update installed plugins.

USAGE
  $ spec plugins update [-h] [-v]

FLAGS
  -h, --help     Show CLI help.
  -v, --verbose

DESCRIPTION
  Update installed plugins.

See code: @oclif/plugin-plugins

spec research query [QUERY]

Research and gather information using AI-powered queries

USAGE
  $ spec research query [QUERY] [-t <value>] [-s <value>] [-f markdown|json|text] [-d basic|detailed|comprehensive]

ARGUMENTS
  QUERY  Research query or question

FLAGS
  -d, --depth=<option>   [default: detailed] Research depth level
                         <options: basic|detailed|comprehensive>
  -f, --format=<option>  [default: markdown] Output format
                         <options: markdown|json|text>
  -s, --save=<value>     Save research results to file
  -t, --topic=<value>    Research topic or domain

DESCRIPTION
  Research and gather information using AI-powered queries

EXAMPLES
  $ spec research query "What are the best practices for React state management?"

  $ spec research query --topic "microservices architecture" --save research/microservices.md

See code: src/commands/research/query.ts

spec validate spec

Validate specification documents for completeness and consistency

USAGE
  $ spec validate spec [-f <value>] [-s] [--fix] [--format text|json|markdown]

FLAGS
  -f, --file=<value>     Specific file to validate
  -s, --strict           Enable strict validation mode
      --fix              Automatically fix issues where possible
      --format=<option>  [default: text] Output format for validation results
                         <options: text|json|markdown>

DESCRIPTION
  Validate specification documents for completeness and consistency

EXAMPLES
  $ spec validate spec

  $ spec validate spec --file specs/project.md --strict

See code: src/commands/validate/spec.ts

spec workspace init

Initialize a new Specify workspace in the current directory

USAGE
  $ spec workspace init [-n <value>] [-t web-app|mobile-app|api|cli] [-f]

FLAGS
  -f, --force              Overwrite existing workspace configuration
  -n, --name=<value>       Project name
  -t, --template=<option>  Project template (web-app, mobile-app, api, cli)
                           <options: web-app|mobile-app|api|cli>

DESCRIPTION
  Initialize a new Specify workspace in the current directory

EXAMPLES
  $ spec workspace init

  $ spec workspace init --name "My Project" --template web-app

See code: src/commands/workspace/init.ts

spec workspace status

Show current workspace status and configuration

USAGE
  $ spec workspace status

DESCRIPTION
  Show current workspace status and configuration

EXAMPLES
  $ spec workspace status

See code: src/commands/workspace/status.ts