Glossary

Published from docs/reference/glossary.md at 835522e. Edit the source in the repository, not this page.

These are the terms Sanduq pages use. Each page links a term here the first time it uses it.

Adoption level

How much of Sanduq you use. There are four: skills only, one extension, pick your extensions (several, without Workflow), and the managed Workflow. See the scenarios.

Catalog

A JSON file that lists published extensions, their versions and download URLs. Spec Kit reads it when you run specify extension add. Sanduq's catalog is catalog.json at the repository root.

Checkpoint

A saved point in a managed feature's run. It holds the completed stages, pending tasks and the active claim, so a new session can continue where the last one stopped. Workflow writes it to specs/<feature>/workflow/checkpoint.json.

Claim

A lock that gives one stage of one feature to one agent at a time. A second agent cannot start a competing stage while the claim is held. Workflow records a token for each claim, which you need to recover an interrupted one.

Dispatcher

The part of Workflow that decides which stage runs next, takes the claim, calls the host command that does the work, and checks the receipt. Only Workflow has a dispatcher.

Enabled

A process that your project has selected. Installing an extension does not enable its process. For example, QA runs in the managed Workflow only after speckit.workflow.init selects it.

Evidence gate

A CI check that reads a feature's receipts and fails or warns when evidence is missing or stale. Its mode is disabled, advisory or required. It does not run your application's tests.

Extension

A versioned Spec Kit package that adds commands and, often, hooks. You install it with specify extension add <id>. Sanduq has nine extensions.

Feature

One unit of work in a Spec Kit project, stored in specs/<number>-<name>/. In the managed Workflow a feature is bound to one GitHub issue.

Freshness

Whether a piece of evidence still matches the files it describes. Evidence becomes stale when the files it covers change.

Harness

An agent command-line tool that the Delegate Task skill can start, such as Codex or Claude Code. A harness is a target for delegated work. It is different from a host.

Hook

An instruction in an extension's manifest that runs a command before or after a Spec Kit phase, for example after_tasks. A mandatory hook (optional: false) runs automatically. An optional hook (optional: true) asks you first. See the hooks reference.

Host

The agent application you work in: Codex, Claude Code or Claude Desktop. Spec Kit calls the host an integration.

Installed

An extension or skill whose files are present in your project. Installed is not the same as enabled.

Managed Workflow

The Workflow extension running a feature from Scope to a pull request through its dispatcher.

Orchestrator

The agent that coordinates implementation. It hands tasks to workers, checks their results, and commits each verified phase.

Overlay

A preset command that Sanduq places in front of an upstream Spec Kit command. The upstream command still runs; the overlay adds Sanduq's rules first. Overlays come from the presets/ packages.

Plugin bundle

A Claude Code plugin that installs one or more portable skills. Sanduq's marketplace offers three: illustration-tools, dev-tools and agent-tools.

Portable skill

Agent instructions and scripts for one task that work without Spec Kit. Sanduq's eight portable skills live in sanduq-skills.

Preset

A Spec Kit package that changes existing commands rather than adding new ones. Sanduq ships three: workflow, scope-gate and scope-brainstorm.

Receipt

A record that a stage finished. It lists the inputs, the outputs and fingerprints of the evidence. Workflow checks receipts before it moves on.

Requires

A hard dependency. If extension A requires B, A does not work without B. Spec Kit records requires.extensions but does not install or enforce it. Workflow's installer and each package's deps.py ensure do.

Stage

One step of the managed Workflow, such as plan, tasks or verify. There are sixteen. See stages.

Standalone

An extension that works without Workflow. Every Sanduq extension except Scope is standalone.

Worker

An agent that receives one bounded task from the orchestrator and reports its changed files and check results.