What is this?
OpenSpec is a spec-driven development tool that adds a lightweight spec layer so you and your AI coding assistant agree on requirements before any code is written.
OpenSpec is a spec-driven development tool that adds a lightweight spec layer so you and your AI coding assistant agree on requirements before any code is written.Is this a framework or a CLI tool?It is a Node.js CLI plus a set of slash commands/skills that your AI coding assistant invokes; specs themselves are plain Markdown files stored in an openspec/ folder in your repo.
It is a Node.js CLI plus a set of slash commands/skills that your AI coding assistant invokes; specs themselves are plain Markdown files stored in an openspec/ folder in your repo.How do I get it running?Install OpenSpec globally, then run 'openspec init' inside your project directory to set it up, or paste the provided setup prompt into your coding assistant to have it do this automatically.
Install OpenSpec globally, then run 'openspec init' inside your project directory to set it up, or paste the provided setup prompt into your coding assistant to have it do this automatically.Do I need Node.js, and does it work with my coding agent?You need Node.js 20.19.0 or higher; it works with 30+ AI coding tools including Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Amazon Q, and Codex via slash commands.
You need Node.js 20.19.0 or higher; it works with 30+ AI coding tools including Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Amazon Q, and Codex via slash commands.Does it work equally well with any AI model?It works best with high-reasoning models — the authors specifically recommend Codex 5.5 and Opus 4.7 — and you should keep your context window clean before implementation.
It works best with high-reasoning models — the authors specifically recommend Codex 5.5 and Opus 4.7 — and you should keep your context window clean before implementation.Is this only for solo developers or does it scale to teams?It works solo on a single repo, and also scales to teams via 'Stores' (currently in beta), which let multiple repos share one source of truth for specs and in-flight changes.
It works solo on a single repo, and also scales to teams via 'Stores' (currently in beta), which let multiple repos share one source of truth for specs and in-flight changes.Does OpenSpec send any of my code or data externally?It only collects anonymous telemetry of command names and version — no arguments, paths, content, or PII — and this is automatically off in CI and can be opted out.
It only collects anonymous telemetry of command names and version — no arguments, paths, content, or PII — and this is automatically off in CI and can be opted out.How is this different from GitHub's Spec Kit or AWS Kiro?Spec Kit is described as thorough but heavyweight with rigid phase gates and Python setup; Kiro locks you into AWS's IDE and Claude models only. OpenSpec is lighter, lets you iterate freely, and works with whatever coding tools you already use.
Spec Kit is described as thorough but heavyweight with rigid phase gates and Python setup; Kiro locks you into AWS's IDE and Claude models only. OpenSpec is lighter, lets you iterate freely, and works with whatever coding tools you already use.What does a typical workflow look like?You run /opsx:explore to think through an idea or /opsx:propose to go straight to a plan; the AI writes the specs and you review them before any code is written. Each change gets its own folder with a proposal, specs, design, and tasks.
You run /opsx:explore to think through an idea or /opsx:propose to go straight to a plan; the AI writes the specs and you review them before any code is written. Each change gets its own folder with a proposal, specs, design, and tasks.What is the Dashboard mentioned in the README?It's a live view of OpenSpec's own specs and in-flight changes, used as a real example of the tool at scale since OpenSpec is built using OpenSpec itself.
It's a live view of OpenSpec's own specs and in-flight changes, used as a real example of the tool at scale since OpenSpec is built using OpenSpec itself.Can I use package managers other than npm?Yes, it also works with pnpm, yarn, bun, and nix.
Yes, it also works with pnpm, yarn, bun, and nix.What are similar projects?BMAD-METHOD, hello-sdd, spec-kit, gsd-2, billion-context, ProductSpec, agents.md, DualForge-Workflow
BMAD-METHOD, hello-sdd, spec-kit, gsd-2, billion-context, ProductSpec, agents.md, DualForge-WorkflowWhich topics is it in?planning, spec, spec-driven-development, engineering, specification, context-engineering, node, agents, coding-agent, agent, terminal, nodejs
planning, spec, spec-driven-development, engineering, specification, context-engineering, node, agents, coding-agent, agent, terminal, nodejs