# Openspec Update Change > Update an OpenSpec change by revising its existing planning artifacts and keeping them coherent with one another. Use when the user wants to revise a change's plan, fold new decisions into it, or reconcile its artifacts after an edit. Never edits code. - Skill: `asymmetric-al/openspec-update-change` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add asymmetric-al/openspec-update-change` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/asymmetric-al/openspec-update-change/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - License: MIT - Author: asymmetric-al (https://skillmd.com/u/asymmetric-al) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/asymmetric-al/openspec-update-change --- ## This repository (Asymmetric-al/core) These repo-owned sections sit above the official OpenSpec skill. Reconcile this overlay after upstream refreshes before running `bun run skills:sync`. Use the locally pinned CLI only: `bun run openspec -- `. Do not invoke `@latest`. Core does not use Stores. Pass an explicit change ID before any mutating OpenSpec operation. Follow `AGENTS.md` and `docs/ai/rules/openspec.md`. Do not bypass TDD, exact `base-maia`, data-access boundaries, security, or repository checks. Do not archive unmerged or incomplete work. Do not run `openspec update` against the live customized repository. Do not treat product runtime Eve as a coding agent. Allowed-tools metadata includes `Bash(bun:*)` so the local wrapper can run. ### Triggers - The matching OpenSpec workflow is requested: Explore, Propose, Update, Apply, Verify, Sync, or Archive. - Numbered commands `/1-start-project` through `/4-close-project` wrap these workflows. ### Workflow 1. Read `openspec/config.yaml`, `openspec/project.md`, and the relevant specs or active change. 2. Invoke `bun run openspec --` with the explicit change ID for mutating work. 3. Keep Core TDD, UI, data-boundary, and Guardian rules in force. 4. Leave the change active until implementation has merged. ### Checklist - [ ] Local pinned CLI used via `bun run openspec --` - [ ] Explicit change ID used for mutating operations - [ ] Stores were not introduced - [ ] Incomplete or unmerged work was not archived - [ ] `openspec update` was not run against the live repo - [ ] Product Eve was not treated as a coding agent Revise a change's existing planning artifacts and keep them coherent. Never edit code. **Store selection:** If the user names a store (a store is a standalone OpenSpec repo registered on this machine) or the work lives in one, run `openspec store list --json` to discover registered store ids, then pass `--store ` on the commands that read or write specs and changes (`new change`, `status`, `instructions`, `list`, `show`, `validate`, `archive`, `doctor`, `context`, `schemas`, `view`). Once selected, treat `--store ` as sticky for the rest of the workflow. Every unscoped example of those commands below is shorthand: before running it, append the flag. For example, run `openspec status --change "" --json --store ""`, not the unscoped form shown below. Other commands do not take the flag. Hints printed by commands already carry the flag; keep it on follow-ups. Without a store, commands act on the nearest local `openspec/` root. **Input**: Optionally specify a change name. If omitted, check if it can be inferred from conversation context. If vague or ambiguous you MUST prompt for available changes. `/openspec-continue-change` is an optional workflow and may not be installed. Before suggesting it anywhere below, verify that it is available. If it is unavailable, `openspec status --change "" --json` shows the next artifact and `openspec instructions "" --change "" --json` explains how to create it. **Steps** 1. **Select the change** If a name is provided, use it. Otherwise: - Infer from conversation context if the user mentioned a change - Auto-select if only one active change exists - If ambiguous, run `openspec list --json` to get available changes sorted by most recently modified, and ask the user to select one When prompting, present the top 3-4 most recently modified changes as options, showing: - Change name - Schema (from `schema` field if present, otherwise "spec-driven") - Status (e.g., "0/5 tasks", "complete", "no tasks") - How recently it was modified (from `lastModified` field) Mark the most recently modified change as "(Recommended)" since it's likely what the user wants to update. Always announce: "Using change: " and how to override (e.g., `/openspec-update-change `). 2. **Get the change's artifacts** ```bash openspec status --change "" --json ``` Parse the JSON to understand current state. The response includes: - `schemaName`: The workflow schema being used (e.g., "spec-driven") - `artifacts`: Array of artifacts with their status ("done", "skipped", "ready", "blocked") - `isPlanningComplete`: Boolean indicating if all planning artifacts are complete. Older CLI versions expose the same value as `isComplete`. - `planningHome`, `changeRoot`, `artifactPaths`, and `actionContext`: path and scope context. Use these instead of assuming repo-local paths. The artifact ids and paths come from the active schema - do NOT assume them, and do NOT branch on hardcoded artifact names. Custom schemas must work unchanged. The files to edit are `artifactPaths..existingOutputPaths` - the concrete files that exist on disk, already glob-expanded for glob artifacts (e.g. `specs/**/*.md`). Do NOT write to `resolvedOutputPath`: for a glob artifact it is still the glob pattern, not a real file. 3. **Understand the request** - If the user asked for a specific revision ("the design now uses X"), that is the starting edit. - If they only said "update" / "make this coherent", treat it as a coherence review: read the existing artifacts and check them against each other for contradictions, gaps, and duplication. 4. **Read and reconcile** - Read the artifact(s) the request touches and the change's other existing artifacts. - Apply the requested edit. Then check every other existing artifact against it - in ANY direction: an edit to a later artifact may require revising an earlier one, not only the other way around. Build order is a useful reading order, not a constraint on which artifacts may be revised. - Note everything that is now inconsistent, missing, or contradictory. - Revise only files that already exist (`existingOutputPaths`). Do NOT create artifacts that don't exist yet, and do NOT invent new files under a glob artifact - note them and point the user to `/openspec-continue-change` to create them. - If the change is already coherent, say so and make no edits. 5. **Confirm and apply, one artifact at a time** - Show each proposed revision and why. Write only after the user confirms. - If the user rejects a revision, do not write it - leave that artifact unchanged. - When a substantial rewrite is needed, get that artifact's rules and template first: ```bash openspec instructions "" --change "" --json ``` 6. **Point to the next step (guidance only - NEVER act on it)** - Artifacts still missing -> suggest `/openspec-continue-change` to create them. - Change already implemented (tasks checked off / already applied) -> the code may no longer match the revised plan; suggest `/openspec-apply-change` to carry the delta into code. - Everything done and implemented -> suggest `/openspec-archive-change`. **Output** After each invocation, show: - Which artifacts were revised (and which proposed revisions were rejected) - Anything deferred to `/openspec-continue-change` (not-yet-created artifacts or files) - Where the change stands and the recommended next command **Guardrails** - Planning artifacts only - NEVER edit implementation code. If the revised plan implies code changes, stop and point to `/openspec-apply-change`. - Use the artifact ids and paths reported by `openspec status`; never branch on hardcoded artifact names. - Edit only the concrete files in `existingOutputPaths`; never write to a glob `resolvedOutputPath`. - Do not advance the build frontier: no new artifacts, no new files under glob artifacts - that is `/openspec-continue-change`'s job. - Confirm every edit with the user before writing. - If the request changes the change's _intent_ rather than refining it, first verify whether the optional `/openspec-new-change` workflow is available. If it is, recommend starting fresh with `/openspec-new-change` (the "Update vs. Start Fresh" heuristic). If it is unavailable, ask for a distinct unused change name and recommend `openspec new change ""` instead.