Openspec Update Change

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 <id> 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 <id> 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 "<name>" --json --store "<id>", 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 "<name>" --json shows the next artifact and openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --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 <other>).

2. Get the change's artifacts

   openspec status --change "<name>" --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.<id>.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:

     openspec instructions "<artifact-id>" --change "<name>" --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 "<new-change-name>" instead.