How do I install the Create Specs skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add jschulte/create-specs in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Create Specs skill do?

Transforms 11 reverse-engineering documents from Gear 2 into GitHub Spec Kit specifications with three thoroughness levels (specs-only, specs+plans, specs+plans+tasks). Creates .specify/ directory with constitution, feature specs, implementation plans, and task breakdowns. Gear 3 of 6 in reverse engineering pipeline. Triggered by: 'create specs from reverse engineering docs', 'generate spec kit from documentation', 'run gear 3', 'transform docs into spec kit'. It is listed under DevOps & Infra on SkillMD.

Is Create Specs safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Create Specs?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Create Specs free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Create Specs?

jschulte (@jschulte) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Create Specs by jschulte — Agent Skill

Name: Create Specs
Author: jschulte

Create Specifications (GitHub Spec Kit Integration)

Gear 3 of 6 in the Reverse Engineering to Spec-Driven Development process.

Estimated Time: 30 minutes (specs only) to 90 minutes (specs + plans + tasks) Prerequisites: Gear 2 completed (docs/reverse-engineering/ exists with 11 files) Output: .specify/ directory with GitHub Spec Kit structure

Thoroughness Options

Gear 3 generates different levels of detail based on configuration set in Gear 1:

Option 1: Specs Only (30 min)

.specify/specs/NNN-feature-name/spec.md for all features
Constitution and folder structure
Ready for manual planning with /speckit.plan

Option 2: Specs + Plans (45-60 min)

Everything from Option 1
Auto-generated plan.md for PARTIAL/MISSING features
Ready for manual task breakdown with /speckit.tasks

Option 3: Specs + Plans + Tasks (90-120 min)

Everything from Option 2
Auto-generated tasks.md (300-500 lines each)
Complete roadmap ready for immediate implementation

Configuration is set during Gear 1 (Analyze) via initial questionnaire, stored in .stackshift-state.json.

Step 1: Load Configuration

Verify the state file exists and load execution parameters.

# Guard: state file must exist
if [ ! -f .stackshift-state.json ]; then
  echo "ERROR: .stackshift-state.json not found. Run Gear 1 (Analyze) first."
  exit 1
fi

# Load configuration
THOROUGHNESS=$(cat .stackshift-state.json | jq -r '.config.gear3_thoroughness // "specs"')
ROUTE=$(cat .stackshift-state.json | jq -r '.route // .path')
SPEC_OUTPUT=$(cat .stackshift-state.json | jq -r '.config.spec_output_location // "."')

echo "Route: $ROUTE"
echo "Spec output: $SPEC_OUTPUT"
echo "Thoroughness: $THOROUGHNESS"

# Determine execution flags
case "$THOROUGHNESS" in
  "specs")
    echo "Will generate: Specs only"
    GENERATE_PLANS=false
    GENERATE_TASKS=false
    ;;
  "specs+plans")
    echo "Will generate: Specs + Plans"
    GENERATE_PLANS=true
    GENERATE_TASKS=false
    ;;
  "specs+plans+tasks")
    echo "Will generate: Specs + Plans + Tasks (complete roadmap)"
    GENERATE_PLANS=true
    GENERATE_TASKS=true
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Unknown thoroughness: $THOROUGHNESS, defaulting to specs only"
    GENERATE_PLANS=false
    GENERATE_TASKS=false
    ;;
esac

# If custom output location, create .specify directory there
if [ "$SPEC_OUTPUT" != "." ]; then
  echo "Creating .specify/ structure at custom location: $SPEC_OUTPUT"
  mkdir -p "$SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/specs"
  mkdir -p "$SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/memory"
  mkdir -p "$SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/templates"
  mkdir -p "$SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/scripts"
fi

Where specs are written:

Route	Config	Specs Written To
Greenfield	`spec_output_location` set	`{spec_output_location}/.specify/specs/`
Greenfield	Not set (default)	`./.specify/specs/` (current repo)
Brownfield	Always current	`./.specify/specs/` (current repo)

Log: "PROGRESS: Configuration loaded. Route=$ROUTE, Thoroughness=$THOROUGHNESS."

Step 2: Install GitHub Spec Kit Scripts

Install prerequisite scripts needed by /speckit.* commands downstream.

if [ -f ~/git/stackshift/scripts/install-speckit-scripts.sh ]; then
  ~/git/stackshift/scripts/install-speckit-scripts.sh .
elif [ -f ~/stackshift/scripts/install-speckit-scripts.sh ]; then
  ~/stackshift/scripts/install-speckit-scripts.sh .
else
  mkdir -p .specify/scripts/bash
  BASE_URL="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/github/spec-kit/main/scripts"
  curl -sSLf "$BASE_URL/bash/check-prerequisites.sh" -o .specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh
  curl -sSLf "$BASE_URL/bash/setup-plan.sh" -o .specify/scripts/bash/setup-plan.sh
  curl -sSLf "$BASE_URL/bash/create-new-feature.sh" -o .specify/scripts/bash/create-new-feature.sh
  curl -sSLf "$BASE_URL/bash/update-agent-context.sh" -o .specify/scripts/bash/update-agent-context.sh
  curl -sSLf "$BASE_URL/bash/common.sh" -o .specify/scripts/bash/common.sh
  chmod +x .specify/scripts/bash/*.sh
fi

Verify: confirm .specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh exists. Without these scripts, Gear 4 (Gap Analysis) will fail when running /speckit.analyze.

Log: "PROGRESS: Spec Kit scripts installed."

Step 3: Generate Specifications (Automated Path)

Execute the automated reconciliation prompt to generate all specs with 100% feature coverage.

cat web/reconcile-specs.md

Use the output of this prompt to:

Parse docs/reverse-engineering/functional-specification.md
Extract EVERY feature (complete, partial, missing)
Generate .specify/memory/constitution.md
Create .specify/specs/NNN-feature-name/spec.md for ALL features
Create plan.md for PARTIAL/MISSING features

Checkpoint: Verify Automated Path Succeeded

After running the reconciliation prompt, verify ALL of these:

# Check 1: Constitution exists
test -f .specify/memory/constitution.md && echo "OK: constitution.md exists" || echo "FAIL: constitution.md missing"

# Check 2: At least one spec exists
SPEC_COUNT=$(find .specify/specs -name "spec.md" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
echo "Spec count: $SPEC_COUNT"
if [ "$SPEC_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "FAIL: No specs generated"
fi

IF both checks pass: Log "PROGRESS: Automated spec generation succeeded. $SPEC_COUNT specs created." Continue to Step 4.

IF either check fails: Execute the manual fallback in operations/manual-spec-generation.md. Read that file and follow its Fallback Steps 1-5. Then continue to Step 4.

Step 4: Generate Plans (Thoroughness Level 2+)

IF GENERATE_PLANS is false: Skip this step. Log "PROGRESS: Plan generation skipped (thoroughness=specs)."

IF GENERATE_PLANS is true: Read and execute operations/plan-generation.md. This dispatches parallel subagents to generate plan.md for every PARTIAL/MISSING feature.

Checkpoint: Verify Plan Coverage

INCOMPLETE=$(grep -rl "PARTIAL\|MISSING" .specify/specs/*/spec.md 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
PLANS=$(find .specify/specs -name "plan.md" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
echo "Incomplete features: $INCOMPLETE, Plans generated: $PLANS"

Confirm plan count matches incomplete feature count. Report any gaps.

Log: "PROGRESS: Plan generation complete. $PLANS plans for $INCOMPLETE incomplete features."

Step 5: Generate Tasks (Thoroughness Level 3 Only)

IF GENERATE_TASKS is false: Skip this step. Log "PROGRESS: Task generation skipped (thoroughness does not include tasks)."

IF GENERATE_TASKS is true: Read and execute operations/task-generation.md. This dispatches parallel subagents to generate comprehensive tasks.md for every planned feature.

Checkpoint: Verify Task Quality

TASK_COUNT=$(find .specify/specs -name "tasks.md" -type f 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
echo "Task files generated: $TASK_COUNT"

Confirm task count matches plan count. Flag any tasks.md under 200 lines.

Log: "PROGRESS: Task generation complete. $TASK_COUNT task files generated."

Step 6: Copy to Output Location (Greenfield Only)

IF spec_output_location is "." (default): Skip this step.

IF spec_output_location is a different path: Copy the generated .specify/ directory to the target location.

if [ "$SPEC_OUTPUT" != "." ]; then
  cp -r .specify/* "$SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/"
  echo "Copied .specify/ to $SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/"
fi

Verify: confirm $SPEC_OUTPUT/.specify/memory/constitution.md exists at the target.

Log: "PROGRESS: Specs copied to $SPEC_OUTPUT."

Step 7: Final Verification

Run all success criteria checks for the configured thoroughness level.

All Levels:

.specify/ directory exists
.specify/memory/constitution.md exists and is non-empty
.specify/specs/NNN-feature-name/ directories exist for ALL features
Each feature has spec.md with status markers (COMPLETE/PARTIAL/MISSING)
.specify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh exists

Thoroughness Level 2+ (Specs + Plans):

Every PARTIAL/MISSING feature has plan.md
100% plan coverage for incomplete features

Thoroughness Level 3 (Specs + Plans + Tasks):

Every planned feature has tasks.md
Each tasks.md is 200+ lines

Report a summary:

COMPLETE: Gear 3 finished.
- Constitution: created
- Specs: [N] generated (100% coverage)
- Plans: [N] generated (or "skipped")
- Tasks: [N] generated (or "skipped")
- Output location: [path]

Output Structure

After this skill completes:

.specify/
├── memory/
│   └── constitution.md                    # Project principles
├── templates/
├── scripts/
│   └── bash/                              # Spec Kit automation scripts
└── specs/
    ├── 001-feature-name/
    │   ├── spec.md                        # Feature specification
    │   ├── plan.md                        # Implementation plan (level 2+)
    │   └── tasks.md                       # Task breakdown (level 3)
    └── 002-another-feature/
        └── ...

docs/reverse-engineering/                  # Kept as reference
├── functional-specification.md
├── data-architecture.md
└── ...

Error Recovery

Error	Recovery
`.stackshift-state.json` missing	Stop. Instruct user to run Gear 1 first.
`web/reconcile-specs.md` not found	Use manual fallback in `operations/manual-spec-generation.md`.
Automated spec generation produces no output	Use manual fallback in `operations/manual-spec-generation.md`.
Subagent task fails during plan/task generation	Re-run the failed subagent. If it fails again, generate that plan/task inline.
`spec_output_location` directory does not exist	Create it with `mkdir -p`.
Spec Kit scripts download fails (curl errors)	Warn user. Gear 4 will need scripts installed manually.

Configuration Reference

In .stackshift-state.json:

{
  "route": "brownfield",
  "config": {
    "gear3_thoroughness": "specs+plans+tasks",
    "spec_output_location": ".",
    "plan_parallel_limit": 5,
    "task_parallel_limit": 3
  }
}

Next Step

Proceed to Gear 4: Gap Analysis -- use /speckit.analyze to identify inconsistencies and the gap-analysis skill to create a prioritized implementation plan.

Create Specs

File contents

Create Specifications (GitHub Spec Kit Integration)

Thoroughness Options

Step 1: Load Configuration

Step 2: Install GitHub Spec Kit Scripts

Step 3: Generate Specifications (Automated Path)

Checkpoint: Verify Automated Path Succeeded

Step 4: Generate Plans (Thoroughness Level 2+)

Checkpoint: Verify Plan Coverage

Step 5: Generate Tasks (Thoroughness Level 3 Only)

Checkpoint: Verify Task Quality

Step 6: Copy to Output Location (Greenfield Only)

Step 7: Final Verification

Output Structure

Error Recovery

Configuration Reference

Next Step

Frequently asked questions

Create Specs

File contents

Create Specifications (GitHub Spec Kit Integration)

Thoroughness Options

Step 1: Load Configuration

Step 2: Install GitHub Spec Kit Scripts

Step 3: Generate Specifications (Automated Path)

Checkpoint: Verify Automated Path Succeeded

Step 4: Generate Plans (Thoroughness Level 2+)

Checkpoint: Verify Plan Coverage

Step 5: Generate Tasks (Thoroughness Level 3 Only)

Checkpoint: Verify Task Quality

Step 6: Copy to Output Location (Greenfield Only)

Step 7: Final Verification

Output Structure

Error Recovery

Configuration Reference

Next Step

Related skills

Frequently asked questions

How do I install the Create Specs skill?

What does the Create Specs skill do?

Is Create Specs safe to use?

Which AI agents work with Create Specs?

Is Create Specs free to use?

Who published Create Specs?