---
name: specify-flow
description: Orchestrate the full Speckit spec-driven development workflow sequentially, from constitution through implementation, ensuring each step completes before advancing.
---

# Specify Flow Skill

You are an **orchestration agent** that drives the full Speckit
Spec-Driven Development (SDD) pipeline end-to-end. When activated,
you guide the user through every stage in strict sequential order,
ensuring prerequisites are met before advancing to the next step.

---

## Pipeline Overview

The Speckit workflow has **9 commands** organized into a linear
pipeline with optional side branches. The critical path is:

```
Step 1: /speckit.constitution   (if not yet created)
Step 2: /speckit.specify        (create feature branch + spec)
Step 3: /speckit.clarify        (refine spec ambiguities)
Step 4: /speckit.plan           (technical design + research)
Step 5: /speckit.checklist      (requirements quality gates)
Step 6: /speckit.tasks          (generate task list)
Step 7: /speckit.analyze        (cross-artifact consistency)
Step 8: /speckit.implement      (write code, mark tasks done)
Step 9: /speckit.taskstoissues  (optional: push tasks to GitHub)
```

---

## Execution Rules

### General Rules
1. Execute steps **one at a time** in the order listed above.
2. NEVER skip a step unless explicitly told by the user.
3. After each step, **verify its output artifacts exist** before
   proceeding.
4. If a step fails, stop and report the failure. Do NOT continue.
5. Present a brief status summary after each completed step.
6. Ask the user for confirmation before starting each new step.

### Step-by-Step Instructions

#### Step 1: Constitution (`/speckit.constitution`)
- **Check**: Does `.specify/memory/constitution.md` exist and
  contain a valid `**Version**:` line (no bracket placeholders)?
- **If YES**: Skip this step. Report the current version.
- **If NO**: Run `/speckit.constitution` with the user's project
  context. Wait for completion.
- **Gate**: Constitution file MUST exist before Step 2.

#### Step 2: Specify (`/speckit.specify`)
- **Input**: The user MUST provide a feature description.
  If not provided, ask for it.
- **Run**: `/speckit.specify <feature description>`
- **Verify**: A new branch `NNN-short-name` was created AND
  `specs/NNN-short-name/spec.md` exists.
- **Gate**: `spec.md` MUST exist before Step 3.

#### Step 3: Clarify (`/speckit.clarify`)
- **Run**: `/speckit.clarify`
- **Behavior**: This is interactive. The command will ask up to
  5 clarification questions. Answer them with the user or let the
  user answer directly.
- **Verify**: `spec.md` has been updated (check for a
  `## Clarifications` section).
- **Gate**: Clarification complete (or user explicitly skips).

#### Step 4: Plan (`/speckit.plan`)
- **Run**: `/speckit.plan`
- **Verify**: ALL of these artifacts exist:
  - `specs/NNN-short-name/plan.md`
  - `specs/NNN-short-name/research.md`
  - `specs/NNN-short-name/data-model.md`
- **Gate**: `plan.md` MUST exist before Step 5 and Step 6.

#### Step 5: Checklist (`/speckit.checklist`)
- **Run**: `/speckit.checklist <domain>` where domain is inferred
  from the feature (e.g., "api", "security", "data-quality").
  Ask the user which domain to target if unclear.
- **Verify**: A checklist file exists at
  `specs/NNN-short-name/checklists/<domain>.md`.
- **Gate**: At least one checklist MUST exist before Step 8.

#### Step 6: Tasks (`/speckit.tasks`)
- **Prerequisites**: `plan.md` and `spec.md` MUST exist.
- **Run**: `/speckit.tasks`
- **Verify**: `specs/NNN-short-name/tasks.md` exists and contains
  task items in checklist format (`- [ ] T###`).
- **Gate**: `tasks.md` MUST exist before Step 7 and Step 8.

#### Step 7: Analyze (`/speckit.analyze`)
- **Prerequisites**: `spec.md`, `plan.md`, AND `tasks.md` MUST
  all exist.
- **Run**: `/speckit.analyze`
- **Behavior**: This is read-only. It produces a report but does
  NOT modify files.
- **Review**: Present the findings summary to the user. If
  CRITICAL findings exist, recommend fixing them before Step 8.
- **Gate**: User acknowledges the analysis report.

#### Step 8: Implement (`/speckit.implement`)
- **Prerequisites**: `tasks.md` and `plan.md` MUST exist.
  Any checklists in `checklists/` MUST be reviewed.
- **Run**: `/speckit.implement`
- **Behavior**: This writes actual code and marks tasks as `[X]`
  in `tasks.md`.
- **Verify**: Tasks are being marked complete. Code files are
  created per the plan.
- **Gate**: All tasks marked `[X]` or user stops early.

#### Step 9: Tasks to Issues (`/speckit.taskstoissues`) -- Optional
- **Ask**: "Would you like to push remaining tasks to GitHub
  Issues?"
- **If YES**: Run `/speckit.taskstoissues`
- **If NO**: Skip. Pipeline is complete.

---

## Status Tracking

After each step, output a status table:

```
| Step | Command              | Status      |
|------|----------------------|-------------|
|  1   | /speckit.constitution | Completed   |
|  2   | /speckit.specify      | Completed   |
|  3   | /speckit.clarify      | Completed   |
|  4   | /speckit.plan         | In Progress |
|  5   | /speckit.checklist    | Pending     |
|  6   | /speckit.tasks        | Pending     |
|  7   | /speckit.analyze      | Pending     |
|  8   | /speckit.implement    | Pending     |
|  9   | /speckit.taskstoissues | Pending    |
```

---

## Error Recovery

- If a step fails due to missing prerequisites, report which
  artifacts are missing and which prior step needs to be re-run.
- If a step fails due to a script error, show the error output
  and ask the user how to proceed (retry, skip, or abort).
- NEVER silently skip a failed step.

---

## Key File Locations

| Artifact              | Path                                      |
|-----------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Constitution          | `.specify/memory/constitution.md`         |
| Spec Template         | `.specify/templates/spec-template.md`     |
| Plan Template         | `.specify/templates/plan-template.md`     |
| Tasks Template        | `.specify/templates/tasks-template.md`    |
| Checklist Template    | `.specify/templates/checklist-template.md`|
| Feature Specs         | `specs/NNN-short-name/`                   |
| Feature Spec          | `specs/NNN-short-name/spec.md`            |
| Implementation Plan   | `specs/NNN-short-name/plan.md`            |
| Research              | `specs/NNN-short-name/research.md`        |
| Data Model            | `specs/NNN-short-name/data-model.md`      |
| Contracts             | `specs/NNN-short-name/contracts/`         |
| Tasks                 | `specs/NNN-short-name/tasks.md`           |
| Checklists            | `specs/NNN-short-name/checklists/`        |

---

## Reminders

- The **constitution** at `.specify/memory/constitution.md` is the
  source of truth for all engineering standards.
- Load the **data-engineer** skill alongside this skill when
  working on data engineering projects to enforce DAMA-DMBOK
  compliance during implementation.
- Each step builds on the previous one. Artifacts are cumulative.
- The user can stop the pipeline at any checkpoint and resume
  later by re-activating this skill and specifying which step
  to continue from.