Spec Kitty

Spec-driven development for AI coding agents, multi-agent workflows, and governed software factories.

Spec Kitty is an open-source CLI for turning product intent into a repo-native AI coding workflow:

spec -> plan -> tasks -> next -> review -> accept -> merge

Use it to build a governed software factory around Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, OpenCode, and other AI coding agents. Spec Kitty keeps specs, plans, work packages, acceptance criteria, review state, and merge decisions in your repository, then gives agents isolated git worktrees so implementation can happen in parallel without branch chaos.

uv tool install 'spec-kitty-cli==4.0.0rc2'

| Need | Spec Kitty provides | | --- | --- | | Start from intent | Guided specify, plan, and tasks workflows | | Keep agents aligned | Repository-native mission artifacts under kitty-specs/ | | Split implementation | Work packages with lifecycle lanes such as planned, in_progress, for_review, approved, and done | | Run agents in parallel | Isolated git worktrees under .worktrees/ | | Keep quality visible | Review, accept, merge, and retrospective gates | | See progress | Lane-by-lane mission status with spec-kitty agent tasks status (--json for tools) | | Integrate agents | Slash commands or skills for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, Copilot, Windsurf, OpenCode, and more | | Learn from missions | Every completed mission generates a retrospective by default. Tune via .kittify/config.yaml#retrospective or charter; see how-to. |

Common Use Cases

• Replace ad hoc vibe coding with spec-driven development.
• Turn GitHub issues, product requirements, or bug reports into executable work packages.
• Coordinate multiple AI coding agents without losing context between sessions.
• Keep architecture decisions, constraints, and acceptance criteria close to the code.
• Build a governed software factory that can scale toward more autonomy without hiding review, test, or merge decisions.

Governance layer

Spec Kitty keeps runtime governance in the repo instead of treating it as agent-only prompt text. The trail model in docs/architecture/trail-model.md describes how spec-kitty dispatch "" maps operator intent to runtime behavior, while docs/architecture/host-surface-parity.md tracks parity across CLI, slash-command, and hosted surfaces.

The primary standalone governance command is:

• spec-kitty dispatch "" - loads governance context, opens an Op record, and returns the context the agent must use before doing the work

Quick Start

Install the CLI:

pipx install spec-kitty-cli

pipx is the preferred installer for the CLI because it keeps Spec Kitty in its own virtual environment and avoids the externally-managed-environment errors common on modern Linux distributions.

Other supported install methods:

uv tool install spec-kitty-cli
or, inside an activated virtual environment
python -m pip install spec-kitty-cli

Create or initialize a project:

spec-kitty init my-project --ai claude
cd my-project
spec-kitty verify-setup

Replace claude with your agent key when needed. Common choices include codex, cursor, gemini, copilot, opencode, qwen, windsurf, kiro, vibe, pi, letta, antigravity, and llxprt. See Supported Agents for the current list.

Open your AI coding agent in the project and run the core workflow:

/spec-kitty.charter
/spec-kitty.specify Build a small task list app.
/spec-kitty.plan
/spec-kitty.tasks

Agents that load Spec Kitty as Agent Skills (Codex, Vibe, Pi, Letta and Antigravity) run the same commands as skills named spec-kitty-: for example $spec-kitty-specify in Codex, /skill:spec-kitty-specify in Pi and /spec-kitty-specify in the others.

Then let the runtime choose the next action until the mission is ready:

spec-kitty next --agent claude --mission <mission-slug>

Review, accept, merge, and close the loop:

/spec-kitty.review
/spec-kitty.accept
/spec-kitty.merge --push

After merge, run /spec-kitty-mission-review. The mission's retrospective.yaml is authored during the runtime terminus (HiC prompt or autonomous facilitator), not by merge. Once it exists, use spec-kitty retrospect summary for the cross-mission view and spec-kitty agent retrospect synthesize --mission to apply any staged proposals (dry-run by default — pass --apply to mutate).

For the full walkthrough, see Your First Mission.

Everyday Commands

| Command | Purpose | | --- | --- | | spec-kitty init . --ai | Add Spec Kitty to the current repo | | spec-kitty verify-setup | Check local installation and project wiring | | spec-kitty agent tasks status | Show work package status for a mission | | spec-kitty next --agent --mission | Ask Spec Kitty what the agent should do next | | spec-kitty upgrade | Update an existing project after upgrading the CLI | | spec-kitty --help | Show available commands |

Documentation

Start here:

• Getting Started
• Your First Mission
• Orchestrator Quickstart
• CLI Command Reference
• Slash Commands
• Supported Agents
• Install and Upgrade

• Spec-Driven Development
• Mission System
• Git Worktrees
• Multi-Agent Orchestration
• External Orchestrator Runbook
• Hosted Sync Workspaces

FAQ

Is Spec Kitty for dark software factories?

Spec Kitty can be used as part of a dark software factory or autonomous coding pipeline, but its default model is governed and human-in-loop. It keeps specs, work packages, agent actions, review decisions, and merge state visible in the repository.

Which AI coding agents does Spec Kitty support?

Spec Kitty supports common AI coding agents and coding harnesses including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, Qwen, Windsurf, Kiro, Vibe, Pi, Letta, and Antigravity. See Supported Agents.

How is Spec Kitty different from prompt templates or Spec Kit?

Spec Kitty is inspired by spec-driven development workflows, but adds repo-native mission state, work-package lanes, git worktree isolation, governance commands, and an explicit next -> review -> accept -> merge runtime loop.

Does Spec Kitty require a SaaS service?

No. Spec Kitty is local-first and stores its core artifacts in your repo. Hosted tracker and sync integrations are optional.

Development

git clone https://github.com/spec-kitty/spec-kitty.git
cd spec-kitty
pip install -e ".[test]"

When testing templates from a source checkout:

export SPEC_KITTY_TEMPLATE_ROOT="$(pwd)"
spec-kitty init my-project --ai claude

See the Contributing guide for contribution guidelines.

Support

• Open a GitHub issue for bugs, feature requests, or questions.
• See the changelog for release notes.
• See CONTRIBUTORS.md and the GitHub contributors graph for contributor credits.

License

Spec Kitty is released under the MIT License.