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Overview

Spec First generates a technical specification before any code is written. You review and approve the spec, then the agent implements against it. This is ideal for medium-sized features where you want to validate the approach before committing to it.
Credit Efficiency: Spec First has a moderate credit cost (two-phase: spec + implementation). Learn more in the Workflow Credit Efficiency reference guide.

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When to Use

  • Medium features and improvements
  • Tasks where the technical approach isn’t obvious
  • When you want to review architecture decisions before coding
  • When multiple implementation paths exist and you need to choose

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How It Works

1

Technical Specification

The agent creates a detailed technical spec (spec.md) covering architecture, contracts, and verification strategy.
2

Review the spec

Review spec.md in the task view. Provide feedback or approve. The agent refines until the spec is accepted.
3

Implementation Plan

Based on the approved spec, the agent breaks the work into ordered implementation steps in plan.md.
4

Implementation

The agent implements step by step, referencing the spec for guidance. Each step updates plan.md with progress.

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Artifacts

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Tips

Mention technology preferences, performance requirements, or architectural constraints upfront so they appear in the spec.
Share spec.md with teammates before approving. It’s a lightweight design doc that captures the agent’s proposed approach.
After approving the spec, enable Auto-start steps so the agent moves through implementation without manual triggers.

All Workflows

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Requirements First

Full SDD with PRD and stakeholder alignment