spec-kitty

Environment Variables Reference

This document lists all environment variables used by Spec Kitty.

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Feature Detection

SPECIFY_FEATURE

Override automatic feature detection.

Purpose: Force Spec Kitty to use a specific feature when automatic detection fails (e.g., in non-Git repositories or CI environments).

Example:

export SPECIFY_FEATURE=014-comprehensive-docs
spec-kitty agent tasks status

When to use:

• Running commands outside a Git repository
• CI/CD pipelines where Git context is unavailable
• Testing with a specific feature

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Template Customization

SPEC_KITTY_TEMPLATE_ROOT

Use local templates instead of fetching from GitHub.

Purpose: Point to a local directory containing Spec Kitty templates. Useful for template development or air-gapped environments.

Example:

export SPEC_KITTY_TEMPLATE_ROOT=/path/to/spec-kitty/src/specify_cli/templates
spec-kitty init my-project --ai claude

When to use:

• Developing or testing template changes
• Environments without internet access
• Custom template workflows

SPECIFY_TEMPLATE_REPO

Override the GitHub repository for templates.

Purpose: Fetch templates from a different GitHub repository instead of the default.

Example:

export SPECIFY_TEMPLATE_REPO=my-org/custom-spec-kitty-templates
spec-kitty upgrade

When to use:

• Organizations with custom templates
• Forked template repositories
• Enterprise GitHub instances

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Agent Configuration

CODEX_HOME

Configure GitHub Codex CLI to find project prompts.

Purpose: Point the Codex CLI to the project’s .codex/ directory for slash commands.

Example:

export CODEX_HOME="$(pwd)/.codex"
codex

When to use:

• Using GitHub Codex as your AI agent
• Codex can’t find slash commands automatically

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GitHub Integration

GH_TOKEN / GITHUB_TOKEN

Authenticate with GitHub API.

Purpose: Required for operations that use the GitHub API, such as fetching templates or creating pull requests.

Example:

export GH_TOKEN=ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
spec-kitty init my-project

Precedence: GH_TOKEN takes precedence if both are set.

When to use:

• CI/CD pipelines
• Automated workflows
• Rate-limited environments (authenticated requests have higher limits)

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Debug and Development

SPEC_KITTY_DEBUG

Enable debug logging.

Purpose: Output verbose debug information for troubleshooting.

Example:

export SPEC_KITTY_DEBUG=1
spec-kitty agent tasks status

When to use:

• Troubleshooting unexpected behavior
• Reporting bugs
• Understanding internal operations

SPEC_KITTY_NO_COLOR

Disable colored output.

Purpose: Remove ANSI color codes from terminal output.

Example:

export SPEC_KITTY_NO_COLOR=1
spec-kitty agent tasks status

When to use:

• CI/CD logs that don’t support colors
• Piping output to files
• Accessibility needs

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Summary Table

Variable	Purpose	Example Value
SPECIFY_FEATURE	Override feature detection	014-my-feature
SPEC_KITTY_TEMPLATE_ROOT	Local template path	/path/to/templates
SPECIFY_TEMPLATE_REPO	Custom template repo	org/templates
CODEX_HOME	Codex CLI prompt path	$(pwd)/.codex
GH_TOKEN	GitHub authentication	ghp_xxx...
GITHUB_TOKEN	GitHub authentication (alt)	ghp_xxx...
SPEC_KITTY_DEBUG	Enable debug output	1
SPEC_KITTY_NO_COLOR	Disable colors	1

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See Also

• Configuration — Configuration file reference
• CLI Commands — Command line reference
• Non-Interactive Init — Common automation patterns

Getting Started

• Claude Code Workflow

Practical Usage

• Non-Interactive Init
• Install Spec Kitty

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