spec-kitty

Missions Reference

Spec Kitty supports three mission types, each tailored to a different kind of work. Missions determine the workflow phases, artifacts, and templates used during feature development.

Mission Overview

Mission Domain Best For
software-dev Software development Building features, APIs, UIs
research Research and analysis Investigations, competitive analysis, technical research
documentation Documentation creation User guides, API docs, tutorials

software-dev (Default)

The default mission for building software features.

Domain

Software development: building new features, APIs, user interfaces, and system components.

Phases

  1. research — Understand requirements and constraints
  2. design — Plan architecture and data models
  3. implement — Build the solution
  4. test — Verify correctness
  5. review — Quality assurance

Artifacts

Artifact Created By Purpose
spec.md /spec-kitty.specify User stories, requirements, acceptance criteria
plan.md /spec-kitty.plan Architecture, design decisions, file changes
tasks.md /spec-kitty.tasks Work package breakdown
data-model.md /spec-kitty.plan Database schema, entity relationships
contracts/ /spec-kitty.plan API specifications (optional)
tasks/*.md /spec-kitty.tasks Individual WP prompt files

When to Use

research

Mission for research and analysis work.

Domain

Research and analysis: investigating technologies, competitive analysis, feasibility studies, and technical deep-dives.

Phases

  1. question — Define research questions
  2. methodology — Plan research approach
  3. gather — Collect data and evidence
  4. analyze — Analyze findings
  5. synthesize — Draw conclusions
  6. publish — Document results

Artifacts

Artifact Created By Purpose
spec.md /spec-kitty.specify Research questions and scope
plan.md /spec-kitty.plan Research methodology
research.md /spec-kitty.research Research findings and evidence
tasks.md /spec-kitty.tasks Research task breakdown
findings.md Implementation Final synthesized findings
sources/ Implementation Source materials and references

When to Use

documentation

Mission for creating documentation.

Domain

Documentation creation: user guides, API documentation, tutorials, and reference materials.

Phases

  1. discover — Understand documentation needs
  2. audit — Assess existing documentation
  3. design — Plan documentation structure
  4. generate — Create content
  5. validate — Review and test
  6. publish — Deploy documentation

Artifacts

Artifact Created By Purpose
spec.md /spec-kitty.specify Documentation scope and audience
plan.md /spec-kitty.plan Structure and approach
research.md /spec-kitty.research Audit of existing docs
gap-analysis.md Planning Coverage gaps identified
tasks.md /spec-kitty.tasks Documentation task breakdown
Divio templates Implementation Tutorial, how-to, reference, explanation files

Divio Documentation Types

The documentation mission uses the Divio 4-type system:

Type Orientation Purpose
Tutorial Learning Teach beginners step-by-step
How-To Task Solve specific problems
Reference Information Complete technical details
Explanation Understanding Explain concepts and “why”

When to Use

Selecting a Mission

Missions are selected per-feature during /spec-kitty.specify. The mission is stored in meta.json:

{
  "mission": "documentation"
}

During Feature Creation

When you run /spec-kitty.specify, you’ll be asked to choose a mission:

? Which mission type for this feature?
  ○ software-dev — Building software features (default)
  ○ research — Research and analysis
  ○ documentation — Creating documentation

Changing Mission

The mission cannot be changed after feature creation. If you need a different mission, create a new feature.

Mission Configuration Files

Advanced users can customize missions via configuration files.

Location

.kittify/missions/<mission-key>/mission.yaml

Format

key: software-dev
name: Software Development
domain: Building software features
description: >
  Standard mission for building new features, APIs, and user interfaces.
phases:
  - research
  - design
  - implement
  - test
  - review
artifacts:
  required:
    - spec.md
    - plan.md
    - tasks.md
  optional:
    - data-model.md
    - contracts/
templates:
  spec: spec-template.md
  plan: plan-template.md
  tasks: tasks-template.md

Custom Missions

You can create custom missions by:

  1. Creating a new directory: .kittify/missions/my-mission/
  2. Adding a mission.yaml file
  3. Optionally adding custom templates

Custom missions appear as options during /spec-kitty.specify.

Mission Comparison

Aspect software-dev research documentation
Primary output Working code Research findings Documentation
Typical WPs 5-10 3-7 5-15
Data model Yes No No
API contracts Optional No No
Gap analysis No No Yes
Divio structure No No Yes

See Also

Getting Started

Practical Usage

Background

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