spec-kitty

Claude Code + Spec Kitty Integration Guide

Complete workflow for using Spec Kitty with Claude Code CLI

Why Claude Code + Spec Kitty?

The Problem with Ad-Hoc AI Coding:

The Solution: Spec Kitty provides structured slash commands that keep Claude Code focused on requirements, with live kanban tracking of all work.

Quick Start (5 Minutes)

# 1. Install both tools
pip install spec-kitty-cli

# 2. Initialize your project
spec-kitty init myproject --ai claude
cd myproject

# 3. Launch Claude Code
claude

# 4. Inside Claude, use slash commands
/spec-kitty.specify Add user authentication with email/password
# Claude will ask discovery questions, then create spec

/spec-kitty.plan
# Claude creates technical plan with database schema, API design

/spec-kitty.tasks
# Generates 5-10 work packages ready for implementation

/spec-kitty.implement
# Claude implements first task, moves it through kanban lanes

# 5. Watch live dashboard
# Open http://localhost:33333 to see real-time progress

The Opinionated Workflow (Explained)

Spec Kitty enforces a specific sequence that prevents common AI coding failures:

Phase 1: Specify BEFORE Coding

Why: Forces you and Claude to agree on requirements before any code is written.

# Inside Claude Code
/spec-kitty.specify Build a REST API for managing todo items with CRUD operations

What Claude Does:

  1. Asks discovery questions (What auth? What database? What validation?)
  2. Creates kitty-specs/001-todo-api/spec.md with:
    • User stories
    • Functional requirements
    • Acceptance criteria
  3. You review and clarify until accurate

Why This Matters: Spec becomes the source of truth. Claude can’t invent requirements mid-implementation.

Phase 2: Plan BEFORE Implementing

Why: Forces architectural thinking before coding. Prevents “code first, design never.”

/spec-kitty.plan We'll use FastAPI, PostgreSQL with SQLAlchemy, JWT auth, and pytest

What Claude Does:

  1. Asks planning questions (error handling? migrations? testing?)
  2. Creates:
    • plan.md - System architecture
    • data-model.md - Database schema
    • contracts/ - API specifications
  3. You review and approve architecture

Why This Matters: Major decisions are documented. You catch architectural issues before code exists.

Phase 3: Break Down BEFORE Building

Why: Large features overwhelm AI agents. Spec Kitty forces decomposition into work packages.

/spec-kitty.tasks

What Claude Does:

  1. Reads your spec + plan
  2. Creates 5-10 work packages (WP01, WP02, etc.)
  3. Each WP is a focused prompt file with:
    • Clear objective
    • Implementation steps
    • Testing requirements
  4. Work packages organized in kanban lanes (planned → doing → review → done)

Why This Matters:

Phase 4: Implement Systematically

Why: Structured workflow prevents Claude from jumping around or missing pieces.

/spec-kitty.implement
# Claude auto-picks WP01, moves it to "doing", starts implementation
# When done, moves to "for_review"

/spec-kitty.review
# Claude reviews WP01, provides feedback or approves (moves to "done")

/spec-kitty.implement
# Auto-picks WP02, repeats process

What You See:

Why This Matters:

Phase 5: Accept BEFORE Merging

Why: Final quality gate prevents half-baked features reaching main branch.

/spec-kitty.accept
# Validates: All tasks done? Spec requirements met? Tests passing?

/spec-kitty.merge --push
# Merges to main, copies specs to kitty-specs/, cleans up worktree

Why This Matters: Git main branch stays clean. Every feature that lands has: spec + plan + completed tasks + acceptance validation.

The Opinionated Part (And Why It Works)

Opinion 1: Spec MUST Exist Before Code

Rationale: AI agents are eager to code. Without forcing specification first, they’ll implement their interpretation of your vague request.

How Enforced: /spec-kitty.plan and /spec-kitty.tasks REQUIRE spec.md to exist first.

Real Example:

❌ Without Spec Kitty:
You: "Add authentication"
Claude: [writes OAuth implementation with assumptions]
You: "I meant simple email/password..."
Claude: [rewrites everything]

✅ With Spec Kitty:
You: "/spec-kitty.specify Add authentication"
Claude: "What auth method? What about password reset? Session timeout?"
[You answer, spec gets created]
Claude: [implements exactly what's in spec]

Opinion 2: Git Worktrees For Every Feature

Rationale: Feature branches in place = context confusion. Worktrees = physical isolation.

How It Works:

# Spec Kitty automatically creates:
.worktrees/001-auth-system/     # Separate directory
├── src/                         # Your code (on 001-auth-system branch)
├── kitty-specs/001-auth-system/ # Specs for THIS feature
└── .claude/commands/            # Slash commands work here

Why This Matters for Claude:

Opinion 3: Kanban Lanes Are Required

Rationale: “Are we done?” is impossible to answer without systematic tracking.

The Four Lanes:

  1. planned - Ready to implement (backlog)
  2. doing - Currently being worked on
  3. for_review - Code complete, needs review
  4. done - Reviewed and accepted

How Enforced: Every WP has lane: in frontmatter. Commands auto-update lanes.

Why This Matters:

Real-World Claude Code Workflow

Scenario: “Build a Markdown Preview Feature”

Step 1: Initialize (1 minute)

spec-kitty init markdown-preview --ai claude
cd markdown-preview
claude

Step 2: Create Specification (5 minutes)

# Inside Claude Code:
/spec-kitty.specify Build a markdown preview feature with live reload and syntax highlighting

# Claude asks:
# - What framework? (React? Vue? Plain JS?)
# - What markdown features? (tables? code blocks? math?)
# - What syntax theme? (light? dark? both?)

# You answer, spec gets created

Step 3: Navigate to Worktree (CRITICAL!)

# Claude Code shows you the path:
✓ Feature created at: .worktrees/001-markdown-preview/

# You MUST do this:
cd .worktrees/001-markdown-preview
# All future commands run from here!

Step 4: Create Plan (5 minutes)

/spec-kitty.plan Use React with marked.js for parsing, highlight.js for syntax,
and WebSocket for live reload. Dark mode toggle.

# Claude creates:
# - plan.md (component structure)
# - data-model.md (state management)
# - contracts/ (WebSocket protocol)

Step 5: Generate Tasks (2 minutes)

/spec-kitty.tasks

# Claude generates:
# WP01 - Setup React project with Vite
# WP02 - Integrate marked.js markdown parser
# WP03 - Add highlight.js syntax highlighting
# WP04 - Implement WebSocket live reload
# WP05 - Create dark mode toggle
# WP06 - Add error handling and edge cases
# WP07 - Write integration tests

Step 6: Implement (variable time)

/spec-kitty.implement
# Claude picks WP01, moves to "doing", implements

# When done:
/spec-kitty.review
# Claude reviews WP01, moves to "done"

# Repeat for WP02-WP07

Step 7: Accept and Merge (2 minutes)

/spec-kitty.accept
# Validates all tasks complete

/spec-kitty.merge --push
# Merges to main, feature complete!

Total Time: ~30-60 minutes for a well-specified, tested, reviewed feature.

Live Dashboard Integration

Automatic Dashboard Startup

When you run spec-kitty init, the dashboard automatically starts on http://localhost:33333.

What You See in Real-Time

Kanban Board:

┌─ Planned ──┬─ Doing ────┬─ For Review ┬─ Done ─────┐
│ WP04       │ WP01       │ WP03        │ WP05       │
│ WP06       │ WP02       │             │ WP07       │
│ WP08       │            │             │            │
└────────────┴────────────┴─────────────┴────────────┘

Activity Log:

15:23 - WP01 moved planned → doing (Claude Code, shell 12345)
15:31 - WP01 moved doing → for_review (Claude Code)
15:35 - WP01 moved for_review → done (Claude Code)

Agent Tracking:

Advanced: Multi-Agent Handoff

Scenario: Claude Implements, Cursor Reviews

Terminal 1: Claude Code

cd .worktrees/001-auth-system
claude
# Inside: /spec-kitty.implement (WP01-WP04)
# Claude implements, moves each to "for_review"

Terminal 2: Cursor

cd .worktrees/001-auth-system  # Same worktree!
cursor
# Inside: /spec-kitty.review (WP01-WP04)
# Cursor reviews each, moves to "done" or back to "planned"

Why This Works:

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Resume After Break

# Next day, forgot what you were doing?
cd .worktrees/001-auth-system
claude
/spec-kitty.implement

# Claude auto-detects: "WP03 is in 'doing' lane, resuming..."

Pattern 2: Skip Review for Simple Tasks

/spec-kitty.implement
# After implementation:
spec-kitty agent workflow review WP01
# Review workflow moves to done when there is no feedback

Pattern 3: Parallel Features

# Terminal 1: Feature A
cd .worktrees/001-auth-system
claude
/spec-kitty.implement

# Terminal 2: Feature B (different feature!)
cd .worktrees/002-payment-flow
cursor
/spec-kitty.implement

# Dashboard shows BOTH features progressing

Troubleshooting

“Slash commands not found”

Cause: Not in the project root or worktree Fix:

cd myproject  # or cd .worktrees/001-feature
claude
# Commands should now appear

“Scripts not found” error

Symptom: bash: .kittify/scripts/bash/check-prerequisites.sh: No such file or directory

Cause: Installed v0.10.0-0.10.8 which had bundling bug Fix:

pip install --upgrade spec-kitty-cli  # Get v0.10.9+
cd myproject
spec-kitty upgrade  # Auto-repairs templates
# or: spec-kitty repair

Claude ignores slash commands

Cause: Commands might not be visible to Claude Fix:

ls .claude/commands/
# Should show: spec-kitty.specify.md, spec-kitty.plan.md, etc.

# If missing:
spec-kitty upgrade  # Regenerates commands

Dashboard won’t open

Cause: Port 33333 in use Fix:

spec-kitty dashboard --kill  # Stop existing dashboard
spec-kitty dashboard         # Restart

Key Commands Reference

Slash Command When to Use What It Does
/spec-kitty.specify Start new feature Discovery interview → create spec.md
/spec-kitty.plan After spec done Architecture planning → create plan.md
/spec-kitty.tasks After plan done Break down → create work packages
/spec-kitty.implement Ready to code Auto-pick task → implement → move lanes
/spec-kitty.review Code review time Review completed work → approve or reject
/spec-kitty.accept Feature complete Validate all tasks done → ready to merge
/spec-kitty.merge Ready to ship Merge to main → cleanup worktree

CLI Commands (Outside Claude)

Command When to Use What It Does
spec-kitty init New project Initialize Spec Kitty in project
spec-kitty upgrade After pip upgrade Apply migrations, fix templates
spec-kitty repair Broken templates Fix bash script references
spec-kitty dashboard Anytime Open live kanban dashboard
spec-kitty verify-setup Troubleshooting Check tools and project health

Advanced Workflows

Research-Heavy Features

For features requiring upfront research (e.g., “Add ML-based recommendations”):

/spec-kitty.specify Add ML-based product recommendations
# Spec created

/spec-kitty.research Compare collaborative filtering vs content-based approaches
# Creates research.md with evidence logs

/spec-kitty.plan Use hybrid approach with scikit-learn
# Plan incorporates research findings

/spec-kitty.tasks
# Implementation tasks based on researched approach

Constitution-Driven Development

Encode your team’s quality standards once:

/spec-kitty.constitution
# Claude helps create constitution.md with principles like:
# - All APIs must have rate limiting
# - All database queries must use parameterized statements
# - All user input must be validated

# Now ALL slash commands automatically reference constitution
# Claude: "Per constitution principle 2, I'm adding parameterized queries..."

Tips for Maximum Effectiveness

✅ DO:

  1. Answer discovery questions thoroughly
    • Claude needs good requirements to succeed
    • Vague answers = implementation guesswork
  2. Always cd .worktrees/001-feature
    • Slash commands need feature context
    • Dashboard needs to know which feature you’re in
  3. Use the dashboard
    • Catches: “Wait, why are 3 tasks in ‘doing’?”
    • Insight: “WP05 failed review twice, might need redesign”
  4. Review before merging
    • /spec-kitty.accept is your quality gate
    • Better to catch issues before main branch

❌ DON’T:

  1. Skip specification
    • “Just build it” = context loss + rework
    • Spec takes 5 minutes, saves hours
  2. Work directly on main
    • Use feature worktrees
    • Keeps main clean and deployable
  3. Manually edit lane metadata
    • Use workflow commands to advance lanes
    • Preserves history and dashboard accuracy
  4. Ignore dashboard warnings
    • “Task stuck in ‘doing’ for 2 days” = blocked work
    • Dashboard catches what you miss

Integration with Other Tools

With Git

Spec Kitty uses standard git operations:

# Commits work in feature branch
cd .worktrees/001-feature
git commit -m "Implement WP03"

# Merges use standard git merge
/spec-kitty.merge  # Uses git merge under the hood

With CI/CD

# Run validation in CI
spec-kitty verify-setup --json
spec-kitty agent tasks validate-workflow

With IDEs

Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf all support slash commands natively. The commands appear in autocomplete once you type /spec-kitty.

Performance at Scale

Tested Scenarios

Dashboard Performance

Next Steps

  1. Try the Quick Start - 5 minute hands-on experience
  2. Review Dashboard Guide - Use the Dashboard
  3. Read Full Workflow - Getting Started Tutorial
  4. Explore Advanced Features - Multi-Agent Orchestration

Getting Help

Issues: https://github.com/Priivacy-ai/spec-kitty/issues

Common Issues:

Documentation:

Why This Workflow Works

The Pattern Recognition Problem:

AI coding agents are pattern-matching machines. Without specs:

The Spec Kitty Solution:

  1. Specification = Pattern to match
  2. Plan = Architecture constraints
  3. Tasks = Focused context windows
  4. Dashboard = Progress visibility

Result: Claude Code (or any agent) stays focused, builds systematically, and you maintain oversight without micromanaging.

The opinionated workflow isn’t arbitrary - it’s specifically designed around how AI agents work (and fail) in practice.

Reference

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