spec-editor 0.1.8

Automated requirements engineering system with AI agents

Spec Editor

AI-powered requirements engineering with methodology support

▶ Watch the demo (GIF)

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What is Spec Editor?

Spec Editor turns messy requirements documents into structured specifications using multiple AI agents in a structured dialogue. Then it connects to your AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Zed) via MCP so your generated code stays aligned with your requirements.

It is:

• A CLI tool that generates specifications via multi-agent debate
• An MCP server so external AI agents can read your specification
• A code generator that creates skeletons from spec elements (SQLAlchemy, FastAPI, React, pytest)

It is NOT:

• A generic code generator (we do templates, not AI code gen)
• A task tracker (use Jira/Linear for that — we export to them)
• A replacement for developers (agents debate, humans decide)

[!NOTE] Spec Editor works with any OpenAI-compatible API (DeepSeek, OpenAI, Anthropic). Default: DeepSeek ($0.14/M tokens).

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Why Not Just Prompt an LLM Directly?

A raw LLM prompt produces superficial, flat requirements. Spec Editor's multi-agent debate and methodology-driven structure produce deeply connected specifications — much better than what any single LLM prompt can achieve.

What happens with raw LLM	What spec-editor does
Single perspective	Multi-agent debate with structured rounds
No adversarial review	Agents challenge each other — edge cases, contradictions caught
Freeform output	Methodology-driven: modules, scenarios, UI, data, NFR, metrics
Ephemeral session	Version-controlled artifacts in git (Markdown + YAML)

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Quick Start

pip install spec-editor

# 1. Instant preview (no API key)
spec-editor demo              # opens pre-generated spec in browser

# 2. Create project and run agents
spec-editor init my-project   # creates project structure
cd my-project
# Put your requirements in source/ — or use --with-example
spec-editor run               # needs DEEPSEEK_API_KEY in .env

# 3. Connect to your AI coding agent
spec-editor mcp &             # start MCP server in background
# Add the MCP config to your agent (see below)

# 4. Export to shareable format
spec-editor export -f html    # styled HTML report
spec-editor export -f srs     # IEEE 830 Markdown
spec-editor validate          # check methodology compliance

After spec-editor run completes, you'll have:

• aspects/ — structured specification in Markdown + YAML frontmatter
• source/session_summary.md — what the agents did and why

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Connect to AI Coding Assistants (MCP)

Spec Editor runs an MCP server for any MCP-compatible agent (Zed, Cursor, Claude Code, Windsurf, etc.).

spec-editor mcp &   # start in background

Add to your agent's MCP config (.mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "spec-editor": {
      "command": "spec-editor",
      "args": ["mcp", "-p", "/absolute/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

What Your Agent Gets

Tool	Description
get_context_for_file	Spec context for a code file via @implements
search_elements	Full-text search across requirements
read_element	Read any specification element by ID
list_all_elements	Browse entire specification

Add @implements("REQ-ID") decorators to your code — the agent automatically pulls linked requirements into its context.

Full API reference: readme_mcp.md

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How It Works

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     SPEC EDITOR                              │
│                                                              │
│  SOURCE DOCUMENTS                                            │
│  ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐                      │
│  │ PDF/TXT  │ │ Telegram │ │  Voice   │  ...                 │
│  └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘ └────┬─────┘                      │
│       │             │            │                            │
│       ▼             ▼            ▼                            │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐                     │
│  │        Ingestion Pipeline           │                     │
│  │  PDF → text, spam filter, SRC gen   │                     │
│  └─────────────────┬───────────────────┘                     │
│                    ▼                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐                     │
│  │        AGENT DIALOGUE               │                     │
│  │  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐         │                     │
│  │  │ Agent 1  │  │ Agent 2  │  +Orch  │                     │
│  │  │ modules  │  │scenarios │         │                     │
│  │  └────┬─────┘  └────┬─────┘         │                     │
│  │       │   debate    │               │                     │
│  │       ▼             ▼               │                     │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │                     │
│  │  │  Skill-based helpers        │    │                     │
│  │  │  scenario_decomposer,       │    │                     │
│  │  │  ui_navigator, metrics_linker   │                     │
│  │  └─────────────────────────────┘    │                     │
│  └─────────────────┬───────────────────┘                     │
│                    ▼                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐                     │
│  │         SPECIFICATION               │                     │
│  │  aspects/modules/    MOD-001.md     │                     │
│  │  aspects/scenarios/  SCN-001.md     │                     │
│  │  aspects/entities/   ENT-001.md     │                     │
│  └──────────────────┬──────────────────┘                     │
│                     ▼                                        │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐                    │
│  │           MCP SERVER                  │                    │
│  │  19 tools — read_element,            │                    │
│  │  search_elements, list_aspect, ...   │                    │
│  └──────────────────┬───────────────────┘                    │
│                     ▼                                        │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐                    │
│  │     AI CODING AGENTS                  │                    │
│  │  Claude Code · Cursor · Zed · ...    │                    │
│  │  Code with full spec context          │                    │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────┘                    │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Features

Feature	Description
Multi-agent dialogue	2 agents + orchestrator debate requirements in structured rounds
Skill-based helpers	Agents spawn specialised helpers: scenario decomposer, UI navigator, metrics linker
Methodology-driven	Waterfall decomposes into 8 aspects: modules, scenarios, UI, data, NFR, metrics, implementation, sources
MCP server	19 tools — connect to Claude Code, Cursor, Zed for context-aware code generation
Export formats	SRS (IEEE 830), TRLC (BMW), OpenAPI 3.0, Jira CSV, styled HTML
Git-native	Everything is Markdown + YAML in git — version, diff, merge, blame

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Supported Methodologies

Specifications follow a methodology — a YAML-defined structure of aspects, element types, and relationships.

Methodology	What it generates	Status
waterfall	Full spec: modules, scenarios, UI, data, non-functional, implementation, metrics, sources	✅ Free (OSS)
agile	Sprint backlog: epics → user stories → acceptance criteria + Jira CSV	✅ Paid
scrum	Agile + sprints (goal, capacity, focus factor, velocity, DoD)	✅ Paid
kanban	Agile + workflow stages (WIP limits, cycle time, throughput)	✅ Paid
api-first	OpenAPI 3.0 contract (service → endpoint → schema + auth)	✅ Paid

waterfall is free and bundled with the OSS release. Agile, scrum, kanban, and api-first are Methodology Packs (coming soon).

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CLI Commands

spec-editor demo                         # Instant preview (no API key)
spec-editor init ./my-project            # Create project
spec-editor run -p ./my-project          # Run agent dialogue
spec-editor view -p ./my-project         # Interactive Mermaid graph
spec-editor validate -p ./my-project     # Validate specification
spec-editor status -p ./my-project       # Show spec status
spec-editor export -p ./my-project       # Export to SRS/TRLC/OpenAPI/Jira/HTML
spec-editor mcp                          # Start MCP server (19 tools)

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Export Formats

spec-editor export -p .                            # SRS document (default)
spec-editor export -p . -f html -o spec.html       # Styled HTML with relationships
spec-editor export -p . -f trlc -o spec.trlc       # TRLC (BMW-compatible)
spec-editor export -p . -f openapi -o api.yaml     # OpenAPI 3.0
spec-editor export -p . -f jira -o backlog.csv     # Jira CSV import

Format	CLI flag	Output	Use case
SRS (IEEE 830)	-f srs (default)	Markdown	Stakeholder-ready specification
HTML	-f html	spec.html	Styled report with relationship traces
TRLC (BMW)	-f trlc	.trlc file	Requirements as code
OpenAPI 3.0	-f openapi	openapi.yaml	API contracts from api-first
Jira CSV	-f jira	.csv file	Sprint backlog for Jira import
Markdown + YAML	Native (git)	aspects/*.md	Git-native — version, diff, merge

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Configuration

Edit agents.yaml to choose your provider:

agents:
  agent_1:
    provider: deepseek     # or openai, anthropic
    model: deepseek/deepseek-reasoner
    temperature: 0.7
  agent_2:
    provider: deepseek
    model: deepseek/deepseek-reasoner
    temperature: 0.7
  orchestrator:
    provider: deepseek
    model: deepseek/deepseek-reasoner

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Contributing

Prompts are the engine of Spec Editor. Better prompts = better specifications.

• Language packs — translations for EN, RU, ES, FR, DE. Missing your language? Add prompts/xx.yaml and open a PR.
• LLM-specific tuning — DeepSeek, GPT-4, Claude each respond differently. Share your tuned prompts.
• Few-shot examples — help us add domain-specific examples.

Got ideas? Open an issue or submit a PR — we review everything.

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Documentation

• Quickstart — 5-minute setup
• Architecture — pipeline, components, CLI reference
• MCP API Reference — MCP server tools
• Contributing Prompts — how to improve agent quality
• CONTRIBUTING.md — code contributions
• CHANGELOG.md — release history

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License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.

The core engine (spec-editor) is free and open source. Methodology Packs are source-available, purchased separately.