openspec-bootstrap

Initializes OpenSpec configuration, seed specs, and AI tool instructions for existing codebases.

1|Updated May 19, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/thomasmartinsen/talks --skill openspec-bootstrap-thomasmartinsen
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: openspec-bootstrap
Source: https://github.com/thomasmartinsen/talks/tree/main/20260519%20-%20Agentic%20engineering/primitives/skills/spec-init/.skills/openspec-bootstrap
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/thomasmartinsen/talks --skill openspec-bootstrap-thomasmartinsen

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires @fission-ai/openspec, graphifyy, and includes references (resource) components.

What problem does it solve? Adopting spec-driven development in an existing brownfield project requires manually analyzing the codebase, writing initial specifications, and configuring AI coding assistants — a slow, error-prone setup process that this Skill automates end to end. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Deep Codebase Analysis: Explores structure, architecture, domains, quality standards, and security posture, with an optional knowledge-graph mode using tree-sitter AST parsing and Leiden community detection. - OpenSpec Initialization: Runs openspec init, populates openspec/config.yaml with project context and per-artifact rules, and seeds behavioral specs per discovered domain. - Multi-Tool AI Configuration: Generates agent definitions and instruction files for GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, and Windsurf in each tool's native format. - Use Case: A team inheriting a legacy repository runs this Skill once to produce a populated openspec/ directory, CLAUDE.md, .github/agents/, and scoped rule files, then immediately starts proposing spec-driven changes. ## Quick Start Ask the AI to bootstrap OpenSpec for this repository and generate agent instructions for the AI coding tools your team uses.

Frequently Asked Questions about openspec-bootstrap

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I set up OpenSpec in an existing project?

Run this bootstrap skill on the repository root. It analyzes the codebase, runs openspec init, populates openspec/config.yaml with your tech stack and conventions, and seeds initial specs under openspec/specs/ for each discovered domain.

How to generate AI agent instructions for Claude Code, Cursor, and Copilot?

The skill detects which AI tools your project uses and generates matching outputs: CLAUDE.md and .claude/rules/ for Claude Code, .cursor/rules/*.mdc for Cursor, and .github/agents/ plus .github/instructions/ for GitHub Copilot, all grounded in the codebase analysis.

Does OpenSpec bootstrap support OpenAI Codex and Windsurf?

Yes. For Codex it writes role and instruction sections into AGENTS.md, including subdirectory AGENTS.md files for monorepos. For Windsurf it writes all guidance as sections in a root .windsurfrules file.

What is the difference between Standard and Knowledge Graph analysis mode?

Standard mode uses file-level heuristics with no extra dependencies. Knowledge Graph mode installs graphify in a dedicated virtual environment and uses tree-sitter AST parsing, call graphs, and Leiden community detection for deeper cross-file analysis, requiring Python 3.10 or later.

Why does the skill stop when Python is missing in Knowledge Graph mode?

Knowledge Graph mode requires Python 3.10 or later to install and run graphify. The skill halts rather than silently falling back to Standard mode because the user explicitly chose graph-based analysis and should fix the prerequisite first.

Will the generated specs invent requirements not in my code?

No. The skill follows a derive-don't-invent principle: seed specs only document verified existing behavior, use SHOULD instead of MUST when uncertain, and focus on observable behavior rather than implementation details.