openspec-explore

To brainstorm and frame problems before writing code, you need structured thinking and exploratory guidance. This skill acts as a curated thinking partner that surfaces questions, maps exploration paths, and prevents premature implementation by clarifying requirements.

The best way to investigate a codebase without making changes is through surface-reading. This approach encourages reading and understanding code to capture insights for later action, ensuring teams fully map requirements before committing to any feature implementation.

To map requirements and explore ideas, you can use open-ended ideation support. This process helps teams debate feature specs, surface assumptions, gather questions, and align on next steps in real time without writing code.

OpenSpec exploration mode does not write code or implement features. It strictly renders exploration prompts and stances to facilitate deep exploratory thinking, operating within OpenSpec guidelines using YAML frontmatter in its configuration.

You should use problem framing instead of starting implementation when your team is debating a feature spec and needs to surface assumptions. It prevents premature implementation by offering structured thinking to clarify requirements before committing to changes.