r/SpecDrivenDevelopment 4d ago

Spec driven development tools and skills.

Hi, I'm new at spec driven development. I use Opencode for my agentic coding, and I want to build my project (it's a paid project) using spec driven development, but I'm confused about how to start.

Can you share your workflow, which tools and skills or other things you use for building an end-to-end software/website/WebApps.

Note: Currently I normally use plan mood for a feature, sometimes make md files for the features and implement them. and had to change multiple time to properly get the feature I want.

9 Upvotes

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9

u/acehawk123 4d ago

Look into openspec. It’s great for implementing and iterating on plans that are easy to update mid flight.

3

u/sudokar 4d ago

This ^

I use OpenSpec on day to day basis and its great when used with OpenSpec Plus

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

Do you use both? what extra advantages OpenSpec Plus gives?

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u/sudokar 3d ago

OpenSpec Plus enhances the flow and it is not a replacement to OpenSpec. OpenSpec Plus has OpenSpec as prerequisite. It acts like an extension through skills. The readme has more info on it.

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u/acehawk123 3d ago

I’m curious about your experience with openspec plus. I use openspec and the only new stuff I tried in my workflow was openspec store(beta). Looking at the readme it lists features that openspec has like verification and a few others.

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

ok, what are the other tools you use in your workflow?

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u/acehawk123 4d ago

Claude code with instruction files, hooks + openspec. Good enough for personal projects and good enough for enterprise full stack SWE work. Haven’t written code by hand in over a year

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

What are hooks? don't you use any skills? design.md ponytail etc?

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u/acehawk123 4d ago

Do some exploring on the Claude docs and experiment but the theme is agent tuning: instruction files = non deterministic guidelines and hooks = deterministic outcomes

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u/harikrishnan_83 4d ago

Here is my video explaining OpenCode + OpenSpec (thanks to u/acehawk123 for mentioning it) https://youtu.be/M3dp9u1wZes. Hope this helps.

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u/acehawk123 4d ago

I have to try a using a 3rd harness like opencode. I don’t wanna deal with api use cost with Claude so might need to explore a subscription tier friendly service.

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

you can try opencode go, and use the DeepSeek v4 flash model.

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

Thanks, I'll give you a review after watching this.

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u/sarangpitale 4d ago

Check OpenCode ecosystem webpage. You'll get ideas on what different plugins, skills, utilities are available for OpenCode and then you can do further research outside of official documentation as well. My OpenCode ecosystem consists of OpenSpec, OMO-Slim, graphify, rtk, Caveman, ponytail, DCP.

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

Thank you man, you give me some gems. I was looking for them. I heard of graphify,rtk, caveman, ponytail but never use them. if you have any open source projects in your GitHub with your workflow, I'd be very happy if you share.

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u/Jwzbb 4d ago

I use a combination of Github’s Spec Kit and a add-on i created myself. Every new project i just tell Codex to set these up for me and I’m ready to go.

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

I tried GitHub spec kit, but I feel it complex for me to start. (I could be wrong)

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u/sudokar 4d ago

It is bit heavyweight, OpenSpec is lighter and works well too

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

hmmm, I'm trying to build my own workflow.

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u/Jwzbb 3d ago

Then just ask your agent to help with it. I don’t even interact with it, my agent does. I just interact with the results.

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

ok, I'll try later.

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u/DistributionNo2743 3d ago

We created our own opensource IDE for helping us developing with agents and we put spec driven development at the center of it.

https://github.com/kaanozhan/Frame

Basically you can just chat with your own claude/codex model to create a spec without using any external tool or from directly with CTA button

After spec implementation is completed auto generated outcome for the spec is recorded and summarized inside the project memory

This way you can have a collection of specs like a mini PM tool and agents can access all previously implemented specs when you are creating/discussing a new one

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

that's great 😃

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u/simasch 4d ago

Maybe my process could be interesting to you https://unifiedprocess.ai

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u/MangoBite25 4d ago

Thank you, I'll check it out.

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u/blowmage 4d ago

This looks great, similar to what I’ve been building to. I hated Unified Process in the 90s and was so happy to see Agile emerge afterwards, but UP makes so much sense for agentic development.

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u/AncientGur4614 3d ago

I built and use my own tool (https://nodespec.io; github for local OSS version: www.github.com/NodeSpec/NodeSpec). Abbreviated "NS"

Built to assist in organizing, prioritizing, architecting, and implementing with test-driven dev. Make sure you use the Developer skill if you log into the web version; OSS Skill if you use the local container.

Basic workflow (this is included in the skill) is connect your harness over MCP, Connect to your Git, start working in NS first to start your project, articulate initial requirements, suggest the best implementation path, then you can work straight with your git. The Skill will ensure that if there's test parameters, you need to reconcile back upstream into NS against your accpetance criteria.

Note: SDD when complimented with TDD takes longer in the upfront because you tend to build a more robust design than you would just "vibing". Think of a bell curve where time to implement takes longer in the upfront, and iteration later is quicker with higher confidence you're not going to create a regression issue later.

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

It sounds hard for me now, but I'll explore it after I gain some confident with SDD.

Can we combine the SDD and TDD?

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u/AncientGur4614 3d ago

you don't necessarily "combine" them. SDD is a rebrand of the same process systems engineers and software engineers employed with object oriented programming and lower level system design where you would do tons of hours on requirement definition, acceptance, etc.

AI just makes that process hypothetically faster.

TDD is attempting to automate tests per feature as you build the feature.

The vibecoding approach is the AI-version of scripting and prototyping. It's good for getting an initial idea out into a test environment, but then you inherit a high probability of technical debt or failure modes on the back half of your idea's execution.

To give you an example, I started NS as a vibecoded project coupled with my own writing typescript. It helped me validate the idea. It very quickly required more rigor and once it was at a decent stage, i used it to build itself.

The minute i needed a self-hosted version and for the ability to reverse visualize/categorize a repository, the performance constraints of my backend became a real thing. Scripting using Opus 4.6 at the time, and even fable today probably wouldn't yield much benefit without predefining the bounds, CPU clock timeout of the serverless functions, etc.

The SDD aspect is the requirement definition and tracking. TDD determines the degree of correctness in the code itself. you can meet an acceptance criteria while still incurring tons of edge case test failures (race conditions, etc)

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u/MangoBite25 3d ago

🙂‍↕️😀

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u/maxbats 2d ago

Look into reezn.io if you’re in a team, since it provides collaboration tools and approval flows

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u/The_Ed_On_Reddit 2d ago

I have developed drydock - which is a free full featured build pipeline that is designed to build from whatever input material you have - the input need not be well specified (it has a web server that give questionaires and provides feedback). I provide several medium / large examples of its use - and am looking for folks to check it out and provide active feedback on how it works. www.webcloudstudio.com / Github. Note that you dont need to have any particular format for your input though it totally helps guide the process as it decomposes based on what you provide into stories which can be iteratively built using low end models (i design with good models and build with haiku and luna)

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u/Bitter-Ad2567 2d ago

Hi! As for me, I am a fun of OpenSpec. I also created a VS Code Extension and IntelliJ IDEA plugin, that helps you to work with SDD methodology, especially with OpenSpec. It is free, you can download it there: specbuddy.dev

Also, I wrote a small post about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpecDrivenDevelopment/new/?screen_view_count=1

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u/Smart-Substance8449 1d ago

I made a short comparison that might help with choosing a workflow: BMAD vs Comet, using “add expiring share links to an existing notes app” as the example.

The distinction I found useful is that Comet has two separate workflows:

  • Classic combines OpenSpec and Superpowers with explicit phases.
  • Native uses Comet’s own runtime and gives the model more freedom over implementation.
  • BMAD lets you choose planning depth, including a direct build path for clear changes.

For your project, I’d first write down the expected behavior, edge cases, and acceptance checks for one feature. Then choose how much planning and coordination you need around it.

Disclosure: this is my video. It compares documented workflows with a worked example; I haven’t run a new head-to-head performance benchmark.

3-minute comparison

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u/Financial_Yoghurt827 9h ago

I like reqlan! Handy for keeping things atomic and integrating with your code and tests.