Documentation
Specifications that are checked, not admired. Start with Getting started if the folder is empty, or You cloned a repo if somebody handed you one.
npx @rsaglobaltech/specgate@latest initStart
Two journeys of five phases — from scratch, or on code you already have — every output recorded from the CLI.
Pick your pathStarting from scratch, or bringing code you already have? Both journeys at a glance.You cloned a spec-driven repoSomeone handed you a spec-driven repository. Start here instead.Install and set upCreate the project with your own tools, set Specgate up, run the gate once.Write the briefYour plan as docs/brief.md, the four fields on top — or let your agent propose them.SpecifyThe brief becomes a draft per module, checked by `draft --check`, then archived.BuildThe first requirement, test first — by hand or handed to the harness.Prove`done` closes it only through the gate; `check` and `report` show where it stands.Every dayThe gate in CI, the five-command loop, and Gato.Adopt`onboard` and `init` on a working codebase, touching no code.SpecifyOne behaviour you rely on, written as a requirement with a real example.First requirementThe test you already have names it; `done` closes it.CIThe gate on every pull request, without fixing the past first.Every dayOne behaviour per bug fix, one module at a time.
New project (forja)
Start from an empty folder with a whole application: the architecture in place, sign-in working, Specgate adopted.
Getting startedGenerate a Next.js + Expo monorepo in TypeScript, with the hexagon in place.Java backendsA Spring Boot or Quarkus API, a Next.js web app and Keycloak sign-in.Daily useAdd use cases, entities and ports where the architecture expects them; check the setup.With SpecgateHow a generated project adopts Specgate, and how a use case names its requirement.End-to-end testsPlaywright drives the sign-in flow in a real browser.forja command lineinit, add, doctor: every flag and the values it accepts.forja.config.jsonEvery field, its values and its defaults.What it generatesRecipe by recipe: the folders, the files, the versions.The generated architectureThe hexagon forja generates and the rules that keep it.Contributing to forjaDevelop forja, write a recipe, verify what it generates.
Every day
The loop a team runs on every pull request.
Your team's first PRWhat the author writes, what the reviewer reads, and what to do when check fails.Writing specsRequirements, scenarios and the traceability matrix.Reviewing changesPropose, review and archive a change to specs that already shipped.From a client briefA brief to a reviewed draft: assumptions, open questions and the draft checklist.A new project, step by stepThe twelve steps six pilots took, from a client's brief to a running product.
Proven on real products
Six products built from real client briefs — what worked, and what Specgate got wrong.
All six, comparedBrief, stack, requirements and tests for each pilot, side by side.Rebar Crew — field appExpo + Next.js: 47 of 47, after a first round that was done and unusable.Bookings — appointmentsNext.js from a detailed brief: 38 of 38 in five cycles.Credit shop — e-commerceA five-line brief became 24 requirements, nearly every value an assumption.FinCore — core bankingSpring Boot: 59 of 60, one legal question left to the client.EventTech — event operationsQuarkus with event sourcing and real time: 38 of 38.HealthTech — clinical casesQuarkus in a regulated domain: 23 of 24, no clinical rule invented.
The gate in CI
What fails a pull request, and how to wire it in.
Existing code
Adopting Specgate on a repository that already ships.
Worked example: brownfield adoptionOne existing service adopted end to end — invented company, every command and output real.Specgate or OpenSpecWhere they differ, where OpenSpec is ahead, and how to use both.Already on OpenSpecKeep your OpenSpec specs; verify proves that what they call done is done.ComparisonsHow this differs from OpenSpec, Spec Kit and writing it yourself.
Reference
Every command, the ideas behind them, and what to do when something fails.
Command referenceEvery command, its flags and its JSON shape.How Specgate thinksSix ideas — requirement, scenario, mention, generated matrix, status, one gate — that explain every command.FAQThe questions a team asks in its first week, answered in two lines each.TroubleshootingWhen the gate says no and you disagree.
Extensions
Agents, MCP, the harness, domain packs and your issue tracker.
Agent toolsWire Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot and six others into the same loop.The MCP serverThe daily loop as tools for Claude Desktop, Cursor and other MCP clients, and the guard on the spec.The harnessUnattended delivery: plan → agent → gate → done, one worktree per requirement.What the harness has costFirst-attempt rate and cost per delivered requirement, from the run ledger.Domain packsInstall requirements a pilot already proved, or package your own.Domain packs, end to endInstall a pack, upgrade it to a new version, and take it off again.Jira, Azure Boards, GitHubMirror requirements onto a board without letting the board define them.
Advanced
Longer reads, setups and the reasons behind the design.
Tutorial: Smart ParkingA complete worked example, from a blank folder to a delivered requirement.Choosing your agentClaude, Aider, Cursor or a three-line wrapper — and the two things that bite.How-to guidesShort answers to specific questions.Supply chainSBOM, licences, provenance and what ships in the tarball.Releases & deploymentHow a version is cut and published to npm, Docker and the docs site.Specs that cannot lieThe argument the tool is built on, and the defects that shaped it.