An open specification format for writing software specs in Git repositories. Specifica is built by Cognium Labs Inc. This MIT-licensed repository contains the format specification and its two TypeScript packages; the reference site and the web editor live in their own repositories.
Try the Specifica Playground — start
from a working example, change the spec, then copy it to your coding agent or
download the .specifica/ folder. It is free, runs in the browser, and needs
no account.
A .specifica/ directory convention for writing software specs as markdown in
any Git repo. Three files per feature: spec.md (what), design.md (how),
tasks.md (work). Tool-agnostic — works with any editor, any workflow.
.specifica/
├── principles.md # Project context and memory
└── feature-name/ # kebab-case directory
├── spec.md # What (requirements, success criteria)
├── design.md # How (architecture, implementation)
└── tasks.md # Work (checkboxes)
All files are optional. All files are standard GitHub-Flavored Markdown.
| Surface | Contents |
|---|---|
| specifica (this repo) | the .specifica/ format specification, @specifica/format, @specifica/store |
| specifica.org | the public format reference and examples |
| Specifica Playground | the live browser editor: write, review, export and share a spec |
Pure TypeScript library for parsing and serializing the Specifica format. ~200 lines, zero dependencies.
npm install @specifica/formatimport { parse, serialize } from '@specifica/format'
const item = parse('my-feature', specMd, designMd, tasksMd)
const files = serialize(item)Storage adapter interface for Specifica-compatible backends. TypeScript types and interfaces only.
npm install @specifica/storeimport type { StorageAdapter } from '@specifica/store'
class MyAdapter implements StorageAdapter {
// Implement the interface
}A monorepo using npm workspaces.
npm install # install dependencies
npm run build # build all packages
npm test # run tests
npm run clean # clean build artifactsMake specification the natural first step of building software — not a chore teams skip. The format gives structure. The app removes friction. Together they close the gap between "we should spec this" and specs actually existing in the repo.
Cognium Labs Inc builds Specifica, SkillsRegistry and Cognium SAST. The company site is cognium.net; specifica.org documents the open spec format. Other open work is at github.com/cogniumhq. Contact: hello@cognium.net.
External contributions are welcome; no separate CLA form is required. See CONTRIBUTING.md and open an issue before starting non-trivial work — particularly for changes to the format itself, which other tools implement.
This project follows the Contributor Covenant. To report a vulnerability privately, see the security policy.
MIT. See LICENSE.
Both packages are published to npm under the same terms. Publishing is manual; there are no release workflows in this repository.
- Try the Playground — write and export a spec in the browser
- Format reference — structure, files and conventions
- specifica.org — overview and examples
Cognium Labs Inc · 2026