specs.nvim

A Neovim wrapper for the OpenSpec CLI — drive spec-driven development without leaving your editor. Browse changes and specs in visual Telescope pickers or a persistent, undotree-style navigable dashboard, validate and inspect artifact status, and create and archive changes.

The plugin is a thin wrapper: it shells out to openspec, parses its --json output, and renders it. It owns no spec logic of its own.

Requirements

• Neovim ≥ 0.10 (uses vim.system)
• The openspec CLI on your PATH
• telescope.nvim — optional, but required for the changes/specs list pickers. Everything else works without it.

Install

lazy.nvim

{
  "TimboGP/specs.nvim",
  dependencies = { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim" }, -- optional, enables the pickers
  cmd = "Specs",
  keys = {
    { "<leader>oc", "<cmd>Specs changes<cr>", desc = "Specs: changes" },
    { "<leader>os", "<cmd>Specs specs<cr>",   desc = "Specs: specs" },
  },
  opts = {}, -- lazy calls require("specs").setup(opts) for you
}

opts = {} is enough — lazy runs setup() on the specs module automatically. Telescope auto-loads the extension the first time you run :Telescope specs …, so an explicit require("telescope").load_extension("specs") is optional.

From a local clone (no GitHub remote)

If the plugin lives in a local checkout, point lazy at it with dir:

{
  dir = "~/Repositories/specs.nvim", -- path to your local clone
  dependencies = { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim" },
  cmd = "Specs",
  keys = {
    { "<leader>oc", "<cmd>Specs changes<cr>", desc = "Specs: changes" },
    { "<leader>os", "<cmd>Specs specs<cr>",   desc = "Specs: specs" },
  },
  opts = {},
}

Alternatively, set a dev path in your lazy setup ({ dev = { path = "~/Repositories" } }) and use { "TimboGP/specs.nvim", dev = true }.

packer.nvim

use({
  "TimboGP/specs.nvim",
  requires = { "nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim" },
  config = function()
    require("specs").setup({})
    pcall(require("telescope").load_extension, "specs")
  end,
})

Usage

:Specs command

Command	Action
:Specs / :Specs changes	Open the changes picker
:Specs specs	Open the specs picker
:Specs show <name>	Show a change/spec as markdown in a scratch buffer
:Specs validate [name|all]	Validate one item, or all with no arg — issues open in the quickfix list
:Specs status <name>	Artifact completion checklist for a change
:Specs new [name]	Create a change (prompts if no name), then open its first artifact
:Specs archive <name>	Archive a change (asks to confirm)
:Specs diff <name>	Diff a change's proposed spec deltas against the current specs
:Specs view	Open the navigable changes/specs dashboard
:Specs init [args]	Pass through to openspec init

Subcommands and change names tab-complete.

:Specs new doesn't stop at creating the change directory: it opens the first ready artifact (normally proposal.md) in a new tab, seeded from the active schema's template (via openspec templates) so you land on a filled-in skeleton instead of a blank file.

:Specs diff <name> opens one tab per capability the change touches, each a Neovim diff (vert diffsplit) between the current openspec/specs/<capability>/spec.md and the change's proposed openspec/changes/<name>/specs/<capability>/spec.md. A capability that doesn't exist yet just diffs against an empty buffer, showing the whole delta as added.

Dashboard

:Specs view opens a persistent, collapsible tree panel over changes and specs — undotree-style navigation instead of a one-shot printout. It stays open until you close it.

Key	Action
<CR>	Change/spec: open/update the preview pane. Section/tasks: toggle expand/collapse. Task: toggle its checkbox
o / <Tab>	Toggle expand/collapse of the node under the cursor
d	On a change: open its spec delta diff (see :Specs diff above)
R	Refresh from the CLI (keeps expand state)
q	Close the dashboard and its preview pane

Expanding a change lazily fetches its artifact checklist (openspec status --change). Once unblocked, the tasks artifact expands further into its individual - [ ] checkboxes — toggling one edits and saves tasks.md directly (through an already-open buffer for it, if there is one) without leaving the dashboard. The validate/status/archive/new picker mappings (below) also work here, on whichever change/spec is under the cursor.

Telescope

:Telescope specs changes
:Telescope specs specs

Inside a picker:

Key	Action
<CR>	Open full markdown detail in a split
<C-v>	Validate the selected item
<C-s>	Show artifact status
<C-a>	Archive the selected change (confirm)
<C-n>	Create a new change

The right-hand preview pane shows the rendered openspec show markdown for the highlighted item.

Configuration

setup() is optional. Defaults:

require("specs").setup({
  cmd = "openspec",  -- executable name or absolute path
  notify = true,     -- emit [openspec] notifications
  picker = {
    mappings = {     -- in-picker action keymaps (insert + normal)
      validate = "<C-v>",
      status   = "<C-s>",
      archive  = "<C-a>",
      new      = "<C-n>",
    },
  },
  dashboard = {
    split = "topleft 40vsplit", -- window command hosting the tree panel
  },
})

Health

:checkhealth specs

Reports whether the openspec binary is found (and its version), whether telescope.nvim is available, and whether the current directory is inside an OpenSpec project (an openspec/ directory found by walking up from the current buffer).

Lua API

local os_ = require("specs")
os_.changes()               -- open the changes picker
os_.specs()                 -- open the specs picker
os_.show("add-user-auth")   -- markdown detail
os_.validate("add-user-auth")
os_.status("add-user-auth")
os_.new_change("my-change")
os_.archive("add-user-auth")

License

MIT